Graves are decorated with flowers and wreathes. Candles and lamps light up cemeteries like a sea of fire as darkness descends. All Saints’ Day has become one of the most popular public holidays in the calendar – a day reserved for visits to churches and cemeteries. But it is actually two holidays in one: All Hallows’ Day and All Souls’ Day.
Saints and Martyrs
The Christian church started celebrating saints and commemorating martyrs early in its existence. Saints are people who, in word and deed, have demonstrated that God is alive among us; and martyrs are people who died for their faith. As the church grew, so did the number of saints and martyrs. And this, in turn, resulted in too many work-free days. Saints and martyrs were consolidated, names were eliminated, and All Saints’ Day was created.
In the Evangelical-Lutheran faith, to which the Swedish National Church adheres, saints are role models who provide us with hope and from whom we can learn how to better ourselves.
All Saints’ Day and All Hallows’ Day
All Saints’ Day always falls on November 1 and was – in its original form as All Hallows’ Day – a fixed holiday. The day lost its status as a public holiday as a result of the 1772 Public Holiday Reform Order – however, in many other countries it remains a public holiday on November 1.
In 1953, All Saints’ Day became a movable holiday that falls on the Saturday between October 31 and November 6. Before then, the two days were indistinguishable.
All Souls’ Day
All Souls’ Day falls on the Sunday after All Saints’ Day and has traditionally been a day for commemorating and honoring relatives and friends who have passed away.
Many congregations invite those who have suffered the loss of a close relative during the year for a memorial service characterized by quiet contemplation, prayer, and the lighting of candles. Sometimes, names are read aloud of people who have passed away since the last All Saints’ Day. But since the tradition of visiting cemeteries on the Saturday has increased in popularity, this is now done on numerous occasions before then.
All Souls’ Day also reminds us of our own mortality and provides us with a perspective on both how we live our lives and what awaits us in the afterlife. The Christian faith teaches us that death is not the end. God holds out the promise that we may rise as Christ arose. There is therefore a strong link between All Souls’ Day and the message of the Resurrection at Easter.