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1 November, for every saint named and unnamed. In much of Catholic Europe it is the day families clean the graves and set candles on them, and the cemeteries are lit after dark.

When it falls

1 November, followed on the 2nd by All Souls. Halloween is the eve of it, which is where the name comes from.

The Phala almanac gives the exact day for your own city; the lunar and solar rules above are what it computes from.

The story

One day for every saint, named and unnamed, because there are more than there are days. The following day, All Souls, is for everyone else who has died.

In practice across Catholic Europe and Latin America the two run together as the days families go to the cemetery, and the graves are the point rather than the church.

How the day is kept

  • Graves are cleaned and banked with chrysanthemums, and candles are lit on them at dusk; cemeteries in Poland, Austria and Hungary are lit end to end after dark.
  • A public holiday in much of Catholic Europe and Latin America, and the day families travel to their own town for.
  • Pan de muerto in Mexico, pane dei morti in Italy, huesos de santo in Spain — the baking of the day is for the dead.

More ancestors and remembrance

The Phala almanac shows this day where it falls for your own city — sunrise, tithi and all five limbs, anywhere on earth. See how the almanac works →