All Saints Day 2026 is Sunday 1 November in the Western church, and Sunday 7 June in Orthodox churches. It honours all saints, known and unknown. Catholics attend Mass, and many families visit cemeteries to clean graves, lay flowers, and light candles.
When is All Saints Day 2026
All Saints Day falls on different dates by tradition. In the Western church, Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Methodist, it falls on 1 November every year. In 2026, that date is a Sunday. In Orthodox churches, All Saints falls on the first Sunday after Pentecost, which is 7 June 2026. The two dates honour the same idea: every saint, named or unnamed. See the Britannica guide to All Saints Day history and dates for how the two calendars diverged.
All Saints, All Souls, and Halloween
| Day | Date 2026 | Who it honours |
|---|---|---|
| Halloween (All Hallows' Eve) | Saturday 31 October | The vigil before the feast |
| All Saints Day | Sunday 1 November (West); Sunday 7 June (Orthodox) | All saints in heaven, known and unknown |
| All Souls Day | Monday 2 November (West) | All the faithful departed |
Together the three days form Allhallowtide, a short season of remembering the dead. All Saints is the joyful day: it honours those believed to be in heaven. All Souls is the prayerful day after: prayers and Masses are offered for the faithful departed, those believed to be in purgatory, a state of final cleansing before heaven. All Saints is a holy day of obligation for Catholics in many places, which means Mass is required. All Souls is not a holy day of obligation. Read the Britannica guide to All Souls Day and how it differs for the full distinction.
What All Saints Day means
The word "hallow" means holy, or saint. All Saints Day honours every saint, not only the famous names. A canonised saint is one the church has officially recognised as a saint. But the feast also honours the unknown saints: ordinary people who lived good lives and reached heaven without ever being named. That is the point of the day. It says holiness is not only for a few, but a call for everyone. The day also rests on the communion of saints, the belief that believers on earth, the saints in heaven, and the faithful departed stay linked through prayer.
How the date was set
The feast began as a day for martyrs. In the early church, martyrs were honoured on the anniversary of their death. As the number of martyrs grew, a single shared day became the practical answer. In the East, a feast of all martyrs was kept on 13 May. In 609, Pope Boniface IV dedicated the Pantheon in Rome to the Virgin Mary and all martyrs, and the feast was kept on 13 May. In the 730s, Pope Gregory III dedicated a chapel in St Peter's Basilica in Rome to all saints and set the feast on 1 November. In 837, Pope Gregory IV ordered the feast to be kept across the Western church on that date. The Eastern church kept the older pattern, which is why Orthodox All Saints still falls on the Sunday after Pentecost.
What happens on the day
Mass is the centre of the day for Catholics. The liturgy names the saints and prays for the living to follow their example. After Mass, many families go to the cemetery. They clean the grave, lay flowers, most often chrysanthemums, and light a candle. The candle stands for remembrance and for eternal life. In many places a priest blesses the graves. Families then share a meal. The tone is quiet and reflective, not a carnival. There is no trick-or-treating on All Saints Day itself; that belongs to the night before.
Tickets
There is no ticket for All Saints Day. Church services are free and open to all, and cemeteries are public and free to enter during their opening hours. Guided cemetery or church tours, where they are offered, are run by local operators and priced by them, so check locally before you go.
| What | Ticket | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Church services | Free | Open to all. Arrive early at popular churches. |
| Cemeteries | Free entry | Public access during opening hours. |
| Guided tours | Varies | Run by local operators; check locally. |
Where All Saints is marked
All Saints is a public holiday in many Catholic-majority countries, including France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, and the Philippines. In those countries shops and offices often close, and cemeteries fill with families. In Sweden, Finland, and Estonia, the public holiday falls on the Saturday between 31 October and 6 November, which is 31 October in 2026. In Germany, All Saints is a quiet day in five states, Baden-Wurttemberg, Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Saarland, rather than a nationwide holiday. In the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries where it is a normal working day, Mass is held before or after work.
Two countries show the day at its fullest. In Poland, families travel to their hometowns, clean graves, and lay znicze, tall votive candles, and chrysanthemums. By dusk, cemeteries glow with thousands of flames, and many families also return on 2 November. In the Philippines, the day is called Undas. Families clean and repaint graves, bring food, flowers, and candles, share a meal at the cemetery, and some stay overnight into All Souls Day. Both are family days as much as church days.
All Saints sits one night after Halloween. Read the Halloween date, origins, and safety guide to see how the vigil night became its own festival. See the full list of religious festivals in this category.
Visiting tips
- Dress: smart and modest. Cover your shoulders in church, and wear shoes you can walk in at a cemetery.
- Mass: times vary by parish. Check the parish notice board or website, and arrive early on a holy day.
- Cemetery: keep your voice low, do not walk across graves, and ask before you photograph people or private graves.
- Candles and flowers: bring your own if you plan to leave them. In Poland and the Philippines, stalls near cemeteries sell both.
- Closures: in public-holiday countries, shops, offices, and some restaurants close. Check opening hours before you travel.
- Travel: cemeteries are busiest late morning and early afternoon. Go early for quiet, or at dusk in Poland to see the candles.
For the full list of festivals across the world, go back to the World Festival and Holiday Calendar.