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50 free All Saints' Day trivia questions with answers — trivia quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
All Saints' Day on November 1 honours every saint, known and unknown, and sits at the heart of Allhallowtide between Halloween and All Souls' Day. These 50 questions trace its history from 4th-century martyr feasts through Pope Boniface IV's Pantheon, Alcuin and Charlemagne's court, and Louis the Pious's 835 decree, then tour the customs: chrysanthemums in France, Allerheiligenstriezel in Austria, kites in Guatemala, Undás in the Philippines. The set works for Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and Methodist classrooms and youth groups, and for a quiz night round on how the world marks the start of November. Every answer is cited.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which popular holiday falls on the vigil of All Saints' Day?
Halloween
All Hallows' Eve is October 31; the feast itself is November 1 and All Souls' Day follows on November 2.
Q 02What is the name of the three-day season that includes All Saints' Day?
Allhallowtide
It runs from October 31 to November 2, and in some traditions extends to Remembrance Sunday.
Q 03Which pope extended the November 1 observance to the whole Catholic Church?
Gregory IV
The date had already spread from churches in the British Isles during the 9th century.
Q 04When do the Eastern Orthodox churches commemorate all saints?
First Sunday after Pentecost
All Saints' Sunday marks the close of the Paschal season in the Byzantine tradition.
Q 05In the Coptic Orthodox tradition, All Saints' Day falls on which new-year feast?
Nayrouz
Celebrated on September 11, it opens the Coptic year and its first month, Thout.
Q 06What festal rank does All Saints' Day hold in Catholicism?
Solemnity
It is a festival in Lutheranism and a Principal Feast in the Anglican Communion.
Q 07The liturgical celebration begins with first vespers on the evening of which day?
October 31
That evening is All Hallows' Eve, better known as Halloween; the feast ends at compline on November 1.
Q 08In Catholic theology, the day commemorates all who have attained what?
The beatific vision
The feast reflects belief in a bond between the Church triumphant, militant and penitent.
Q 09Those in heaven are traditionally called the Church what?
Triumphant
The living are the Church militant and the faithful departed the Church penitent.
Q 10From which century did feasts for all Christian martyrs begin to appear?
4th
They were held on various dates near Easter and Pentecost: May 13 in Edessa, the Sunday after Pentecost in Antioch.
Q 11Which Roman building did Pope Boniface IV consecrate to Mary and all the martyrs in 609 or 610?
Pantheon
The anniversary feast, dedicatio Sanctae Mariae ad Martyres, has been kept in Rome ever since.
Q 12The May 13 date may have been chosen to replace which Roman festival of restless spirits?
Lemuria
Some liturgiologists argue the feast of all the dead grew directly out of it.
Q 13Which pope dedicated an oratory to all saints in Old St. Peter's in the 730s?
Gregory III
Some sources say the dedication was on November 1, which is one theory for the date; others put it on Palm Sunday 732.
Q 21Who wrote the hymn "For All the Saints"?
Walsham How
Its best-known tune, Sine Nomine, is by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Q 22Which composer wrote Sine Nomine, the familiar tune for "For All the Saints"?
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Other hymns sung on the day include "I Sing a Song of the Saints of God" and "Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones".
Q 23Which Byzantine emperor is credited with expanding the feast from martyrs to all saints?
Leo VI the Wise
He built a church for the relics of his wife Theophano and, discouraged from naming it for her, dedicated it to All Saints.
Q 14Which Northumbrian scholar at Charlemagne's court recommended the November 1 feast in 800?
Alcuin
He wrote to his friend Arno of Salzburg and may have brought the Irish-Northumbrian feast into the Frankish Empire.
Q 15Which emperor made November 1 a holy day of obligation across the Frankish Empire in 835?
Louis the Pious
His decree was issued at the urging of Pope Gregory IV and with the assent of all the bishops.
Q 16Which Celtic festival did James Frazer argue lay behind the November 1 date?
Samhain
Ronald Hutton disagrees, arguing Samhain was a harvest festival and that the date was a Germanic idea.
Q 17Which pope added an octave to All Saints' Day in the 15th century?
Sixtus IV
The vigil and octave were suppressed in Pius XII's liturgical reforms of 1955.
Q 18In which year were the All Saints vigil and octave suppressed by Pope Pius XII?
1955
Some Traditional Catholic communities still observe them.
Q 19What is the liturgical colour for All Saints' Day in the Lutheran churches?
White
In Lutheran countries such as Sweden and Finland the day is a public holiday.
Q 20The United Methodist Church celebrates All Saints' Day on which day?
First Sunday in November
Congregations often read the names of members who died in the past year, lighting a candle for each.
Q 24In the Church of England, All Saints' Day is ranked as what?
Principal Feast
It may be kept on November 1 or on the Sunday between October 30 and November 5.
Q 25In Lutheran, Anglican and Reformed churches, All Hallows' Eve doubles as which commemoration?
Reformation Day
All Hallows' Eve has traditionally been a fasting day in Western Christianity.
Q 26What braided pastry do Austrian and Bavarian godparents give godchildren on the day?
Allerheiligenstriezel
Similar breads in Switzerland were originally for children and the poor who said a prayer for the dead.
Q 27Which flower do Belgians and the French traditionally place on graves for the day?
Chrysanthemum
In France the day is La Toussaint, and November 2 is Le jour des morts.
Q 28What is All Saints' Day called in France?
La Toussaint
Wreaths called couronnes de toussaints are placed at tombs; November 1 is a public holiday.
Q 29In how many German federal states is Allerheiligen a public holiday?
5
Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Rhineland-Palatinate, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saarland treat it as a "silent day".
Q 30Which Croatian cemetery's All Saints' liturgy is broadcast on national television each year?
Mirogoj, Zagreb
Croatian cities provide free public transport to cemeteries on the holiday.