November – We remember

Feast of All Saints On November 1st we celebrate All Saints' Day. It is also known as All Hallows' Day and occurs the day after All Hallows’ Eve (Hallowe'en). It is a feast day celebrated on 1st November by Anglicans and Roman Catholics. It is a holy day of obligation (i.e. we must attend Mass on this day)

Feast of All Saints Every day in the Church calendar has a saint day (e.g. St. Patrick’s saint day is on 17th March), but the Solemnity of All Saints is when the Church honours all saints, known and unknown. While we have information about many saints, and we honour them on specific days, there are many unknown saints, who may have been forgotten, or never been especially honoured. On All Saints Day, we celebrate these saints who are all in heaven, and we ask for their prayers and intercessions.

History of All Saints’ Day Remembering saints and martyrs and celebrating their lives on a particular day each year has been a Christian tradition since the 4th century AD. In 837AD, Pope Gregory IV extended the festival to remember all the saints, changed its name to Feast of All Saints and fixed the date to 1st November.

Communion of Saints The whole idea of All Saints Day is linked with the belief in the Communion of Saints. This is the belief that all of God's people, on heaven, earth, and in the state of purification (called Purgatory), are linked together in a communion. In other words, we believe that the saints of God are just as alive as you and I, and are constantly praying before God (interceding) on our behalf.

All Souls’ Day All Souls' Day is marked on 2nd November, directly after All Saints' Day, and is an opportunity for us to remember (commemorate) and especially to pray for those who have died who are not yet in heaven. Some souls have died without being fully ready to meet God. We call the place where these souls are Purgatory. Purgatory is a place or state where we get "cleaned up" before entering into the presence of Almighty God. Just like the Saints in heaven pray for us on earth and their prayers benefit us, so the prayers and Masses we offer are of help to the souls in Purgatory.

History of All Souls’ Day Praying for the dead is an ancient Christian tradition. In 998AD Odilo, Abbot of Cluny (France), set aside a specific day for remembering and praying for those in Purgatory. This started as a local feast in his monasteries and gradually spread throughout the Catholic Church towards the end of the 10th century AD.

All Souls’ Day traditions There are many customs associated with All Souls Day, and these vary greatly from culture to culture. In Mexico they celebrate All Souls Day as el dia de los muertos, or "the day of the dead." In the Philippines, they celebrate "Memorial Day" based loosely on All Souls Day. Customs include praying novenas for the holy souls, and ornately decorating relatives' graves. On the eve of All Souls (i.e. the evening of All Saints Day), people go door-to-door, requesting gifts and singing a traditional verse. In Hungary the day is known as Halottak Napja, "the day of the dead," and a common custom is inviting orphans into the family and giving them food, clothes, and toys. All of these customs show the wide variety of traditions related to All Souls Day.

November traditions In November we often attend the graves of our loved ones who have died and pray for them. We can light a candle in a Church for our loved ones. We can think about happy times we spent with our loved ones and thank God for them. We may have a Mass offered up for the intentions of the Holy Souls. In school we may have a Remembrance tree where we can put memorial cards of relatives who have passed away and pray for them during our school assembly or during religion time in our classroom.

Prayer for the Holy Souls Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord and may everlasting light shine upon them, may they rest in peace. Amen

All Saints’ Day Activities For a Wordsearch on All Saints’ Day check out: http://www.christiancoloring.com/cmpdf/saintsws.pdf For the solution to the Wordsearch check out: http://www.christiancoloring.com/cmpdf/saintssolution.pdf For a Crossword testing your skills on Saints check out: http://www.christiancoloring.com/cmpdf/saintscw.pdf