Observed on

November 2nd

Observed by

Numerous Christian and Catholic Denominations

Country of Origin 

The Holiday evolved through the church and not a specific region

Celebrations/Customs

Prayer for the Departed, Visits to Cemeteries, Decking of Graves, Special Pastries and Food

Similar/Related to:

Saturday of Souls, Thursday of the Dead. Day of the Dead, Halloween, All Saints' Day, Samhain, Totensonntag, Blue Christmas

Key Points / Halloween Connection

- Christian Holiday celebrating all of the faithfully departed and final day of the "modern" Halloween celebration

Brief Bio

All Souls' Day, also called The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, is a day of prayer and remembrance for the faithful departed, observed by Christians on 2 November. In Western Christianity, including Roman Catholicism and certain parts of Lutheranism and Anglicanism, All Souls' Day is the third day of Allhallowtide, after All Saints' Day (1 November) and All Hallows' Eve (31 October).

Before the standardization of Western Christian observance on 2 November by St. Odilo of Cluny in the 10th century, many Roman Catholic congregations celebrated All Souls' Day on various dates during the Easter season as it is still observed in the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Eastern Catholic churches and the Eastern Lutheran churches. Churches of the East Syriac Rite (Assyrian Church of the East, Ancient Church of the East, Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Chaldean Catholic Church), (Syriac Catholic Church). commemorate all the faithful departed on the Friday before Lent. 

As with other days of the Allhallowtide season, popular practices for All Souls Day include attending Mass offered for the souls of the faithful departed, as well as Christian families visiting graveyards in order to pray and decorate their family graves with garlands, flowers, candles and incense. Given that many Christian cemeteries are interdenominational in nature, All Souls Day observances often have an ecumenical dimension, with believers from various Christian denominations praying together and cooperating to adorn graves.