All Souls’ Day

All Souls’ Day, in the Roman Catholic church, a festival falling on November 2, the object of which is, by prayers and almsgiving, to assist souls in purgatory. First instituted in the monasteries of Cluny, France, in 998, the observance soon became general, without any ordinance at large on the subject. Among European peasants, All Souls' Day is a time for reviving many pre-Christian folk customs. Roman Catholic priests are permitted to say three masses for the dead on this day.