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All Saints' Day
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All Saints' Day
© AFP
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All Saints' Day
© AFP
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All Saints' Day
© AFP
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All Saints' Day
© AFP
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All Saints' Day
© AFP
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As its name indicates, All Saints' Day, the first day of November, is the festival of “all the saints” honoured by the Catholic Church. It is not the commemoration of the dead - that is 2 November. However, because All Saints' Day is a public holiday, families are able to go to the cemeteries and lay chrysanthemums on the graves of their nearest and dearest.
The Meaning of All Saints' Day
Every 1 November, the Catholic Church honours all saints, well known and little known. It is an opportunity to remind people that saintliness is not “the preserve of a chosen few” and that all men can aspire to saintliness.
2 November, Commemoration of the Dead
In the Middle Ages, it became customary to hold a commemoration of the dead each year. So having honoured the saints on the 1 November, prayers were said the following day for the dead.
Distinguishing the Two Celebrations
In Catholic buildings, the two celebrations are distinguished by the colour of the ornaments. They are white on 1 November and violet on 2 November.
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