All Hallows’ Eve: The Vigil of the Departed
The Night Between Worlds
The barrier between the worlds of the living and the dead dissolved on the Eve of All Hallows
When twilight falls on 31 October, the Christian calendar and the old pagan year meet. The Eve of All Hallows, from Old English hālga ǣfen (“holy evening”), was the vigil before the Feast of All Saints.
Yet in spirit it still carried the echo of Samhain, the Celtic festival of endings and beginnings.
In pagan belief, this was the night when the barrier between worlds dissolved: the dead might revisit hearth and home, and the living could glimpse the Otherworld. Fires blazed, food was laid out for ancestors, and villagers disguised themselves to ward off or impersonate wandering spirits.
From Samhain Offerings to Christian Alms
When Christianity reached the Celtic lands, it reshaped rather than erased these observances. The gifts once left for ghosts became almsgiving for the poor.
In early medieval England, those without means went souling: visiting doors, offering prayers for the dead in exchange for food or coins.
Each home that gave a cake gained a prayer for a loved one’s soul; each bell that tolled reminded the faithful to remember the departed.
The Church taught that prayer could aid souls in Purgatory, the place of cleansing before Heaven. Thus the ancient instinct to feed the dead became the act of spiritual charity that fed their memory.
Masks, Mischief & Meaning
Deer skull mask
Samhain’s disguises survived as masks and guises on All Hallows’ Eve. The intent shifted from fear to faith: hiding one’s identity before spirits became a symbol of humility before God.
Children carried lanterns made from turnips: descendants of the firebrands once used to guide souls—and sang souling songs at cottage doors.
Even games of fortune-telling—dropping nuts into a fire to test lovers’ fates—echoed an ancient hope that death and destiny were intertwined, that from endings came new beginnings.
The Christian Vigil
Churches held vigils through the night, bells ringing solemnly, candles burning beside the relics of saints.
Monks chanted the Office of the Dead, weaving words of light through the season’s darkness.
Outside, the living kept their own watch: fires crackled, stories were told, and cakes baked in remembrance.
The Echoes in Language are Shown Below:
| Word | Origin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Hallow | Old English hālga | holy person / saint |
| Eve | Old English ǣfen | evening before a feast |
| Halloween | contraction of All Hallows Even | “holy evening” – the night before All Saints Day |