All Saints Day

The origin of All Saints Day is a pagan one. The Celts used to celebrate their New Years day on that day. The night before was Halloween. It was believed that in this night the forces of darkness were celebrating, and to calm these forces the people lighted big fires everywhere. The New Years day was celebrated as a feast for the dead, and this custom was taken over by the Catholic church and redefined as "Christian". It was said that on All Saints Day the souls of the dead came out of the purgatory (according to Catholic teaching a place of repentance for the dead - in the Bible it is not mentioned) and returned to their former home places until noon the next day (All Souls Day). According to the ancient believes children born on All Saints Day were able to see the dead.

Nowadays All Saints Day is much less "gruesome". On that day many Catholics go to the graves of their loved ones, put flowers on them and light candles. November 1 is a holiday in the west of Germany, in the east it's Reformation Day instead.

Last update: January 18, 2009