All Souls is a democratic holiday. Since Halloween is really the start of the holiday season, we really should keep it, together with All Saints and All Souls, as a time off work. (If I had the vacation days to do it, I would.) I realize these are holidays of Christian origin, and some object to even getting Christmas off because of that—hey, some of us think holidays are a great and necessary part of life! Of course, I’d be happy having Jewish or Wiccan holidays off too. Halloween and Christmas are generally secular holidays these days, but that makes them no less meaningful. In any case, All Souls is the day we commemorate the dead who may not have been recognized as saints. Like the Day of the Dead, it’s a time to reflect on those we’ve loved and lost. I always find the naming of our departed especially moving.
Doris Ruth Miller
Among northern Europeans (they aren’t all bad guys) the steps into November were a liminal time. The restless dead might attempt to return and the living should pay their respects. The church tried to address this through All Saints Day with its exalted music and ceremony. Like an afterthought, it seems, All Souls was a time to remember those who are the majority. The unrecognized, the non-famous, but often very good folk without whom sainthood would be impossible. You see, I truly believe that most people try to live the best way they know how. They struggle, yes, and they may have made bad decisions based on what they knew at the moment. They were, after all, human. The church set aside November 2 to pause and consider that death comes to all of us. Winter is on the way.
Winter, in many ways, defines life. It’s a time in which disaster comes to those who fail to plan ahead. Food must be stored in advance since it will be scarce. Nights will be long. Even keeping warm will be a challenge. And it can come at any time now. Some years snowstorms come on Halloween. And even if no snow falls we enter that fallow time when we’re forced to sit and wait. It is nature’s way of saying, “Stop. Reflect.” Those already departed on All Souls are missed by those of us who remain. We put on another layer, or perhaps turn up the thermostat, trying to distance ourselves from the chill. We look to Thanksgiving, and Christmas soon to follow. And those who perceive subtleties know that hope of spring begins early in February. The souls who’ve already gone on know more than we, and the least we can do is remember them once a year on the holiday meant for all.
