When is All Saints’ Day?
In 2026, All Saints’ Day falls on Sunday, November 1, 2026. It is classified here as a paid public holiday.
History of All Saints’ Day
All Saints' Day developed in the Western church as a collective feast for recognised and unknown saints and became fixed on November 1. It entered Côte d’Ivoire's civil calendar through the Catholic and French institutional legacy and remains a statutory holiday in the religiously plural republic.
The feast is distinct from All Souls' Day on November 2, which focuses on prayer for the dead. Cemetery visits and family remembrance may cluster across both dates, but describing All Saints solely as a day for deceased relatives obscures its liturgical subject and the two-day sequence.
The 2011 amendment does not create a general Monday-substitution rule. It grants a following day only when Labour Day, Independence Day, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha or Christmas falls on a Sunday; it gives no substitute merely because another holiday falls on Saturday or Sunday. November 1 is Sunday in 2026. All Saints is not among the Sunday holidays that gain a following day, so Monday, November 2 is not a statutory substitute.
All Saints’ Day is among the statutory holidays and non-working days listed in Article 2 of Decree No. 96-205 as amended. Under Article 4, an hourly or daily worker is not automatically paid when the day is not worked, whereas a monthly worker's salary is maintained; if work proceeds, the decree provides ordinary scheduled pay rather than a statutory premium. A collective agreement or contract may be more favourable.
How All Saints’ Day is observed
All Saints’ Day falls on Sunday, November 1 in 2026, with no substitute Monday. Catholic Masses coincide with the normal Sunday cycle; cemetery opening and traffic arrangements may extend into All Souls’ Day.
Traditions of All Saints’ Day
Mass for all saints
Catholic congregations hear the Beatitudes, sing and pray in honour of the whole communion of saints; other churches may place less emphasis on the feast.
Names and examples of faith
Parishes and families may recall patron saints and exemplary Christian lives, linking baptismal names and local communities to the universal feast.
Cemetery remembrance
Families may clean or visit graves around November 1–2. This widespread overlap should be distinguished from the specific All Souls commemoration on November 2.
Dates and observance rules are checked against the official Côte d’Ivoire official holiday calendar or legislation. Government, regional, school and employer schedules in Côte d’Ivoire may differ; check the linked official source and current local notices before making time-sensitive plans.
History sources: Decree No. 2011-371 amending Côte d’Ivoire’s public-holiday rules, Côte d’Ivoire Labour Code (Law No. 2015-532), Article 24, Consolidated Decree No. 96-205 on public holidays, Encyclopaedia Britannica: the Christian liturgical year.
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