WARSAW, Poland (AP) — It’s the time of year — tradition says — when the veil between the world of the living and the dead is lifted.

This traditional belief has transformed over the centuries into a fearsome and secular celebration of Halloween.

But one day later, Christians In many countries around the world, All Saints’ Day is celebrated on Friday, a somber and spiritual day in the Church’s liturgical calendar that shares pagan roots with Halloween.

The word “Halloween” derives from “All Hallows Eve”, which means the eve of All Hallows’ Eve, a holiday also known as All Hallows. It honors martyrs and saints – those who were sanctified or considered saints – a tradition started by the Roman Catholic Church in the early medieval period.

Researchers believe that the spectral aspects of Halloween originated mainly from Samhainan ancient Celtic festival that took place during the harvest season, said Morgan Shipley, a professor of religious studies at Michigan State University in East Lansing.

It was a time when people “moved from the harvest and bounty and fullness of summer to the desolation of winter,” he said. “And it has been said that in this age the veil between the physical, material human world and the spiritual world essentially dissipates.”

Certain spirits or spectral beings were considered demonic in nature, and bonfires became a means of warding them off, or were used in divination by Druid priests and priestesses when the veil between the material and spiritual world was broken, a- he declared.

As Christianity spread, many pagan rituals were adapted to the new faith to further attract converts. The period of reflection on the dead continues until November 2, which is All Saints’ Day.

In Central Europe, Slavic and Baltic populations had their own rituals during which the living communed with the dead between October 31 and November 1.

Believers and nonbelievers in many traditionally Catholic societies observe this day.

In Polandit is one of the most important days of the year. Many return to their family homes to reunite with those still alive and reflect on those who have left them.

So many people observe the holiday that cemeteries are transformed into flickering carpets of light so impressive that even the most secular can’t help but feel moved. Cities like Warsaw and Krakow have many additional tram and bus lines to transport large numbers of people to and between cemeteries.

While the reflections are mostly personal, people also place candles on the graves of national heroes. So many people visit the cemeteries at the same time that the celebration takes on a communal character.

It has become such a part of Polish culture that people also place candles in Jewish and Muslim cemeteries.

In the PhilippinesMillions of people gathered at cemeteries across the country on Friday to observe the annual tradition, visiting the graves of their loved ones. Thousands of people were seen visiting and offering flowers and candles to be placed at the graves of their deceased loved ones at the Manila North Cemetery in the capital.

“Even though I am old, I still visit the graves of my loved ones, especially that of my husband, on All Saints’ Day. As long as I can walk, I will visit him,” said Manila resident Dory Oliquino.

All Saints’ Day is a family reunion for many Filipinos, where they keep vigil at gravesites.

“All Saints’ Day is the day we celebrate and remember our departed loved ones, so that even though they are gone, our memories with them still remain fresh in our minds,” said Luis Montibon.

Italians They traditionally visit cemeteries to pay respects to deceased family members on All Saints’ Day, by lighting candles or laying flowers. Pope Francis will visit Rome’s third largest cemetery, the Laurentino Cemetery, to celebrate Mass and lead prayers for the dead. The pope visited the same cemetery in 2018, stopping to pray in a space dedicated to fetuses.

In recent years, as the holiday approaches, there has been discussion about Halloween and its compatibility with Christian beliefs in the afterlife.

Poles began celebrating Halloween after the fall of communism in 1989, but some fear that foreign cultural importation would eventually dilute the All Saints’ Day tradition. Some Catholics fear that it may also constitute a sin because of the allusions to devils and ghosts. In response, some religious groups began organizing alternative All Saints Day events.

This week, a religious group organized the 3rd All Saints’ Day Ball in the Polish town of Plock, according to the Catholic news site Niedziela – meaning Sunday – which reported that “the children came dressed as saints and blesseds of the Church Catholic and in angels. »

Associated Press reporter Colleen Barry contributed from Milan. Basilio Sepe contributed from Manila, Philippines.

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