1st November - All Saints Day

 1st November - All Saints Day







The 1st of November is a national holiday and many schools are also closed for the remainder of the week. Although all the shops and restaurants are closed the roads and pathments are busy and the buses and trams are running a full service - it’s been like rush hour all day. 

Poles start earlier in the week visiting graves and tidying them up ready for the feast day, and all week I have seen people carrying flowers and long wreaths of greenery.  


All Saints is one of the most solemn and important days of the year. Families spend the day together and will will crisscross the city and country visiting  family graves. Masses are offered all day in the churches and later, after dusk, votive candles (znicze ) are lit at the graves and families spend the evening together telling stories and remembering loved ones. 


The tradition of remembering the dead at this time of the year supersedes Christian times and has many similarities with Dias de los Muertos in central and South America. 

There’s a sweet called panska skorka  (God’s skin) which is sold near cemeteries.




So tonight I too will light a candle and  join my friends and family in heaven, all the hosts of angels and saints and give thanks to God for all who have already arrived there, who pray for us and inspire us on our journey. 

🕯️

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