Happy Allhallowtide! (What’s “Allhallowtide?”)

It’s Allhallowtide! This weekend in our Church calendar, we prepare to celebrate what many describe as “three of the most thin days in the church year.” You’ve certainly heard of Halloween, traditionally called All Hallow’s Eve, but what about the other two? What is All Saints? What is All Souls? What’s the difference?

Grab your bucket of treats and gather round for tales of the saints, the living and the dead.

All Hallow’s Eve

Since the time of the early Church, major feasts in Christianity (such as Christmas, Easter and Pentecost) had vigils that began the night before, as did the feast of All Hallows'. Much like Christmas Eve developed its own set of traditions to spark the feeling of wonder and magic, Halloween became a time when we recognized and celebrated the thin veil of existence between our world and the spiritual world, between us the living and those who have died.

Historians believe that the traditions we associate with Halloween originated with Celtic harvest festivals, in particular the festival of Samhain, which celebrated the harvest and when the dead were said to return to their homes because the veil between the physical and spiritual worlds was thought to be thinnest at that time. People would keep vigil through the night leading up to the All Saint’s service. Bonfires were lit to frighten away evil spirits. People would put on costumes or masks to prevent wandering souls from recognizing them, and to frighten away evil spirits. Children would go around door to door collecting sweet “soul cakes” which they happily ate on the behalf of the dead.

Some Christians historically abstained from meat on All Hallows' Eve, a tradition reflected in the eating of certain vegetarian foods on this vigil day, including apples, potato pancakes, and soul cakes. (Apple bobbing, anyone?) Many folks also took the opportunity, after the vigil mass was over, to visit and leave candles and flowers on the graves of loved ones in preparation of All Saints’ the next day. The traditions varied by country, but all the traditions were a way for people to mark the special time of year, enjoy one another’s fellowship, and to remember that we too will one day go down to the dust.

The festivities of All Hallow’s Eve marked the beginning of the festival days, the time for honoring the saints and praying for recently-departed souls who have yet to reach Heaven. It was a time of holiness where we might feel particularly close to our loved ones departed from this life.

Today, our church marks All Hallow’s Eve with what has become a new kind of church tradition — Trunk or Treat. We invite costumed children to come trick or treat together on campus out of the trunks of our cars. While some modern Christian traditions balk at the now secular nature of Halloween, we celebrate and remember its Christian roots and enjoy the love that is found in lighthearted fellowship with each other. (And we certainly don’t fast from sweet treats!)

All Saints or All Hallows

The second day of the season is called All Saints, or All Hallows, and is one of the Principle (or primary) feasts in our church year when the church remembers the saints, known and unknown. It is also one of the four holy days denoted as especially appropriate for baptisms. (The others are the First Sunday after Epiphany, the Easter Vigil, and Pentecost.) The liturgical color of All Saints' Day is white, which is "symbolic of victory and life." While honoring the Church Triumphant (the church in Heaven), All Hallows seeks to especially honor the faithful departed who who have no special feast day. As we remember both the famous and the obscure saints, we also pray that we may find saintliness while were are living here on earth (the Church militant). On All Saints' Day, many Christians visit graveyards and cemeteries in order to place flowers and candles on the graves of their loved ones.

The origins of All Saints' Day aren’t completely clear. A feast for all martyrs was observed as early as the fourth century on May 13. And Pope Gregory III dedicated a chapel in Rome to all saints on November 1, while Pope Gregory IV officially declared its general observance in 837. Christians have been making special remembrances of saintly people who have died since the stoning of Stephen (Acts of the Apostles 7:54-60). After Saint Stephen’s death, fellow Christians would gather together every year on the anniversary to remember his life and witness, and to pray for their own faithful courage.

The Christian celebration of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day stems from a belief that there is a powerful spiritual bond between those in heaven (the "Church triumphant"), and the living (the "Church militant"). While in the New Testament “saints” refers to the entire Christian community, it has come to mean people of “heroic sanctity” whose holy deeds are remembered by Christians. In the Episcopal Church we believe that all who are faithful baptized are saints of God, living and dead. On All Saints, we remember especially those real “heroes of the faith” who have died, and we look to them for inspiration, learning, and edification. We ask them to pray for us in heaven, and we pray for them here on earth.

All Saints is always on November 1st, however we’ll celebrate the feast on Sunday November 7th. It is the custom of the Episcopal Church to move feasts forward on the calendar if they cannot be celebrated together on their appointed day, rather than celebrating them early. We wanted to be sure everyone could gather on a Sunday to remember this feast together, and welcome the two new children we’ll be baptizing at the service.

All Souls or “The Feast of the Faithful Departed”

While All Saints is a day when we particularly remember “the heroes of the faith,” All Souls is the day when we remember all who have died in the faith. We remember close loved ones and family members who have died. The prayers appointed for that day remind us that we are joined with the Communion of Saints, that great group of Christians who have finished their earthly life and with who we share the hope of resurrection from the dead.

The feast saw something of a revival in the church after World War I, when many were looking for a way to mourn the massive loss of life during the war. It became the custom to read aloud the names of those who died during the year in the parish and make special prayers for them, as well as remember those family member’s of parishioners who had died. Many churches will ring the bell with each name that is read.

Today in many churches, including ours, All Saints and All Souls are celebrated together on the same Sunday. The theological distinctions between the two are close, and so we remember together the heroes of the faith as well as those of simple faith because “they are all of us saints of God.” We’ll be reading the necrology — the names of those who died — at the All Saints service on Nov. 7th. Contact the church office if you’d like a name added.