All Saints – Tots Sants in Catalan – is Autumn's most eagerly awaited festival. At this time it is the custom for people to take flowers to the cemetery for family members who have passed away, eat castanyes, chestnuts, and make panellets – little marzipan cakes. Another tradition in some places involves putting on theatrical performances. Specifically, All Saints Day itself, 1^st November, is the time for eating chestnuts and panellets. The next day, 2^nd November, known as All Souls Day, is when journeys are made to visit the dead in the cemeteries and the theatrical performances take place.

All Saints is a time when it begins to be colder and the days get shorter. Summer has passed and nature appears to be entering a period of death. So it isn't strange that, since time immemorial, many cultures have established a day for remembering the dead around this date.

Reason

All Saints is dedicated to the memory of our forbears, and includes elements and rituals from both Christianity and Celtic beliefs.

Origins

We have inherited the All Saints festival from a Celtic celebration. The Celts held the Sahmain festival in honour of the dead on 1^st November because this is when the darkest period of the years begins. It was a magical moment for them because they believed links were established between the worlds of the living and the dead.

The origins of this celebration in the Christian world date back to the 7^th century and, more specifically, to the dedication of the Pantheon in Rome – originally a pagan temple dedicated to all the gods – to the Mother of God and all the martyrs, by Pope Boniface IV. Later, in the 9^th century, the festival spread throughout the Western world, thanks to Gregory IV.