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If All Saints' Day will bring out the winter, St Martin's Day will bring out Indian summer.
American traditional proverb
 
On All Saints' Day hard is the grain,
The leaves are dropping, the puddle is full;
At setting off in the morning
Woe to him that will trust a stranger.
From The Heroic Elegies of Llywarch Hên (6^th Century Welsh), translated by Dr W Owen Pughe, 1792 (William Hone, The Every-Day Book, or a Guide to the Year, William Tegg and Co., London, 1878, 711 - 712; 1825-26 edition online)

All Saints' Day, a time of pleasant gossiping,
The gale and the storm keep equal pace,
It is the labour of falsehood to keep a secret.
Ibid 

On All Saints' Day the stags are lean,
Yellow are the tops of birch; deserted is the summer dwelling.
Woe to him who for a trifle deserves a curse.
Ibid   

On All Saints' Day the tops of the branches are bent;
In the mouth of the mischievous, disturbance is congenial:
Where there is no natural gift there will be no learning.
Ibid 

On All Saints' Day blustering is the weather.
Very unlike the beginning of the past fair season:
Besides God there is none who knows the future.
Ibid 

On All Saints' Day 'tis hard and dry,
Doubly black is the crow, quick is the arrow from the bow,
For the stumbling of the old, the looks of the young wear a smile.
Ibid 

On All Saints' Day bare is the place where the heath is burnt,
The plough is in the furrow, the ox at work:
Amongst a hundred 'tis a chance to find a friend.
Ibid

Fairies – sometimes banshees or females, sometimes fershees or males – often kept company with mortals, and became greatly attached to them. Every Samain a banshee used to visit Fingin Mac Luchta, king of South Munster in the second century, and bring him on a round of visits to the shees, to see all the precious things therein. A banshee follower of a mortal was usually called a lennan-shee ('fairy-lover'), and instances of such attachments are innumerable.
Joyce, Soc. Hist. Ireland, Vol. 1. p. 265; today continues Samhain

Now plough up thy headland, or delve it with spade; 
If garden require it now trench it ye may. 
Green peason or Hastings at Hallontide sow; 
Grey peason or runcivals at Candlemas 
Set garlike and beans at St. Edmond the King. 
At Hallontine, slaughter-time entereth in; 
And then doth the husbandman's feasting begin. 
From thence unto Shrovetide kill now and then some; 
Their offal for household the better will come. 
The fewer thou keepest, keep better ye may; 
For Easter at Martilmas hang up a beef. 
Foul privies are now to be cleansed and fy'd 
Let night be appointed, such baggage to hide; 
Which buried in garden, in trenches a-low, 
Shall make very many things better to grow. 
... 
Let hogs, once fat, lose nothing of that, 
When mast is gone, hog falleth anon. 
Now pork and souse bears tack in house. 
... 
Some corneth, some brineth, some will not be taught. 
Where meat is attainted, their cooking is naught.
Thomas Tusser (1524 - 1580), Five hundreth pointes of good husbandrie: as well for the champion or open countrie, as also for the woodland or severall ; mixed in everie month with huswiferie, over and besides the booke of huswiferie, London: 'Printed in the now dwelling house of Henrie Denham in Aldersgate Street at the signe of the starre', 1586

The feis of Tearnur each third year,
To preserve laws and rules,
Was then convened firmly
By the illustrious Kings of Erin.
Cathaoir of sons-in-law convened
The beautiful Feis of regal Temur,
There came with him – the better for it –
The men of Erin to one Place –
Three days before Saman always,
Three days after it – it was a goodly custom
The host of very high passion spent,
Constantly drinking during the week,
Without theft, without wounding a man
Among them during all this time;
Without feats of arms, without deceit,
Without exercising horses.
Whoever did any of these things
Was a wretched enemy with heavy venom;
Gold was not received as a retribution from him,
But his soul in one hour.
Eochaidh O'Flinn, 10^th century

A sort of the richest of them being shipped with their treasure, in a mighty tall ship which they had hired, when the same was under sail, and got down the Thames, towards the mouth of the river, the master-mariner bethought him of a wile, and caused his men to cast anchor, and so rode at the same, till the ship, by ebbing of the stream, remained on the dry sand. The master herewith enticed the Jews to walk out with him on land, for recreation; and at length, when he understood the tide to be coming in, he got him back to the ship, whither he was drawn up by a cord. The Jews made not so much haste as he did, because they were not aware of the danger; but when they perceived how the matter stood, they cried to him for help, howbeit he told them that they ought to cry rather unto Moses, by whose conduct their fathers passed through the Red Sea; and, there-fore, if they would call to him for help, he was able to help them out of these raging floods, which now came in upon them. They cried, indeed, but no succour appeared, and so they were swallowed up in the water. The master returned with his ship, and told the king how he had used the matter, and had both thanks and rewards, as some have written.
Raphael Holinshed (died c. 1580), English chronicler, writes of a tragic incident during the expulsion of the Jews from England, which commenced on November 1, 1290

That which controls you has only two eyes, has only two hands, has only one body and but one thing which the least of men in all the cities has, but more than you all, it is the advantage which you give him to destroy you.
Étienne de La Boétie (d. August 18, 1563), French author, born on November 1, 1530

It is incredible how as soon as a people become subject, it promptly falls into such complete forgetfulness of its freedom that it can hardly be roused to the point of regaining it, obeying so easily and willingly that one is led to say that this people has not so much lost its liberty as won its enslavement.
Étienne de La Boétie

Next was November; he full grown and fat
As fed with lard, and that right well might seeme;
For he had been a fatting hogs of late,
That yet his browes with sweat did reek and steam;
And yet the season was full sharp and breem;
In planting eeke he took no small delight,
Whereon he rode, not easy was to deeme
For it a dreadful centaure was in sight,
The seed of Saturn and fair Nais, Chiron hight.
Edmund Spenser (c. 1552 - January 13, 1599), English poet; Faerie Queen, 'The Cantos of Mutabilitie'

No sun – no moon! No morn – no noon –
No dawn – no dusk – no proper time of day ...
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member –
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds, –
November!
Thomas Hood, English poet, 1799 - 1845; 'No!'
 
November, though her fields are drear and cold
  Still holds for searching eyes some glints of brightness;
A faded thread from autumn's cloth of gold
  Is gemmed with foreflakes of the winter's whiteness.
Nixon Waterman, in the Old Farmer's Almanac for 1904

And it is All Souls' Night
And two long glasses brimmed with muscatel
Bubble upon the table. A ghost may come;
For it is a ghosts' right, 
His element is so fine 
Being sharpened by his death, 
To drink from the wine-breath
While our gross palates drink from the whole wine.
WB Yeats, 'All Souls' Night'; Yeats is referring to All Souls' Eve customs in Ireland, November 1, for tomorrow is All Souls' Day; today is All Saints' Day. Like its pagan predecessor, Samhain, the Roman Catholic season of the dead lasted several days.

… the living reached out to them [i.e. the dead], and hoped by the pressure of their willing to break down for one night the frontier between the two kingdoms, and enable those on the far side to return. On All Souls Eve families sat up, and little cakes, known as Soul Cakes, were eaten by everyone. There were still a few children in 1938, going from door to door 'souling' for cakes or money, by singing a song.
Whistler, English Fest.; on the festivals of All Saints and All Souls (tomorrow we have a recipe for soul cakes)

As the clock struck twelve there was silence, for at this hour the souls of the dead would revisit their earthly homes. There were candles burning in every room to guide them … and there was a glass of wine on the table to refresh them. But even though the room became crowded with urgent invisible faces, no one looked for the wine to diminish by even a hair's breadth during the vigil.
Wright and Lones, British Calendar Customs, England

Cheiro has exposed my character to me with humiliating accuracy. I ought not to confess this accuracy, still I am moved to do so.
Mark Twain (1835 - 1910) on palmist Cheiro, who was born on November 1, 1866

November 1 is the 305^th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (306^th in leap years), with 60 days remaining.
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November birthstone: Yellow ('golden') topaz, signifying fidelity; citrine.

Who first comes to this world below,
With dear November's fog, and snow,
Should prize the Topaz's amber hue,
Emblem of friends, and lovers true.
Traditional English rhyme

November

November is the eleventh month of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 30 days. From the Latin novem for 'nine' (it was originally the ninth month of the year, before January and February were inserted).

It was the ninth month in the ancient Roman calendar, when the year began in March. The old Dutch name was Slaghtmaand (slaughter-month, the time when the beasts were killed and salted down for winter use; the name might also have referred to human sacrifice); the old Saxon Wind-monath (wind-month, when the fishermen took their boats ashore, and put aside fishing till the next spring); it was also called Blot-monath – the same as Slaghtmaand. In the French Republican Calendar it was called Brumaire (fog-month, c. October 22 to November 20).

Frankish name: Herbistmanoth, or harvest (of animals) month. Ásatrú: Fogmoon. American backwoods: Beaver Moon.

Almost the whole month coincides with the goddess-calendar month of Samhain (pronounced sow-wen – sow as in pig), the feminine personification of the Nove. She is an aspect of the Cailleach (crone, or old woman).

Roman festivals and notable days in the Book of Days    Deities of many cultures in the Book of Days    November poetry and folklore

Solemnity of All Saints (All Saints' Day; All Hallows' Day)

(See also October 31, Halloween, Samhain, the Eve of All Saints' Day)

Today is half-way between the equinox and the solstice. Odile, the 10^th-Century abbot of Cluny, Ireland, changed the name of November 1 from Samhain (the Celtic feast) to All Saints' Day (All Hallows' Day). The Catholic Church instituted this day as All Hallows' Day because of the sheer numbers of saints, not all of whom could be given their own day. Today is a holiday in France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Seychelles, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Lithuania, Portugal, Slovenia, The Philippines, Hungary and Croatia.

"1 November, instituted to honor all the saints, known and unknown. It owes its origin in the Western Church to the dedication of the Pantheon in honor of the Blessed Virgin and all the martyrs by Pope Boniface IV, 609, the anniversary of which was celebrated at Rome, 13 May. Pope Gregory III (731-741) consecrated a chapel in the Vatican basilica in honor of All Saints, designating 1 November as their feast; Gregory IV extended its observance to the whole Church. It has a vigil and octave and is a holy day of obligation. The eve is popularly celebrated as Hallowe'en."   Source

Goffine's Devout Instructions    Catholic Encyclopedia

An All Saints chapel decorated with human bones

Sedlec Ossuary (Kostnice) is a small Roman Catholic chapel dedicated to All Saints and decorated with human bones, at Sedlec, a suburb of Kutná Hora in the Czech Republic. See the galleries.

All-Hallow-Tide revels, Middle Temple, London

"In the reign of Charles I, the young gentlemen of the Middle Temple were accustomed at All-Hallow-Tide, which they considered the beginning of Christmas, to associate themselves for the festive objects connected with the season. In 1629, they chose Bulstrode Whitelocke as Master of the Revels, and used to meet every evening at St Dunstan's Tavern, in a large new room, called 'The Oracle of Apollo,' each man bringing friends with him at his own pleasure. It was mind of mock parliament, where various questions were discussed, as in our modern debating societies; but these temperate proceedings were seasoned with mirthful doings, to which the name of Revels was given, and of which dancing appears to have been the chief. On All-Hallows-Day, 'the master [Whitelocke, then four-and-twenty], as soon as the evening was come, entered the hall, followed by sixteen revellers. They were proper handsome young gentlemen, habited in rich suits, shoes and stockings, hats and great feathers. The master led them in his bar gown, with a white staff in his hand, the music playing before them. They began with the old masques; after which they danced the Brawls, and then the master took his seat, while the revellers flaunted through galliards, corantos, French and country dances, till it grew very late.

"'As might be expected, the reputation of this dancing soon brought a store of other gentlemen and ladies, some of whom were of great quality; and when the ball was over, the festive-party adjourned to Sir Sydney Montague's chamber, lent for the purpose to our young president. At length the court-ladies and grandees were allured – to the contentment of his vanity it may have been, but entailing on him serious expense – and then there was great striving for places to see them on the part of the London citizens … To crown the ambition and vanity of all, a great German lord had a desire to witness the revels, then making such a sensation at court, and the Templars entertained him at great cost to themselves, receiving in exchange that which cost the great noble very little – his avowal that "dere was no such nople gollege in Ghristendom as deirs"'."
Memoirs of Bulstrode Whitelocke, by RH Whitelocke, 1860, p 56; in Robert Chambers, (Ed.), The Book of Days: A miscellany of popular antiquities in connection with the calendar, etc, W & R Chambers, London, 1881 (1879 Edition is online and 1869 edition here with CD-ROM available; See also The English Year: A Personal Selection from Chambers' Book of Days)

Some customs

Perthshire, Scotland: Druid priests distributed consecrated fire, the virtues of which would last a year. 
William Hone, The Every-Day Book, or a Guide to the Year, William Tegg and Co., London, 1878, 707; 1825-26 edition online

Eve of All Souls, parts of England: A ceremony called a tinley. Bonfires were lit to light souls out of purgatory. 
Ibid, 707

Ireland: People used to drink lamb's-wool, ale mixed with bruised roast apples. The first day of November was dedicated to the angel presiding over fruits, seeds, and so on, and was called La Mas Ubhal, ie, the day of the apple fruit, pronounced lamasool, which the English corrupted to lamb's wool. 
Ibid, 708

Wales/Ireland: A bonfire called a Beal teinidh was burned ceremoniously. The meaning of tan (in Welsh) is, like the Irish teinidh, fire. Bal means a projecting springing out or expanding – budding of leaves, the same as balant. Welsh tan bal or bal dan means rejoicing fire for the vegetation, or for the crop of the year.
Ibid, 711

Teanlay Night
The vigil (eve) of All Souls' Day (November 2) when bonfires were lighted and revels held for succouring souls.
Ivor H Evans, Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, Cassell, London, 1988

All-Hallows' Summer
(In England.) Another name for St Martin's Summer or an Indian Summer, so called because it set in about All-Hallows; similarly there is a St Luke's Summer (from October 18).
Ibid

Ancient Wales: considered the conclusion of Summer, celebrated with bonfires. 

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Click stars for Universe today Cafe Diem! Our store Highly recommended: Folklore of World Holidays by Margaret Read MacDonald   The Book of Saints The Encyclopedia of Saints The Oxford Dictionary of Saints Mexico (Food and Festivals)   Ancient Mexico and Central America   Festival of the Bones   The Edible Mexican Garden   Day of the Dead   Through the Eyes of the Soul, Day of the Dead   The Days of the Dead   Day of the Dead Box   The Latino Holiday Book   Dia De Los Muertos   Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry By Prof. Peter W Singer Lempriere's Dictionary Reading Lolita in Tehran Internet Sacred Text Archive CD-ROM The New Book of Goddesses & Heroines The Spiral Dance By Starhawk 20th Anniversary Edition Eats, Shoots & Leaves Uluru Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations Life in a Medieval Village   To support this project Search by keywords for books, music, computers, software, home and family products and much more.     Search for posters An Inconvenient Truth By Al Gore; DVD & book The Permaculture Home Garden By Linda Woodrow The Big Buy - Tom Delay's Stolen Congress The Corporation Highly recommended DVD How to Kill a Country Remotely Controlled: How Television Is Damaging Our Lives and What We Can Do About It What Would Jefferson Do? By Thom Hartmann How Mumbo-Jumbo Conquered the World Pagan Christianity Hello Laziness! By Corrine Maier For God and Country: Faith and Patriotism Under Fire By James Yee Crimes Against Nature : How George W Bush and His Corporate Pals Are Plundering the Country and Hijacking Our Democracy By Robert F Kennedy, Jr The Price of Loyalty The Torture Debate in America The Culture of the New Capitalism Lawless World The Great War for Civilisation By Robert Fisk The God Who Wasn't There A Question of Torture By Alfred McCoy When Corporations Rule the World Alternatives to Economic Globalization Feminism Without Borders Commercializat of Intimate Life By Arlie Russell Hochschild The Skeptic's Dictionary Crimes Against Nature : How George W Bush and His Corporate Pals Are Plundering the Country and Hijacking Our Democracy By Robert F Kennedy, Jr Shaking the Foundations: 200 Years of Investigative Journalism in America By Bruce Shapiro Medieval Celebrations Women's Activism and Globalization The Atlas of Holy Places and Sacred Sites Secrets and Lies The Clash of Civilizations Imperial Crusades Aborigine Dreaming The Medieval Cookbook The Field: The Quest for the Secret Force of the Universe The Murray Bookchin Reader Environmental Activism Astro pic of the day American Folklore Permaculture Dictionary of Classical Mythology, Religion, Literature & Art (Seyffert) Sun Goddess African Folklore Daily Everything A Treasury of Irish Myth, Legend, and Folklore The Edible Asian Garden The Secret Language of Birthdays Live with Passion! Anthony Robbins More books, calendars, T-shirts, mugs, music, posters, etc at   Cafe Diem! Celtic Daily Prayer Hidden Agendas Poor Richard's Almanack By Benjamin Franklin Photo of the day Mother Earth Spirituality Wheel of the Year The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable The Survival of the Pagan Gods Click to promote  your blog or website  another excellent  way we do

The Isia, to the goddess Isis, ancient Egypt, fifth day (Oct 28 - Nov 3) Today: the Finding of Osiris. … the portions of Osiris were found, reconstituted, and resurrected. This was the central element in the myth, for if Osiris could regain life and become immortal through the power of Isis, then all her devotees could do the same. Larson, Rel. of Occident, p. 178 Egyptian calendar      On the dating of Egyptian festivals and rites   Ludi Victoriae Sullanae, ancient Rome (Oct 26 - Nov 1)   El Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), Mexico (Nov 1 - 2) From Wikipedia: The Day of the Dead, or El Día de los Muertos in Spanish, is a Mexican and Mexican-American celebration of dead ancestors, which occurs on November 1 and November 2, the Roman Catholic All Saints Day and All Souls Day. This event is not only celebrated in Mexico; it is celebrated in other parts of Latin America, though not to the extent as it is in Mexico. Celebrants wear wooden skull masks called calacas and dance in honour of their deceased relatives. The wooden skulls are also placed on altars that are dedicated to the dead. The altars are decorated with ofrendas, or offerings, which may include photographs, bread, other foods, flowers, toys and other symbolic offerings. Sugar skulls, made with the names of the dead person on the forehead, are eaten by a relative or friend. People visit the cemeteries where their loved ones are buried and they decorate grave sites with marigold flowers and candles. They bring toys for dead children (los angelitos, or little angels) and bottles of tequila, mezcal, pulque or atole for adults. The celebrants sit on picnic blankets next to the graves and eat the favourite food of their loved ones. Special food for El Día de los Muertos includes Pan de Muertos, or bread of the dead, a sweet egg bread, made in many shapes, from plain rounds to skulls and rabbits. Despite its morbidness, this holiday is celebrated joyfully. Everything about this holiday is happy, even the skeletons and devils. Pan de Muerto, 'Bread of the Dead' "In celebration of Mexico's Day of the Dead, this bread is often shaped into skulls or round loaves with strips of dough rolled out and attached to resemble bones. Ingredients: 1/2 cup butter  1/2 cup milk  1/2 cup water 5 to 5-1/2 cups flour  2 packages dry yeast  1 teaspoon salt  1 tablespoon whole anise seed  1/2 cup sugar  4 eggs In a saucepan over medium flame, heat the butter, milk and water until very warm but not boiling. Meanwhile, measure out 1-1/2 cups flour and set the rest aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine the 1-1/2 cups flour, yeast, salt, anise seed and sugar. Beat in the warm liquid until well combined. Add the eggs and beat in another 1 cup of flour. Continue adding more flour until dough is soft but not sticky. Knead on lightly floured board for ten minutes until smooth and elastic. Lightly grease a bowl and place dough in it, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1-1/2 hours. Punch the dough down and shape into loaves resembling skulls, skeletons or round loaves with "bones" placed ornamentally around the top. Let these loaves rise for 1 hour. Bake in a preheated 350 F degree oven for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and paint on glaze. Glaze 1/2 cup sugar  1/3 cup fresh orange juice  2 tablespoons grated orange zest Bring to a boil for 2 minutes, then apply to bread with a pastry brush. If desired, sprinkle on colored sugar while glaze is still damp."   Source "José Guadalupe Posada was born in the state of Aguascalientes, Mexico. In his early life he worked as a teacher of lithography and in 1887, he moved to Mexico City where he became a newspaper illustrator. "His graphic work is well recognized and he often dealt with political, social and moral themes. Posada's 'calaveras' (skeletons) … are images often associated with the the Day of the Dead, but their original intent was more satirical. "La Catrina or the Female Dandy was originally intended to poke fun at the upper class, during the autocratic rule of Porfirio Diaz." José Guadalupe Posada – Printmaker   Third Station of the Year (Celtic Pagan): Samhain festival continues Kalends of November, ancient Rome Day of the Awakeners, Bulgaria Day of the Banshee, Ireland Aller Heiligen Dag, Belgium Kawsasqanchis (Our Living with the Dead), Bolivia Allerheiligen, Germany Feeding the dead, Trinidad Feast day of St Amabilis Feast day of St Austremonius Feast day of St Benignus of Dijon Feast day of St Cadfan of Wales This Welsh saint's holy well was in the churchyard at Towyn, near his chapel (since destroyed), where many were cured of rheumatism, scrofula, and skin diseases. Feast day of St Caesarius Feast day of (another) St Caesarius Feast day of St Ceitho Feast day of St Cledwyn of Wales Feast day of St Conrad (Conradin) of Brescia Feast day of St Cyrenia Feast day of St Deborah Feast day of St Dacius Feast day of St Dingad of Wales Feast day of St Floribert of Ghent Feast day of St Fortunatus (Laurastinus, Laurastinus sempervirens, is today's plant, dedicated to this saint.) Feast day of St Genesius Feast day of St Germanus of Montfort Feast day of St Harold VI, King of Denmark Feast day of St Jerome Hermosilla Feast day of St James Feast day of St John Feast day of St Julian Feast day of St Juliana Feast day of St Licinius Feast day of St Ludre Feast day of St Marcellus, Bishop of Paris Said to have a dragon association. I would like more information. Feast day of St Mary the Slave Feast day of St Maturinus (Mathurin) of Sens Feast day of St Meigan Feast day of St Nichole Feast day of St Nuño Alvares Pereira Feast day of St Pabiali of Wales Feast day of St Peter Absalon Feast day of St Peter Paul Navarra Feast day of St Rachel Feast day of St Ruth Feast day of St Salaun of Brittany Feast day of St Severinus (Severin) of Tivoli Feast day of St Vigor of Bayeux Shop Saints Click for Eastern Orthodox liturgical days Bamboches for guédé mystères, Voudon (Nov 1, 2) The dead who come out of the cemeteries, possess their 'horses', and come into the oum´phors to amuse themselves in the form of souls incarnated or reincarnated; Voudon (Voodoo).   Source Kitano Odori, Kamikyo-ku, Kitano Kaikan theatre, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan (Nov 1 - 15) Dancing groups and music. National day, Algeria Independence Day (from Britain, 1981), Antigua and Barbuda Public Holiday, Vienna, Austria World Vegan Day Start of National Novel Writing Month, USA State formation day (kerala piravi dinam-malayalam language), Kerala, India Kannada Rajyotsava (Birth of the Kannada State), Karnataka, India State formation day, Andhra Pradesh, India Month of Movember commences, Australia Men grow moustaches during November to raise money and awareness about male health issues. Annually in November, Inasa Puppet Festival, Inasa, Kita-ku, Hamamatsu, Shizoka Prefecture, Japan This famous puppet show features about 30 plays by puppet masters from all over Japan. American Diabetes Month commences, USA Lung Cancer Awareness Month commences, USA National Family Literacy Day, USA       On which day of the week were you born? Find out here 846 Louis the Stammerer (d. 879), King of West Francia 1339 Rudolf IV of Austria (d. 1365)