Dia de los Santos y Dia de los Muertos

All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day, what's the difference? 

I don't know if a lot of Filipinos know the difference.  But here is what I found online and it is similar to what the nuns and priests taught me when I was studying in a Catholic school eons ago.

All Saints' Day:

All Saints' Day is a festival on which the church remembers and honors all the Christian faithful, both known and unknown.  This festival has its origins in the Roman Catholic church of the Middle Ages.  Reflecting on the lives and examples of the saints had been a widespread practice of Christians since the earliest days of the church.  By the early Middle Ages, the liturgical calendar was filled with the commemorations of hundreds of saints and martyrs.  Many of these lesser observances were combined into a joint celebration called All Saints' Day.

All Souls' Day

All Soul's Day is a Roman Catholic day of remembrance for friends and loved ones who have passed away. This comes from the ancient Pagan Festival of the Dead, which celebrated the Pagan belief that the souls of the dead would return for a meal with the family. Candles in the window would guide the souls back home, and another place was set at the table. Children would come through the village, asking for food to be offered symbolically to the dead, then donated to feed the hungry. 

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So kung November 2 pa ang araw ng mga patay, bakit ba tayo pumupunta sa sementeryo tuwing November 1 na araw pala ng mga santo?

Ayon sa isang pari na nagsermon sa sementeryo kung saan nakalibing ang lolo't lola ko, ang nakagawiang praktis na ito ay minana pa natin sa mga Kastila. Naniniwala daw kasi ang mga Kastila na ang mga kamag-anak na namatay ay maituturing na santo na din dahil nakapiling na nila ang Poong Maykapal. Naisakatuparan na nila ang isa sa mga ninanais ng ating ispiritwal na pamumuhay, ang makapiling ang Diyos. Bilang mga santo, maaari na din nila tayong ipagdasal. Kung kaya't mas ninanais ng mga Kastila na dumalaw sa mga puntod ng mga yumaong mahal sa buhay sa Dia de los Santos kaysa sa Dia de los Muertos.

At dahil yun ang turo ng mga Kastila, sinunod natin ito at hanggang ngayon ay naging bahagi na din ito ng ating tradisyon.

Anu't ano pa man, sa araw na ito, ipagdasal natin ang kaluluwa ng mga namayapa nating mahal sa buhay. Nawa'y kapiling na nila ang ating Poong Maykapal at kung may ilan pa sa kanila na hindi nakikita ang liwanag, nawa'y kanila itong maaninag nang sa gayon ay tuluyan na silang mamayapa.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them.