October Party at St. John's

October, 2008

Dear Parishioners,

This year St. John's has decided to provide a safe and sane version of Halloween for our children.

Several families in our parish send their children to Our Lady of the Vatican School and have been very pleased with the school's Halloween celebrations, which consist of having the children research the lives of saints and then come to the school celebration dressed as a favorite saint. We have decided to adopt that practice.

Knowing that middle-schoolers will be part of the festivities, we asked the good sisters at OLVS if they had any advice for us. They were kind enough to send us their guidelines, which we have slightly adapted for use in an Orthodox context.

Rules for Favorite Saint Costumes

Costumes are expected to modest and seemly, and appropriate to a religious occasion, therefore:

• All costumes should attempt to approximate how the saint is depicted in traditional iconography, and creativity may sometimes need to take a back seat to tradition.
• Please submit a full description of your costume, along with your saint's biography, no later than one week before the party. The Sunday School Superintendant is empowered to make final decisions as to what is and is not appropriate.
• Repentant sinners, such as harlots of the desert, will be represented only in their repentant state.
• No harlot costumes.
• St. Mary of Egypt will be completely covered by St. Gerasimos's cloak, and the young lady depicting her will be fully clothed underneath it.
• Flesh-colored body stockings are NOT acceptable.
• St. Lazarus should be able to get in and out of his mummy costume without assistance from the teachers.
• Martyrs ahould be depicted for their holy deaths, and not for the shock value of their wounds.
• No more than three fake gory wounds per martyr.
• No flayed-alive martyrs.
• St. Nicholas should not wear a Santa Claus suit.
• St. John Chrysostom did not have gold-capped teeth.
• St. John the Forerunner must be depicted live, and not as a severed head on a tray.
• All weapons must be fake and harmless, including swords.
• No live horses.

This report was filed by Onion Dome deuce reporter Marie Moffitt.

source: http://www.theoniondome.com/2008/10/marie/