Telling Tales
November 2013
My father was a great storyteller. Over dinner, he would acquaint us with distant ancestors we knew only from old photographs and bad paintings. Before bed, he would make biblical stories truly come alive. And on saints’ days, he would regale us with their famed deeds. These stories have greatly shaped my love and respect for my family, my faith, and the saints.
His favorite storytelling days were October 31 (All Hallows’ Eve, Halloween), November 1 (All Saints’ Day), and November 2 (All Souls’ Day). On October 31, he would go to my sister’s daycare center, which was enthusiastically decorated for All Hallows’ Eve. The children were invited to dress like their favorite saint, a perfect occasion for my father to talk about their lives. Today, this once-popular sharing of stories of saints seems to have mostly been replaced with tales of ghosts and ghouls.