eHow launches Android app: Get the best of eHow on the go.

How To

How to Discover All Saints Day Traditions

Contributor
By eHow Contributing Writer
(2 Ratings)

All Saints Day traditions are many and varied. You can celebrate it in church, honoring the saints and the martyrs who died for their beliefs. You can pray for those who died before they reached a state of grace, in the hopes that your prayers will ease their journey in the afterlife. You can also spend the day celebrating the lives of deceased relatives by making offerings of food, flowers and lit candles at their graves. Traditions for All Saints Day are many, varied and simple to discover.

Difficulty: Easy
Instructions

    Discover All Saints Day Traditions

  1. Step 1

    Celebrate at a Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopal or Methodist church. The church honors saints and martyrs who died for their faith in the early years of Christianity. Catholics are expected to attend mass because All Saints Day is a day of obligation. Church services will be celebrated with several special readings and hymns, including "For all the Saints," written by William Walsham How.

  2. Step 2

    Give offerings. On All Saints Day, citizens of Portugal, Spain and Mexico build altars, called "ofrendas", where they give offerings of food, flowers and candles in honor of deceased relatives. It is part of the tradition that you clean your house thoroughly before you build your ofrenda, so that your "guests" will feel welcome.

  3. Step 3

    Discover "Don Juan Tenorio" in Spain. This romantic play celebrates the mythical Don Juan. It is performed yearly on All Saints Day.

  4. Step 4

    Decorate the graves of deceased relatives. In Spain, Portugal, Italy and France, citizens use this day to beautify the graves of their loved ones. The headstones are cleaned, painted and adorned with flowers.

  5. Step 5

    Spend the day with your deceased loved one. All Saints Day is like a picnic day for families in the Philippines. The only difference is that they have the picnic at the graveside of their deceased relatives. There is food and merriment and it is a celebration of the lives of those who have passed on.

  6. Step 6

    Light candles at the graves of departed family members. If you are in Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Lithuania, Croatia, Austria or Germany, this is the way to spend the evening of All Saints Day. Graveyards are bright from the light of hundreds of candles lit by families of the departed.

Tips & Warnings
  • Follow safety measures when lighting candles. Keep lit candles away from flammable items and substances, keep them on surfaces that are fire-resistant and blow them out if you will not be there to watch them.
Subscribe

Post a Comment

Post a Comment

Related Ads

  • Have you done this? Click here to let us know.
I Did This
Get Free Holidays & Celebrations Newsletters

Copyright © 1999-2010 eHow, Inc. Use of this web site constitutes acceptance of the eHow Terms of Use and Privacy Policy .   en-US Portions of this page are modifications based on work created and shared by Google and used according to terms described in the Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution License. † requires javascript

Demand Media
eHow_eHow Holidays and Celebrations