Happy Halloween from your weirdo Catholic neighbors!
Some Catholics distance themselves from Halloween celebrations—understandable when the culture uses Halloween to elevate the grotesque, the violent, the destructive, the terrifying, and the demonic. But Halloween—"All Hallow's Eve—literally refers to the major Catholic feast of All Saints Day on November 1.
Halloween is ours.
So every year for Halloween, at our house we put up these giant letters that spell in Latin Remember your death. Paired with smiling skulls, a garden of polyester roses, and two life-sized skeletons (not pictured above), this vignette is our participation not only in the famous October holiday, but also in the ancient Catholic tradition of celebrating death.
If anything, our modern celebrations have moved too far away from death. This was not always so. The ancient monastics greeted each other with Memento mori (you know, instead of something like"Good morning, Bob, how's it going?"). St Francis called death his "Sister." In Rome, the Capuchins covered every inch of their chapel with mosaics made from human skeletons. Travel around Catholic churches and shrines, and you will encounter all kinds of winking nods to death: St Mary Magdalene's sumptuously dressed skull; St Anthony of Padua's preserved tongue; St Boniface's golden-crowned skeleton; St Januarius' bubbling blood.
In the liturgy, we proclaim Dying You destroyed our death, rising You restored our life. Through Jesus' Passion, death became its own defeat. We can celebrate death precisely because of the promise of resurrection, body and soul, in Heaven. The focus of celebrating death isn't fascination with the macabre, or on fearful threat, but on priority. Remember your death so you can live fully free from the anxieties of this broken life and fully focused on Heaven!
Today I've rounded up some decor to help you make visible the invisible and celebrate a Catholic Halloween. A few notes: We use skeletons and skulls in keeping with the ancient traditions, but avoid any displays that are scary, violent, or disrespectful. Pair skeletons and skulls with flowers to represent death giving way to life (ours are cheap Dollar Store roses, but lillies are also very fitting); candlelight to represent Christ, the Light of the World; and lots of cheerful colors to ensure a proper focus on celebration instead of creepiness. Mexico does this especially well, so here you'll see some pieces borrowed from el Dia de los Muertos.
Memento mori flag: Hang and wait for your neighbors to ask what it means—a great conversation starter!
Holy cards assortment (54 pieces): So many possibilities! You can string these together as a decorative garland, tape them up around your doorways or mirrors, or pair them with a piece of candy for trick-or-treaters.
Plastic skulls: Small plastic skulls can decorate your tablescape or your gardenbeds.
Posable jointed skeleton (3' height): A smaller skeleton to arrange on a outdoor chair or alongside your doorway. Extra fun in multiples!
Luminary bags (30 pieces): The otherwordly beauty of luminary bags along your front entry path or fence line makes a truly impactful statement to your neighborhood about the victory of light over darkness. These bags are fire resistant if you choose real flames.
Battery-powered tea lights (24 pieces): Fill your luminary bags with these battery-powered flameless candles for carefree decor.
Sugar skull placemats: Versatile placemats can be used for a feast day meal or stapled along a wide ribbon to create a beautiful bunting.
Five-pack of jointed skeletons (16" height): These happy cuties can be hung around the house.
Light-up skull pathway markers (3 pieces): These smiling skulls would look lovely paired with some artificial flowers along your front entry.
Edible skulls and roses cupcake toppers (40 pieces): This pack of edible cupcake toppers makes a one-and-done feast day treat.
Faux lillies (8 stems): Our artificial flowers (lilies and roses are especially fitting) have held up surprisingly well in our outdoor display.
Posable jointed skeleton (5' height): A larger skeleton to arrange on a outdoor chair or alongside your doorway. Extra fun in multiples!
Sugar skull table runner: Set a festive memento mori feast day table.
Sugar skull glass ornaments set (12): These are technically ornaments, but I think they would be so pretty strung together as a garland or incorporated into a tablescape.
Custom yard letters (up to 16): This set of 16 letters can be customized to whatever letters you choose, and comes in a variety of sparkly colors. Our set has sparked many conversations with neighbors, and we've noticed plenty of passersby contemplating them (hopefully fruitfully). Memento mori is eleven letters. (The remaining five? Some five-letter Catholic-y words are Jesus, faith, and saint.)
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