What is All Saints' Day?

All Saints' Day, observed on 1 November, is a Christian solemnity honouring all the saints of the Church — both those formally canonised and those unknown to history. The feast was established in Rome during the 8th century; Pope Gregory III (died 741) dedicated a chapel in St. Peter's Basilica to all the saints, and the feast was extended to the universal Church by Pope Gregory IV in 837.

The evening before — 31 October — is All Hallows' Eve, now widely known as Halloween. Many of Halloween's secular traditions (costumes, carved pumpkins, trick-or-treating) evolved from Celtic harvest festivals merged with Christian observances. The following day, 2 November, is All Souls' Day, commemorating all the faithful departed.

All Saints' Day is a public holiday in many Catholic-majority countries, including France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, and much of Latin America. In these countries it is traditionally a day for visiting cemeteries to pay respects to deceased family members, laying flowers and lighting candles on graves.