Sunday, October 31, 2010

To all my friends...

Happy All Hallows Eve!
Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate...

...getting ready to head out the door or opening your door to a parade of Saints who will be supping with you this evening and making merry: Hope you have a wonderful vigil celebration that continues on to tomorrow when we join with the angels and give thanks for the excellent example of these men and women who lived lives of heroic virtue and who now triumphantly petition for us in Heaven. If anyone calls you lame, ignore it. I stopped caring what the kid next door thought a long time ago and I encourage you to do the same.

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...getting ready to head out the door to delight the elderly, comfort the lonely, revel with friends and earn treats for your cuteness: Be safe! Have fun! Eat a Butterfinger for me! I will leave a bowl of candy outside for you. (If someone gets to it first and empties it out, I'll let him explain why his greediness was more important than your fun.)

Please don't think I'm a "ninny" or a "goody-goody" or on some kind of moral high horse for not participating any more than that. I don't think trick-or-treating is satanic and I have not been secretly influenced by Protestants.

Sigh.

My children take no delight in ghosties or ghoulies or creepy things in general and while I know you would not dream of gorifying this cultural tradition, sadly not everyone is as enlightened as you. Those who say we are "lame dorks", well, we are kind of used to being considered weird in all areas of our life by now and are pretty content with our dorkiness.

I don't mean to bring you down with my little quibbles, I am just feeling awfully pushed around right now by people of the same faith from whom I would expect a little more understanding. Not you, of course, I know you understand. What I don't understand is all the contortions fellow Catholics are going through to make Trick or Treating something it isn't? Nobody ever feels the need to infuse fireworks on the Fourth with some sort of sacredness. As someone who grew up running from house to house with my friends dressed in all kinds of fanciful garb I know that it's a fun custom, uniquely American and not typically an occasion for sin unless you try to eat the whole bag in one night, which I know you won't. :)

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... to all my friends who's festivities have already finished: Sit down, put your feet up and have a glass of wine! This weekend which has included a potluck, a funeral, and birthday party so far with more to come means I'm almost running on empty and would love to join you, in spirit, if not in flesh. Pray for me! :)


Peace, friends! Have a good night!

7 comments:

  1. I always enjoy your thoughts! Thanks for sharing and hope you can get some rest...maybe tomorrow in the arms of the saints?

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  2. I hope you got some rest. I spent some time with another family tonight since we had our trick-or-treating yesterday in our town. Big hugs!

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  3. Enjoy your evening and may you find your strength renewed and refreshed at Mass tomorrow!

    Thinking of you this November.

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  4. One year while we were living in Italy the news program we watched did a report on the strange American holiday called Halloween. They sent a reporter to the Piazza Navona to interview random folk asking what they knew about this tradition of ours. We cracked up when a middle aged gentleman was asked about it and said, "E la festa della zucca. Portano costumi perche piacciono le zuche... Gli Americani piacciono tanto le zuche." meaning "It's the festival of the pumpkin. They get dressed up because they really like pumpkins...THe americans really like the pumpkins." He was totally befuddled by the idea of dressing in costumes in honor of pumpkins as a whole nation, but was able to comprehend the idea in his own experience, which is a life full of funny festivals, celebrated for mushrooms, garlic, flowers, wine, polenta...whatever agricultural product a city or town is well known for. And they do crazy things unique to each town. Anyway, that story just always cracks me up. Poor guy, just couldn't get why on earth you'd have a nation full of folks dressing up in honor of just a pumpkin. Maybe for pasta...or coffee!

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  5. Thank you for sharing that story! It cracked me up. I can just imagine that elderly gentleman befuddled about those crazy Americans and their love of pumpkins! So why do they carve them up and set them on fire? :)

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  6. Me again. I realized later that my comment may have sounded morbid! LOL I'm sure you knew that I meant @Mass tomorrow when I suggested resting in the arms of the saints...but just had to clarify;-)

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  7. We had a delightful night trick-or-treating, but I can tell you Charlotte, I would give just about anything for the blessing of a community to share an All Saint's celebration with instead!
    I hope that you all had a wonderful night! I loved what you said in this post, you have such a graceful way about you. Your children are very blessed!

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Thank you for sharing your thoughts and yourself!