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In Western Christianity, All Souls' Day commemorates the faithful departed. This day is observed in the Roman Catholic Church, churches of the Anglican Communion, Old Catholic Churches, and to some extent among Protestants. The Eastern Orthodox Church observes several All Souls' Days during the year. The Roman Catholic celebration is based on the doctrine that the souls of the faithful which at death have not been cleansed from venial sins, or have not fully atoned for mortal sins, cannot attain the beatific vision in heaven yet, and that they may be helped to do so by prayer and by the sacrifice of the Mass (see Purgatory).

All Souls' Day is also known as the Feast of All Souls, Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed (from the Latin Commemoratio omnium Fidelium Defunctorum), Day of the Dead (in Mexico), or Defuncts' Day (in Hungary, France and Italy).

The Western celebration of the feast falls on November 2 and follows All Saints Day, which commemorates the departed who have attained the beatific vision. Since the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council the feast is celebrated on November 2 even in years when that date falls on a Sunday.

It is historically verifiable that the practice of celebrating November 2 as a day to pray for all of the departed did begin at the monastery of Cluny. From Cluny the custom spread to the other houses of the Cluniac order, which became the largest and most extensive network of monasteries in Europe. It was soon adopted in several dioceses in France, and spread throughout the Western Church. In time the entire month of November became associated with prayer for the departed in the Western Catholic tradition. Nonetheless the 2 November retained a special status as a day set apart for that purpose. /Excerpts from Wikipedia./

People in Hungary prefer to visit their defunct relatives in the cemeteries on this day around sunset - maybe due to its symbolic meaning or to the more intimate atmosphere and because in the darkness you can better feel the warmth of the candles. The traditional flower of the day is the chrysantemum.