What has consumerism cost us? I ask this question specifically with regard to our traditions and our responsibility to uphold them. Has the embracing of excessive and exploitative greed cost us the original meaning of many traditions?
Yes, it has. In many aspects, we have less understanding of traditions that we upheld just decades before. Have we become a world lacking a rearview mirror?
It wasn’t always this way though. There was a time when we knew the origins of our traditions — especially our holidays. Even the word “holiday” has lost its significance in our modern world. In the past, a holiday meant more than a day free from labor or an in-your-face marketing campaign. It meant a “holy day,” referring to a sacred day — a feast day.
We have to look no further than the extravagant ad campaigns of Christmas exuberance and Easter chocolates to see the detachment from the original intention of our forebearers to celebrate the birth and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Another feast day rooted in the ancient calendar of the church and hijacked by the modern secular world is Halloween. A holy day that is now so famously associated with ghouls and goblins, witches and werewolves, and trick-or-treat. Like Christmas and Easter, how Halloween is celebrated today is a far cry from its origins.
Just as holidays have changed, our English language has changed. Centuries ago, the average English speaker would use the word “hallow” as we modern speakers use the word “holy.” So, if one was made hallow, they would be made holy. In other words, a saint.
Early Christians honored martyrs on the anniversary of their deaths. As the church spread and the number of martyrs grew, it became impossible to honor every martyr and saint in heaven — both those known by the church and those unknown.
Pope Gregory III, in the early eighth century, dedicated a chapel in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome to all the saints. His successor, Pope Gregory IV, established Nov. 1 as a feast day honoring all saints in Heaven.
At that time the tradition of the church was to hold a vigil the night before. Our English-speaking ancestors would call this evening, an “even,” eventually contracting the word to e’en. Hence, the vigil that would be held the evening before and was called the all hallow’s e’en. Known to us today as Halloween.
The Second Vatican Council made it no longer a practice of the church to celebrate this vigil the night before. The church does still celebrate All Saints Day on Nov. 1.
While the secular world focuses on the consumerism marketing of Halloween, Christians are encouraged to remember the true tradition of Halloween leading into All Saints Day. A day to honor all the saints in heaven and to contemplate their example of righteous Christian living.
To emphasize the importance of this day, the church has made the feast day a solemnity (the highest level of liturgical feast days). On this day, all the faithful of the church gather to attend Mass and celebrate both known and unknown saints in heaven — honoring their lives and praying prayers like the Litany of All Saints.
While the modern secular world focuses on the materialistic, consumerism-driven spectacle of Halloween, as faithful Christians let us remember our centuries-long tradition and give honor to God and all the saints in heaven.
The Pagosa Catholic Community invites everyone to take part in the honoring of All Saints Day at Pope John Paul II Catholic Church, located at 353 S. Pagosa Blvd., on Saturday, Nov. 1, at 8 a.m.
For more information about the Pagosa Catholic Community, visit ihmjp2.org.
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