All Souls' Day is a Catholic holiday but with pre-Christian roots. It is very important night in Poland. Everyone visits the graves of their relatives and those forgotten. Recently it has become very trashy. The whole grave was covered with pots with chrysanthemums and huge candles. This year, on the eve of this holiday, the government ordered the cemeteries to be closed due to the pandemic. Today, cemeteries have been opened. I went there in the morning and the view was amazing. Alleys and slabs covered with a carpet of leaves.
I have been interested in photography all my life and remember quite well developing my first black and white films myself... My favorite subjects are...
Nature decorated the graves for you. All Souls Day is completely lost in the over the top celebrations of Halloween here- although originally it too had its roots in the Catholic church. Now it's just a commercialized mess of strange, ugly and scary decorations.
This is an amazing scene, and your explanation makes it even more important that you were able to capture this special scene this year. I talked to my friend in Warsaw on All Souls Day and she had explained that the government had closed all the cemeteries so I was first surprised to see your photo show up. (I thought you had managed to sneak in through some special hole in the fence!)
