About All Saints Day

All Saints Day is also known as All Hallows Day or The Feast of All Saints and is celebrated every year on 1 November. All Saints’ Day actually starts at sundown on the evening before Halloween. All Saints’ Day is a public holiday in most countries with government offices, banks, shops, and schools closed. Many people attend church services to celebrate All Saints’ Day. It is a day when ‘all saints’ are remembered. However, many people also make it a day to visit the graves of family members.

Feasting for All Saints Day

Lunch on All Saints’ Day is usually lamb or turkey. However, at midnight the French often eat a supper that consists of bacon, black grain, pancakes, and cider in honour of the dead. As a celebration, a feast is served to enjoy traditional All Saints Day food, such as soul cakes, Catalan almond sweet, Catalan potato biscuits etc. Soul Cakes is perhaps the most popular and traditional All Saints Day food among all. These cakes are prepared with the unique type of shapes like men, women, skull or bones.

Flowers for All Saints Day

It is traditional to go down to the cemetery and put flowers on the graves of loved ones. It is also quite common to picnic in the grounds. This happens in the Philippines for example where all the graves are adorned with fresh flowers. The kinds of flowers used are those traditional for putting on graves. As it is a celebration rather than a mourning of passing souls then more colourful flowers such as peonies, tulips and roses might be used as well as more respectful bouquets of white lilies. All Saints Day is also known as ‘All Souls Day’ where flowers are traditionally bought for the ‘bones’. Those who celebrate this day and give flowers to the ‘bones’ give lilies and roses. Common colours of flowers given include pink, orange, yellow and red.