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All Saints and All Souls
CERC ^ | 2002 | FR. WILLIAM SAUNDERS

Posted on 10/22/2007 8:13:38 PM PDT by Salvation


All Saints and All Souls
   FR. WILLIAM SAUNDERS


What is the origin of All Saints and All Souls Day. Are they linked with paganism and Halloween?

Both the Feast of All Saints and the Feast of All Souls evolved in the life of the Church independently of paganism and Halloween. However, elements of pagan practices were perhaps “baptized” by some cultures or attached themselves to the celebration of All Saints and All Souls.

Let us first address the Feast of All Saints. The exact origins of this celebration are uncertain, although, after the legalization of Christianity in 313, a common commemoration of Saints, especially the martyrs, appeared in various areas throughout the Church. For instance in the East, the city of Edessa celebrated this feast on May 13; the Syrians, on the Friday after Easter; and the city of Antioch, on the first Sunday after Pentecost. Both St. Ephrem (d. 373) and St. John Chrysostom (d. 407) attest to this feast day in their preaching. In the West, a commemoration for all the saints also was celebrated on the first Sunday after Pentecost. The primary reason for establishing a common feast day was because of the desire to honor the great number of martyrs, especially during the persecution of Emperor Diocletion (284-305), the worst and most extensive of the persecutions. Quite supply, there were not enough days of the year for a feast day for each martyr and many of them died in groups. A common feast day for all saints, therefore seemed most appropriate.

In 609, the Emperor Phocas gave the Pantheon in Rome to Pope Boniface IV, who rededicated it on May 13 under the title St. Maria ad Martyres (or St. Mary and All Martyrs). Whether the Holy Father purposefully chose May 13 because of the date of the popular celebration already established in the East or whether this was just a happy coincidence is open to debate.

The designation of Nov. 1 as the Feast of All Saints occurred over time. Pope Gregory III (731-741) dedicated an oratory in the original St. Peter's Basilica in honor of all the saints on Nov. 1 (at least according to some accounts), and this date then became the official date for the celebration of the Feast of All Saints in Rome. St Bede (d. 735) recorded the celebration of All Saints Day on Nov. 1 in England, and such a celebration also existed in Salzburg. Austria. Ado of Vienna (d 875) recounted how Pope Gregory IV asked King Louis the Pious (778-840) to proclaim Nov. 1 as All Saints Day throughout the Holy Roman Empire. Sacramentaries of the 9th and 10th centuries also placed the Feast of All Saints on the liturgical calendar on Nov. 1.

According to an early Church historian, John Beleth, Pope Gregory IV (827-844) officially declared Nov. 1 the Feast of All Saints, transferring it from May 13. However, Sicard of Cremona (d. 1215) recorded that Pope Gregory VII (1073-85) finally suppressed May 13 and mandated Nov.1 as the date to celebrate the Feast of All Saints. In all, we find the Church establishing a liturgical feast day in honor of the saints independent of any pagan influence.

Now for the pagan connection: Nov. 1 marked Samhain, the beginning of the Celtic winter. (The Celts lived as early as 2,000 years ago in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and northern France.) Samhain, for whom the feast was named, was the Celtic lord of death, and his name literally meant “summer’s end.” Since winter is the season of cold, darkness and death, the Celts soon made the connection with human death. The eve of Samhain, Oct. 31, was a time of Celtic pagan sacrifice, and Samhain allowed the souls of the dead to return to their earthly homes that evening. Ghosts, witches, goblins, and elves came to harm the people, particularly those who had inflicted harm on them in this life. Cats too were considered sacred because they had once been human beings who had been changed as a punishment for their evil deeds on this earth.

To protect themselves from marauding evil spirits on the eve of Samhain, the people extinguished their hearth fires and the Druids (the priests and spintual teachers of the Belts) built a huge new year's bonfire of sacred oak branches. The Druids offered burnt sacrifices — crops, animals, even humans — and told fortunes of the coming year by examining the burned remains. People sometimes wore costumes of animal heads and skins. From this new fire, the home hearths were again ignited.

Particular ethnic groups developed their own lore which was merged with the celebration. In Ireland, people held a parade in honor of Muck Olla, a god. They followed a leader dressed in a white robe with a mask from the head of an animal, and begged for food. (Ireland is also the source of the jack-o’lantern fable: A man named Jack was not able to enter heaven because of his miserliness and he could not enter hell because he played practical jokes on the devil; so he was condemned to walk the earth with his lantern until Judgment Day.)

The Scots walked through fields and villages carrying torches and lit bonfires to ward off witches and other evil spirits.

In Wales, every person placed a marked stone in the huge bonfire. If a person's stone could not be found the next morning, he would die within a year.

Besides the Celtic traditions in place, the Roman conquest of Britain in AD 43 brought two other pagan feasts: Feralia was held in late October to honor the dead. Another Autumn festival honored Pomona, the goddess of fruits and trees; probably through this festival, apples became associated with Halloween. Elements of these Roman celebrations were combined with the Celtic Samhain.

With the spread of Christianity and the establishment of All Saints Day, some of these pagan customs remained in the English speaking world for All Hallows Eve (or Halloween, All Saints Eve), perhaps at first more out of superstition and later, more out of fun. Nevertheless, All Saints Day clearly arose from genuine a Christian devotion.

Along with the Feast of All Saints developed the Feast of All Souls. The Church has consistently encouraged the offering of prayers and Mass for the souls of the faithful departed in Purgatory. At the time of their death, these souls are not perfectly cleansed of venial sin or have not atoned for past transgressions, and thereby are deprived of the Beatific Vision. The faithful on earth can assist these souls in Purgatory in attaining the Beatific Vision through their prayers, good works and the offering of Mass.

In the early days of the Church, the names of the faithful departed were posted in Church so that the community would remember them in prayer. In the 6th century, the Benedictine monasteries held a solemn commemoration of deceased members at Whitsuntide, the days following Pentecost. In Spain, St. Isidore (d. 636) attested to a celebration on the Saturday before Sexagesima Sunday (the second Sunday before Lent, the eighth before Easter in the old calendar). In Germany, Widukind, Abbot of Corvey (d. 980) recorded a special ceremony for the faithful departed on Oct. 1. St. Odilo, the Abbot of Cluny (d. 1048), decreed for all of the Cluniac monasteries that special prayers be offered and the Office of the Dead sung for all of the souls in Purgatory on Nov. 2, the day after All Saints. The Benedictines and Carthusians adopted that same devotion, and soon Nov. 2 was adopted as the Feast of All Souls for the whole Church.

Other customs have arisen over time in the celebration of All Souls Day. The Dominicans in the 15th century instituted a custom of each priest offering three Masses on the Feast of All Souls. Pope Benedict XIV in 1748 approved this practice, and it rapidly spread throughout Spain, Portugal and Latin America. During World War I, Pope Benedict XV, recognizing the number of war dead and the numerous Masses that could not be fulfilled because of destroyed Churches, granted all priests the privilege of offering three Masses on All Souls Day: one for the particular intention, one for all of the faithful departed, and one for the intentions of the Holy Father.

Other customs have developed regarding All Souls. In Mexico, relatives make garlands, wreathes and crosses of real and paper flowers of every color to place on the graves of deceased relatives the morning of All Souls. The family will spend the entire day at the cemetery. The pastor will visit the cemetery, preach and offer prayers for the dead and then bless the individual graves. "Skeleton" candy is given to the children.

Similar practices occur in Louisiana. The relatives whitewash and clean the tombstones and prepare garlands, wreathes and crosses of real and paper flowers to decorate them. In the afternoon of All Saints, the priest processes around the cemetery, blessing the graves and reciting the Rosary. Candles are lit near the graves at dusk, one for each member of the deceased. On All Souls day, Mass is usually offered at the cemetery.

In the Middle Ages, superstitious belief, probably influenced from Celtic paganism, held that the souls in purgatory appeared on All Souls Day as witches, toads, goblins, etc. to persons who committed wrongs against them during their lives on earth. For this reason, some ethnic groups also prepared food offerings to feed and to appease the spirits on this day. These practices are probably remnants of the Celtic Samhain festivities.

Nevertheless, All Souls Day as well as All Saints Day are rooted in Christian belief and arose in this life of the Church through a healthy spirituality, despite some pagan trappings that may have survived and have remained attached to their celebration.

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Saunders, Rev. William. "All Saints and All Souls." Arlington Catholic Herald.

This article is reprinted with permission from Arlington Catholic Herald.

THE AUTHOR

Father William Saunders is dean of the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College and pastor of Our Lady of Hope Parish in Sterling, Virginia. The above article is a "Straight Answers" column he wrote for the Arlington Catholic Herald. Father Saunders is also the author of Straight Answers, a book based on 100 of his columns and published by Cathedral Press in Baltimore.

Copyright © 2002 Arlington Catholic Herald



TOPICS: Catholic; History; Religion & Culture; Theology
KEYWORDS: catholic; catholiclist; saints
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For your information and discussion
1 posted on 10/22/2007 8:13:40 PM PDT by Salvation
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To: nickcarraway; sandyeggo; Lady In Blue; NYer; ELS; Pyro7480; livius; Catholicguy; RobbyS; ...
Catholic Discussion Ping!

Please notify me via FReepmail if you would like to be added to or taken off the Catholic Discussion Ping List.

2 posted on 10/22/2007 8:23:55 PM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: Salvation

Unfortunately, the modern world concentrates more on the Halloween part of this rather than the Eve of All Hallows.


3 posted on 10/22/2007 8:28:20 PM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: Salvation

Just for reference: in the Christian East, the Feast of All Saints is still celebrated in accord with the ancient Antiochian and Western tradition on the Sunday after Pentecost. The East’s equivalent of All Souls is multiple: we keep Soul Saturdays in commemoration of all of the faithful departed several times throughout the year.


4 posted on 10/22/2007 8:34:00 PM PDT by The_Reader_David (And when they behead your own people in the wars which are to come, then you will know. . .)
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To: Salvation
Can Halloween Be Christianized?

Halloween's Dark Roots

How Did a Pagan Holiday Become a "Christian" Celebration?

Halloween: Behind the Mask

A Halloween Story

Halloween: Treat or Trick?

5 posted on 10/22/2007 8:39:36 PM PDT by DouglasKC
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To: Salvation; Huber; sionnsar

There is a wonderful service for the Vigil of All Hallow’s in the Episcopal Book of Occasional Services.

It is intended for use in the context of Vespers; after the customary opening verses and prayers a sequence of Scripture, Psalm, Silence, and Prayer is followed:

The Witch of Endor

LESSON 1 Samuel 28:3-19
PSALM 130
SILENCE
PRAYER

The Vision of Eliphaz the Tishbite

LESSON Job 4:12-21
PSALM 108:1-6
SILENCE
PRAYER

The Valley of Dry Bones

LESSON Ezekiel 37:1-14
PSALM 143:1-11
SILENCE
PRAYER

The War in Heaven

LESSON Revelation 12:7-12
PSALM 103:17-22
SILENCE
PRAYER

The service then concludes with the Te Deum and Intercessions.


6 posted on 10/22/2007 8:44:26 PM PDT by lightman (The Office of the Keys should be exercised as some ministry needs to be Exorcised.)
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To: The_Reader_David

I like the idea of the Soul Saturdays. Wow, what a concept.


7 posted on 10/22/2007 8:45:51 PM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: DouglasKC

LOL! You didn’t put your ghouls, goblins and ghost thread in here.


8 posted on 10/22/2007 8:46:36 PM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: lightman

I think I am reading that evening, because another person wanted to go out with the grandchildren. I’ll check on our readings and see if they coincide here.


9 posted on 10/22/2007 8:48:00 PM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: DouglasKC
Your article, not surprisingly, is pretty confused.

All Saints' Day did not begin as any sort of pagan anything.

Samhain was Samhain back when All Saints, in the West, was where it still is today in the East, the Sunday after Pentecost.

Moving the Western observance of All Saints' to November 1 was a decision made in Rome, and had nothing at all to do with the pagan Celts or their holidays. (The primary motivation seems to have been to put the celebration after the harvest when the pilgrims could be easily fed. Food supplies are obviously going to be a bit sparser in the spring, and Rome already had to feed many pilgrims during Lent and Easter.)

10 posted on 10/22/2007 8:48:54 PM PDT by Campion
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To: lightman
Reading 1
Rv 7:2-4, 9-14
 
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
 
Reading II
1 Jn 3:1-3
 
Gospel
Mt 5:1-12a

Quite different, huh?

11 posted on 10/22/2007 8:50:50 PM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: Salvation
LOL! You didn’t put your ghouls, goblins and ghost thread in here.

Link exchanges r us.... :-)

12 posted on 10/22/2007 8:51:42 PM PDT by DouglasKC
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To: lightman; ahadams2; showme_the_Glory; blue-duncan; brothers4thID; sionnsar; Alice in Wonderland; ...
Thanks to lightman for the ping.

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams.

FReepmail Huber or sionnsar if you want on or off this moderately high-volume ping list (sometimes 3-9 pings/day).
This list is pinged by Huber and sionnsar.

Resource for Traditional Anglicans: http://trad-anglican.faithweb.com
Humor: The Anglican Blue

Speak the truth in love. Eph 4:15

[lightman points out a wonderful Anglican service for the Vigil of All Hallows (see below) --Huber]

There is a wonderful service for the Vigil of All Hallow’s in the Episcopal Book of Occasional Services. It is intended for use in the context of Vespers; after the customary opening verses and prayers a sequence of Scripture, Psalm, Silence, and Prayer is followed: The Witch of Endor LESSON 1 Samuel 28:3-19 PSALM 130 SILENCE PRAYER The Vision of Eliphaz the Tishbite LESSON Job 4:12-21 PSALM 108:1-6 SILENCE PRAYER The Valley of Dry Bones LESSON Ezekiel 37:1-14 PSALM 143:1-11 SILENCE PRAYER The War in Heaven LESSON Revelation 12:7-12 PSALM 103:17-22 SILENCE PRAYER The service then concludes with the Te Deum and Intercessions.

13 posted on 10/23/2007 6:29:27 AM PDT by Huber (And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. - John 1:5)
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To: Salvation

Actually, Samhain is the festival of the dead at the end of “summer”; Samionos is a month Samionos was tied to a lunar calendar, but could certainly be translated to a solar calendar as November. Even neopagan authors have questionned the neopagan assertion that the feast of Samhein was related to Samionos: Samionos was roughly November; Samhein means (grossly translated) “end of summer”. Summer, as translated here, lasted three months and began in May. Presumably, then, Samhein was in August.

Now, anyone care to guess why an 8th-century Italian pope would even care about a Celtic calendar observation? Don’t forget that in the 8th Century, the Celtic lands (Eire, Scots, Mannx, Wales, and Brittany) were probably the most tenuously Catholic of all Roman lands, stubbornly quarreling with the Roman-established archdiocese of Canterbury.


14 posted on 10/23/2007 6:54:04 AM PDT by dangus
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To: Salvation; drstevej; OrthodoxPresbyterian; CCWoody; Wrigley; Gamecock; Jean Chauvin; jboot; ...
October 31st?!?

Happy Reformation Day!!!


15 posted on 10/23/2007 7:29:37 AM PDT by Gamecock (Anathama Since 1959! (According to Trent anyway))
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To: Gamecock
Happy Reformation Day!!!

AMEN!.

And "Luther" was a great and compelling movie.

16 posted on 10/23/2007 7:46:37 AM PDT by Dr. Eckleburg ("I don't think they want my respect; I think they want my submission." - Flemming Rose)
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To: Dr. Eckleburg

I was pretty surprised at how well made it was, I watched it with my Wife and my parents who came in town for my daughters dedication. Wife and Mother loved it, my father being roman catholic thinks Luther was evil incarnate but said he was impressed with the movie.


17 posted on 10/23/2007 7:55:19 AM PDT by N3WBI3 (Ah, arrogance and stupidity all in the same package. How efficient of you. -- Londo Mollari)
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To: Gamecock
Happy Reformation Day, Gamecock!


18 posted on 10/23/2007 7:56:43 AM PDT by Alex Murphy ("Therefore the prudent keep silent at that time, for it is an evil time." - Amos 5:13)
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To: N3WBI3; Dr. Eckleburg
Catholic apologist Dave Armstrong finds a few things wrong with "Luther" (the movie). (Long essay!)
19 posted on 10/23/2007 8:05:34 AM PDT by Campion
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To: Gamecock
Did you catch this one:

Tominthebox News Network - Religious Humor/Satire: More Churches Accepting and Affirming Calvinists in Their Midst
20 posted on 10/23/2007 8:06:10 AM PDT by George W. Bush (Apres moi, le deluge.)
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