A peek in our window...

...on the Eve of All Saints...

We've learned to love the idea of the "fast before the feast." The Church is so wise in its traditions, isn't it? Christmas is always more fun when the preparations of Advent have filled our hearts with anticipation. Easter is never so joyful as when we've had a really good, hard Lent. It's the same with all the great Holy Days of the Church. Good preparation makes for good celebration, spiritually and materially.

The Eve of All Hallows is a workday for us, set aside for finishing up the last touches on our All Saints' Day celebration tomorrow. First of all, since tomorrow is a holy day and is treated like a Sunday, and we won't be able to clean house for two days, we're giving everything a good cleaning. Everyone will get a bath late this afternoon, and everyone's church clothes will be laid out, ready for 9 am Mass tomorrow. We finished up a short day of school this morning and read the Lives of the Saints. Then, we had to do a bit more work on our saint costumes and speeches for our presentations at the All Saint's Day party tomorrow morning after Mass. We pulled the old Saints' Wheel of Fortune out of the barn and fixed it up a bit for the party, too.

Since the kids at home right now aren't of age yet, only my husband and I will observe the traditional rules of fasting today, in addition to the usual Friday abstinance, but we'll all stay away from nibbling on candy, to make the treat more special tomorrow at the All Saint's Day party. Tonight, though, for a bit of a dinner time treat, we're having fish sticks and french fries. I know that doesn't sound like much, does it? But, we never buy prepared foods like that, and the kids think they're getting away with something. &:o) Then, we'll have a bit of ice cream for dessert.

But most of the anticipation is for tomorrow's fun, to be celebrated together with all the Saints in Heaven on their special heavenly party day!

I know our Halloween customs are unconventional by most standards, and hope they're not off-putting, but it's what makes us happy. Do our kids feel left out of the fun this 31st of October? I think they're too busy to notice what everyone else is doing.

( Who do you suppose made this halo for Bo

and snuck my camera out to take a picture of it?)

Wishing everyone

a safe, happy All Hallow's Eve

and, most especially,

a happy, holy all Saints' Day tomorrow!

* What about trick-or-treaters, you ask? They're too scared to come way up here on our spooky old hill, so they don't get in our way at all...