All Saint's Day

Last night we got to participate in a wonderful Polish tradition, the celebration of All Saints' Day!

All Saints' Day is a festival which has been celebrated in Poland and the rest of the Catholic community for many centuries.  It is a national holiday and a day when people all over Poland visit the graves of loved one and place candles and flowers on the graves.  The special candles, which can burn for many hours, are placed there so that departed souls can find their way through the darkness.  Cemeteries are lit by many hundreds of these candles and at night many cemeteries can be seen glowing from long distances. 

The Polish take it particularly seriously and even the graves of the unknown or forgotten are cleaned up and littered with candles.
We were fortunate to head to one of the oldest and largest cemeteries in Poland.  It was PACKED with people..it was so busy in face that there was a line to get into it.  Inside it was so serene and beautiful with candles and flowers everywhere on the graves.  While you may not think lurking around a cemetery in the dark is the best way to spend an evening, it’s incredibly beautiful to see the cemeteries lit up by candles all night long.  It is a gorgeous tradition and nice way to take time out of our busy lives to remember those family members that are no longer with us on this earth. Tom and I were really happy we got to take part in this special tradition.  Although Tom and I were thousands of miles away from the graves of our loved ones we took the opportunity to think about all of them and light candles in the Warsaw cemetery on their behalf.

Beautiful Fall in the Cemetery

Lines of people waiting to enter

The Church in the Cemtery



Chopin's parents' grave

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hallow-what?



We haven't seen more than a handful of jack-o-lanterns here in Warsaw these past few weeks.  They are selling pumpkins at the markets.  But, these are meant to be cooked with and not to

be carved.  So, I started asking some Polish friends about Halloween.  And found out that Halloween is simply not celebrated here in Poland. 

Instead, the Poles celebrate All Saints Day on  Novmeber 1st.  All Saint's Day is such a major holiday over here that Tom has the day off of work.  We are excited to celebrate it later this week and share our experiences. 

It's a bit odd not to see any signs of Halloween around this city....no Halloween candy in the grocery store for sale, no Halloween decorations in local businesses, no jack-o-lanterns on front porches, and no one dressed up in costume ready to trick-or-treat.  We did see an advertisement about one Halloween party at a bar that caters to expats but not much more. 

So, tomorrow will be just another day here in Warsaw.  But, our thoughts will be with our nieces and nephew.  Some of our favorite Halloween memories are of taking them trick-or-treating around Chicago.  During this trick-or-treating Tom happily "held" their candy bags when they got too heavy and treated himself to a snack or two. : )

 If you are in Bucktown tomorrow night, look for one adorable Flamingo and a gorgeous Rapunzel....that will be our Chicago nieces.  Give them some extra candy for us so they know we are thinking of them!