Follow-up on Halloween in Poland

This piece appeared on the Polish Radio web site yesterday.

Halloween, a wild American pumpkin night of the 31^st of October, is getting more and more popular in Poland. Is it possible that one day Halloween will fully replace All Saint’s Day, this very special day of sorrow and remembrance, celebrated on the 1^st of November, when Poles go to cemeteries to visit their late relatives? - asks DZIENNIK. All Saint’s Day will not disappear, answer Polish poets and artists quoted by the newspaper. Children just want to have fun and it doesn’t mean that they will reject visiting the graves next day. However, some priests are afraid that the ‘trick or treat’ custom will cause the new, less mature attitude to the death, writes DZIENNIK.

I wrote about All Saints Day (or Day of the Dead) in Poland last year.

This piece also appeared on Polish Radio yesterday.

With the fast pace of life and far-reaching changes in all spheres of life these days, it may come as a surprise to many people that so many Poles still hold passionately to long-standing traditions and symbols of the past. One of the most atmospheric places in Warsaw is the historic Powazki cemetery, founded at the end of the 18th century.

In the first days of November it becomes a place of pilgrimage. [Read More]

I think it must be a very beautiful site to see, all the graves illuminated by candlelight. There will be candles on graves here in the U.S. tonight too but it won't be the same. Here is a picture from Poland.

This photo is by Michael S. You can see more of his beautiful photography on the Flickr.com web site.