All Saints Day

One of the things I was most excited about experiencing on moving to Mexico was the Days of the Dead, the 1st and 2nd of November, though I had little idea what to expect. However when things started appearing in the shops in September, it became clear that this really is a massive celebration here. During the two Days of the Dead, people offer gifts to the souls of their departed love ones, and celebrate their lives. The general belief is that the souls of dead children visit on the evening of 1st November, and those of adults the following day. It has long been celebrated in some form in Mexico, though back in Aztec days it was in August and lasted an entire month. Now ...  Read the complete review

If you hail from the west then October 31st is generally seen as a time to fit into a scary outfit before getting trolled on punch and waking up next to some old witch. The tradition of Halloween is fast catching on in Poland - and you'll find numerous parties scheduled for the ex-pat haunts but the real big day is the one that follows on 1 November - All Saints' Day. This is one of Poland's most important public holidays and since the beginning of October the aisles in the supermarkets have gradually been filling up with every type of coloured plastic and silk flower ever made. Next to the flowers, shelf after shelf as been filled with coloured ...  Read the complete review

Today leads to a very special day here in France which is All Saints Day, although what leads towards this day is something that attracts people of many different religions, and people with no religion at all, and the mention of All Saints here in France does not make us think immediately of church. Here, All Saints Day is a special getting together of relatives from all corners of France, to trace their roots, and come back to decorate the graves of distant relatives, friends, and to generally look back at times gone by in a celebration of life, rather than death. I have lived here for many years now, and during the course of that time, several people that I ...  Read the complete review