All saints day or All souls day?

November 2 for Catholic Church is a day of “services and prayers for the souls in purgatory” 

“All saints day” for some, if not most, offer their prayers for alleviating the sufferings of the “poor souls in purgatory”.

They allegedly say that November 2 is the day for remembering the dead and on this date Catholic priests will be offering “prayers for the dead”, yet in actual practice in most places is on November 1.


Lets take a closer look on how it all began.



All Saints Day

In the east

"The feast of All Saints achieved great prominence in the ninth century, in the reign of the Byzantine Emperor, Leo VI "the Wise" (886–911). His wife, Empress Theophano—commemorated on December 16—lived a devout life. After her death, her husband built a church, intending to dedicate it to her.

When he was forbidden to do so, he decided to dedicate it to "All Saints," so that if his wife were in fact one of the righteous, she would also be honored whenever the feast was celebrated. According to tradition, it was Leo who expanded the feast from a commemoration of All Martyrs to a general commemoration of All Saints, whether martyrs or not."

In the west

“The origin of the festival of All Saints as celebrated in the West dates to May 13, 609 or 610, when Pope Boniface IV consecrated the Pantheon at Rome to the Blessed Virgin and all the martyrs; the feast of the dedicatio Sanctae Mariae ad Martyres has been celebrated at Rome ever since.

The chosen day, May 13, was a pagan observation of great antiquity, the culmination of three days of the Feast of the Lemures, in which the malevolent and restless spirits of the dead were propitiated. Liturgiologists of the Middle Ages based the idea that this Lemuria festival was the origin of that of All Saints on their identical dates and on the similar theme of "all the dead".?

“The feast of All Saints, on its current date, is traced to the foundation by Pope Gregory III (731–741) of an oratory in St. Peter's for the relics "of the holy apostles and of all saints, martyrs and confessors, of all the just made perfect who are at rest throughout the world", with the day moved to November 1.

A November festival of all the saints was already widely celebrated on November 1 in the days of Charlemagne. It was made a day of obligation throughout the Frankish empire in 835, by a decree of Louis the Pious, issued "at the instance of Pope Gregory IV and with the assent of all the bishops", which confirmed its celebration on November 1. The octave was added by Pope Sixtus IV (1471—1484).” source: wikipedia

All Souls Day

The custom of setting apart a special day for intercession for certain of the faithful on November 2 was first established by St. Odilo of Cluny (d. 1048) at his abbey of Cluny in 998. From Cluny the custom spread to the other houses of the Cluniac order, which became the largest and most extensive network of monasteries in Europe. The celebration was soon adopted in several dioceses in France, and spread throughout the Western Church. It was accepted in Rome only in the fourteenth century.

The origins of All Souls' Day in European folklore and folk belief are related to customs of ancestor veneration practised worldwide, through events such as the Chinese Ghost Festival, the Japanese Bon Festival, or the Mexican Day of the Dead. The Roman custom was that of the Lemuria.

In Tirol, cakes are left for them on the table and the room kept warm for their comfort.

In Brittany, people flock to the cemeteries at nightfall to kneel, bareheaded, at the graves of their loved ones, and to anoint the hollow of the tombstone with holy water or to pour libations of milk on it. At bedtime, the supper is left on the table for the souls.

In Bolivia, many people believe that the dead eat the food that is left out for them. In Brazil people attend a mass or visit the cemetery taking flowers to decorate their relatives' grave, but no food is involved. source: wikipedia

Now lets examine just a piece of it…

“The origin of the festival of All Saints as celebrated in the West dates to May 13, 609 or 610, when Pope Boniface IV consecrated the Pantheon at Rome to the Blessed Virgin and all the martyrs; the feast of the dedicatio Sanctae Mariae ad Martyres has been celebrated at Rome ever since. The chosen day, May 13, was a pagan observation of great antiquity,..”

I will not give my opinion here, youre the one to judge!

Its history that says, not just someone. 

But do we really need to do these things for our dead?
Lets read Eccl. 9:5-6 that says,

“The living know they will die, but the dead know nothing. Dead people have no more reward, and people forget them. After people are dead, they can no longer love or hate or envy. They will never again share in what happens here on earth.”

The dead will make no profit anymore or will share in all such activities done by the living because dead knows nothing. Why would you choose to make such efforts while the dead you are been given by that knows nothing…Let not your faith and actions be based on man-made doctrines!

What really happens when a man dies?

“His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” Psalms 146:6

Upon cessation of breath, the thoughts of a dying man perish; he returns to his earth, a fulfillment of what God had decreed;

“…Later you will return to the ground, because you were taken from it.
You are dust, and when you die, you will return to the dust." Gen. 3:19

What happens to the spirit of a man upon cessation of breath?

“You will turn back into the dust of the earth again, but your spirit will return to God who gave it.” Eccl. 12:7

What is the proof of the scripture that does not teach the immortality of the soul?

“For our soul is bowed down to the dust; Our body clings to the ground.”
Psalms 44:25

The soul and the body of a dead person cleave to the ground. The soul is nowhere in “purgatory” undergoing purgation!

What happens to the spirit, soul and body?

“God's word is alive and working and is sharper than a double-edged sword. It cuts all the way into us, where the soul and the spirit are joined, to the center of our joints and bones. And it judges the thoughts and feelings in our hearts.” Heb. 4:12

The spirit, soul and body are separated upon the advent of death. The spirit returns to God who gave it (Eccl. 12:7); the soul and body cleave to the ground.