In most of the United States, we celebrate Halloween on October 31. As you probably know, it is a time for children to dress as their favorite characters and walk their neighborhood going door to door for "treats." You may also know that this secular celebration springs from the roots of a very Catholic celebration known as All Saints Day and All Souls Day. 

So how did we get to something that was meant to help Christians remember those they have lost and understand that all of the saints in Heaven are praying for them to this very secular event? Catholic Answers' Joseph Shaw has provided a very rich explanation in his post. He also reminds us that as one of the major feasts of the Church’s year, All Saints is a holy day of obligation and falls on Friday, November 1 this year. 

All Saints’ Day celebrates the holy men and women in Heaven, those known and unknown by the Church, on November 1, whereas All Souls’ Day honors all of the faithful departed on November 2. In some countries, such as Mexico, people know All Souls’ Day as the second day of “Día de Los Muertos.” 

The Church recognizes white as the liturgical color for All Saints’ Day. The color white symbolizes the holiness and purity of the saints in Heaven. 

When did All Saints’ Day start? Pope Boniface IV instituted All Saints’ Day in the Church in 609 when the Roman temple of the Pantheon in Rome became a Church named the Basilica di Santa Maria ad Martyres (the Basilica of St. Mary and the Martyrs). Initially instituted in May, Pope Gregory IV moved the holy day to November two centuries later, in 837. Since then, Christians have celebrated All Saints’ Day on the first day of November.