What to Do About Those Fall Feasts

Rosemary Bogdan reflects on the feasts of late October and early November and how we might observe them while enriching our faith.

I confess to feeling a little guilty when leaving the parish All Saints party, knowing my children would then go trick-or-treating in our neighborhood.

The party was adorable. Notable costumes over the years included the cardboard cross strapped to the back of a young boy playing the Good Thief, and a father dressed as Goliath holding a young toddler with a slingshot in his tiny hand. They were all so cute.

One of my daughters dressed as Mary every year. With masking tape on her back, she would indicate which Marian title this costume was. In different years she was Mary, the Mother of God; Mary, Queen of Heaven; Mary, Star of the Sea; and quite a few others.

We had to leave the party. The neighbors awaited: porch lights on, jack-o-lanterns lit, laughter, and big bowls of candy. Children were plentiful in the neighborhood then. It was such a blessing.

A Community Event

We had friends who did not do trick-or-treating. They thought it was dabbling a little too close to the dark. We considered that viewpoint, but for us it was more of a community event. The neighbors, especially the seniors, loved seeing the little children. One man looked out the top of his screen door every year when the doorbell rang. If it were really young children in sweet costumes, he would turn around and grab enormous candy bars that had been saved just for them!

We enforced several restrictions as a family. Costumes could not be gruesome or scary. No witches, blood, vampires, and the like. Some costumes were particularly entertaining for the neighbors. My oldest daughter dressed as Cruella DeVille one year. Accompanying her was her toddler little sister dressed as a Dalmatian puppy.

The Wonderful Pumpkin Carving

Carving pumpkins was great fun. We bought all the specialty tools to make a cool-looking pumpkin, not because I’m so artistic, but because I’m not. We used store-bought patterns and received rave reviews of our Notre Dame and Michigan designs. We also did cats, moon, and more. Gruesome or scary stuff was not allowed. Dad did all the heavy lifting cleaning out the pumpkin. I loved it. We’d get the biggest pumpkins we could find that would stand up straight and give a good carving service.

So, yes, we did allow our children to go trick-or-treating. The Church does not forbid it. In our neighborhood, it was a community-building event and brought joy to a lot of people.

Sometimes other families joined us in our neighborhood. We had sidewalks and houses near each other, so it worked well. One of my daughters is now married to a member of one of those families. How God plans things!

After All Hallows’ Eve we move forward to the Holy Day of Obligation: The Feast of All Saints. How refreshing after all the craziness of the day before to remember the Church Triumphant. It is the lives of these people who have gone before us that we must follow and imitate. But what about those who are in between?

Don’t Forget the Poor Souls on November 2!

After the candy bingeing and the sleep partly restored, there is another feast to consider: All Souls Day.

We spend All Saints Day celebrating the Church Triumphant, but what about those souls whose destination we cannot be sure of? It is on All Souls Day, November 2, that we remember those who have gone before us, those who we are hoping and praying are home.

If you or your family want to know more about Purgatory and how is it a blessing to the faithful, you might consider watching the following video by Father Mike Schmitz:

Indulgences

From November 1 until November 8 a plenary indulgence can be gained every day by visiting a cemetery and praying for the departed.

In recent years my husband and I have started visiting cemeteries on All Souls’ Day and the days that follow. We bring a box with a number of battery-operated votive candles to leave at each grave. These candles can easily be found on Amazon.

I wish I had done this with my children but now my husband and I go, sometimes bringing grandchildren along. First, we light the candle and place it on the gravestone. Then we say a Hail Mary followed by “Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.”

Sometimes we see family members of the deceased, and they are so appreciative.

With children we usually go before dusk. I gently explain that we must reverence the ground under which someone is buried. We also talk in more hushed tones. Sometimes I can’t find a grave I’m looking for, a friend or an acquaintance perhaps who has recently died, and my grandchildren love to search for that particular name.

How many souls are buried there for whom no one ever prays? We finish with a general prayer for all the souls who are buried there.

God is merciful. May all who have gone before us rest in peace!

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Copyright 2026 Rosemary Bogdan
Images: Canva