When is All Saints’ Day?
In 2026, All Saints’ Day falls on Sunday, November 1, 2026. It is classified here as a Belgian public holiday.
History of All Saints’ Day
All Saints’ Day honours all Christian saints, known and unknown, on November 1. Belgium retains it among the ten statutory public holidays. The following November 2 is All Souls’ Day, the liturgical commemoration more directly focused on the dead, but it is not a nationwide statutory employment holiday. Family practice often combines the two because November 1 provides time for visits.
Across Belgium, relatives clean graves and bring chrysanthemums or other durable autumn flowers. The custom crosses language and differences in religious practice: even families who rarely attend church may treat the cemetery visit as an important obligation of care. Catholic parishes celebrate All Saints and pray for the departed across the two-day sequence, while cemeteries prepare for exceptionally heavy attendance.
Because November 1 can fall on a weekend or ordinary inactivity day, private-sector substitute dates are set by the competent joint committee or workplace procedure. There is no single national observed Monday. School autumn holidays can overlap the period according to the calendars of the Flemish, French and German-speaking Communities, whose education timetables are not always identical.
How All Saints’ Day is observed
November 1 is a statutory private-sector public holiday; cemetery remembrance is widespread, and substitute dates depend on the employee’s undertaking.
Traditions of All Saints’ Day
Cemetery visits
Families travel to clean graves, replace decorations and remember deceased relatives during one of Belgium’s busiest cemetery periods.
Chrysanthemum displays
Florists and cemetery entrances fill with potted chrysanthemums chosen for autumn colour, durability and their established association with remembrance.
Two-day religious remembrance
Catholic services distinguish the saints on November 1 from prayer for all departed souls on the following day.
Dates and observance rules are checked against the official Belgian federal public-holiday guidance. Community and regional dates do not automatically apply throughout Belgium; local and employer schedules may differ.
History sources: Federal Public Service Employment: public holidays, Belgium.be: Belgium’s ten legal public holidays.
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