All Saints’ Day an older festival than Hallowe’en
At the All Saints’ festival we decorate graves with wreaths and flowers, we light candles and remember those who have died.
The day was named for the first time in 1198, when Sweden was still Catholic. All Saints’ Day is a holy day. It is celebrated every year on the Saturday between 31st October and 6th November.
Hallowe’en is on 31st October, but in Sweden it is not celebrated on any particular day. The custom of celebrating it is fairly recent in Sweden. The festival originated in Ireland, and was a Celtic custom, Samhain, to begin with. The belief was that the souls of the dead came back to earth at that time.
At Hallowe’en children dress up as ghosts, witches and other scary figures. They knock at doors and ask adults to choose between ”trick or treat”.