Dress as saints & virgins, not devils on Halloween – Spanish churches to children

Several Spanish dioceses are asking their followers to dress their children up as saints, apostles, and virgins, not as devils and zombies, for Halloween. On their websites, they even provide ideas for “holy” Halloween parties and costumes.

This year it’s not Halloween – it’s “Holywins” on October 31, and the celebration of All Saints Day, according to some churches and dioceses across the country. The move is an attempt to steer the focus away from the US-styled Halloween, when adults and children dress as devils, zombies or other demonic creatures, according to the church. 

“With Holywins, which stands for Holiness Wins, one can avoid the pagan festival and reclaim the meaning of the Catholic feast day of All Saints,” a statement from the Diocese of Cartagena in southeastern Spain said.

According to Alcalá de Henares diocese, it is strange to “promote the cult of death and celebrate the monstrous and the evil” when Christians “can rejoice in life and celebrate good.”

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“Halloween… has no relationship with the Christian faith. Life is beautiful and your goal is Heaven,” it added.

The diocese of Cadiz and Ceuta went even further – on its website it posted a guide on how to dress your children for Holywins. 

According to the website, the children can dress up as virgins, apostles, and saints. It also added links for parents with detailed descriptions of each costume.

For example, the diocese explains how to dress your girl as a virgin: “Blue or white robe and blue, white or red tunic, rosary [beads], Baby Jesus.”

The website catholicicing.com suggests dressing your child up as Mother Teresa, St. Joan of Arc, or an angel.

Roman Catholicism is the largest religion in Spain and according to various polls, about 60 percent of Spaniards say they believe in God. A Gallup poll from 2009 shows that a half of the population in the country believes that religion is an important part of their lives.