All Hallows’ Eve: The Vigil of the Great Harvest

Fr. Scott Haynes

In the rhythm of the liturgical year, All Hallows’ Eve—the vigil before the Feast of All Saints—stands as a threshold between time and eternity. The Church, like Israel of old, sanctifies the seasons so that the faithful may discern in the cycle of creation the hidden mysteries of grace. The falling leaves, the shortening days, and the gathering of the harvest whisper to us of life’s transience and the promise of everlasting joy.

For centuries, this sacred vigil has reminded Christians that the end of earthly harvest is but the prelude to the heavenly one: the gathering of souls into the eternal kingdom of God.

The Sacred Triduum of Hallowtide

All Hallows’ Eve, All Saints’ Day, and All Souls’ Day together form Hallowtide, a triduum that draws us into the mystery of the Communion of Saints—the Church triumphant in heaven, the Church suffering in purgatory, and the Church militant still on earth.

During these days, the faithful meditate upon the unity of this divine fellowship. The saints who rejoice before the throne of God, the souls still being purified, and the living who persevere in faith are bound together by the charity of Christ. The liturgy and the natural world join to proclaim: the harvest of souls belongs to God alone.

The Echo of Israel’s Autumn Feasts

The placement of All Hallows’ Eve in the autumn of the year is not accidental. Like the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) in ancient Israel, this season speaks of divine gathering and hope fulfilled.

In the Old Covenant, the Feast of Tabernacles was a time of great rejoicing, marking the completion of the year’s harvest. Israel dwelt in tents to remember how God had once tabernacled among them in the wilderness. Yet this feast also looked forward—to the day when God would dwell among His people forever. As the prophet Zechariah foretold, “All who survive of the nations... shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 14:16).

The Church, inheriting the promises of Israel, now keeps this hope in her own autumn feast. The saints in glory are the first fruits of the eternal harvest; the souls in purgatory are as grain ripening under the sun; and the faithful on earth labor in the vineyard until the divine harvester comes again.

As the Psalmist sings, “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. They went forth weeping, casting their seeds; but they shall come again rejoicing, carrying their sheaves” (Psalm 125:5–6).

Thus, All Hallows’ Eve foreshadows the final Feast of Tabernacles—the eternal dwelling of the redeemed in the heavenly Jerusalem, where “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them” (Revelation 21:3).

A Vigil of Preparation

By the ninth century, All Hallows’ Eve had become a night of sacred preparation. As with other vigils in the Church year, the faithful fasted, prayed, and kept watch for the dawn of the feast. The evening was one of solemn joy—of repentance mingled with thanksgiving, of prayer for the departed mingled with praise for the saints.

In the monasteries and parish churches of Europe, bells rang through the night to call the faithful to prayer. Families gathered to recite the Rosary or the Office of the Dead. Candles flickered in windows and before holy images, signs of hope for the souls who still longed for the vision of God.

In some lands, the poor and children went from house to house offering prayers for the departed in exchange for small cakes baked in their memory. These were called soul cakes—round, spiced cakes marked with a cross, each one a prayer made tangible. The old rhymes of Shropshire and Lancashire preserved the spirit of this custom:

“A soul cake, a soul cake, Have mercy on all Christian souls, For a soul cake!”

Every prayer uttered and every cake given expressed the Catholic belief that love does not end with death, and that charity for the departed is a holy work pleasing to God.

Dressing as Saints and Holy Heroes

It was also customary for children and young people to dress as their patron saints on the vigil or on All Saints’ Day itself. In monastic schools and village parades, St. George bore his armor, St. Lucy her lamp, St. Francis his simple habit, and St. Michael his shining sword. These processions were living catechisms—teaching that holiness, not horror, is our calling; that sanctity, not sin, should be imitated.

Such joyful customs, far from frivolous, reflected the belief that all are called to sainthood. To dress as a saint was to proclaim: I, too, am destined for glory.

Bells and Prayers for the Dead

Throughout Catholic Europe, church bells pealed on this vigil night to summon the faithful to intercession. The sound of those bells carried through the mists of autumn like a voice from eternity: “Pray for the souls of the departed!”

In England, Poland, and the Tyrol, families made small altars at home with blessed candles, bread, and water offered in memory of loved ones. In the dark churchyards, candles glimmered among the tombs, proclaiming the light of the Resurrection even in the shadow of death.

This was not superstition but the theology of the Communion of Saints lived out in simplicity: heaven, purgatory, and earth united by prayer, love, and remembrance.

Light in the Darkness

From Ireland came the custom of hollowing turnips or gourds to make small lanterns carved with crosses or holy symbols, a sign of the soul illuminated by grace and awaiting heaven’s dawn. When the faithful carried these lights through the fields or placed them upon their thresholds, they bore silent witness to the truth that Christ’s light conquers the darkness.

In time, these humble customs traveled across Christendom, adapting to local culture yet preserving their central message: that the vigil of the saints is a night of prayer, mercy, and hope.

A Night of Hope, Not Fear

The modern world often misunderstands this ancient vigil, confusing it with tales of fright or trivial festivity. But All Hallows’ Eve is not a night of fear—it is a night of hope. It proclaims the triumph of Christ over death, the victory of grace over sin, and the radiant destiny of all who persevere in faith.

It reminds us that death is not the end but the passage to eternal life. As the leaves fall and nature seems to die, the Church sings of resurrection and glory. The saints who shine in heaven are proof that holiness is possible, that divine grace can transform human weakness into everlasting joy.

As the hymn of All Saints declares:

“O blest communion! fellowship divine! We feebly struggle, they in glory shine; Yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine.”

From the Tents of Pilgrimage to the Eternal Dwelling

Like Israel of old who lived in tents during the Feast of Tabernacles, we too dwell in fragile tents—the mortal bodies of our earthly pilgrimage. But we look toward the eternal dwelling not made with hands, where the harvest of souls is complete and every tear is wiped away.

When we keep the vigil of All Hallows’ Eve in faith, we stand at the edge of that mystery. The flicker of a candle, the ring of a bell, the taste of a soul cake—all point toward the day when Christ, the Lord of the Harvest, will gather His saints into the everlasting feast of heaven.

As the Church prays in the Preface of All Saints’ Day:

“For today you crown the merits of all your saints, and by crowning their merits, you crown your own gifts.”

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Selected Bibliography

• Butler, Alban. Lives of the Saints. New York: P. J. Kenedy & Sons, 1956.

• Duffy, Eamon. The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion in England 1400–1580. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992.

• Hole, Christina. British Folk Customs: An Introduction. London: Hutchinson, 1976.

• Miles, Clement A. All Hallows Eve: Traditions and Customs through the Ages. London: William Heinemann, 1912.

• Pitre, Brant. Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist: Unlocking the Secrets of the Last Supper. New York: Doubleday, 2011.

• Pitre, Brant. Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary: Unveiling the Mother of the Messiah. New York: Image, 2018.

• Thurston, Herbert. “All Saints, All Souls, and the Origin of All Hallows’ Eve.” The Month 90 (1897): 554–563.

• Weiser, Francis X. The Holyday Book: The Festive Seasons and Their Meaning. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1956.

• Weiser, Francis X. Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1958.

• Weitzman, Steven. “Sukkot and the Eschatological Ingathering.” Jewish Studies Quarterly 7, no. 2 (2000): 121–140.

• The Roman Missal, Preface for the Solemnity of All Saints.