{"id":670255,"date":"2026-11-12T21:16:18","date_gmt":"2026-11-13T01:16:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/670255\/"},"modified":"2026-11-12T21:16:18","modified_gmt":"2026-11-13T01:16:18","slug":"parade-of-child-saints-and-halloween-celebrations-in-philadelphia-inspired-by-heavenly-devotion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/670255\/","title":{"rendered":"Parade of Child Saints and Halloween Celebrations in Philadelphia Inspired by Heavenly Devotion"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Parade<\/figure>\n

Philadelphia: The Feast of All Saints, dedicated to commemorating the saints in heaven and seeking their intercession as declared by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, was celebrated in conjunction with Halloween, the Christian version of this festival, at St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Church. Under the leadership of the parish Sunday school, a vibrant Saints Parade arranged ahead of the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, November 1, was a standout event. The children\u2019s \u2018Holy Army\u2019 dressed as saints proceeded along the holy path, warmly welcoming the blessed souls of heaven. Children and teachers from pre-K through 12th grade, garbed as their favorite saints, gathered for the Divine Liturgy, delighting the onlookers.<\/p>\n

The Syro-Malabar church vicar, Rev. Dr. George Danavelil, together with Assistant Pastor Rev. Fr. Mathew Pallivathukkal and others, officiated at the Divine Liturgy, offering special prayers in remembrance of all saints and heavenly intercessors. During the liturgy, Fr. Mathew Pallivathukkal reminded the youth that the life and example of saints\u2014who lived in holiness, dedicated their lives to proclaiming the faith, protecting it, and offering compassionate service\u2014should inspire the younger generation.<\/p>\n

Every year on October 31, instead of participating in the commercialized Halloween culture filled with frightening satanic costumes of ghosts and spirits, children and adults at the parish celebrate Halloween by wearing saint costumes, sharing the message of light and holiness. Halloween here is regarded as a beautiful spiritual advancement and a loving community event that enriches the evening with light and prayers, commemorating the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness.<\/p>\n

As the universal Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of All Saints on November 1, Philadelphia\u2019s St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Church organized Halloween celebrations alongside it to teach Sunday school children about the lives and ideals of the saints. Contrasting with the house-to-house, commercially driven Halloween culture that features demonic costumes, this celebration presents a positive role model. All are called to be saints by living in holiness; any faithful who leads a family life according to God\u2019s will merits the title of saint, a grace granted to all through Mother Mary.<\/p>\n

Several canonized saints, including the millennial Saint Carlo Acutis, Saints Alphonsa, Chavara, Euphrasia, Mariam Thresia, Mother Teresa, Little Teresa, St. Mary, St. Joseph, St. Anthony of Padua, Philadelphia\u2019s Saint John Neumann, Saint Katharine Drexel, and many others have followed the angels and shone before the parish faithful, a heavenly experience celebrated at the event.<\/p>\n

The highlight of the celebrations was the program held in the parish hall after the Divine Liturgy, blending entertainment and knowledge. Sunday school students from pre-K to 12th grade took part in a multi-hued poster exhibition based on their favorite saints, attracting widespread attention. The fourth-grade posters themed on Little Teresa secured first place; kindergarten posters about the archangels took the second spot; and third graders\u2019 posters on St. Mary achieved third place. Numerous engaging game stations prepared by the children also contributed to the festivities.<\/p>\n

The event helped foster awareness among children about the lives of saints. Sunday school principal Lina Joseph, members of the parish\u2019s Small Flower Mission League including Sister Alphonsa and Manju Chacko, CML officers, religious teachers, PTA members, and volunteers such as Sibichan Chemblayil, Joby Kochumuttam, Jithin Karumatti, Jerry Kuruvilla, Roshin Plamootil, and secretary Tom Pathania played instrumental roles in organizing the Saints Parade and Halloween celebrations.<\/p>\n

Photo: Nikhil Nainan<\/p>\n

n<\/p>\n

Original Malayalam report: Malayalam Daily News<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Philadelphia: The Feast of All Saints, dedicated to commemorating the saints in heaven and seeking their intercession as declared by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, was celebrated in conjunction with Halloween, the Christian version of this festival, at St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Church. Under the leadership of the parish Sunday school, a vibrant Saints Parade arranged ahead of the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, November 1, was a standout event. The children\u2019s \u2018Holy Army\u2019 dressed as saints proceeded along the holy path, warmly welcoming the blessed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":670256,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,582,47748],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-670255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-6","category-english","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=670255"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670255\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/670256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=670255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=670255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=670255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}