Hallowing the Hollow: October 24, 2021

The modern celebration of Halloween has become secular and in many ways sordid. The focus seems to stray in either of two directions: toward the saccharine and merely "seasonal," removed entirely from the focus on mortality and the afterlife; or else toward the gory and gratuitous, with no sense of spiritual sensibilities.

Chesterton was famously an advocate of recovering the true meaning of Christmas in a commercialized society. But now with Halloween being the second-largest economically impactful popular celebration, we will explore the question: What resources does Chesterton give us for recovering the true meaning of All Hallows' Eve? 

The Assignment

Our task for this next meeting is a sort of open-ended scavenger hunt through Chesterton's writings! In  a pinch, we also invite insights from Chesterton-adjacent sources: e.g., Belloc, Wells, Shaw, Lewis, Tolkien, and so forth. Look for things that address:

• The Four Last Things: Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell;
• Halloween itself;
• The Communion of Saints;
• Prayers for, to, or in honor of the dead;
• The meaning of the "dying of the year" in the Autumn;
• and so on! 

Come to the meeting with whatever quotations, passages, drawings, poems, or sundry that you're able to find; or, if you strike out, come prepared to talk about what others have found! 

RSVP for the meeting below. If you're unable to join us in person, feel free to share some thoughts in the comment thread on this post. 

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