Definition of All Saints

All saints its a celebration dedicated to remember the ancestors. Its on the 1st of November. It is one of the most ancient traditions of Christianity. Lots of countries celebrate this tradition, including Spain, Portugal and France. Its the same as Halloween (Hollows Eve).

Origins of All Saints

This tradition began on the VII Century when the Pope Boniface 4th purifies and consecrates the Pantheon of Rome to the Blessed Virgin and all the martyrs. The origin of All Saints' Day cannot be fixed with certainty, and it has been observed on various days in different places, but then, Gregory 4th fixed it on the 1st of November. In other places, All Saints has changed its name to Halloween, like in USA and Great Britain, but the name Halloween comes from Hollows Eve, thats the same as Hollows Evening. In reality, All Saints would be an attempt to Christianization. And the Day of the Dead, or the Soul, was an incorporation of the Celtic festival of the dead, that it was in the same period as Halloween.

Catalan Traditions
Typical food: Chestnuts: A fruit which we eat roasted.
Sweet potatoes: A food that we cook in the oven.
Panellets: A type of a small cake.

Catalan Traditions

There are a lot of traditions about this day. In the past, godparents used to give a panellet(a little cake) to their godchildren. Another typical tradition of this day is the castanyeres, women who sell chestnuts which are previously cooked by themselves.

A castanyera

The beliefs of the All Saints' Day

One of the beliefs on the 1st of November, is that at the midday, the deads, exit the purgatory, to go and see their families in their homes. But if the deads see that their families are sad and they remember the good times with them, they return to the Purgatory and go to the Glory. If the deads see that their relatives are happy because of their death, must remain up again in Purgatory, in the hopes that another year they could go to the Glory.