He All Hallows It is a festival of religious origin in which each year tribute is paid to the deceased. Every November 1, a whole series of traditions are celebrated in Spain, of which, without a doubt, the most notable is visiting the graves of loved ones to show that they are still remembered. Flowers are usually brought as a reminder and the occasion is used to arrange the graves.
It is also widespread that around this date other religions and cultures celebrate similar holidays, such as Halloween, of pagan origin, which also has the dead as its central axis. But, What is the origin of All Saints’ Day? Why are all these holidays celebrated around November 1?
Origin of All Saints’ Day
In most countries with a Christian tradition, November 1 is the day to pay special tribute to saints, both known and unknown. It was the Pope Gregory IV in the year 835 who established November 1 as All Saints’ Day.
He chose this date because it coincided with a festival of the Germanic peoples and at that time the objective of the Church was to gradually eliminate pagan festivals from the calendar. The party we are referring to is the Samaín,a tradition of Celtic origin (which is still celebrated in some parts of Galicia) and which is the origin of today’s Halloween.
Why is it celebrated on November 1?
The Celtic people considered that the year was divided into two parts. The first was dark, which began on the night of Samaín, between October 31 and November 1, and the other, light, which began between April 30 and May 1. The night of Samaín was considered the beginning of the year, when summer died and winter began.
With the arrival of Christianity, this was declared a pagan tradition, but by then it had already spread to other places in Europe. The holiday, over time, came to the United States with the numerous Scottish and Irish emigrants who left for America, taking their culture and tradition with them.
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