Holiday differences
All Saints’ Day, Reformation Day and All Souls’ Day: what are we actually celebrating?
November 1st is the Catholic holiday of All Saints, which commemorates the canonization of women and men.
© Sven Hoppe / Picture Alliance
Many celebrate All Saints’ Day on November 1st. Then there is also All Souls’ Day and Reformation Day. You can find out exactly how these days differ here.
Autumn is full of commemorations. Beginning with Reformation Day on October 31st, followed by All Saints’ Day on November 1st and All Souls’ Day on November 2nd. Some federal states even have these days off, but at least they know the meanings and differences.
While for a long time only the residents of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia were able to enjoy a free Reformation Day, since 2018 the holiday has also been valid in Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony and Bremen. The background to Reformation Day is the posting of Martin Luther’s theses, which was celebrated 500 years ago. On October 31, 1517 he is said to have posted his 95 theses on penance and indulgences on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. The remission of sins criticized in it for money was intended to finance the renovation of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Luther saw abuse in the sale of indulgences and called for a return to the biblical foundations of the gospel.
Memorial or scary time?
Evangelical Christians celebrate October 31 as the beginning of the church renewal by Martin Luther. In Latin, Reformation means renewal, hence the name Reformation Day.
In the meantime, however, the date is almost better known because of another custom: Halloween. Brought to the United States by Irish immigrants, the festival has its origins in a Celtic custom. In their mythology, the dead return from the realm of the dead on this day and wander around with spirits and demons.
In the US, parades, scary pranks and parties have long been part of the holiday season. Halloween was hardly known in Germany until a few years ago. In the meantime, many children in disguise are asking for “tricks or treats” at the doors.
All Saints Day and All Souls Day?
Just one day later, people in Baden-Würtemberg, Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland can celebrate: November 1st is a public holiday here. The reason for this is the Catholic memorial day of All Saints. With the festival, the Catholic Church not only commemorates canonized women and men, but also those people who lived their faith in a rather unspectacular way.
Originally celebrated as a spring festival after Pentecost, All Saints’ Day has been celebrated on November 1st since the 9th century.
Another Catholic commemoration day takes place on November 2nd. However, All Souls Day is not a public holiday in Germany. The festival is the actual memorial day of the Catholic Church. Believers place “soul lights” on graves and pray for souls in purgatory who the church believes have not yet achieved full communion with God. They pray and decorate graves. The day was introduced in 998 by Odilo, the abbot of the monastery of Cluny (France).