All Saints Day (in Latin Sollemnitas Omnium Sanctorum) is a Christian holiday when people are celebrating all saints.

The days when this celebration takes place differ from one church to another. Thus in the Western churches (Roman Catholic) feast of is held on 1 November, while in the Eastern Churches (Orthodox Churches and the Greek Catholic) takes place on the first Sunday after Pentecost.

All Saints Day was introduced in 609, it seems to take place on the 13th May. In 835, Pope Gregory IV changed the date to 1st November, apparently to counter the pagan Celtic feast of the dead (Samhain), known today as being the origin of Halloween (All Hallows' Eve) celebrated on the night of 31st October.

In Poland,  All Saints Day (Wszystkich Świętych) takes place on 1^st November, representing a commemoration day of the deceased. Because this day is public holiday commemorates, Poles commemorate the church saints together with the loved ones who passed away, explained by their presence mainly in the cemeteries rather than in the church. So, people celebrate in similar ways All Saints Day (1^st November) and All Souls Day (2^nd November), although they have different meanings.

During this day, take place church services which commemorate the saints. Poles bring flower and light candles to the graves of loved ones, this habit is continued also in the next day when it is celebrated All Souls Day (Dzień Zaduszny or Zaduszki), but the latter is not a day off. It is believed that these candles will help the souls of deceased to find their way in the dark. When evening comes the cemeteries from Poland are lit by an impressive number of candles and you can see the cemeteries from far away.

Being a national holiday, schools, banks, governmental institutions and most private business from Poland, are closed. In Łódź, I have observed that there was organized special schedule for public transport in order to facilitate the access to cemeteries which are situated in different parts of the city. In this way, All Saints Day and All Souls Day represent an important period for Poles to commemorate and to think about the lives of love ones who passed away.

In Romania, All Saints Day is called "The Sunday of All Saints” and takes place on the first Sunday after Pentecost. During this day take place church services in order to commemorate the saints, those who served the God’s word.

Regarding the commemoration of the dead, the Romanians have a day dedicated to this practice. Simon Florea Marian mentioned in his book "Trilogy of Life", that there are 20 days of "Old men” (in Romanian - Moși), word that refers to ancestors and at those who have passed away. With this appellation are called religious holidays of the deceased, such as "Spring’s Old Men" (Martyr’s Day), "Summer’s Old Men" (the Saturday before Pentecost), "Autumn Old Men" (the first Saturday in November), "Winter’s Old Men"(the Saturday before the Sunday when the meat’s fast begins).

Orthodox Church has chosen Saturday to remembrance of the deceased because it is the day when Jesus Christ was laid in the tomb.

During this day church services take place in the memory of deceased, but these church services can take place also in the cemeteries at the graves of loved ones.

The ritual of remembrance takes place mainly in cemeteries, where the graves are cleaned and candles are lighted that they are burning during the entire ceremony of remembrance.

For the remembrance of those who had passed away, women use to give alms during these days. Unlike other days of remembrance, on the "Old Men’s Day” people offer plates with food ("colivă”, rice milk, stuffed cabbage with meat, pies, trotters, etc.), the plates are offered in the same time with the food.

Housewives also prepare a specific cake – "colivă” (boiled wheat mixed with sugar and crushed walnuts, decorated with small candies and powdered sugar, which is divided as alms at funerals and requiem), cake that remembers about the miracle of St. Theodore who appeared in the dream of Eudoxius Archbishop of Constantinople (360-370), said him to tell Christians to not buy anything from the market, but rather to eat cooked wheat with honey ("colivă”). This dream protected the Christians by the Emperor Julian the Apostate’s mockery (361-363), who ordered that all the food from markets to be sprinkled with the blood of sacrificed animals consecrated to idols.

It seems that in the consciousness of Poles and Romanians exists a respect for loved ones who have passed away, in this regard there are specific days dedicated to commemorate them.