All Saints Day and All Souls Day!

What's the difference?  

To Christians, the last day of October starts "Hallowtide"  where we remember those who died. October 31 is known as the feast of Sanhain/Samhain,(pronounced 'sow'inn) and commonly called " All Hallows Eve" or Halloween.  On this night fires were lit in the belief that light had power over darkness, hence pumpkin lanterns to frighten away witches and ghosts. When the Romans invaded Britain they included elements of their harvest celebrations in which they honoured the goddess of the fruits of trees, Pomona. Children still play games with apples at this time of the year and other countries have also other way of celebrating the yearly tradition.

All Saints Day, (All Hallows) November 1

The word Hallow means 'Holy', (blessed, consecrated or set apart in a special way) and so 'All-Hallows' or 'All Saints'  refers to the Saints—the Holy Ones. Those who died for their faith or who lived extraordinary lives. The saints are our ancestors on earth and precede us in heaven. Many Christians experience a strong sense that the saints are still with us, and that they watch over us and pray to God for us. The prayer from Methodist Worship at the bottom of this page expresses the idea of knowing their fellowship with us. Although dead, they are members of Christ's Church and we use this day to give thanks for the lives of all the saints as they are examples to us. Saints are created as signs of hope, that the gospel really can change lives. Somebody is not made a saint at canonisation, it is rather an acknowledgement that somebody was a saint and is therefore in heaven and not neglectful of the needs of the world, through the communion of saints.- excerpt from ~thisischurch~

All Souls Day, November 2

In the Christian Church we remember the Church not just as those who are living but also those who have died, they are just as much the church as we are and the Christian Church has two names for this, those who are living are called the church militant, and those have died are called the church triumphant. This time of year is an important time to cherish the memory of those who have died and who have gone before us. As we celebrate their memory we can know and be glad that they share with us in Christ's eternal kingdom. excerpt from ~thisischurch~

We Thank you, Dear Lord for all the things you have given us! To God be the glory!

Our Dear SJWMS Studs, we welcome you back to school! Holiday is over! We look forward to having you back and share the fun and learning in our school!