Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Jérôme de Lisle
Cartagena (Agenzia Fides) - Several Spanish dioceses have encouraged the faithful to celebrate the feast of "Holywins" on 31 October, with images and costumes of saints, virgins and religious, in response to the most popular Halloween feast. The Dioceses of Cádiz, Cartagena, Alcalá and Ciudad Rodrigo are among those which, through parishes, schools or Christian associations, have urged believers to celebrate the feast of All Saints with costumes related to the Catholic faith.
"With Holywins, which means 'holiness wins', one wants to avoid the Halloween celebrations, redeeming the sense of the Catholic feast day of All Saints", reads a statement from the Diocese of Cartagena (Murcia), sent to Fides. The diocese of Alcalá de Henares points out that, "although Halloween means the eve of All Saints, currently the festivity has nothing to do with the Christian faith". This diocese, which was the first in Spain to celebrate Holywins in 2008, ensures that it does not want to go against Halloween, but neither intends to "share the cult of death and exaltation of the monstrous or the evil, as it is for Christians to celebrate the triumph of life and promote beauty and the good".
Even the statement of the diocese of Cádiz reads: "The proposed celebration is aimed at all children attending catechism, the pupils of our schools, lay movements, apostolic associations, young people and their families because holiness is the feast of all". (AP) (Agenzia Fides 26/10/2016)
Jérôme de Lisle
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