The Autumn Triduum: Three Days for the Dead 

On Nov. 1 every year, the Church celebrates All Saints’ Day. This important holy day is an opportunity to focus on God revealed in the communion of saints and the holy examples of our ancestors in faith. To quote the letter to the Hebrews, “since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.” All Saints Day is an important reminder to us that true holiness is possible—with God’s help—for ordinary people like you and me. 

But All Saints Day does not stand alone in the church calendar. It is, in fact, the middle of three ancient, holy days. These are sometimes called the Autumn Triduum or, less formally, the Three Days for the Dead. “Triduum” usually only comes up, if it does at all, in reference to three holy days at the end of Holy Week: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter, especially the Great Vigil of Easter. The term “triduum” is just Latin for “three days,” but there are similarities between the Paschal Triduum in spring and the Autumn Triduum at this time of year. 

There are three main points of connection between these three-day observances: Both involve celebrations with lots of candy; both include important vigil liturgies; both inspire us to greater prayer, charity, and almsgiving. 

All Saints Day is an important holy day, full of celebration, feasting, and light. But, as the saying goes, it’s always darkest before the dawn. So just like the Paschal Triduum starts with the ominous and lonely prayer of Jesus in Gethsemane on Maundy Thursday and the painful isolation of the Cross on Good Friday, so the Triduum of the dead starts with the Vigil of All Saints Day. All Hallows Eve. Hallowe’en. 

For the Early Church—and for many Christians today—venerating saints meant spending time with their earthly remains. Travelling to the church or shrine of a local saint and celebrating the sacraments, to say nothing of the afterparty, in their presence was an important part of All Saints Day. But earthly remains mean spending the vigil with bones and dusty tombs where there are cobwebs and bats. You can see where some of our modern Halloween horror traditions have their roots. Even when the dead are good holy people, it makes the easily frightened living a little uneasy to spend too much time around them. 

The modern-day associations in some places between Hallowe’en and Hell, the occult, or plain old jump-scare horror are just that: modern associations. For Christians, Hallowe’en has long been an evening where one might be frightened or made uneasy by the association with dead saints, but it was not a time of badness or evil. After all, it was the first celebration of a festival all about the glory of God shining through the lives of our friends, family, and neighbours. 

The second day of the Autumn Triduum is All Saints’ Day proper. We’ve come through the dark of the vigil and are here to witness the “yet more glorious day” described in the hymn “For All the Saints”. Here, our thoughts turn to heaven and to those we believe already inhabit its many rooms. Those whom Jesus led to their eternal reward during his descent to the dead and those who have joined them since. We hold in mind the never-ending Easter celebrated in heaven as we pause for a moment to celebrate here on earth. 

We do our best to share in the perpetual rejoicing of heaven, celebrating the sacraments, spending time with family and friends, sharing food, drink, music, and every other celebration at our disposal. This is also one of the ideal days of the year for baptisms. Showing the new Christians what it means to become saints-in-progress, joining the great extended family of Jesus that is the communion of saints. 

Finally, on 2 November, we keep All Souls Day. This is the day when we settle ourselves into the sure and certain hope that is central to our faith. Traditionally, on All Souls Day, Christian communities remember those who have died. There may be a special memorial liturgy, a reading of names, a memorial feast, or many other ways of remembering those we love but see no longer. 

Whatever the method of observance, All Souls Day reminds us that though we may sometimes be frightened and unsettled—as on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, or Hallowe’en—we have also seen the glory of Christ’s victory over death and sin at Easter and reflected in the holy lives of saints remembered on All Saints Day. 

With this held close to our hearts, even though we grieve and miss those who have died, we remember that though they are separated from us for a while, they are not lost. We will be reunited one day in a place where there is no more pain, neither any weeping nor sorrow. All Souls Day is our solemn celebration of hope and a source of comfort in our grief. 

May your Triduum of the Dead be good and holy. May you find inspirations for prayer, charity, and almsgiving born of thankfulness. May you be moved to celebrate all through the night with the saints of God, bones and all. And, of course, may you find enough candy to disappoint your dentist.