All Saints' Day: Origins and Traditions in France
Every November 1st, France comes to a halt, cemeteries fill with chrysanthemums, and almost everyone says the same thing: "It's All Saints' Day, we're going to put flowers on the graves." Except, strictly speaking, that's not quite right. All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day are two different holidays, and almost no one makes the distinction. 🕯️
Two holidays that are almost always confused
All Saints' Day
November 1st. This is the feast day of all saints, known and unknown. Officially instituted in the 9th century by Pope Gregory IV, it remains a public holiday and a holy day of obligation in the Catholic tradition. Originally, it had nothing to do with the deceased in general.
All Souls' Day
November 2nd. Instituted in 998 by Abbot Odilo of Cluny, the Commemoration of All Faithful Departed is the day officially dedicated to prayer for all the dead. Theoretically, this is the day when graves should be decorated with flowers.
In practice, since November 1st is a public holiday and November 2nd is not, the tradition of remembrance at the cemetery has shifted to All Saints' Day. This confusion has become so ingrained that it has itself become a tradition.
Why chrysanthemums, precisely
This point has a very specific and rather recent origin. In 1919, in the aftermath of the First World War, President Raymond Poincaré invited the French to decorate the graves of soldiers who died in combat for All Saints' Day. The chrysanthemum, a robust flower that blooms in autumn, naturally became the flower of choice. Since then, the flower has been almost exclusively associated with mourning in France, to the point that even today, it is avoided as a bouquet for any other occasion.
In France, offering chrysanthemums outside of a funeral context is still often perceived as a faux pas, even a century later.
A holiday of remembrance, above all
Beyond the religious calendar, All Saints' Day remains one of the few times of the year entirely dedicated to remembrance. People think of those who are no longer with us, tidy up graves, and sometimes gather with family. This is exactly the same mechanism as the one we described in our article on why smells bring back memories: a ritual, a date, a gesture, to keep a memory alive.
A candle of remembrance
L'Empreinte 1892
Discover the candle →
Our perfumes are developed in Grasse, with a master perfumer, and guaranteed free of CMRs and phthalates. This is a point we particularly adhere to, regardless of the story told by the candle.
So on November 1st, by lighting a small candle at home or placing flowers, you are unknowingly perpetuating a ritual that dates back more than a thousand years. ✨
