History of the Holidays: Nov 1, All Saints’ Day

All Saints’ Day is celebrated on November 1st as a commemoration day for all Christian saints. It may also be known as All Hallows’ Day, Solemnity of All Saints, Hallowmas, or Feast of Saints. Though not as well-known as Christmas and Easter, it is a major Christian Festival. It is a public holiday in 50 countries around the world. Let’s take a look at the History behind All Saints’ Day The idea of an All Saints’ Day may date back to a Greek Christian tradition in the 4th century when a festival was held to honour saints and martyrs on the Sunday following Pentecost. The first recorded All Saints’ Day occurred on May 13th 609 AD when Pope Boniface IV accepted the Pantheon in Rome as a gift from Emperor Phocas. The Pope dedicated the day as a holiday to honour the Blessed Virgin and all martyrs. In 835 AD, during the reign of Pope Gregory III, the festival was moved to November 1st. It was expanded to include the honouring of all saints, including those whose sainthood is only known to God. It is likely that November 1st was intentionally chosen to replace the pagan feast of the dead, Samhain. The night before Samhain was a time when evil spirits roamed the land looking for humans. To confuse the spirits, people would dress up as creatures. This tradition carried on after November 1st became a Christian festival. Now known as Halloween - which is a shortened version of All Hallows’ Eve. The day survived the Reformation, though the Protestants combined it with All Souls’ Day, which was on November 2nd. In Mexico, All Soul’s Day was used to replace older Aztec customs, and became the Day of the Dead. The day was abolished as a church festival in 1770, but may be celebrated by many churches on the first Sunday in November. In Roman Catholicism, All Saints’ Day is a Holy Day of Obligation. This means Catholics must go to Mass, unless there is a good reason not to attend. The holiday is typically observed with a reading of the Beatitudes, eight blessings given in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount as recounted in the Gospel of Matthew. In recent years, it has become common in many churches to commemorate those who died during the year on this day. And it is a tradition in many countries to visit the graves of deceased relatives and put flowers and candles on the graves. Read more at Stock footage provided by , downloaded from ()