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Medieval Stories
All Hallows’ Day: The Feast of All Saints
Halloween, Medieval Festivals, Folklore Rachel Elwiss Joyce Halloween, Medieval Festivals, Folklore Rachel Elwiss Joyce

All Hallows’ Day: The Feast of All Saints

After the shadowed vigil of All Hallows’ Eve came the brightness of All Hallows’ Day—later called Hallowmas.
The name joins hallow (Old English hālga, “holy person”) and mass (from Latin missa, “Eucharistic service”).
It was the day when the Church lifted its gaze from the souls still journeying toward heaven to those who had already arrived.

Altars were dressed in white, bells rang across town and countryside, and processions wound through streets lit by candles. The message was clear: the darkness of death had been overcome by the light of sainthood.

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