All Saints Day Ideas!
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Do you want to celebrate the liturgical year at home, but you don’t know where to start?
Living liturgically means our lives are hinged in the Church. If you’re new to jumping into the Liturgical life, start with celebrating major feast days and make it your priority to attend those services, in addition to weekly Sunday Divine Liturgy. From there, bringing the liturgical year home is essentially creating a little Church in your home. By extension, whatever is happening in the Church, we can mirror that in our homes. My recommendation is always to do the things you already do, but just tweak them to reflect the feast day, or the season. This will be a natural ways to incorporate the life of the Church into your home, as it will feel more like a fun family activity. So anything you are usually doing with your family: cooking/eating meals together, crafts, coloring pages, books, dessert, movies, outings, etc. can all be opportunities to learn about a particular saint or feast.
What is the Sunday of All Saints?
In the Orthodox Church, the Sunday following Pentecost is dedicated to All Saints, both those who are known to us, and those who are known only to God. There have always been saints, and they have come from every corner of the earth. They were Apostles, Martyrs, Prophets, Hierarchs, Monastics, and Righteous, and all were perfected by the same Holy Spirit. By the descent of the Holy Spirit, it is possible for us to rise above our fallen state and to attain sainthood, fulfilling God’s directive to “be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16). So, it is fitting to commemorate All Saints on the first Sunday after Pentecost. Guided by the teaching of the Divine Scriptures and Apostolic Tradition, we honor all the Saints, the friends of God, for they are keepers of God's commandments, shining examples of virtue. Of course, we honor the known Saints especially on their own day of the year. But since many Saints are unknown, and their number has increased with time, and will continue to increase until the end of time, the Church has appointed that once a year a common commemoration be made of all the Saints the Sunday following Pentecost.
Icon of All Saints Explained:
The icon of the Sunday of All Saints depicts our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ seated above the throne of heaven surrounded by the Saints. The rows of Saints included the Archangel Michael and other Angels, the Theotokos and John the Baptist, the Apostles, Bishops, Great Martyrs, Ascetics and Monastics. To the side of the throne are Adam and Eve, bowing in reverence to Christ. They are joined by the Saints, who are lifting their hands in worship to the King of Glory. At the lower left of the icon is the Patriarch Abraham who has a righteous soul in his bosom, as told in the story of Lazarus and the rich man in the Gospel. At the lower center is the Good Thief who was crucified with Christ. On the lower right is the Patriarch Jacob.
There are many ways to celebrate this special Feast with your kids!
Check out this printable below and scroll to find for ideas to help you make this day extra meaningful and even begin some new traditions in your home!
Fun Ways to Celebrate All Saints Day!
Here you’ll find some unique and fun ideas to celebrate All Saints Day as a family. Now you may have heard of All Saints Day celebrated in the West right after Halloween. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, this day is set apart in June, right after Pentecost. Seeing as this feast day falls on a Sunday, I was to be conscious of your time and energy. I have chosen some activities that I think are fun and simple and can easily be incorporated into your afternoon or evening on this feast day. I love any excuse or opportunity to learn more about the righteous Saints that have gone before us!
Attend Liturgy
If I have learned one thing in my years of being Orthodox, it’s that there is no feast day celebration apart from the Liturgical life of the Church! If you choose to do one thing, this should be it! The most important way to celebrate any feasts is to attend Divine Liturgy! This is how we connect our lives at home with our lives in the church. Our lives ought to be hinged in the Church, as this is where Christ offers us His Life. Jesus tells us “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) We have to attach ourselves to the vine, as often as we are able. Partaking in the Eucharist, giving thanks to God for all He has given us, this is the Christian life. This particular feast day is on Sunday, so hopefully that makes it easy for your family to attend, as it is built into your weekly routine.
2. Throw an All Saints’ Day Party
I look for any excuse to have a party, and certainly a Feast Day celebrating All Saints is a perfect excuse! I’ve combined many of the ideas below into one, wrapped up as an All Saints Party! Here are some ideas to get your started to host your own All Saints Party. Invite some friends from church, have a potluck meal to share, and celebrate All the Saints!
Have your guests dress up as their favorite Saint (see ideas below)
Serve special foods like “Angel Food Cake”or other saint themed food (see below) share a meal, and feast with one another!
Play some games (see ideas below)
Decoration your table with a pretty table cloth, icons of your patron saints or other family favorite saints, and add some greenery or flowers as a centerpiece.
Pray together, sing the Troparion of All Saints, and feast with one another!
Check out this 11 Page Download to help you celebrate All Saints Day!
3. Dress up like your favorite Saint
I’ve seen this idea of dressing up as a Saint elsewhere on Pinterest, and I thought this would be the perfect activity for this special feast day! After a little brainstorming, rummaging through your costume collection and linen closet, we were able to come up with Patron saint costumes for each kid! I think they turned out great considering we used only what we had on hand. I would encourage your child’s creativity and challenge them to use what is around the house while keeping the costumes as simple as possible. You can choose your patron saints or you can choose any favorite saints you’d like! The possibilities are endless! Check out some ideas we have used below:
Orthodox Saint Costume Suggestions:
Your family patron saints (custumes vary)
Jesus - white, red or blue sheet draped over shoulders, belt, sandals, fake beard, long hair wig, cross
Theotokos (Ever Virgin Mary) - Red sheet or sweater on top, blue shirt underneath, headscarf, long dress or skirt, holding baby doll
St John the Baptist - sheep’s skin (or fluffly/scruffy material), green cloth or clothing draped over, belt, sandals, fake beard, carrying bugs (locust) and honey
St Nicholas - Red coat, staff, white beard, gold sash
St George - soldier garb, breastplate, shield, sword, dragon, riding a horse
St Mary of Egypt - tattered clothes, no shoes, with lion stuffed animal, messy hair (white)
Archangel Gabriel and Michael - breastplate (think soldier), sword, wings
St Demetrios - soldier garb, breastplate, shield, sword, riding a horse
St Elizabeth the New Martyr - Princess Gown with crown and head covering or White sheet or dress draped over head like a nun with belt, holding cross
St Lucia - White dress, flower crown or candle crown, red sash around the middle
St Patrick - Green cape, miter hat, bishops staff, snake, beard
St Xenia - Oversized green or tan jacket, white or red head covering, long skirt, walking stick
4. Play Fun Games!
Check out these simple game ideas and using common Orthodox Saints or well-known saints in your family: Your family patron saints, Jesus, Theotokos, St John the Baptist, St Nicholas, St Paul, St Peter, St George, St Basil, St John Chrysostom, St Mary of Egypt, Archangel Gabriel and Michael, St Lucia, St Patrick
Check out this Printable Party Pack
Guess that saint? Play a guessing game, like Twenty Questions. Write down the names of Saints on slips of paper and put them in a bowl. One person picks a paper and the guessers ask questions about the saint, with answers “yes” or “no.” This can be played as a large group, with one saint at a time, or as a mixer, with kids trying to guess as many other saints as possible in a given amount of time. Have them think of a certain Saint, without saying it aloud. Take turns asking up to 20 “yes” or “no” questions to try and guess the answer! See the list above for well-known Orthodox Saints.
Saint Charades - Write down the names of Saints on slips of paper and put them in a bowl. See the list above for some commonly recognized saints and add your family patron saints. Begin with a bowl of Saints. In turn, each player draws a slip from the bowl and acts out Saint shown using hand signals and body motions but no spoken words. Players then try to guess the Saint. The player giving the correct answer is given a point.
Saint Pictionary - You’ll need blank paper or white boards for each team. Similar to Charades but instead of acting it out, the player draws clues or pictures while his/her team tries to guess what the drawing is. Write down the names of Saints on slips of paper and put them in a bowl. Create 2 (or more) teams. One player chooses a slip of paper with the name of a saint on it and draws until the end of the timer (you choose the length of time). Their team member guesses while the drawing is happening and has a final chance at the end to make their final guess.
Saint Presentations - Have each person in your family present the story of their patron Saint. This can be done by memorization or by reading the story of their life from a book. Bonus points if you have the icon of your saint which you can show the audience!
5. Make a Saint Themed Food
Saintly Food Ideas:
Angel Food Cake - See these Saint printable by Holy Heros Blog with Saint Cake Toppers. You can also print these Orthodox Byzantine Inspired Saints from Orthodox Pebbles HERE.
"Halo" Pinneaple rings (found in the canned fruit section)
"Holy" Donuts! Just your regular ole shaped donuts with a hole in the middle
Saintly Halo Peach Rings! You can find these in the candy section at most grocery store!
Halos Mandarins - Sometimes called "cuties", these mandarins are in season and easy to include!
St John the Baptist Locust and Honey Crescent Rolls - Did you know what he ate while in the wilderness…. ? Locust and honey! For his feast day, we made some yummy crescent rolls to look like locust, and topped them with honey! You can find the recipe and step by step instructions HERE.
6. Find Where your Patron Saint is from on a Map/Globe
Grab a map or globe and find where each of your family patron saints are from. It might take some research if your saint is from an ancient part of the world that doesn’t exist anymore, but find the diverse locations that the saints are from!
Book pictured: 101 Orthodox Saints by Ancient Faith Publishing
7. Decorate your dinner table for All the Saints
Bringing the liturgical year into our homes is essentially to creating a little Church in your home. By extension, whatever is happening in the Church, we can mirror that in our homes. My recommendation is always to do the things you already do, but just tweak them to reflect the feast day, or the season. This will be a natural ways to incorporate the life of the Church into your home, as it will feel more like a fun family activity. So anything you are usually doing with your family: cooking/eating meals together, crafts, coloring pages, books, dessert, movies, outings, etc. can all be opportunities to learn about a particular saint or feast.
In our house, we don’t do a ton of arts and crafts, so most of our liturgical living in the home is based around meals. Because that’s what we were going to be doing anyway and we prioritize family meals together, specifically dinners. I also love celebrating special occasions - birthdays, name days, anniversaries, special feast days! On those days, we typically decorate our table with a table cloth, centerpiece, bring out our nice plates and napkins, and call it a celebration! Find a unique way to decorate your table with a pretty table cloth, fine dishes, and create a special centerpiece with icons of the saints!
Final Thoughts
When it comes to Feast Days, I always prioritize 2 things: (1) Attending the service and (2) telling my children about the feast day prior - or afterwards. If I can do those two things, I feel a great sense of success! My hope is that these feasts days imprint on their hearts during their childhood and they have a greater love for our Savior as they grow up because of them. Now, if you are able to do those two things, you’re a gold star! Bravo! If you are in a season where you want to go a little deeper and make those connections stronger, I will cheer you on and encourage you on that venture. Some seasons allow for more, especially as children grow older. But if you find yourself in a busy season with littles, rest assured, you have many many years ahead to be able to add more to your plate!
Whatever you do, I pray the Lord blesses your efforts!
Blessed Feasting, friends!
- Khouria Destinie
