It’s all saints day but have you ever wondered where and when did this feast celebrated for centuries originated? Besides from the knowledge of it as a holy day of obligation and commemoration for the individuals officially recognized by the Church as holy men and women worthy of our imitation, we have nothing more to add so we gathered some interesting facts we believe a roman catholic should know:
- How it all began?
When martyrdoms grew bigger in number during the persecutions of the late Roman Empire, local dioceses instituted a common feast day in order to ensure that all martyrs, known and unknown were properly honored. By the late fourth century, this common feast was celebrated in Antioch, and Saint Ephrem the Syrian mentioned it in a sermon in 373.
- Of all the dates written on the calendar, why November 1?
It was instituted by Pope Gregory III (731-741), when he consecrated a chapel to all the martyrs in Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The pope ordered his priests to celebrate the Feast of All Saints annually. This celebration was originally limited to the diocese of Rome, but Pope Gregory IV (827-844) extended the feast to the entire Church and ordered it to be celebrated on November 1. Answers your question?
- Is all saints day the same with Halloween?
Halloween and All Saints Day are sometimes misinterpreted or regarded as the similar, but in English, the traditional name for All Saints Day was All Hallows Day. A hallow was a saint or holy person. The vigil or eve of the feast, October 31, is still commonly known as All Hallows Eve, or Halloween.
With this short list of facts, we are not only gaining more knowledge about the traditions we observe in our church but we also come to realization that we there more information waiting to be learnt to gain a deeper understanding of our catholic religion. Have a blessed all saints’ day!
Read more: What is All Saints’ Day
Mariele Aquino
Junior Writer, Website Team, Media Ministry
Mariele R. Aquino is a member and website writer of the NSDA’s Media and Public Information Ministry, an aspiring future medical specialist and currently a STEM senior high school student in the Royal and Pontifical University of Santo Tomas. Her principle in life is that genuine success is something achieved through a path and battlefield of dodging a thousand bullets without the course of self-centered desires and conducts for temporary existential accomplishment. As a form of simple youthful religious fervor, Mariele used her skills, talent and dedication in writing to serve her Lord but also to grow not only intellectually but more on spiritually.
