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Community to celebrate the real meaning of Halloween


While thousands of small ghosts and goblins, skeletons, witches and wizards, celebrate Halloween around the UK on Friday evening - with parties and trick or treating - other children will be taking part in the much older celebration of All Hallows' Eve, as today was originally called. One Catholic group working to revive this ancient Christian festival is the Cor-Lumen Christi community, based in Chertsey, Surrey. During their 'Night of Light' - there will be treats for the children including lighting a special candle, sweets and toys, bonfires and dressing up as saints. Members will place candles in their windows and wear white as a symbol of their allegiance to Christ. A special vigil Mass will be celebrated at St Anne's church in Chertsey, followed by all night Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Launched during the Jubilee year, the Night of Light is now celebrated by hundreds of churches and parish groups in more than 12 countries around the world and has been endorsed by many dioceses clergy and religious. The Rt Rev Dom Ambrose Griffiths OSM, Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle said: "Halloween is the time to rejoice in God's glory displayed in His saints but we have allowed it to become focused upon witches and devils. I welcome this initiative to recapture it for Christ." the founder of Cor Lumen, Damian Stayne said: "Halloween is the festival when we celebrate the victory of light over darkness in the lives of God's holy ones in heaven. Jesus is the 'Light of the world'; the saints lived by that light, and became beacons in their own times. We too are called to live out this vocation: to be the 'Light of the world' today." For more information about visit: www.nightoflight.org

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