Halloween: What alternatives do Catholics have?

Alberto Castaldini, Doctor of Philosophy and spokesperson for the International Association of Exorcists (AIE), warned about the dangers of Halloween and proposed some alternatives to this holiday linked to “neopaganism” and “satanism.”

“Many say that, deep down, Halloween is a commercial holiday for children, young people, made with jokes, like a kind of autumn carnival. This is true, but only superficially,” explains the co-author of the book The dark charm of Halloweenin statements to EWTN News.

“Then we have a much more worrying and much more dangerous dimension,” continues the expert, referring to “a consumerist trend, where any transcendent dimension is denied” on Halloween.

“But at the same time, beyond the holiday for children and young people, in the scope of the dimension of relativism that is always growing, in the dimension of secularization that today characterizes the West, we also have a readjustment of Halloween to neo-paganism. (…) and Satanism,” warns Castaldini.

The spokesman for the association of exorcists also indicates that “there is incontestable evidence and the IEA knows this, that Satanists celebrate Halloween, one of the main holidays on their calendar, and that they offer in any way everything bad that happens on Halloween, everything “What despises the Christian faith, they offer to their lord or patron.”

“On Halloween, the same episodes of violence occur—not only in the United States but in other parts of the world—that coincide with that occurrence,” and this occurs “in the midst of a ritual of darkness.”

What can a Catholic do before Halloween?

When asked about the option of dressing children up as saints to celebrate Holywins (holiness wins), an alternative that is increasingly being carried out in more Catholic places, Castaldini told ACI Prensa that “children should find this initiative fun. There are many ways to do it and the young animators of a parish can find a winning formula.”

“It is a possible strategy to involve children by offering a viable alternative to the commercial and horror masquerade of Halloween, and proposing the model of the saints in a friendly and educational way,” he adds.

Regarding the custom of asking for sweets, the spokesperson for the association of exorcists indicates that “in Italian folklore and in some areas of Europe, on the occasion of All Saints’ Day (ed. November 1) and the commemoration of all deceased (on November 2), children used to collect candy or nuts in favor of the souls.”

Castaldini comments that “traditions can be recovered without falling into forms of superstition, but from an authentically Christian perspective.”

How to explain All Saints’ Day to children?

The IEA spokesperson responds: “Explaining to the little ones the beauty and importance of the ‘communion of saints’ and the authentic meaning of existence, the importance of the relationship with those who are no longer among us, in a perspective salvific and hopeful.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church points out that in numeral 948 that “the expression ‘communion of saints’ has, therefore, two closely related meanings: ‘communion in holy things (sancta)’ and ‘communion between holy persons’.

Numeral 953 establishes that “the smallest of our acts done with charity has repercussions for the benefit of all, in this solidarity between all men, living or dead, which is based on the communion of saints. Every sin damages this communion.”

Castaldini also told ACI Prensa that “through conscious and intelligent mediation, starting with families, we must recover the sense of community, valuing our own cultural heritage and not a consumerist festival that – unfortunately – neo-pagan circles also exploit to bring people closer together. to occultism to a world weakened by secularization and relativism.”