All+Soul's+Day

=All Souls' Day/Day of the Dead - Halottak napja =

In Hungary, we have "Death Day=All Souls' Day and "Allhallows' Day". It is November 1 and 2 and a National Holiday.

That day we all go to cemeteries, visit our death realtives or friends, put flowers, wreaths and candles on the graves. (It's not a really sad day, but good to meet them there.) The candles are 'lights' to help our relatives find their way to everlasting light and peace. We travel by car home (from Balatonboglár to Révfülöp, it's a small town on the other part of our lake to visit my father's grave.) When we go, mainly in the evenings, we can see other cemeteries, lighted full of beautiful candles.













During the day people bring bright yellow (or white) chrysanthemums, and sometime even favorite foods. There are also special Masses held in the churches in honor of the saints and sometimes the local priest will come to the cemetery to say prayers and blessings. See Video here.

These images are from Hungary, but the dead are also remembered in a similar way elsewhere. Germany, Poland, and several other countries decorate the graves in a similar manner. In the USA, Louisiana natives whitewash the graves of relatives and then decorate them with garlands of flowers - real ones or paper ones. Mexico's Day of the Dead is perhaps the most known with the celebrations spilling into the parts of the world where there are large populations of Mexican immigrants.