Sunday, November 7, 2010
Alla helgons dag (All saints day)
Yesterday was "Alla helgons dag" in Sweden. This holiday is celebrated on the first Saturday in November. In Sweden the tradition is to light candles and visit the graves of relatives. Thus, Friday was a half work-day and as dusk fell on Saturday, many people visited graveyards with candles, wreaths and flowers for the graves of their loved ones. We went to the graveyard in the centre of Uppsala and were not disappointed. Everywhere candles adorned the graves and at the wall of remembrance a whole pathway was filled with lighted candles. Families walked through the hundreds of lighted graves to go and light their special candle. The shadows of sadness on the older faces were lightened by the laughter of the youngest generation enjoying the wonder of the rows of burning candles. It was indeed a special night.
C&R
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Did you go to remember your loved ones, or to look at what everyone else was doing? I find your comment about "not being disappointed" very strange. Almost like it was entertainment....
ReplyDeleteWe meant we were not disappointed to see how many people still remember their relatives who passed away. This is a beautiful tradition and we were impressed with how it is still continued in busy modern times. This is similar to seeing the maintenance of graveyards in general which is a sign of respect to those who we have loved.
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