Vienna, Austria, Oct 31, 2005 / 22:00 pm
Several parishes in the Austrian cities of Vienna and Linz organized special activities on the vigil of All Saints’ Day to emphasize holiness and provide alternatives to the celebration of Halloween.
The Kath.net agency reported on a number of activities proposed as alternatives to Halloween, such as an activity organized by the “Friends of God”, who invited the faithful of the city of Linz to a “Night of Lights” in which they invited participants to a deeper conversion through a meditation on the Last Things.
“On the night of October 31, we will hold a vigil in which we will recall that this feast announced the Lordship of God in His Saints, the triumph of the light over the darkness. On this night there is no room for darkness,” said one of the event’s organizers.
In Vienna a night of prayer was held at the Cathedral, and at the Monastery of the Holy Cross, a night of mercy was held, which included sacramental confession, praise and worship. The invitation read: “All those with a clear head and an open mind are welcome. Those with a ‘pumpkin head’ are definitely not.”