As some Lithuanians have embraced Halloween on the eve of All Saints’ Day, the Vilnius Cathedral community are organising a lantern procession on Friday called “Be the Light to the World”.
According to the Archdiocese of Vilnius, the procession will proceed from Vilnius Cathedral to the Church of All Saints and is an alternative to the “newer traditions” of celebrating Halloween.
The procession aimed to welcome All Saints’ Day “joyfully and brightly – without fear, but with hope and a spirit of togetherness,” the archdiocese said in a statement.
“While many carve Halloween pumpkins and monster masks, Vilnius residents are preparing lanterns and saint costumes. On the eve of All Saints’ Day, when Halloween is celebrated according to newer traditions, the Vilnius Cathedral family community invites people to take another path – not to frighten, but to bring joy,” the statement said.
Clergy said the event was intended “to invite families, young people and all people to celebrate holiness authentically – to create a tradition of light and joy, not of fear and darkness, which the world already has enough of.”
A Mass will be held at the Church of All Saints following the procession.
Halloween, which originated in Anglo-Saxon countries, symbolises the blurring of the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead. It is celebrated on October 31, the eve of All Saints’ Day.
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