An overview of how All Saints' Day (Alla helgons dag) and the following All Souls' Day (Alla själars dag) are observed in the Church of Sweden, covering their history, theology, date, customs and the churches named after the feast.
🤖 Written by Wren, the chat's AI, building on Wikipedia and on questions people asked in the chat. AI writing can be wrong or out of date: check anything that matters with a reliable source.
| Swedish name | Alla helgons dag |
|---|---|
| Date | The Saturday falling between 31 October and 6 November (since 1953) |
| Legal status | Public holiday in Sweden (allmän helgdag) |
| Eve | Allhelgonaafton, the Friday before |
| Following day | Alla själars dag (All Souls' Day), the Sunday after |
| Main focus | Remembrance of the saints, martyrs and faithful departed |
| Best-known custom | Lighting candles and lanterns on graves |
| Lutheran basis | Augsburg Confession, Article 21 (remembering saints as examples, not invoking them) |
| Churches named after the feast | Allhelgonakyrkan in Lund (opened 1891) and in Kortedala, Gothenburg (opened 1956) |
All Saints' Day (Swedish: Alla helgons dag) is one of the main feast days in the calendar of the Church of Sweden (Svenska kyrkan), the Evangelical Lutheran national church of Sweden. It is also a public holiday in Sweden. Since 1953 it has been kept on the Saturday that falls between 31 October and 6 November, not on the fixed date of 1 November used in many other countries.
In Sweden the feast is closely tied to the remembrance of the dead. On the evening of All Saints' Day and over the whole weekend, very large numbers of people visit cemeteries. They place lit candles and lanterns on the graves of relatives and friends, and at shared memorial sites. In the Church of Sweden calendar, the Sunday after All Saints' Day is All Souls' Day (Alla själars dag). It focuses more directly on remembering people who have died, while the Saturday honours all the saints in the wider Christian sense.
The feast has also given its name to several Swedish church buildings called Allhelgonakyrkan ("All Saints Church"). Two of these, in Lund and in the Kortedala district of Gothenburg, were opened on All Saints' Day itself, in 1891 and 1956.
Background: All Saints and All Souls in Western Christianity
All Saints' Day is a Christian feast honouring all saints, known and unknown. In Western (Latin) Christianity it became fixed on 1 November during the early Middle Ages. All Souls' Day is a separate commemoration of all the faithful departed. It was kept on 2 November and spread through Western Europe from the monastic tradition of Cluny in France around the end of the first millennium.
The two days had different purposes in medieval theology:
- All Saints celebrated those believed to be already with God in heaven. They included martyrs (people killed for their faith) and other holy people.
- All Souls was a day of prayer for the souls of ordinary believers who had died. In medieval Catholic teaching, many of these souls were thought to be in purgatory, a state of purification before entering heaven. Masses and prayers for them were believed to help them.
Both days were observed in Sweden before the Reformation. Sweden was then part of the Catholic Church, under the archbishopric of Uppsala.
The Reformation and Lutheran theology of the saints
The Swedish Reformation
The Reformation in Sweden took place gradually during the sixteenth century. King Gustav Vasa broke the political and financial power of the Catholic Church in Sweden from the 1520s; the Diet of Västerås in 1527 is usually seen as a turning point. The Lutheran character of the Swedish church was formally confirmed at the Uppsala Synod (Uppsala möte) in 1593. That synod adopted the Augsburg Confession as a doctrinal standard.
The Reformers rejected purgatory and the practice of saying masses for the dead. As a result, All Souls' Day lost its theological basis in Lutheran churches and fell out of the official Swedish church calendar. All Saints' Day was kept, but with a changed meaning.
Why a Lutheran church keeps a feast of saints
Protestant churches are often described as not "venerating" saints. This description is broadly accurate but can be misleading. Lutheran churches do recognise saints. They differ from Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox teaching on how saints should be treated.
Article 21 of the Augsburg Confession (1530), "Of the Worship of Saints", teaches that the memory of the saints may be set before believers so that they can follow the saints' faith and good works. However, it says that Scripture does not teach people to call on (invoke) the saints or to ask them for help. It names Christ as the only mediator between God and humanity.
In practice, this means that in the Church of Sweden:
- Saints are honoured as examples and witnesses of faith.
- Saints are thanked God for, and remembered.
- Saints are not prayed to, and are not seen as intercessors (people who plead with God on someone's behalf).
Lutheran theology also uses the word "saint" in a wide, biblical sense. In the New Testament, especially the letters of Paul, "saints" (hagioi, "holy ones") often means all members of the church, not only exceptional individuals. This idea, together with the creed's phrase "the communion of saints", allows the feast to include all faithful Christians, living and dead. Many Swedes therefore see the day as a natural occasion to remember their own dead. The church has accepted and shaped that emphasis.
Date and legal status
Early modern changes
Sweden had a large number of church holy days after the Reformation. These days were also days off work. Over time the state reduced their number. A major reform of holy days took place in 1772, during the reign of Gustav III. Several feasts were then abolished or moved to Sundays. Sources describe the exact effect of these early reforms on All Saints' Day in somewhat different ways, and the details are not set out here.
The 1953 reform
The modern rule dates from 1953. All Saints' Day was then moved to the Saturday falling between 31 October and 6 November. Because this period is exactly seven days long, it always contains one Saturday. The date therefore changes from year to year but always falls in late October or early November.
Examples of how the rule works:
| If 1 November falls on a… | All Saints' Day is on… |
|---|---|
| Saturday | 1 November |
| Sunday | 31 October (the day before) |
| Monday | 6 November |
| Wednesday | 4 November |
| Friday | 2 November |
Neighbouring Finland uses the same Saturday rule for its All Saints' Day (pyhäinpäivä). In Norway and Denmark, the Lutheran churches keep All Saints on the first Sunday in November.
Current legal status
All Saints' Day is one of Sweden's public holidays (allmänna helgdagar). These are set out in the Public Holidays Act, Lag (1989:253) om allmänna helgdagar. Because the day always falls on a Saturday, it does not normally give most employees an extra day off.
The day before, a Friday, is called Allhelgonaafton ("All Saints' Eve"). It is not a public holiday. Some employers and collective agreements allow a shorter working day on it, but practice varies.
Status before the State–Church separation
The Church of Sweden was the state church until 1 January 2000, when church and state were formally separated. The public holiday calendar is set by Swedish law, not by the church. However, most Swedish public holidays still follow the Christian calendar, and All Saints' Day remains a holiday after the separation.
All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day in the church calendar
In the Church of Sweden calendar, the late autumn weekend now contains two linked days:
- Alla helgons dag (Saturday): the feast of All Saints. It honours the whole communion of saints, including martyrs and faithful witnesses through history. It also looks forward to the Christian hope of resurrection.
- Alla själars dag (the following Sunday): All Souls' Day. Here the focus is more personal: the remembrance of loved ones who have died, grief, and hope.
The move of All Saints' Day to the Saturday happened in 1953. The use of the name Alla själars dag for the following Sunday in the Church of Sweden calendar came about later, as part of revisions of the church year. It is sometimes said that both changes happened together in the 1950s, but this simplifies the history. The exact year the Sunday received its present name is not given here.
Reviving the name "All Souls" did not mean bringing back the medieval doctrine of purgatory or masses for the dead. In the Church of Sweden the day is about remembering the dead, giving thanks for their lives, and comforting the bereaved. It is not about praying to change the state of their souls.
Bible readings and themes
The Church of Sweden sets out the Bible readings for each Sunday and feast day in its book of readings (evangelieboken). Each day has a theme and a set of readings, which are revised from time to time.
Across Western churches, the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1–12, "Blessed are the poor in spirit…") are traditionally linked with All Saints' Day. Common themes for the weekend include:
- the holiness of God's people;
- the communion of saints across time and death;
- death, mourning and the resurrection of the dead;
- the "great cloud of witnesses" (a phrase from the Letter to the Hebrews, chapter 12).
Church services and customs
Services
Churches across Sweden hold services over the All Saints' weekend. These are among the best-attended services of the year in many parishes, together with Christmas and Easter.
A widespread practice is a memorial service, often held on All Saints' Day or on All Souls' Day. Here the names of people from the parish who have died during the past year are read aloud. Often a candle is lit for each name. The families of the deceased are usually invited. For many bereaved people this is an important moment in the first year after a death.
Other common features include:
- open churches where visitors can light candles in a candle stand (ljusbärare);
- quiet time for prayer and reflection;
- church staff, such as priests and deacons, available for conversation;
- services or short devotions held at cemetery chapels.
Music
Church music has a strong place on the weekend. Many churches arrange concerts. Choral works on death and remembrance are commonly performed, including settings of the Requiem (the Latin mass for the dead) by composers such as Mozart and Fauré, and Swedish hymns on death and eternal life. A Requiem has a Catholic origin, but in a Lutheran setting it is performed as music for reflection, not as a mass for the souls of the dead.
Candles on graves
The custom
The best-known Swedish All Saints' custom is lighting candles on graves. People place grave candles (gravljus) or lanterns on the graves of family and friends. Many also decorate graves with evergreen sprigs, wreaths, or autumn plants such as heather.
The custom is held largely in the dark. At this time of year in Sweden, darkness falls in the late afternoon, and earlier still in the north. On the evening of All Saints' Day, cemeteries can be filled with thousands of small lights. Many people describe this as one of the most striking sights of the Swedish year.
Memorial groves
Many people in Sweden are buried or have their ashes placed in a memorial grove (minneslund). This is a shared, anonymous burial area without individual grave markers. Relatives do not know the exact place of the ashes. Memorial groves usually have a common place where candles and flowers can be left. On All Saints' weekend these shared sites often hold very large numbers of candles.
Some people also light candles for loved ones buried far away, or at a cemetery's general memorial site, when they cannot visit the actual grave.
Woodland Cemetery in Stockholm
The Woodland Cemetery (Skogskyrkogården) in southern Stockholm is especially associated with the custom. It was designed by the architects Gunnar Asplund and Sigurd Lewerentz in the early twentieth century and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On All Saints' weekend it attracts large crowds. The view of candles among its pine woods is widely photographed.
History of the custom
Lighting candles on graves at All Saints is generally described as a custom that became widespread in Sweden during the twentieth century, rather than an old tradition going back many centuries. Its exact origins and the routes by which it spread are discussed by folklorists and historians, and accounts differ. It is commonly connected with similar customs in Catholic parts of Europe.
Practical and environmental concerns
The scale of the custom has raised some practical questions:
- Waste: many grave candles have plastic or metal casings. Cemeteries and parishes often have to deal with large amounts of waste afterwards.
- Environment: traditional candles are made from paraffin, a petroleum product. Some parishes and cemeteries encourage alternatives, such as refillable lanterns or candles made from other materials.
- Battery lights: battery-powered LED candles are increasingly used. Some people prefer them for safety and convenience; others feel they lack the meaning of a real flame.
- Traffic and crowding: large cemeteries may arrange extra parking, traffic control or public transport for the weekend.
All Saints' Day and Halloween
Halloween, the evening of 31 October, has roots in the eve of All Saints' Day ("All Hallows' Eve"). In the English-speaking world, especially in the United States, it developed into a secular festival of costumes, "trick or treat" and decorations.
Halloween was not traditionally celebrated in Sweden. Its American form became popular there from roughly the 1990s, spread by commerce and popular culture. Because Halloween is on 31 October while Swedish All Saints' Day moves between 31 October and 6 November, the two can fall on the same day or be almost a week apart.
This has led to some debate and confusion:
- Some people feel that a playful, commercial celebration does not fit the quiet, mournful character of the All Saints' weekend.
- Some Halloween activities in Sweden are held on the All Saints' weekend instead of on 31 October, which can mix the two.
- Others see Halloween and All Saints as separate customs that can exist side by side, aimed largely at different age groups.
Church of Sweden parishes have responded in different ways. Some focus on explaining the meaning of All Saints. Others arrange activities for children and families in late October.
Place in Swedish culture
All Saints' weekend is one of the most widely observed occasions of the Swedish year with a church background. This is true even though Sweden is often described as one of the world's most secularised countries, and many Swedes rarely attend church services.
The Church of Sweden had a little over half of Sweden's population as members in the early 2020s. Membership has declined over several decades. The custom of visiting graves is kept by many people who are not regular churchgoers and by some who are not members. For many, the weekend is mainly a family occasion for remembering the dead, rather than a specifically religious one.
The time of year also shapes how the day is experienced. It falls in late autumn, when days are short, the weather is often cold and wet, and the landscape is bare. Many writers and commentators connect the mood of the weekend — quiet, dark, lit by candles — with this season.
Churches named after the feast
Several churches in Sweden are named Allhelgonakyrkan, "All Saints Church". Some were opened on All Saints' Day, linking the building to the feast.
All Saints Church, Lund
All Saints Church in Lund belongs to Lund All Saints Parish (Lunds Allhelgonaförsamling) in the Diocese of Lund. It was opened on All Saints' Day in 1891. It stands roughly 600 metres north of Lund Cathedral. The church is a large brick building in the Gothic Revival style, and its design is generally attributed to the architect Helgo Zettervall, who also led the nineteenth-century restoration of Lund Cathedral.
All Saints Church, Gothenburg (Kortedala)
All Saints Church in Gothenburg stands in Kortedala, a residential district built up in the 1950s as part of the city's post-war expansion. The church belongs to Kortedala Parish in the Diocese of Gothenburg. It was officially opened (consecrated) on All Saints' Day, 3 November 1956. That date was a Saturday, which matches the rule introduced in 1953 of keeping All Saints' Day on the Saturday between 31 October and 6 November.
Other churches
Other Swedish churches with the same or similar names exist, in different parishes and dioceses. The name reflects the general Christian tradition of dedicating churches to all the saints together, a practice also found in other countries (for example, the many "All Saints" churches in England).
Comparison with neighbouring countries
| Country | Main church | Date of All Saints | Public holiday? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden | Church of Sweden (Lutheran) | Saturday between 31 Oct and 6 Nov | Yes |
| Finland | Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland | Saturday between 31 Oct and 6 Nov | Yes |
| Norway | Church of Norway (Lutheran) | First Sunday in November (in the church calendar) | Falls on a Sunday |
| Denmark | Church of Denmark (Lutheran) | First Sunday in November (in the church calendar) | Falls on a Sunday |
In the Catholic Church, All Saints' Day is on 1 November and All Souls' Day on 2 November. Sweden's Catholic minority follows the Catholic calendar, but in Swedish public life the Saturday date is the one generally known as All Saints' Day.
Open questions and debates
- Origins of grave candles: how and when candle-lighting on graves spread in Sweden is not fully settled. Accounts vary in detail.
- Saints and the dead: some theologians and church members discuss the balance between the two days. One question is whether the strong popular focus on personal remembrance has overshadowed the original meaning of All Saints as a feast of the whole communion of saints.
- Halloween: the relationship between the imported Halloween custom and the Swedish All Saints' weekend continues to be discussed in the media and in churches.
- Sustainability: parishes and cemetery managers continue to look for ways to reduce waste and environmental impact while respecting a custom that matters to many people.
See also
- All Saints' Day
- All Souls' Day
- Church of Sweden
- Augsburg Confession
- Swedish Reformation
- Public holidays in Sweden
- Woodland Cemetery (Skogskyrkogården), Stockholm
- Memorial grove (minneslund)
- Halloween
- Communion of saints
- All Saints Church, Lund
- All Saints Church, Gothenburg
- Liturgical year
Sources
Questions people asked
Why does Sweden celebrate All Saints' Day on a different day than the traditional date?
Pure pragmatism about the working week.
Until 1772, Sweden kept the traditional fixed date of 1 November. King Gustav III moved it to the first Sunday of November to reduce midweek church holidays.
Then in 1953, the Riksdag moved the official public holiday to the Saturday between 31 October and 6 November. At the time, Sweden was still working a six-day week (Saturdays included), so turning that specific Saturday into a statutory rest day gave workers a long weekend and an autumn break without breaking up the midweek production schedule.
Why does the Swedish Lutheran church celebrate All Saints' Day, given that Protestants traditionally do not venerate saints?
Lutherans do recognise saints, just not in the Roman Catholic sense of intercessors you pray to.
Article 21 of the Augsburg Confession explicitly teaches that saints should be remembered and honoured as examples of faith and good works, just not invoked for salvation.
In Sweden, Alla helgons dag kept that remembrance of the faithful departed. In the 1950s, the Church of Sweden split the focus to fit the calendar: the Saturday between 31 Oct and 6 Nov is Alla helgons dag (honouring all martyrs and faithful witnesses), while the Sunday right after is Alla själars dag (All Souls), focused on remembering loved ones who have died. People head to the cemeteries by the thousands to cover graves in candles.