Decorating is one of my favorite parts of Liturgical Living in our home. I love creating a little visual display that will hopefully remind us of the season or occasion, and draw our hearts closer to Christ. Decorations are not an essential part of living liturgically, so if it is not your jam then feel free to pass it up. I have found that a few simple, intentional decorations can be a special way to set the mood and focus in our home, so I wanted to share some of the fun ways I have started decorating during AllHallowtide- All Hallows Eve, All Saints Day and All Souls Day.
All Hallows’ Eve
To be honest I have struggled with this holiday the last couple of years, and longing to make it more Christ-centered. It seemed to me like it didn’t fit with the Holy days of All Saint’s Day and All Soul’s Day that follows. I have always avoided the super spooky, gory decorations. I didn’t like the focus on the dark side and kept things very G rated. I mainly stuck to jack-o-lanterns and candy corn! My favorite Halloween decoration is displaying a collection of pictures from Halloween’s past. It is so fun to relive all the sweet memories! I have ours taped to the mantle like a garland, but you could use cheap frames or make them into a garland!
As I learn more and more about the history of the holiday I have been looking for ways to bring the focus back to it’s Holy Day roots. This year I am adding a prayer card for the night of Halloween to pray before we head out to trick or treat. The prayer is a way to remind us of where the tradition of trick-or-treating comes from and what the focus of it should be. (HERE is an article about the history of Halloween) I also created a prayer card to set out with our candy to remind us that we can pray for souls when we enjoy a treat. My friend inspired me to try this tradition and I think it could be such a special way to remember souls throughout the month of November…or however long it takes to eat up all your candy! I always think of offering up our sufferings, but you can also offer up joys for the salvation of souls!
All Saints Day
Time to pull out whatever Saint related items that you have! Prayer cards, books, statues, peg dolls if you’ve got them. If you don’t have much on hand then hit up the old internet for images that you can download and print out. Be a Heart design has an amazing free All Saint’s Day printable packet that is perfect for decorating! Grab it HERE.
Last year I printed the Saints banner on tissue paper. (It can be a little tricky–you trim the tissue paper to smaller than the printer paper and tape down the corners so they do not catch. It took me a few attempts to get it right. And a few printer jams.) After I got them printed out I cut them out and modge-podged them to a fake pumpkin! Now I have a pumpkin I can pull out each year. HERE is a tutorial on printing on tissue paper if you want to give it a try. She uses glue stick which I think is genius!
I also like to include candles, because they make everything a little more special!
All Souls Day
For All Soul’s Day I like to pull out and display pictures or funeral programs for our loved ones that have passed. It is such a special day to remember and pray for those who have gone before us. The whole month of November is dedicated to praying for the souls of the departed, so you can leave the pictures out all month! After November I tuck the pictures/cards back into my liturgical living binder so they will be easy to locate the following year! Candles are great for this feast day as well. I know some families light a candle in remembrance of each loved one.
Display Cards
For most feast days I create a display card with a prayer or quote that is related to the day and speaking to my heart.
You can download my cards for these days below!!
I love collecting new ideas for decorations…do you have any fun ways that you decorate for these feast days?
Megan
