All Souls' Day
1
5.2
- noun
- /ɔl soʊlz deɪ/
:
Día de los Fieles Difuntos
- The Roman Catholic Church observes All Souls' Day on 2 November as a day focused on praying for the souls of the departed.
- All Souls' Day on 2 November
Examples
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An Indian Christian woman offers prayers at a relative's tomb during All Souls' Day in Kolkata on November 2, 2012.
Blog text (1) -
Today we are celebrating All Souls' Day, the day in which we commemorate those who have passed on.
Blog text (7) -
Throughout Latin America, All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day are treated like a single holiday.
Blog text (7) -
200 years later, in 1000 AD, the church made November 2 All Souls' Day, a day to honor the dead.
Blog text (18) -
We have celebrated All Souls' Day, reminding us of our deceased loved ones.
Blog text (16) -
All Souls' Day, rather than Halloween, is an important and somber holiday for families to pray for their deceased relations.
Fiction book (2001) -
The Church later introduced All Souls' Day on 2nd November—a day to pray for souls stuck in Purgatory.
Blog text (13) -
On All Souls' Day, many families gather to pray for their loved ones who have passed away.
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The Roman Catholic community honors their deceased on All Souls' Day by holding special masses.
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In Mexico, people remember their ancestors during All Souls' Day with vibrant altars and offerings.
Synonyms
1
2.4
A Christian day to remember and pray for people who have died
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally clear: 'day' indicates an observance and 'all souls' denotes the souls of the deceased, so a learner who knows the words can infer it is a day for (or dedicated to) souls of the dead. Many languages have an equivalent named holiday, so the basic meaning is directly derivable even if religious specifics (e.g., purgatory) are not known.
Etymology
All Souls' Day began as a church day when people gathered to pray for the 'souls' of everyone who had died, with families visiting graves and holding special services. That's why All Souls' Day today means a day for 'praying for' and remembering the dead.