All Saints' Day

From the 4th century, there existed in certain places and at sporadic intervals a feast date to commemorate all Christian martyrs.[19] It was held on 13 May in Edessa, the Sunday after Pentecost in Antioch, and the Friday after Easter by the Syrians.[20] During the 5th century, St. Maximus of Turin preached annually on the Sunday after Pentecost in honor of all martyrs in what is today Northern Italy. The Comes of Würzburg, the earliest existing ecclesiastical reading list, dating to the late 6th or early 7th century in what is today Germany, lists this the Sunday after Pentecost as "dominica in natale sanctorum" or "Sunday of the Nativity of the Saints". By this time, the commemoration had expanded to include all saints whether or not they were martyred.[21]

On 13 May 609 or 610, Pope Boniface IV consecrated the Pantheon at Rome to the Blessed Virgin and all the martyrs, ordering an anniversary;[22] the feast of the dedication Sanctae Mariae ad Martyres has been celebrated at Rome ever since. It is suggested 13 May was chosen—by the Pope and earlier by Christians in Edessa—because it was the date of the Roman pagan festival of Lemuria, in which the malevolent and restless spirits of the dead were propitiated. Some liturgiologists base the idea that Lemuria was the origin of All Saints on their identical dates and their similar theme of "all the dead".[23]

Pope Gregory III (731–741) dedicated an oratory in St. Peter's to the relics "of the holy apostles and of all saints, martyrs and confessors, of all the just made perfect who are at rest throughout the world".[24] Some sources say Gregory III dedicated the oratory on 1 November, and this is why the date became All Saints' Day.[25] Other sources say Gregory III held a synod to condemn iconoclasm on 1 November 731, but dedicated the All Saints oratory on Palm Sunday, 12 April 732.[26][27][28][29]

By 800, there is evidence that churches in Ireland,[30] Northumbria (England) and Bavaria (Germany) were holding a feast commemorating all saints on 1 November.[31] Some manuscripts of the Irish Martyrology of Tallaght and Martyrology of Óengus, which date to this time, have a commemoration of all saints of the world on 1 November.[32][21] In the late 790s Alcuin of Northumbria recommended the holding of the feast on 1 November to his friend Arno of Salzburg, Bavaria.[33][34] Alcuin used his influence with Charlemagne to introduce the Irish-Northumbrian Feast of All Saints to the Frankish Kingdom.[35]

Some scholars propose that churches in the British Isles began celebrating All Saints on 1 November in the 8th century to coincide with or replace the Celtic festival known in Ireland and Scotland as Samhain. James Frazer represents this school of thought by arguing that 1 November was chosen because Samhain was the date of the Celtic festival of the dead.[36][37][38] Ronald Hutton argues instead that the earliest documentary sources indicate Samhain was a harvest festival with no particular ritual connections to the dead. Hutton proposes that 1 November was a Germanic rather than a Celtic idea.[39]

The 1 November All Saints Day was made a day of obligation throughout the Frankish Empire in 835, by a decree of Emperor Louis the Pious, issued "at the instance of Pope Gregory IV and with the assent of all the bishops",[24] which confirmed its celebration on 1 November. Under the rule of Charlemagne and his successors, the Frankish Empire developed into the Holy Roman Empire.

Sicard of Cremona, a scholar who lived in the 12th and 13th centuries, proposed that Pope Gregory VII (1073–85) suppressed the feast of 13 May in favour of 1 November. By the 12th century, 13 May had been removed from liturgical books.[21]

The All Saints octave was added by Pope Sixtus IV (1471–84).[24] Both the All Saints vigil and the octave were suppressed by the reforms of 1955.[21]

The festival was retained after the Reformation in the calendar of the Anglican Church and in many Lutheran churches.[24] In the Lutheran churches, such as the Church of Sweden, it assumes a role of general commemoration of the dead. In the Swedish calendar, the observance takes place on the Saturday between 31 October and 6 November. In many Lutheran Churches, it is moved to the first Sunday of November. In the Church of England, mother church of the Anglican Communion, it is a Principal Feast and may be celebrated either on 1 November or on the Sunday between 30 October and 5 November. It is also celebrated by other Protestants of the English tradition, such as the United Church of Canada, the Methodist churches and the Wesleyan Church.

Protestants generally commemorate all Christians, living and deceased, on All Saints' Day; if they observe All Saints Day at all, they use it to remember all Christians both past and present. In the United Methodist Church, All Saints' Day is celebrated on the first Sunday in November. It is held, not only to remember Saints, but also to remember all those who have died who were members of the local church congregation. In some congregations, a candle is lit by the Acolyte as each person's name is called out by the clergy. Prayers and responsive readings may accompany the event. Often, the names of those who have died in the past year are affixed to a memorial plaque.

In many Lutheran churches, All Saints' Day is celebrated the Sunday after Reformation is celebrated (the date for Reformation is 31 October, so Reformation Sunday is celebrated on or before 31 October). In most congregations, the festival is marked as an occasion to remember the dead. The names of those who have died from the congregation within the last year are read during worship and a bell is tolled, a chime is played or a candle is lit for each name read. While the dead are solemnly remembered during worship on All Saints' Sunday, the festival is ultimately a celebration of Christ's victory over death.

In English-speaking countries, services often include the singing of the traditional hymn "For All the Saints" by Walsham How. The most familiar tune for this hymn is Sine Nomine by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Other hymns that are popularly sung during corporate worship on this day are "I Sing a Song of the Saints of God" and "Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones".

Being the vigil of All Saint's Day (All Hallow's Day), in many countries, such as Ireland, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada, Halloween is celebrated in connection with All Saints' Day,[40] although celebrations are generally limited to 31 October. During the 20th century the observance largely became a secular one, although some traditional Christian groups have continued to embrace the Christian origins of the holiday whereas others have rejected celebrations.[41][42] On Halloween night, children dress in costumes and go door to door asking for candy in a practice known as trick-or-treating,[43] while adults may host costume parties. There are many popular customs associated with Halloween, including carving a pumpkin into a Jack-o'-lantern and apple bobbing.[44] Halloween is not a public holiday in either the United States or Canada.

The celebration of 1 November in Lebanon as a holiday reflects the influence of Western Catholic orders present in Lebanon and is not Maronite in origin. The traditional Maronite feast equivalent to the honor of all saints in their liturgical calendar is one of three Sundays in preparation for Lent called the Sunday of the Righteous and the Just. The following Sunday is the Sunday of the Faithful Departed (similar to All Souls Day in Western calendar).

In East Syriac tradition the All Saints Day celebration falls on the first Friday after resurrection Sunday.[9] This is because all departed faithful are saved by the blood of Jesus and they resurrected with the Christ. Normally in east Syriac liturgy the departed souls are remembered on Friday. Church celebrates All souls day on Friday before the beginning of Great lent or Great Fast.[47]

In Austria and Bavaria it is customary on All Saints' Day for godfathers to give their godchildren Allerheiligenstriezel, a braided yeast pastry.[48]

In Belgium, Toussaint or Allerheiligen is a public holiday. Belgians visit the cemeteries to place chrysanthemums on the graves of deceased relatives on All Saints Day, since All Souls Day is not a holiday.[13]

In France, and throughout the Francophone world, the day is known as La Toussaint. Flowers (especially in Chrysanthemums), or wreaths called couronnes de toussaints are placed at each tomb or grave. The following day, 2 November (All Souls' Day) is called Le jour des morts, the Day of the Dead.[14]

It is a public holiday for schools and most businesses. Some German states such as Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Rheinland-Pfalz, Nordrhein-Westfalen and Saarland categorize it as a silent day (stiller Tag) when special restrictions may apply for certain types of activities, such as concerts or dance events.[49]

In Poland, Dzień Wszystkich Świętych is a public holiday. Families try to gather together for both All Saints' Day and the All Souls' Day (Zaduszki), the official day to commemorate the departed faithful. The celebrations begin with tending to family graves, surrounding graveyards, lighting candles and leaving flowers in a cemetery the first day and, what often extends into the next. November 1 is a bank holiday in Poland and, while the following All Souls' Day is not. The Zaduszki custom of honouring the dead thus corresponds with All Souls' Day celebrations, and is much more observed in Poland than in most other places in the West.[50]

In Portugal, Dia de Todos os Santos is a national holiday. Families remember their dead with religious observances and visits to the cemetery. Portuguese children celebrate the Pão-por-Deus tradition (also called santorinho, bolinho or fiéis de Deus) going door-to-door, where they receive cakes, nuts, pomegranates, sweets and candies.[15]

In Spain, el Día de Todos los Santos is a national holiday. As in all Hispanic countries, people take flowers to the graves of dead relatives. The play Don Juan Tenorio is traditionally performed.[51]

Giant kite (barrilete) at Sumpango, Guatemala.

In Guatemala, All Saints' Day is a national holiday. On that day Guatemalans make a special meal called fiambre which is made of cold meats and vegetables; it is customary to visit cemeteries and to leave some of the fiambre for their dead. It is also customary to fly kites to help unite the dead with the living. There are festivals in towns like Santiago Sacatepéquez and Sumpango, where giant colorful kites are flown.[52]

All Saints' Day in coincides with the first day of the Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos) celebration. It commemorates children who have died (Dia de los Inocentes) and the second day celebrates all deceased adults.[53]

Hallow-mas in the Philippines is variously called "Undás", "Todos los Santos" (Spanish, "All Saints"), and sometimes "Araw ng mga Patay / Yumao" (Tagalog, "Day of the dead / those who have passed away"), which incorporates All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. Filipinos traditionally observe this day by visiting the family dead to clean and repair their tombs. Offerings of prayers, flowers, candles,[54] and food. Chinese Filipinos additionally burn incense and kim. Many also spend the day and ensuing night holding reunions at the cemetery with feasts and merriment.

Though Halloween has usually been seen as an American influence in the Philippines, the country's trick-or-treat traditions during Undas (from the Spanish "Honras", meaning honours, as in "with honors") are actually much older. This tradition was derived from the pre-colonial tradition called pangangaluwa. Pangangaluluwa (from "kaluluwa" or spirit double) was a practice of early Filipinos who sang from house to house swathed in blankets pretending to be ghosts of ancestors. If the owner of the house failed to give biko or rice cakes to the "nangangaluluwa", the "spirits" would play tricks (try to steal slippers or other objects left outside the house by members of the family or run off with the owner's chickens). Pangangaluluwa practices are still seen in rural areas.

During Undas, family members visit the cemetery where the body of the loved ones rest. It is believed that by going to the cemetery and offering food, candles, flowers, and sometimes incense sticks, the spirit of the loved one is remembered and appeased. Contrary to common belief, this visitation practice is not an imported tradition. Prior to the establishment of coffins, pre-colonial Filipinos were already practicing such a tradition of visiting burial caves throughout the archipelago as confirmed by a research conducted by the University of the Philippines. The tradition of "atang" or "hain" is also practiced, where food and other offerings are placed near the grave site. If the family cannot go to the grave site, a specific area in the house is provided for the offering.

The exact date of Undas today, 1 November, is not a pre-colonial observance date but an influence from Mexico, where the same day is known as the Day of the Dead. Pre-colonial Filipinos preferred going to the burial caves of the departed occasionally as they believed that aswang (half-vampire half-werewolf beings) would take the corpse of the dead if the body was not properly guarded. The protection of the body of the loved one is called "paglalamay". However, in some communities, this paglalamay tradition is non-existent and is replaced by other pre-colonial traditions unique to each community.

The Undas is also seen as a family reunion, where family members coming from various regions go back to their hometown to visit the grave of loved ones. Family members are expected to remain beside the grave for the entire day and socialize with each other to mend bonds and enhance family relations. In some cases, family members going to certain burial sites exceed one hundred people. Fighting in any form is prohibited during Undas.

Children have important roles during Undas. Children are allowed to play with melted candles in front of grave sites and turn the melted wax from the candles into round wax balls. The round balls of wax symbolize the affirmation that everything goes back to where it began, as the living will go back to ash, where everything started. In some cases, families also light candles at the front door of the home. The number of candles is equivalent to the number of departed loved ones. It is believed that this tradition aids departed loved ones and provide them with a happy path to the afterlife.[55][56][57]