Celebrating All Saints Day

A wall of candles, with the silhouettes of a parent and child in front

All Saints Day is celebrated on November 1 by parts of Western Christianity (and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Christianity) in honor of all the saints, known and unknown.

According to some sources, the idea for All Saints' Day goes back to the fourth century when the Greek Christians kept a festival on the first Sunday after Pentecost (in late May or early June) in honor of all martyrs and saints. Other sources say that a commemoration of “All Martyrs” began to be celebrated as early as 270 CE but no specific month or date is recorded. Pope Gregory IV made All Saints' Day an authorized holiday in 837 CE. It is speculated that the chosen date for the event, November 1, may have been an attempt to supplant Samhain.

All Saints Day is closely tied with All Souls Day.

Unitarian Universalist Perspectives

Search Words for Worship Services

Displaying 1 - 10 of 10.

Affirmation

  • They Are with Us Still (WorshipWeb)
    By Kathleen McTigue
    Tagged as: Generations, History, Justice, Leadership, Progress, Responsibility

Chalice Lighting

Invocation

  • Remembrance Invocation (WorshipWeb)
    By Lyn Cox
    Tagged as: Generations, History, Paganism, Prophetic Words & Deeds

Meditation

  • Blessing of the Animals—St. Francis Day (WorshipWeb)
    By Thomas Rhodes
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Animals, Connections, Earth, Earth-Centered, Humility, Love, Nature, Relationships
  • Welcome All You Saints! (WorshipWeb)
    By Susan Brown
  • Immortality (WorshipWeb)
    By Leslie Takahashi
    Tagged as: Death, Direct Experience, Family, Generations, Grief, Immanence, Mystery, Spirituality, Unitarian Universalism, Wholeness

Opening

  • Autumnal Welcoming (WorshipWeb)
    By Sarah Gettie McNeill
    Tagged as: Change, Earth, Earth-Centered, Inclusion, Nature

Prayer

  • A Prayer for the World (WorshipWeb)
    By Amy Petrie Shaw
    Tagged as: 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Brokenness, Buddhism, Christianity, Conflict, Direct Experience, Islam, Judaism, Pain, Peace, Reconciliation, Religion, War, WorshipWeb

Reading

  • Why Diversity? (WorshipWeb)
    By Anonymous
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Anti-Oppression, Diversity, Identity, Multiculturalism, Multiculturalism, Race/Ethnicity, Responsibility, Unitarian Universalism, Wholeness

Responsive Reading

  • This Sacred Thread (WorshipWeb)
    By Heather K Janules
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Death, Family, Generations, Gratitude