All Saints Day – after Christmas and Easter – is the most anticipated and loved of the Catholic feasts in our household. From when my children were very young, we started celebrating the feast day in a big way. It is no wonder then that they associate All Saints Day with friendship, food and fun. One of my sons said, after we wrapped up our celebrations one  year, “I can’t wait till All Saints Day next year!” His joyful exclamation was a real affirmation to me that our mammoth efforts are worth the delight expressed by our children.

All Saints Day is a wonderful opportunity for us as parents to help our children tangibly experience the joy that is being Catholic.

Celebrated on November 1,  All Saints is the day that we honour the Christian men and women who led lives of heroic virtue. Saints did not follow the rest of the pack. They did not skirt from suffering. They did not shy away from speaking Truth, even if it meant death. The
Saints always surrendered their desires and comforts in exchange for doing God’s will and
evangelising the world by their very lives. They are wonderful models of holiness for us and
provide us with hope that we too can one day be numbered amongst them.

Unfortunately in recent years, the day has become overshadowed by the increasingly trendy and worldly observance of Halloween. What was always understood to be an American
holiday has now crept into Australian culture. And understandably so. Children love to celebrate! I knew that one day, when my children became more aware, they would be lured by the amusement of Halloween. The costumes, decorations, parties, and sugar are undeniably attractive to children. It became evident to my husband and I that we needed to reclaim this feast day for our children’s sake.

How we celebrate All Saints Day with our children:

Costumes
In our family, All Saints Day has always included costumes. Sometimes the children make it
clear which Saint they would like to dress as; other times the decision is purely based on what
pieces we have lying around at home to make an entire outfit.
Some years I have enthusiastically created Pinterest worthy costumes that have taken days to accomplish. At other more hectic times in my life, saintly attire has been found sitting at the bottom of my children’s fancy dress basket in the form of a knight’s costume. This year, a white handkerchief, red tea towel and apron turned my baby daughter into St Bernadette!

I found that the first year we made costumes was the most time-intensive. Everyone needed new costumes when we first started. Now, however, it has become quicker to prepare them. This is either because some costumes are passed down to the younger children or because some are repurposed. A St Peter with keys can become St Paul with sword and scroll! Whatever your level of skill or enthusiasm to create, anyone can put together a Saint costume with a little forethought.

Togetherness
Every All Saints Day for us has included being around other children. In years gone past, we
have celebrated with our local homeschool community. Other years we have been to parties, either ones organised by a friend at their house or by a group of friends who share the responsibility together in a park. This year my children attended a party held in a Parish hall,
which was organised by a group of Religious. The festivities included a costume presentation, prizes for creative costumes, organised games, music and plenty of food. One thing is certain, if we do not know of a party being on offer, we make it a priority to hold the celebration ourselves, no matter how simple it is. Children need to see that they are not the only ones their age that practice the faith.

Prayers
It is important that we start and finish the special day with an expression of our faith. Therefore, we go to Mass as a family in the morning as a way of giving thanks to God for the Saints of the Church. In the evening, at the end of family prayers, we allow time to pray the  Litany of Saints. For me personally, it is a time when our family calls upon the efficacious aid of our family in Heaven, and truly they are our spiritual family.

Practices we implement throughout the year
If our children are to develop a deep relationship with the Saints, they cannot simply just meet their acquaintance once a year. Becoming friends with the Saints requires us to foster a strong familiarity with them constantly. Here are a few ways that have helped our children stay close with their Heavenly friends.

Daily Saint reading
At the end of our family Morning Prayer, we spend a little time reading about the Saint of the
day. A beautiful book that we have enjoyed is Saints for Young Readers for Every Day
(Volumes One and Two). Whenever possible, the Saint of each day is taken from the current Church calendar and each reading highlights a virtue that we can imitate in daily life. Copies of this book can be found at Central Catholic Bookshop or Mustard Seed.

Monthly Book Basket
One can never have too many beautiful picture books on the Saints. Such books are virtually non-existent in local libraries so it is important that we create a holy library in our own homes. A great way to present the books is to create a monthly book basket, whereby each month you fill the basket with books of the Saints that have a feast day that month. For example, in October the basket would be filled with books on Sts Therese of Lisieux, John Paul II, Francis of Assisi and Margaret Mary whose feasts fall within that month. Non-readers can merely enjoy the pictures and parents can make a selection from the basket for bedtime reading.

Read aloud
We really cherish family read aloud time in our house. Often we have a couple of books going at a time. We try to make one of the novels a story on the life of a Saint. A novel requires an investment of time, and we have found that taking the time to delve into the story of a particular Saint over the course of a couple of weeks helps deepen our connection to them. We love to read Saint books written by Mary Fabyan Windeatt and the novels published by Ignatius Press.

Name Days
My children are of Greek heritage and it is a long-standing Greek custom to celebrate Name Days, even more than birthdays. On the feast of our children’s namesake, we make a real fuss of the child. They choose the family meal that day, get a cake and receive a small gift. The children absolutely love their Name Day and we have found that celebrating in this way has meant that the children really claim the Saint as their own.

The feast of All Saints is a wonderful treasure of the Catholic Church. It is a day to remember
that we, in our fallen nature, are given an abundance of grace to lead lives of heroic virtue,
whether it be publicly or in little, hidden ways. The holy virgins, wives, mothers, husbands,
fathers, founders of religious orders, popes, bishops, priests, religious, teachers, pastors and
children represent every age of history throughout the Church and every state of life. Praying to, learning about, and joyfully celebrating the Saints is a beautiful gift we give to our children from their youngest years. With God’s help, it is the solid foundation by which our children can build their life-long friendship with them.

~ Stephanie Philippou

Stephanie lives in Melbourne with her wonderful husband and five children. She is a former secondary school teacher-turned-homeschooling mother. One of her major interests is living the liturgical year with children. She loves all things books – buying them, reading them, discussing them and categorising them – and worked at a Catholic bookshop for many years.
Stephanie is also a trained Catechist of the Good Shepherd and member of the Emmanuel Community.”