The St. Johns herald., 1892-06-16
ALL SAINTS DAY.
How the First of Novemcer Is
 Observed in France.
The Last of Ortober Set Apart for the Cleaning of Tom5stones of Depart ed Friends in Preparation
 for the Morrow.

Tor the Morrow.
 There is French proverb which says that all corn should be sown and all fruit gathered in before All Saints day, and that between November and Christmas there can be neither toe much wind nor too much rain, for both wind and rain are useful to the crops in this season. All Saints day, as its name implies, is celebrated November l in honor of all the saints. In the Cath olic religion it derives its origin from the dedication made by Pope Bo1iface ". in the Pantheon at Rome in GOT. The old pagan temple was dedicated to the virgin and to all the martyrs, and took the name of Our Lady of the Martyrs. Towards the year 731 Pope Gregory III. erected a chapel in honor of all the saints in the church of St. Peter, of Rome. Since that time All Saints day has always been regularly celebrated in Rome.
 In France the holiday was introduced in the year S37, during the reign of Louis the Debonaire, on the occasion of voyage Pope Gregory ". made to France. It was at first adopted only in Paris, but few years after its insti- tuition in that city the French provincial towns initiated the example set them by the capital.
 The Greek church first celebrated the holy day in the fourth century. By its followers it was observed on the first Sunday after the Pentecost. But in the Roman church, since Gregory TIL, it has always been fixed on November 1. Plus V. made some great changes in the service, which he completely rear ranged. All Saints day was celebrated with greater solemnity and the cere- mony was adapted to inspire congrega- tions with more reverence and gravity. The encouragement contains some re- markable passages, such as the oration in the mass of Vigilius-Oratio de Spir- itu-Sancto-and the anthems and re- sponses in the mass of the day and the hymn ''Placare Christe Servulis."
 After having celebrated the holy day of all the saints, the church recalls to the minds of the living that they are to pray for the dead. The second day of November has been set aside, since the year 1929, as All Souls day.
 In France and all Cathc lie countries it was customary on the last day of Oc- tober to visit the cemeteries and clean the tombstones of departed relatives and friends. It is needless to add that nowadays only the very poor classes abide by this usage. The well-to-do folks, and even the poor, pay fee to have the necessary cleansing operation performed. The following day, No vember 1, is a general holiday, the school doors are opened, the govern ment offices and the exchanges are closed. In Paris people generally att tend mass about eleven o'clock, and in the afternoon go to a matinee at some theater, for they all give two perform ances Toussaint, as All Saints day is called. In fact, November 1 is a regu- lar holiday, and is kept up in exactly similar fashion to a Sunday. It is not any more a religious festival, nor is it noisy holiday like carnival or New Years day; it is something between the two. An houriin the morning is gener- ally given up to worship and the whole afternoon to amusement-theater-g ing or the races. Only the more reli- gious portion of the population thinks of attending vespers at about three o'clock in the afternoon.
 In the French provincial cities the day is spent in much the same fashion, only that the different ways of enjoy ing oneself are more limited than in the modern Babylon, and, therefore, the in- habitants spend perhaps an hour or two more in the places of worship.
 So, to resume, October 31 is spent, or rather ought to be, in cleansing the tombstones, November 1 as a general holiday and November as a day given up to the dead. All Souls day, called in French Commemoration des Morts, is now only obsefved by those whose business or other occupations do not prevent them from visiting the burial grounds. As a rule, out of every ten persons in a cemetery November ? one can count nine women and children to every one man. Ladies and little girls, whether they belong to the rich classes or the poor, carry bouquet, generally of crysanthemums. This they place on the tombstones, kneel few moments in prayer, and leave the cemetery with the words: "A fannee prochaine" (un- til next year,.