On Saturday, cemeteries across Poland lit up with candles to celebrate All Saints' Day. Poles went in droves that day to visit the graves of their loved ones.
Why do we light candles on All Saints' Day?
What do flowers on graves symbolize?
What traditions are associated with All Saints' Day?
Where was the Memento Vitae concert held?
According to Polish tradition, on All Saints' Day, the faithful visit cemeteries where their relatives and friends are buried. Candles placed on gravestones on this day symbolize hope and memory of people who have passed away, and flowers are a symbol of selfless love.
All Saints in the Catholic Church
All Saints' Day is one of the oldest Christian holidays. Its origins date back to the first centuries, when the Church honored martyrs and the faithful visited their graves on the day they were born into heaven, i.e. on the anniversary of their death.
In 1970, the Roman Missal, a liturgical book containing the texts of the permanent and variable parts of the Mass, introduced a new preface, which states that “the celebration includes not only canonized saints, but all the deceased who have achieved perfection, and therefore also deceased relatives and friends.” In this way, he reminds us that holiness is the vocation of every baptized person.
In the octave of All Saints' Day, i.e. November 1-8, you can obtain plenary indulgence, i.e. God's remission of the temporal punishment for sins for those who await full salvation in purgatory.
Concerts and collections on the occasion of All Saints' Day in Krakow
In Krakow, a special Memento Vitae concert took place at the Rakowicki Cemetery on the occasion of All Saints' Day.
In turn, a traditional collection was held at the Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw for the 51st time. The collected funds will be used to save the monuments of the necropolis.
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Leszek Szymański / PAP
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Valdemar Doveiko / PAP
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Valdemar Doveiko / PAP
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Leszek Szymański / PAP
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Krzysztof Zatycki / Agencja Wyborcza.pl
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Michał Zieliński / PAP
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Szymon Pulcyn / PAP
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Grzegorz Momot / PAP
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Darek Delmanowicz / PAP
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Marek Zakrzewski / PAP
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Marcin Bielecki / PAP
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Adam Warżawa / PAP
