ON THIS DAY – 2ND NOVEMBER All Souls Day Is Observed

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All Souls’ Day is a national holiday called  Day of the Dead. Many people believe that the spirits of the dead return to enjoy a visit to their friends and relatives on this day. Long before sunrise, people stream into the cemeteries laden with candles, flowers and food that is often shaped and decorated to resemble the symbols of death. Children eat tiny chocolate hearse, sugar funeral wreaths, and candy skulls and coffins. But the atmosphere is festive. In the United States, it is celebrated in areas such as Los Angeles where there is a large Latin American population.

The Day of the Dead is a popular time to see performances of the Ancient Spanish drama, Don Juan Tenorio, about a reckless lover who kills the father of a woman he tried to seduce and then erects the statue of his victim. According to this fictitious play, the statue comes alive and drags Don Juan to hell for account of his crimes.

All Souls’ Day was first instituted at the monastery in Cluny in 993 CE and quickly spread throughout the Christian world. People held festivals for the dead long before Christianity. It was Saint Odilo, the abbot of Cluny in France, who in the 10th century, proposed that the day after All Saints’ Day be set aside to honor the departed, particularly those whose souls were still in purgatory. Today the souls of the faithful departed are commemorated. Although All Souls’ Day is observed informally by some Protestants, it is primarily a Roman Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox holy day. The skull, which is the symbol of death, is used for All Souls’ Day in many cultures. All Soul’s Day was established by Saint Odilo of Cluny in commemoration of the dead. The practice spread fast and was soon adopted throughout the whole Western church. During the time of Saint Odilo, Cluny, a small town located in the eastern part France, became the most important monastery in Europe. It is said that Saint Odilo worked hard to reform the monastic practices not only at Cluny, but at other places across Europe.

All Souls’ Day is also called the ‘Feast of All Souls’, ‘Defuncts’ Day’ in countries like Hungary, France, Italy, and Ecuador; ‘Day of the Dead’ in Mexico or ‘Commemoration of the Faithful Departed’. The day is dedicated to remembering and praying for loved ones who are dead. On this day Requiem masses are held at the church with special music composed for the ceremony. People also visit the graves of loved ones and decorate with flowers and candles. In contemporary Western Christianity the annual celebration is held on 2 November, and is part of the season of Allhallowtide that includes All Saints’ Day (1 November) and its eve, Halloween (31 October). Prior to the standardization of Catholic observance on 2 November by St. Odlio of Cluny during the 10th century, many Catholic congregations celebrated All Souls Day on various dates during the Easter season as it is still observed in some Eastern Orthodox Church and associated Eastern Catholic Churches. Churches of the East Syriac Rite commemorate all the faithful departed on the Friday before Lent.

It is a long tradition in Christianity that certain days were dedicated to intercession for selective groups of the dead. The foundation of All Souls’ Day for a general intercession on November 2 is due to Odilo, abbot of Cluny, who died in 1048. The observed date, which became essentially universal before the end of the 13th century, was determined to follow All Saints’ Day. After celebrating the feast of all the members of the church who are thought to be in heaven, on the next day, the body of Christ shifts to remember and pray for those souls suffering in purgatory.

Common All Souls’ Day traditions represent general perceptions connected with purgatory. For example, ringing bells for the deceased was considered to comfort them in their cleansing, while the giving of soul cakes with the poor served to buy the dead a bit of reprieve from the misery of purgatory. In the same way, lighting candles was meant to ignite a light for the dead souls fading in the darkness. Out of this grew the traditions of going “souling” and the baking of specific types of bread or cakes.

In the United States, there is one parish named after the initial All Souls’ Day promoter, St Odilo in Berwyn, Illinois. On the parish website, it says that pilgrims who visit the church can obtain indulgences for the souls in purgatory.

In 2020, the parish will have Masses in English, Spanish and Latin on All Souls’ Day, but due to pandemic restrictions, participants need to register by phone or online to attend.