Duke Chapel To Hold All Hallows' Eve Service Oct. 31

Duke Chapel will host its annual Halloween celebration harkening back to the holiday's historic roots with an All Hallows' Eve candlelight worship service at 10:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31.

The free service is open to the public and will begin around a small fire on the chapel steps, followed by a candlelit procession, reflections on the lives of saints and Holy Communion. The Duke Vespers Ensemble will provide music -- a mix of ancient chant melodies and other meditative choral repertoire.

"All Hallows' Eve is a highlight of the year for the singers in the Vespers Ensemble, and also for me," said Brian Schmidt, assistant conductor and administrative coordinator of chapel music. "It is a solemn and poignant service unlike any other service at Duke Chapel during the year."

All are welcome to this service on the evening prior to All Saints Day, the festival in the church that recalls the witness of the men and women who have carried the Christian faith throughout church history. The service celebrates the church's continuing communion with them, and memorializes the recently deceased.

The early church followed the Jewish custom that a new day began at sundown; thus, feasts and festivals in the church were observed beginning on the night before. The night before All Saints (or All Hallows) became known as All Hallows' Eve, or Halloween.

For more information, call (919) 684-8478.