All Saints Day

Warsaw, Poland 1 November, 2011 - Though Halloween is popular among the children and promoted by commercial interests targeting people looking for entertainment , all Polish people travel to cemeteries around the country to remember the departed.

In Poland Halloween is a passing event that is celebrated by the children and those adults who go to restaurants and clubs looking for entertainment.

But all Saints Day in a multi-day event that sees families gathered together and drive for miles between cemeteries and sometimes, if not more often, between cities to visit the graves of the departed.

Though all Saints Day is but a single day, the celebrations related to that day are generally tied together with the closest weekend. The Polish economy goes into slow motion as people take to the roads. Though all Saints Day is a national holiday that, by law, requires most businesses to shut down, it is generally expected that employees will take time off on the days around that holiday. And businesses make adjustments to satisfy the demands of the Polish culture.

Even though at the graves that they visit are primarily those of their family and friends, the Polish people make a concerted effort to remember those who have helped Poland or contributed in some way to the Polish culture.

For those who now lie in this cemeteries without people who remember them anymore, there are those Polish people who make a concerted effort to walk through the cemeteries, find these graves, and leave a candle.

Special attention is paid to the graves of military heroes, famous writers, actors and politicians. Large numbers of candles can be found adorning their graves.

Walking through a Polish cemetery on all Saints Day after dark is an experience that cannot be described. If one tries to record the experience on video, it is just not possible to capture the sense of beauty of being surrounded by thousands of candles in different colored containers with their light reflecting off bouquet after bouquet of flowers.