All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day: The holidays after Halloween

As they clean up costumes and candy wrappers, some religious families are moving directly from Halloween festivities into more somber religious events.
Halloween on Oct. 31 is immediately followed by All Saints’ Day on Nov. 1 and All Souls’ Day on Nov. 2.
These holidays, which are mostly celebrated by Catholics but are also marked by some other Christians, are a chance to honor the dead, particularly the men and women now recognized as saints.
All Saints’ Day has been celebrated in some form since the third or fourth century, according to USA Today. The holiday grew out of efforts to wed pagan and religious traditions.
All Saints’ Day traditions have evolved over the years, but their core purpose has stayed the same. The goal is to raise awareness of the lives of saints and to encourage people to honor them.
The holiday can also encourage people to try to live like the saints, said Monsignor Walter Rossi, rector of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., to USA Today.
“It’s important to … remember that the saints were not born saints. They were people just like we are. They became saints by the example of their virtuous life. We too can become saints,” he said.
On a related note, in recent years, All Saints’ Day has come to be seen as a chance to honor loved ones who aren’t saints but who were saintly people.
“Today, we think of All Saints Day (recognizing) that anyone can be a saint,” said Julia Campagna, director of mission and campus Ministry at Notre Dame of Maryland University, to USA Today. “We talk about the saints, known and unknown, named and unnamed.”
Like All Saints’ Day, All Souls’ Day is an opportunity to remember and honor the dead.
Both days are celebrated with special prayers and visits to sacred sites, including cemeteries, according to Brandeis University.
But rather than being focused on only the holiest men and women, All Souls’ Day traditions are focused on any loved one you’ve lost.
In many parts of the world, All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day are more culturally significant than Halloween, per The Associated Press.