Halloween & Catholic Traditions
What Catholic feast day is celebrated on November 1?
What is All Saints' Day?
What spiritual beings did God create to serve Him and deliver His messages?
What are angels?
What is the name of a gathering where people attempt to communicate with the spirits of the dead? And what’s the Catholic Church belief on this?
What is a séance? The Church strictly forbids and condemns seances, channeling, and all attempts to conjure the dead.
Does a meaningful event automatically prove that it is a supernatural sign? Why or why not?
No, a meaningful event does not automatically prove it is a supernatural sign.
Which chocolate bar is statistically the most popular given out on Halloween in the US?
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
What does the word "Halloween" come from, meaning the evening before All Saints' Day?
What is "All Hallows' Eve"?
What is the name of the angel who is known for fighting against Satan and evil?
Who is St. Michael the Archangel?
What board game uses letters, numbers, and a planchette and is often marketed as a way to communicate with spirits? And the Church view on this?
What is a Quija board? The Church strictly forbids the use of Ouija boards, classifying them as a dangerous form of divination and an invitation to the occult.
What does a butterfly or cardinal that reminds you of your loved one who passed away represent?
What is a reminder?
What was the original name for Candy Corn?
Chicken feed
What Catholic observance on November 2 is dedicated especially to praying for the faithful departed?
What is All Souls' Day?
What do Catholics call the purification that some souls undergo after death before entering heaven?
What is purgatory?
According to the Catholic Church, is trying to summon the dead or other spirits for hidden knowledge permitted? Why or why not?
No. The Church warns against invoking the dead and attempting to summon spirits.
Whom can Catholics approach for spiritualguidance when troubled by an unusual experience?
Who is a priest?
What vegetable was originally carved before pumpkins became the standard?
Turnips (and sometimes beets or potatoes).
What is the name of the Catholic tradition of praying for the souls of the dead?
What is praying for the faithful departed?
True or false: Catholics are required to believe that every ghost sighting is the spirit of a dead person. Why or why not
What is false? The Church does not teach that every reported ghost sighting is supernatural.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2116, why are practices such as attempting to summon the dead condemned?
Because they involve forbidden forms of divination or spirit invocation that contradict the trust and go against the first commandment.
According to the National Retail Federation, what specific category of Halloween items do consumers historically spend the most money on overall?
Costumes
What is the Catholic meaning behind skulls, skeletons, and jack-o'-lanterns?
Skulls and skeletons are traditional Catholic symbols of memento mori ("remember that you must die"), encouraging reflection on the brevity of earthly life
In many traditional Catholic cultures, what common item is lit and placed on the graves of loved ones during All Souls' Day?
A lit candle
What do Catholics call the spiritual union of Christians on earth, the souls being purified, and the saints in heaven?
What is the Communion of Saints?
What is the Catholic term for attempting to discover hidden, knowledge or predict the future through supernatural or occult means?
What is divination?
Where does trick-or-treating come from in Catholic tradition?
Trick-or-treating traces back to the medieval English and Irish practice of "souling." On All Souls' Day, poor people would go door-to-door offering prayers for the souls of the homeowners' dead relatives in exchange for "soul cakes"—small square cakes marked with a cross.
Who officially established All Saints' Day, and why is it tied to October 31st?
Pope Gregory III (and later Pope Gregory IV) formally moved or promoted the celebration of All Saints' Day to November 1st in the 8th century, making October 31st its vigil. The Church historically celebrated major solemnities with a night or evening of prayer and preparation (a vigil) the night before.