All Saints Day
November 1 is a day for remembering those who have died in the Lord. It may mean little to you if you don't have much involvement with Catholics, Anglicans and other high-church traditions. Yet for many believers around the world, this is a solemn occasion for decorating gravestones and reflecting upon loved ones.
Catholic terminology can lead some to believe that only a select few Christians get to be saints. The Bible teaches that all baptized individuals are now with God and therefore saints. The Roman Catholic Church in fact supports this vantage point.
No one knows exactly how or why churches started celebrating a day of remembrance for the dead. There are various references to such occasions starting in the 4th century. Pope Boniface IV gathered the bones of martyrs from the Roman catacombs and re-entombed them beneath the Pantheon. In so doing, he dedicated a time to remember all the saints. This was in May, not November. The practice as we know it on November 1 took root sometime around 900.
I spent 7 years among many Catholics in Prague. Although most Czechs don't practice Christianity at all, it's still a strong tradition to remember deceased loved ones on this day. The cemeteries are beautifully lit with candles. You can poke theological holes in the practice, but it's an eerily beautiful day.
I find it odd that in America, a supposedly Christian country, we venerate the eve of All Saints Day and ignore the actual day. The eve of All Hallows Day was an occasion to frighten away evil spirits & other scary things associated with death & immortality. It’s perhaps a reflection of our warped American priorities that we gladly celebrate a holiday warding off death, yet forget the day set aside to remember the dead.
American society is notorious for dealing poorly with death. Our failure to embrace a day to venerate "all the saints" who have gone before us is perhaps a reflection of our desire to wish death away. The only deaths worth remembering in our society are apparently those who die in our country's military battles. Those deaths certainly are tragic and leave a scar upon families for generations. That pain of loss is worth noting and needs the help of many to heal.
Yet for Christians, shouldn't the death of those saints who have conquered life's great spiritual battles be as important if not even more so than our nation's war dead? Take a moment to remember a faithful person who has preceded you in death. Give thanks for their life. And thank God for the victory that is theirs (and yours) in Christ Jesus. Light a candle in your mind for this person who lived and died well.
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| Malmi Cemetery in Helsinki |
No one knows exactly how or why churches started celebrating a day of remembrance for the dead. There are various references to such occasions starting in the 4th century. Pope Boniface IV gathered the bones of martyrs from the Roman catacombs and re-entombed them beneath the Pantheon. In so doing, he dedicated a time to remember all the saints. This was in May, not November. The practice as we know it on November 1 took root sometime around 900.
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| Vyšehrad Cemetery in Prague |
I find it odd that in America, a supposedly Christian country, we venerate the eve of All Saints Day and ignore the actual day. The eve of All Hallows Day was an occasion to frighten away evil spirits & other scary things associated with death & immortality. It’s perhaps a reflection of our warped American priorities that we gladly celebrate a holiday warding off death, yet forget the day set aside to remember the dead.
American society is notorious for dealing poorly with death. Our failure to embrace a day to venerate "all the saints" who have gone before us is perhaps a reflection of our desire to wish death away. The only deaths worth remembering in our society are apparently those who die in our country's military battles. Those deaths certainly are tragic and leave a scar upon families for generations. That pain of loss is worth noting and needs the help of many to heal.
Yet for Christians, shouldn't the death of those saints who have conquered life's great spiritual battles be as important if not even more so than our nation's war dead? Take a moment to remember a faithful person who has preceded you in death. Give thanks for their life. And thank God for the victory that is theirs (and yours) in Christ Jesus. Light a candle in your mind for this person who lived and died well.
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