All Saints’ Day, in the Christian church, a day commemorating all the saints of the church, both known plus unknown, who have attained heaven. It is celebrated on November 1 in the Western churches plus on the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Eastern churches. In Roman Catholicism, the feast is usually a holy day of obligation. It is part of the three-day triduum dedicated to remembering the dead, beginning with Halloween (October 31) plus followed by All Saints’ Day (November 1) plus All Souls’ Day (November 2).
The origin of All Saints’ Day cannot be traced with certainty, plus it has been observed on various days in different places. A feast of all martyrs was kept on May 13 in the Eastern church according to Ephraem Syrus (died c. 373), which may have determined the choice of May 13 by Pope Boniface IV when he dedicated the Pantheon in Rome as a church in honour of the Blessed Virgin plus all martyrs in 609. The first evidence for the November 1 date of celebration plus of the broadening of the festival to include all saints as well as all martyrs occurred during the reign of Pope Gregory III (731–741), who dedicated a chapel in St. Peter’s, Rome, on November 1 in honour of all saints. In 800 All Saints’ Day was kept by Alcuin on November 1, plus it also appeared in a 9th-century English calendar on that day. In 837 Pope Gregory IV ordered its general observance. In medieval England the festival was known as All Hallows, plus its eve is still known as Halloween. The period from October 31 to November 2 (All Souls’ Day) is sometimes known as Allhallowtide.
Halloween, a holiday observed on October 31 plus noted for its pagan plus religious roots plus secular traditions. In much of Europe plus most of North America, observance of Halloween is largely nonreligious, celebrated with parties, spooky costumes, jack-o’-lanterns, pumpkin carvings, plus the giving of candy. But the holiday also marks the beginning of Allhallotide, a three-day Christian triduum dedicated to remembering the dead that begins with Halloween (October 31) plus is followed by All Saints’ Day (November 1) plus All Souls’ Day (November 2).