Do you know what All Saints Day is?
In order to get a better understanding of the holiday celebrated one day after the famously infamous Halloween, let’s see what Encyclopaedia Britannica has to say about it:
“All Saints’ Day, also called All Hallows’ Day, Hallowmas, or Feast of All Saints, in the Christian church, a day commemorating all the saints of the church, both known and unknown, who have attained heaven. It is celebrated on November 1 in the Western churches and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Eastern churches. In Roman Catholicism, the feast is usually a holy day of obligation.
The origin of All Saints’ Day cannot be traced with certainty, and 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 honor of the Blessed Virgin and all martyrs in 609. The first evidence for the November 1 date of celebration and 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, and 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, and its eve is still known as Halloween. The period from October 31 to November 2 (All Souls’ Day) is sometimes known as Allhallowtide.”
On All Saints Day, people visit cemeteries and their loved ones who had passed away. Lighting candles and decorating graves with flowers is a long-standing tradition. In the 19th century, people carried food to their loved ones’ graves because they thought the spirits needed nourishment, but that laying down flowers soon replaced that tradition. The custom of carrying food is still done in eastern Christianity. Lighting candles came to be as a way of helping the souls find their way in the dark, but also a symbol of remembering the deceased.
If you’ll be visiting the graves of your loved ones this year, bring them a few bouquets of beautiful flowers (we know, this is a shameless plug of our products, but we are in the flower business). Hey, better to suggest it straight than tiptoeing around it, right?
Anyway, here are a couple of gorgeous bouquets you might consider buying. Perfect Pinks are reminiscent of a pink cloud, Mrs Tracy Klein is a cornucopia of gorgeous colors, and Dreamland is a dazzling Chrysanthemum mix that will make sure your grave looks just the way it should.
Not much can be said about All Saints Day besides a couple historical facts and anecdotes. However, the Hipper team wants to remind you that All Saints Day can be used as an opportunity to think about life and death, grow as a person, as well as give your loved ones the respect they deserve. It also gives you a chance to become a kinder person, a better person, and a person with more empathy towards others.
We’re not going to end this post by telling you to have a great All Saints Day. It’s rarely great. Most often it is a time of sadness and deep contemplation, of apprehension and pain. However, sit down, think, and use it as a chance to better yourself.