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Poland marks All Saints’ Day

01.11.2024 07:15
Poles visit cemeteries to light candles on graves of their loved ones, as the country marks the Catholic All Saints’ Day on Friday.
Photo:
Photo:PAP/Darek Delmanowicz

The All Saints’ Day, or the Solemnity of All Saints, is celebrated on the first of November, to honour all of the saints of the Catholic Church, and Poles are often making long journeys to their hometowns to remember their relatives, and visit their graves.

It is part of a broader tradition that extends to the All Souls’ Day on November 2

November 1 is a national holiday in Poland, and numerous other historically Catholic countries.

Cemeteries across the country, including Warsaw’s Powązki Cemetery, are raising funds on this day for gravestone renovation.

In the Western Christian Church, Pope Gregory III (731-741) is often credited with establishing November 1st as the date for All Saints' Day, according to the Christianity.com website.

Pope Gregory IV (827-844) extended the celebration on November 1 to the entire Church, the CNA news agency noted.

All Saints’ Day also honours “all those who have passed on to the Kingdom of Heaven,” according to the Catholic Church. 

Polish police launched their annual Operation Torch road safety campaign, stepping up traffic patrols in the run-up to the holiday.

Officers say they are keeping an eye out to make sure motorists are sober, sticking to the speed limit and abiding by road safety rules.

(tf)

Source: IAR