All Saints

 

"I saw a huge number of people, impossible for anyone to count, from every nation, race, tribe, and language." This verse is an attempt by the author of the Book of Revelation (7:9) to describe the number of saints in heaven.
Early Christians found it impossible to count all those who had been killed because they believed in Jesus. Some martyrs, of course, were outstanding in their witness and were named as such, but Christians wanted also to honor all of those who were not famous, so they celebrated in Rome a catch-all feast of All Martyrs on May 13.
The pre-Christian Irish remembered their dead at the end of October, the end of their year. After becoming Christians they continued to honor their dead at the same time of year. When the Church decided that we wanted a catch-all day to celebrate, not only martyrs, but all those non-famous persons who had died and were with God in heaven, it was the Irish time of year that won out.
So November 1 became the Feast of All Saints. It is a time for us to remember and honor all those who have died but never made a name for themselves for being holy, people like our friends and family members, and the "huge number of people, impossible to count, from every nation, race, tribe, and language."