These two important feasts coincide with a Celtic celebration that marks the end of the lighter, warmer days and the cold, dark days of winter (the origin of Halloween). The Celts thought that in this time the boundaries between the world of the spirits and the human world were somehow ‘thinner’, and our Christian celebrations give this a new meaning, inviting us to discover how close and present heaven is in our daily life.

The celebration of ‘All Saints Day’ which in England falls on Sunday is a joyful celebration of all those lives where God’s love has totally triumphed, whose lives are an encouragement and inspiration for us:

‘May all that splendid company

Whom Christ in glory came to meet,

Help us on our uneven road

Made smoother by their passing feet’.

(Hymn from Morning Prayer for All Saint’s day).

All Soul’s day is a chance to pray for all those who have passed away, in the knowledge and hope that God continues to work in their lives and draw them to himself.