ANGELES CITY, Philippines – A Catholic university here is supporting a local bishop’s campaign to change the public’s view of Halloween.
For the third year in a row, the Holy Angel University (HAU) and Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of the Holy Rosary parish have been promoting Halloween as an opportunity for children to learn about the lives of saints.
They said this could be attained by having children wear costumes that depict angels and saints, instead of vampires, zombies and other scary characters, when they attend a Halloween party.
“It’s an advocacy that both HAU and Bishop David would like to promote nationwide,” historian Robbie Tantingco, HAU vice president for external affairs and corporate communications, told The STAR.
Tantingco started the “Holy Halloween” practice among pupils in his university way back in 2012.
“What we want is a paradigm shift in pagan way Halloween is marked throughout the country,” Tantingco said as he warned of “dangers” in familiarizing children with images associated with evil.
He said HAU is pushing this paradigm shift in other schools while David wanted it done in other parishes all over the country.
“We just can’t be sure what goes on in the minds of the children when they are exposed to costumes that are associated with evil and believe that demons can be fun and friends,” he said.
Tantingco said encouraging children to wear costumes depicting saints would make them think about the heroism of these holy icons.
He described as pagan the practice of wearing scary costumes during Halloween. This, he said, is incorrect since the term “Halloween” refers to the night before All Saints’ Day.
At the HAU, pupils prepared costumes representing saints such as Lorenzo Ruiz, Pedro Calungsod, St. Therese of the Child Jesus, St. Peter and the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The pupils are given a small prayer book for the departed. They make the rounds on campus and recite the prayer at every stop before receiving candies and other treats.
David will hold a separate saintly Halloween party for children in his parish before Nov. 1.
Tantingco has noticed that the practice has inspired parents to do research on the saints because the children are asking them to explain their costumes. “So the practice also leads to some catechism,” he said.