November 2: All Souls’ Day (Soulmas)

Etching by W. Delamotte, c. 1806, after W. Havell

All Souls’ Day, the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, remembers all the dead & invites prayer for them. As early as the 9th century, monasteries formally commemorated their dead, and Masses had been said for the dead long before that; St. Odilo of Cluny formalized this in 998 as a day of song, prayer, & almsgiving, with Masses in memory of the departed on November 2. This then spread throughout the rest of the Church.

Tradition & plantlore highlights:

• Passing Bell
• Tinley Torches
• Midnight Silence
• Table of the Dead
• Soul Cakes
• Fave de Morti (Fava Beans of the Dead)
• Ossa dei morti (Bones of the Dead)
• Winter Cherry
• Chrysanthemum
• Cypress

If you’d like to learn more about the history, traditions, folklore, & plantlore of Allhallowtide, enjoy these free info sheets designed to help you build your Liturgical Year Binder: