mccALL Around the World: Halloween...Kinda

Since arriving in Poland I’ve been optimistic about the country’s feelings on Halloween celebrations based on the numerous carved pumpkins scattered throughout our city. Before leaving Vilnius, Deividas and I decided to carve pumpkins one night and put them outside our door to spread the October cheer with our neighbors. Our cleaning lady proceeded to throw them out the following day and I’m not sure if I was more offended that she thought our pumpkins looked like trash or that she thought I would leave random garbage outside in the first place. In their quick stint as decorations outside our door, our pumpkins brought many smiles to our neighbors and even more questions about why they existed. Needless to say pumpkin carving isn’t an old pastime in Lithuania.

So you can see why the frequent carved pumpkin sightings in Poland excited me. I immediately started brainstorming what I would be for Halloween and wondered what what type of candy to buy for my little Polish trick or treaters. After some research I discovered Halloween wasn’t quite as big as I thought here...or at least the version that I’m used to. In America, Halloween is synonymous with girls dressing scandalously, heavy alcohol consumption and as a result, a drastic decline in morality. In college, every girl would wear the exact same micro-dress pattern manufactured in a multitude of designs, representing everything from a “sexy cat” to “a “seductive Starbucks barista”.

In Poland, everyone has off work on October 31st and November 1st to celebrate the Catholic Holiday “All Saints Day”. This is a rather somber holiday where they pay tribute to the dead by bringing flowers and candles to the cemeteries that hold their loved ones. Needless to say, there were not going to be any little Polish trick or treaters to pass out candy to. Upset that I wouldn’t be dressing up or attending a Halloween Party in my usual fashion, I did the next logical thing.. made Deividas get in the car and drive me to the cemetery. Now, I must preface this by saying I meant no disrespect by this. I take cemeteries and dead people just as serious as every other Catholic, but I was genuinely intrigued by this holiday and wanted to feel like I was a part of the action. Let me tell you, I was not disappointed. Outside of the cemetery there were hundreds of vendors selling every type of flower arrangement and candle imaginable. It was so beautiful. Additionally, some stands were selling what appeared to be a dozen bagel-like pastries tied together by a string (some people were walking around with these around their necks or swinging them by their hands). Still not sure the significance here, but I’ll do my research and get back to you. Against Deividas’ will, we entered the cemetery and had a look around. There must have been over 3,000 people inside just this cemetery and there were flowers and candles EVERYWHERE. It was incredible. After stating my desire to buy some flowers for the few graves sites that didn’t have any, Deividas told me I was being weird and that we should probably get going. I bought a bouquet of flowers for our house on my way out, making me the only person there walking away from the cemetery with flowers.

The grocery store selling things for All Saints Day

Vendors outside the cemetery selling flowers

Just one small ally of the huge cemetery

The "bagels" on strings...

All Saints Day is a pretty neat holiday if you think about it. Sure, it’s a bit creepy but it’s nice to take one day out of the year to officially remember and pay tribute to those you’ve lost. I know I said my prayers for those special people of mine.

In other news, we have finally moved into our apartment! We’ve been living in a temporary apartment until the family moved out of our new place so it feels good to be finally situated! Deividas’ dad is driving over to visit for his game on Sunday and I’m so excited to see him!