All Hallows' Eve in Austria

Do they celebrate Halloween in Austria?  That's been the question of the week!  (In addition to - do we set our clocks back for Daylight Saving Time?  Answer: yes, but we did it last week - a week before everyone in the U.S.  So we've already survived our week of child up at 5:30am, instead of 6:30am :)

Our not-so-itsy-bitsy guy

Yes, Ellie is wearing a shirt with a Bunny hanging up a Christmas stocking

So back to the question of Halloween.  In terms of celebrating like the U.S., the answer is no. No one came "trick-or-treating," in the U.S. traditional sense anyway.  Much to Ellie's excitement and joy, our neighbors (actually from England) and a few of the students did come knocking on our door -- dressed as Saints and delivering homemade cookies!  It's hard to see in the picture - but there were Saints Isidore, Kateri, Mary, Moses, Maria Goretti, George and (Ellie's favorite) George's white horse.  Brian grabbed the blue cape - with USA stars on it - that was left by the family before us.  And Ellie quickly joined the group as a "Wise Man."  When our neighbor asked who Brian was supposed to be - he informed them he was the Guardian Angel.  They then asked why he was dressed in all black...somethings just can't be answered when you get dressed in 30 seconds :)

While none of the stores sell Halloween outfits, candy, or decorations -- they do sell candles, flowers, and decorations for the graves.  The graveyards in Austria are stunning year round - but especially right now they are all decorated beautifully and all have candles burning brightly.

Picture of a graveyard I took in Gmunden, Austria in August

So how did we spend October 31?  Our family and three of the TOR Sisters drove about 25 minutes to Hochbaerneck - a ski resort with a lookout tower that has a magnificent view of the Otscher (the largest mountain in this area) and way off in the distance, the Kartause!  Had we taken this outing in the States, I'm guessing people would have thought the Sisters were just dressing up as nuns for the day!

Awesome slide and playground

The hills are alive with Praise & Worship

Earlier in the week we carved pumpkins!

After our saintly neighbors came by - we read some of our children Saint books and drew pictures of St. Therese and St. Francis.  We also ate the candy that I had bought just in case trick-or-treaters did stop by (I guess in years past, a few have - knowing that the Americans live in these townhouses).  

So our Halloween was much more an "All Hallows' Eve" as we prepared for All Saints (Hallows) Day.  Today's Feast Day we celebrate all of the Saints - those known and unknown - who are helping to pave our paths to Heaven!  Tomorrow we will celebrate All Souls' Day - as we pray in a special way for all those who have died.  I hear they do procession from the parish church in town to the graveyard.

All you holy men and women, pray for us!