My Pilgrimage to Poland - in honour of the deceased

The Polish have a lovely tradition for their cemeteries.

"All Saints’ Day is a festival which has been celebrated in Poland and the rest of the Catholic world for many centuries. All Saints Day is a national holiday, and a day when people all over Poland visit the graves of loved ones and to place candles and flowers on graves. The special candles, which can burn for many hours, are placed there so that departed souls can find their way through the darkness. Cemeteries are lit by many hundreds of these candles and at night the cemeteries can often be seen glowing from long distances. Many Poles travel long distances to visit family graves and to remember the dead. The holiday is also sometimes known as the Day of the Dead. 

All Saints’ Day (Wszystkich Świętych), Poland - 1st November 

All Souls' Day (Dzien Zaduszny or Zaduszki), Poland - 2nd November"

I saw evidence of these candles while in Poland. I also noticed that outside one of the cemeteries we passed, were shops that sold the candles.

I have also been told by my son-in-law Mike regarding this tradition:

"I'm not sure if it's a commonly-held tradition but our family also brings cleaning supplies and cleans the grave site up (they remove vegetation and polish the marble etc...) in addition to placing the candle and flowers."

Here are pictures I took of the cemetery at the Divine Mercy Centre. You can see the candles on the graves.

 

A cemetery I saw when on the bus, and below it, shops where candles were sold.