I have always been passionate about October. When I became a Catholic, I added new reasons to the list of why I love the tenth month. I also erased a few.
I grew up in a mid-sized town in California's Central Valley, a predominately agricultural region. October meant fruit stands crammed with pumpkins, candy apples and pomegranates that were such a pain to eat but so worth it. October meant that the air would smell faintly smoky all month long and that fog would hover between the trees in the walnut orchards and soften the ramshackle houses in my neighborhood, making them almost quaint. October also meant Halloween. It meant dressing up like a devil with warty, pointy ears or a witch with my sister's green eyeshadow covering my entire face. One year I was beyond excited to dress up like Casper the Friendly Ghost, until I overheard my dad say to my mom, "Don't you think Casper is creepy? I mean, he's a dead kid, right?"October meant handing over my trick-or-treating loot to my babysitter so she could inspect it for razor blades.
Now I live in New Jersey. It's hard to embrace October in this part of the country, though it's undeniably lovely. Fall here slips through the fingers, like the hometown fog I miss so much I dream of capturing some of it in a jar to keep on my desk. Now I am a Catholic and October means praying the Rosary and All Hallows Eve. It's often said that many of our Christian holidays were just Pagan observances spit-shined and repackaged. As a Catholic starting to figure all this stuff out, I think it's safe to say that the opposite is true of All Hallows Eve. Our vigil for All Saints' Day has been hijacked. I intend to rescue it, if only a little bit, in the minds of my children.
Every Friday in October and November I do a "fall craft" with my girls. Last week we cut out paper jack o' lanterns and taped them proudly in the window for the neighbors to admire. Today we'll color pictures of saints and do the same thing. I hope that October will be cherished by my children, too--for all the right reasons.
For great ideas for celebrating All Saints' Day (including amazing original coloring pages) check out my favorite Catholic mom-type-stuff blog, Waltzing Matilda.
I grew up in a mid-sized town in California's Central Valley, a predominately agricultural region. October meant fruit stands crammed with pumpkins, candy apples and pomegranates that were such a pain to eat but so worth it. October meant that the air would smell faintly smoky all month long and that fog would hover between the trees in the walnut orchards and soften the ramshackle houses in my neighborhood, making them almost quaint. October also meant Halloween. It meant dressing up like a devil with warty, pointy ears or a witch with my sister's green eyeshadow covering my entire face. One year I was beyond excited to dress up like Casper the Friendly Ghost, until I overheard my dad say to my mom, "Don't you think Casper is creepy? I mean, he's a dead kid, right?"October meant handing over my trick-or-treating loot to my babysitter so she could inspect it for razor blades.
Now I live in New Jersey. It's hard to embrace October in this part of the country, though it's undeniably lovely. Fall here slips through the fingers, like the hometown fog I miss so much I dream of capturing some of it in a jar to keep on my desk. Now I am a Catholic and October means praying the Rosary and All Hallows Eve. It's often said that many of our Christian holidays were just Pagan observances spit-shined and repackaged. As a Catholic starting to figure all this stuff out, I think it's safe to say that the opposite is true of All Hallows Eve. Our vigil for All Saints' Day has been hijacked. I intend to rescue it, if only a little bit, in the minds of my children.
Every Friday in October and November I do a "fall craft" with my girls. Last week we cut out paper jack o' lanterns and taped them proudly in the window for the neighbors to admire. Today we'll color pictures of saints and do the same thing. I hope that October will be cherished by my children, too--for all the right reasons.
For great ideas for celebrating All Saints' Day (including amazing original coloring pages) check out my favorite Catholic mom-type-stuff blog, Waltzing Matilda.
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