November 2 ~ All Soul’s Day/Day of the Dead Explained

All Souls’ Day is also known as the Feast of All Souls, Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed. The day purposely follows All Saint’s Day in order to shift the focus from those in heaven to those in purgatory. It is celebrated with masses and festivities in honor of the dead. While the Feast of All Saints is a day to remember the glories of Heaven and those there, the Feast of All Souls reminds us of our obligations to live holy lives and that there will be purification of the souls of those destined for Heaven.

All Soul’s Day, Catholic Dogma, Purgatory

Catholics believe that not everyone who dies in God’s grace is immediately ready for the direct experience of God and his perfect nature in heaven, so they must be purified of “lesser faults,” and the temporal effects of sin. The Catholic Church calls this purification “purgatory.” Purgatory is the final purification after death that makes us fit to be in the presence of God. The Catholic teaching on Purgatory essentially requires belief in two realities: 1. that there will be a purification of believers prior to entering heaven and 2. that the prayers and masses of the faithful in some way benefit those in the state of purification.

As to the duration, place, and exact nature of this purification, the Church has no official dogma, although Saint Augustine and others used fire as a way to explain the nature of the purification. Many faithful Catholics, including Pope Benedict XVI, understand that Purgatory may be best thought of as an “existential state” as opposed to a temporal place.

All Soul’s Day Traditions and Customs

• Visiting a Graveyard for a Picnic
• Decorating Relatives’ Graves with Flowers and Candles
• Remembering and Praying for Departed Souls
• Giving Orphans Food, Clothing, and Toys
• Leaving Doors & Windows Open on All Souls Night

All Soul’s Day Symbols

• Any Symbol of Death
• Any Symbol of Fire
• Old Testament Typology Foreshadowing All Souls Day
• All Old Testament Examples of Fire
• All Old Testament Examples of Purification

 The official Latin designation Commemoratio omnium Fidelium Defunctorum, on which this last name is based, is rendered more literally in Portuguese Comemoração de todos os Fiéis Defuntos and many other languages. Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos or de los Difuntos) is used in Spanish-speaking countries, and Thursday of the Dead (Yom el Maouta) in Lebanon, Palestine and Syria.