“There’s good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.” ~ Sam Gamgee, Return of the King
Catholics baptize everything. Have you noticed? Maybe some Christians baptize infants or small children, but they certainly don’t ask Fr. Joe to bless their houses, don’t bless themselves with holy water upon entering and leaving a church, and they don’t keep holy water in their homes or blessed palm leaves on their mantles. We wear medals, pray with blessed beads. We bless our food, saying grace before meals. When we say the Liturgy of the Hours, we sanctify the entire day! The goal of Catholics is to make not only ourselves but the whole world holy.
Feastdays are one of the many aids that the Church has given to us to help us on our way. However, over the years, the feastdays have gotten a modern makeover. Christmas is more about getting than giving and we recognize Easter by muted, pastels instead of the vibrant colors that signify the triumph and glory of the risen Christ. Worst of all is the fate of All Saints’ Day. It isn’t just shallow and commercialized like Christmas and Easter with Santa Claus, white rabbits, and eggs filled with candy; it’s downright ugly. And, it’s getting worse. There’s nothing wrong with Catholic boys and girls being pirates and princesses instead of bishops and martyrs, but that’s not what’s out there anymore. Children are dressing up as axe-murderers and French maids among other terrible things. We baptized a pagan feast into All Saints’ Day, but today’s culture (aided and abetted by Hollywood) is taking us back to the bad ol’ days.
Those who want to celebrate All Saints’ Day in the Catholic tradition have very few options. The few innocuous costumes that you can find on the racks are largely unimaginative and often made of cheap stuff that falls apart at the first wash. And they are always surrounded by a vast array of costumes that seem, by their ghoulish character, to have been designed by someone with a close-up view of Hell.
Debbie Fuhrman is a Midwestern mother of four who home-schooled for 11 years. She inherited a love of sewing from her grandmother who often made up her own designs or modified mediocre garments to better suit Debbie’s taste. When her own daughters grew old enough to enjoy dress-up, Debbie used her sewing ability to create beautiful gowns and cloaks that withstood the hard treatment of her girls’ imaginative quests and adventures. Now, she owns an online store, www.ourcoatsofmanycolors.com, that offers a wide range of saints’ costumes for children. Our Coats of Many Colors is dedicated to providing fun, durable, and beautiful garments. We currently offer forty saints’ costumes (22 for girls, 18 for boys).
We have developed designs based on great men like St. Patrick, St. John Neumann, and Pope John Paul II but we also offer habits for several religious orders: Benedictines, Dominicans, Franciscans, and Jesuits. For girls, we have early martyrs like St. Agnes and St. Lucy as well as more contemporary saints like St. Rose of Lima and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. Habits for the Poor Clares, the Sisters of Charity (St. Bernadette’s order), and the Carmelites (St. Therese) are also available. All the garments (with the exception of certain veils and aprons) are made out of poplin or panne so that you can use them again and again. Use them to live the liturgical year, be a saint, and to celebrate the Catholic faith.
