All Souls' Day

Name: All Souls' Day in International
Start: 20251102T00:00:00+00:00
End: 20251103T00:00:00+00:00
Location: PLACE

Category: Religious

Religious

About All Souls' Day

How long until All Souls' Day?
All Souls' Day .
Dates of All Souls' Day
2026 InternationalNov 2 International Mon, Nov 2Observances Holiday 2025 InternationalNov 2 International Sun, Nov 2Observances Holiday 2024 InternationalNov 2 International Sat, Nov 2Observances Holiday 2023 InternationalNov 2 International Thu, Nov 2Observances Holiday 2022 InternationalNov 2 International Wed, Nov 2Observances Holiday
Summary
Dedicated to the remembrance of the departed. All Souls' Day follows All Saints' Day.

About All Souls' Day

It is a day when Roman Catholics and Anglo-Catholic churches commemorate the 'faithful departed'.

The aim is to remember and pray for the souls of those who are in Purgatory - a place in which those who have died to atone for minor sins before being granted the vision of God in Heaven.

Those in purgatory are deemed still to be members of the church and must suffer to cleanse any outstanding sins. The prayers and the offering of Requiem Mass assist in easing their suffering.

Festivals of the Dead at this time of year can be shown to have a Pagan origin, with festivals appearing in cultures as diverse as Peru, the Pacific Islands, ancient Egypt, Japan and northern Europe. Indeed Halloween can be said to derive from this tradition. The timing of the festivals is likely to have a relationship with the Autumnal Equinox. To this day in Japan, elements of the Autumnal Equinox holiday involve paying respects to the dead.

All Souls' Day around the world

In Belgium and Luxembourg, this holiday is observed but is not a public holiday.

Germany

In Germany, Catholics mark All Soul's Week from October 30th to November 8th. During this time a tradition is to ensure all knives are hidden away, so any spirits visiting for All Soul's do not injure themselves.

Austria

Some Austrians may honour their dead relatives by leaving a light on during the night and leaving out bread and water for the spirits.

Hungary

In Hungary, there are some All Souls' traditions that developed to avoid disturbing the dead. Washing clothes was forbidden in case the spirit would stand in the water and turn the clothes yellow. Sewing was also forbidden as every stitch could be inadvertently stabbing the spirits.

Italy

On All Souls’ Day (Italian: la commemorazione dei defunti) in Italy a traditional treat is 'fave dei morti'. In Ancient Roman times, it was thought that black broad beans symbolised the souls of the dead. The beans were a part of funeral rights and were thrown over the shoulders of mourners to honor the dead. In Perugia, this gave rise to the custom of baking cookies called 'fave dei morti'.