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La Toussaint et le Jour des fidèles défunts - All Saints Day and All Souls Day

All Saints Day (La Toussaint) takes place on November 1st.

Liturgical colour: white

On this day, I celebrate the lives and stories of Saints known in the church, and those not canonized officially. It's a day to speak with your patron saint, look for your patron saint, or to simply just let their stories touch you for their example and lessons.

I bring out my statuettes of all my favorite saints, and put out the attributes they are associated with. Roses being associated with most saints and especially with the Virgin Mary, it is a fitting offering to put on an altar, if you have cats like I do who get into everything.

It's a great day to ask for your special requests, and ask for intercession with the help of a saint specific to your query. Any book on the saints can give you the attributes you're looking for.

All Souls Day (Le Jour des fidèles défunts) takes place on November 2nd.

Liturgical colour: purple

On this day, I commemorate my dearly departed, my known ancestors, and those I do not yet know about. In Quebec on this day, back in the 20th century and before, it was traditional to have a mass for the souls of the departed of that year, culminating in a cemetery visit. You weren't allowed to work the fields or cut wood that day, for fear of harming the roaming dead. It was a day to say prayers for the souls in purgatory, hoping they can find their way to everlasting rest.

Nowadays, communities in Quebec and francophone areas don't really do anything communally on this day. I for one, want to commemorate it! So, I made a list of all the names in my ancestors' lineages that I could find, and voiced them out loud one by one. I offered them pieces of poetry evoking the ocean, Acadian communities, and remembrances written by my great-aunt, and read to them a passage from the Bible. Then I offered some tea, sugar fudge and galettes, and told them about what was going on in my life this year.

I'm lucky to have biographies of my great-grandmothers to read again and again, and a great-aunt who writes of her Acadian culture so beautifully. It's turned into quite a personal day for me.

So, Happy Toussaint and Jour des fidèles défunts!