ILOILO City – Seeking to reclaim Halloween’s Christian roots amid the growing popularity of frightening costumes and secular celebrations, Sta. Ana Parish in Molo district has intensified its campaign to promote holiness and family values through its annual HALOWINS: Parade of Saints.
Hundreds of Catholic faithful joined the third edition of the religious procession on October 31, highlighting the parish’s effort to offer families a faith-centered alternative to conventional Halloween festivities.
Carrying the theme “Renewed Family, Saints Next Door,” the celebration emphasized that holiness is not confined to canonized saints but can be practiced by ordinary people through everyday acts of faith, kindness and service.
The initiative has gained momentum since its launch three years ago, when it attracted only about 55 participants. Registration for this year’s celebration nearly tripled, drawing children, young adults and elderly parishioners dressed as saints and other revered figures in Church history.
Beyond wearing religious costumes, participants were required to study the lives, virtues and contributions of the saints they portrayed.
Young participants also shared these lessons with spectators during the procession, transforming the event into an opportunity for religious education and character formation.
The parish particularly emphasized the family’s role in nurturing Christian values and inspiring children to recognize holiness in ordinary community life.
The celebration also sought to revive the original significance of Halloween, derived from All Hallows’ Eve, the Christian vigil preceding All Saints’ Day on November 1.
The Church has expressed concern that the occasion’s religious meaning has increasingly been overshadowed by commercialized celebrations featuring frightening costumes and macabre imagery.
“By doing so, we can guide the present generation toward the true meaning of the season: a celebration dedicated to the holy ones (the saints in heaven) rather than to macabre spectacles or secular frights,” said the Archdiocese of Jaro, Commission on Social Communications, in a post.
“May every Catholic family and parish continue to champion light, virtue, and inspiration in our communities,” it added.
Through HALOWINS, Sta. Ana Parish hopes to encourage more Catholic families, schools and neighboring communities to embrace celebrations that emphasize faith, virtue and the Christian meaning of All Saints’ Day./PN
