What is All Saints’ Day?
All Saints’ Day is celebrated this year on Friday November 1, 2024. It precedes All Saints’ Day which will be Saturday November 2, 2024.
What do we celebrate on November 1st?
This Catholic holiday dedicated to the worship of saints is celebrated every year on November 1st. This year, All Saints’ Day is Friday November 1, 2024. It has been a public holiday in France since 1801.
What are the origins of the Feast of All Saints?
The origins of All Saints’ Day are not found in the Bible but rather in an important popular cult established during the first centuries CE. It was established to celebrate martyrs in the 4th century by the Eastern Churches and in the 5th century in Rome.
Why is All Saints’ Day celebrated on November 1st?
All Saints’ Day was not always celebrated on November 1st. In the early days of the Church, the feast of All Saints took place on the Sunday after Pentecost. But, in 610, the festival was moved for the first time to May 13 by Pope Boniface IV. It was finally Pope Gregory, in the 8th century, who established the celebration of All Saints’ Day on November 1st. A date not chosen by chance since he wanted to compete with pagan festivals, such as Samhain, celebrated on the same date by the Celtic peoples.
What is All Saints’ Day for Christians?
As its name suggests, All Saints’ Day is the feast of all saints sharing the joy of God. All Saints’ Day serves to pay tribute to those known or unknown people who are a kind of model for Christianity, because they show the way to God. This celebration reminds us that we are all called to holiness.
What is a saint?
A saint is a person recognized by the Catholic Church for his or her life of fidelity to the Gospel, to God and to the service of all. These are men or women, known or unknown, who in their lives have done everything they can to follow Jesus Christ. They can thus serve as an example for Catholics, and also as an intercessor, since through their holiness, the Church attests that they are in heaven with God.
Only the pope has the right to sign the decree of canonization. Being declared a saint can take years or even centuries! A long work of meticulous canonical investigation is first carried out and must result in the recognition of two miracles. Only martyrs, who sacrificed their lives for God, do not need to be attributed a miracle to be holy.
New saints join the long list each year. Since his pontificate, Pope Francis has proclaimed almost 911 saints, as of February 11, 2024!
What is the difference between All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day?
All Saints’ Day, celebrated on November 1, is often confused with the Feast of the Dead, which takes place the next day, November 2. On this day, believers pray for all their loved ones (friends, parents, etc.) who have died. For Catholics, it is not a sad celebration, because all these missing people are with God.
In practice, and because of its proximity to All Saints’ Day, which is also a public holiday, custom dictates that people go en masse to cemeteries from November 1st to pay their respects at the graves and place chrysanthemums.
