All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day – how the days are connected

Writer: Helena Bergström

Updated: September 2026 | All Saints' Day, All Souls' Day, All Saints' Day and Halloween – during a few days in the autumn, several holidays and traditions come together that are easy to confuse. What is the difference, when do the days fall and why do we light candles on graves? Here we figure out how it all connects.

What is All Saints' Day?

For many in Sweden, All Saints' Day is a weekend when we remember people who are no longer with us. The cemeteries are filled with people and when darkness falls, thousands of grave candles shine between the graves.

We usually celebrate All Saints' Day by meeting with family and visiting the cemetery. We light candles, put up grave decorations and then usually have dinner together. It's a nice tradition, in the middle of the dark part of the year.

But which day is actually which? All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day are two different church days., and there's also All Saints' Day on November 1st. And Halloween just happens to be right next door. No wonder it gets spooky!

All the days – quickly explained

Day	When does it fall?	What does it mean?
Halloween	October 31	A holiday that today is associated with, among other things, dressing up, pumpkins and trick-or-treating.
All Saints' Day	November 1	The old fast day for the celebration of All Saints
All Saints' Day	Saturday between October 31 and November 6	Swedish holiday with a focus on saints and Christian role models
Day of All Souls	The Sunday after All Saints' Day	Church day when the dead are especially remembered and honored

In practice, the traditions partly merge. This is especially true in All Saints' Day, that is, the Saturday, when many Swedes visit cemeteries and light candles for dead relatives and friends.

All Saints' Day – a day for the saints

The tradition of celebrating saints and martyrs has ancient Christian roots. Over time, a common feast day developed for all saints, even the many saints who did not have their own day in the calendar.

In Sweden, All Saints' Day was celebrated for a long time on November 1, but after the Reformation the importance of saints in the Protestant Church changed. In 1772 a holiday reform was also carried out when a number of church holidays disappeared as non-working days.

The All Saints' Day we have today was introduced in 1953 and placed on Saturday between October 31 and November 6. That's why the date varies from year to year.

All Souls' Day – a day for the dead

All Souls' Day also has its roots in the medieval Catholic Church. The traditional day is November 2nd and was a day when people prayed for the souls of the dead.

After the Reformation, the celebration disappeared from Swedish church tradition for several hundred years. During the 20th century, the idea of a special day to commemorate the dead returned, and today the Church of Sweden celebrates All Souls' Day on the Sunday after All Saints' Day.

There is therefore a difference between the two days: All Saints' Day is about the saints and their role models, while All Souls' Day is specifically about remembering those who have died.

In people's own celebrations, the line is of course not as sharp. Many simply think of the entire All Saints' Day weekend as a time for remembrance, grave visits, and lighting candles.

So what is All Saints' Day?

Here is another concept that easily explains it: All Saints' Day.

All Saints' Day always falls on November 1. It is the old fixed day for All Saints' Day. When the modern All Saints' Day was placed on a Saturday in the 1950s, November 1 remained in the calendar under the name All Saints' Day.

Therefore, you can find both All Saints' Day, November 1 and All Saints' Day on a moveable Saturday in the calendar. The names sound almost the same and have the same historical origin, but today they are two different calendar days.

Why do we light candles on graves?

Visiting the cemetery and lighting candles is so strongly associated with All Saints' Day that the tradition can easily feel ancient. But the custom in its current form is actually much younger than that.

As early as the late 19th century, people in Swedish cities would light candles on graves, but this was mainly done at Christmas. It was also common for candles to be lit on the graves of deceased children.

During the 1930s, special grave candles began to be sold for All Saints' Day, but it was primarily after World War II as the custom of lighting candles on graves during All Saints' Day had its big breakthrough in Sweden. The tradition had then received inspiration from Catholic countries in Europe.

Today, candles are perhaps the most clearly associated with the Swedish All Saints' Day holiday. When darkness falls, large cemeteries can be lit up by thousands of small flames.

Our traditions during All Saints' Day

For us, All Saints' Day is all about family and remembering those who are no longer with us. We usually meet my (Helena's) family and visit the cemetery, where we light candles and place a decoration on my father's grave.

There are usually a lot of people moving around in the cemetery, but at the same time the atmosphere is peaceful. When all the candles are burning in the autumn darkness, it is very beautiful.

Afterwards we often have dinner together. This way the weekend becomes both a time for memories and a reason to actually meet up – which is perhaps also a nice part of the tradition. For several years in a row we ate at the cozy Skänkstugan in Täby, where they often have nice menus, such as special autumn or Christmas menus.

All Saints' Day in the past – when winter was approaching

Not all older traditions around this time of year were church-related. In the old farming community, the beginning of November was also an important turning point between summer and winter.

All Hallows' Eve was associated with the beginning of the winter months, and just like many other old holidays, there were beliefs that the weather could tell us something about what was to come.

It also reminds us that many of our holidays are at important turning points in the year. As the days grow shorter, the harvest is over, and winter approaches, people in different times and cultures have created traditions around darkness, death, memories – and light.

How is Halloween related to All Saints' Day?

Halloween is always celebrated on October 31. The name comes from the English All Hallows' Eve, roughly "All Saints' Eve", i.e. the evening before All Saints' Day on November 1st.

But Halloween has a much more varied history than that, with influences from Ireland and Scotland, among others, and traditions that have changed considerably over the centuries. Today we associate the holiday with pumpkins, costumes and "trick or treat", while the Swedish All Saints' Day has a completely different character.

READ MORE: Why do we celebrate Halloween in Sweden?

A weekend of memories and light

It's not surprising that people confuse All Saints' Day, All Souls' Day, and All Saints' Day. The days have common historical roots and are also located close to each other on the calendar.

For many people in Sweden today, the exact names are perhaps less important than the tradition itself. All Saints' Day has become a time to pause, remember people who are no longer with us, and light a candle in the autumn darkness.

Do you visit a cemetery and light candles during All Saints' Day?