I first came across the idea of celebrating All Saints Eve with a "night of light" a few years ago. That particular celebration turned out to be a one off that was not taken up again the next year.
So I was rather pleased to see this initiative on the website of the Catholic Bishops Conference: Shine a Light to Witness to Christian Faith. The site of the initiative itself is here: Night of Light. This site contains a number of suggestions for taking part in the event. In England and Wales, the Solemnity of All Saints has been transferred to be celebrated on 31st October - so a celebration of the Eve coincides liturgically with the celebration of the day itself.
Two easy ways that everyone can participate. Place a light in your window (safely - be very careful with candles) as a sign that Christ is our light. And wear an item of white clothing as a sign of Christian faith.
Some Christians have a very strong sense of Halloween as a pagan celebration, while others are more accepting of it, considering it to be more neutral and harmless. Whichever view is taken, it seems to me a good thing to make more of the Solemnity of All Saints than we usually do in this country.
PS. tigerish waters posts splendidly about a scary old bat routine - and she's not referring to Strictly ..
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