What is All Souls’ Day?
All Souls’ Day is a church holiday designed to commemorate loved ones who have died. The different branches of the church have different histories with All Souls’ Day.
Roman Catholicism: The official name of All Souls’ Day in the Roman Catholic Church is “The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed.” Originally, this feast day was celebrated around Easter time, but was eventually moved to November 2, the day after All Saints’ Day (unless the 2nd falls on a Sunday, in which case All Souls’ Day is moved to the 3rd). Roman Catholics pray, celebrate Mass, visit cemeteries, and give alms in memory of those believers who they believe are held in purgatory, in hopes that their souls will be released to heaven. The rest of November is also spent praying for the dead.
Protestantism: The observance or non-observance of All Souls’ Day is varied throughout Protestantism. Some Protestant denominations merged All Souls’ Day with All Saints’ Day. Others have abolished All Souls’ Day entirely. Others observe it entirely in a secular sense by tidying up the gravestones of departed loved ones.
Although related to pagan festivals of the dead, All Souls’ Day is much younger—from the Middle Ages, at the latest. It is not biblical. Although it is fine to groom cemeteries and remember our departed loved ones,purgatory does not exist, and there is no reason we should pray for the dead.
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What does the Bible say about communicating with the dead?
Praying and / or speaking to the dead is strictly forbidden in the Bible. Deuteronomy 18:11 states that anyone who “consults with the dead” is “detestable to the Lord.”
GotQuestions answers the issue like this:
Even after a person dies, God is still involved with that person and his destination. Hebrews 9:27 says so: “…Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.” If a person dies in Christ, he goes to heaven to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:1-9, especially verse 8); if a person dies in his sin, he goes to hell, and eventually everyone in hell will be thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14-15).
Read more: http://www.gotquestions.org/praying-to-the-dead.html
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