Reclaiming Halloween with the Night of Light

All these saints, and more, were “present” at the Night of Light celebration after Sunset Mass at the Church of the Divine Mercy (CDM) in Sg Ara on Saturday November 3.

Nov 17, 2018

By Ng Wai Queen
All these saints, and more, were “present” at the Night of Light celebration after Sunset Mass at the Church of the Divine Mercy (CDM) in Sg Ara on Saturday November 3.

The event was organised in conjunction with All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. These two days in the liturgical year are traditionally dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints, martyrs and all the faithful departed. In the past, the eve of All Saints’ Day was known as All Hallows’ Eve, which was later shortened to Halloween (“hallow” being an archaic word meaning “saint”). This day was traditionally a vigil for the observance of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, marked with prayers, hymns, fasting, and the reading of various scriptures. The Night of Light celebration was organised to counter the culture of death and reclaim Halloween for Christ and his Church by turning it into a beautiful night of fun, light, and Christian joy.

The evening programme began with a short video presentation about the origins of the Night of Light. This was followed by a message from parish priest, Fr Martin Arlando, in which he reminded us that saints are examples for us as they were real people who loved God and lived beautiful lives for God. Through their examples, they point us on the path that will lead us to God. Therefore, when we choose a saint’s name for ourselves, we must be prepared to emulate the holiness of that saint in our daily lives. In the same way, we must be careful to name our children after saints whose qualities we would like them to possess and whose lives we hope they will emulate. He reminded us that as we embark as one family into the parish Year of Family in 2019, we may look to the saints for inspiration to live our Christian faith and serve God with all our hearts so that we may become a Jesus to others.

Fr Martin then invited a group of adults and children, all dressed as their favourite saints, to present the life stories of those saints.

The congregation then proceeded to the Garden of Mercy where Fr Martin led the countdown to the switching-on of the Christmas lights around the church. The church grounds were transformed into a Christmas wonderland.

Of particular interest was the specially commissioned mural which covered a whole wall in the Garden of Mercy. According to Organising Committee Chairperson, Simone Lee, the painting had been created by her non-Christian artist friend. Billy had been very keen to do the project and worked on it for many days, putting in long hours in order to complete it within a tight schedule. The result is a stunning mixed media painting depicting the Nativity scene with a 3D lighting effect.
In another part of the Garden, a group of “saints” were going around quizzing people about famous saints and rewarding correct answers with a sweet treat from their trick-or-treat bags.

A number of people commented that the event had been a positive and enlightening experience for them. Kelvin said that he had been reminded of the values embodied by his patron saint. Doris, an RCIA inquirer, said that even though she had learnt about saints in class, they had not seemed real to her. The event made her more aware that saints were real people who had led extraordinary lives. Another parishioner said that the Night of Light was something positive that parents could pass on to their children to let them know that they do not have to be afraid, for Christ has conquered death.

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