Všech svatých--All Saints Day

A very lovely, old Czech cemetery by S. Vacik

Hi Everyone,
Welcome to Czech Off the Beaten Path! Today, I'm participating in World Blog Surf Day--an event where expat bloggers come together from around the world. We come together and write on a common theme--the theme for today is "Holidays & Celebrations." All the posts, from the participating bloggers, will be very interesting as we have a very eclectic bunch writing about their favorite holidays in many countries!

Happy 2nd Anniversary CZOBP!

Another important event, today, is the second anniversary of when I began writing this blog! Hard to believe that it's been around that long! Happy birthday Czech Off the Beaten Path!

Photo by edelweiss on Photobucket

Czech Off the Beaten Path is about my life and adventures in the Czech Republic. I'm an expat who has lived here for almost three years. My husband is a Czech--so we have many adventures in our married life with trying to work out the cross-cultural aspects of our personalities and countries. We have learned how to combine most of the "foreign" aspects of our lives. 

Our marriage has become a very nice mix of Czech and American practices--including a blending of holiday celebrations. My favorite holidays are Christmas and Easter. The Czech versions of these holidays are very fun and interesting. I've written a couple of posts about these in past post you can find here. 

Today, being Halloween, it would seem logical to speak of that. But Czechs do not typically celebrate Halloween--it is mostly celebrated among the American expats who have moved to the Czech Republic. I would rather like to talk about another holiday--Všech svatých, in English "All Saints Day."

Všech svatých

Všech svatých, or All Saints Day, is celebrated around the world in many forms, one of the most notable being the Mexican Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead). Each country has their own way of celebrating this holy day, including the Czechs. Their version of All Saints has become very personal for me.

On All Saints Day, my Czech family all gather together to visit the cemeteries where their loved ones are buried. Each grave is cared for--cleaned and put in order. Then they lay flowers and wreaths on each plot and also light small candles that are left burning on the graves. I was shocked by the lit candles being left like that--the fire hazard was very worrisome. But each grave in the cemetery will have at least one lit candle. 

The effect of the softly flickering candles is beautiful amongst all the flowers and the Fall colors. On one such holiday, my husband and I took the bus back home to Prague in the evening. As we were driving along, we passed many cemeteries that were lit up in the night with hundreds of those small candles. The effect was so beautiful--and a new experience for me--to view a cemetery as a place of beauty. Each cemetery looked as if it was full of fireflies as we passed by.

Candles by S. Vacik

After visiting the cemeteries, my Czech family gathers in a local restaurant--it is a great place, with a small pub, located in a very small village in south western Bohemia. The place is very quaint and small, but has wonderful traditional Czech food at great prices! Our family reserves a room there each year, where we typically have a large meal and spend hours just sitting and talking--over several glasses of beer and wine, of course! There is talk about the loved ones who have passed on, and about family things...so it's nice and pleasant. Všech svatých is also a Catholic celebration--and is specially celebrated in the Catholic churches in the Czech Republic.

Chancel of Starokatolicka Cirkev, Petřín Hill by S. Vacik

Back in the States there are some churches (even Protestant) that celebrate All Saints Day. I came to this tradition later in life, at a United Methodist Church, and loved the idea of celebrating our dearly departed. It's wonderful to remember our loved ones--and to give thanks for having had the blessing of these people to guide us. 

My family back home has not really celebrated All Saints Day, but there is the tradition of taking care for the cemetery plots and leaving flowers, plus speaking about our loved ones and various memories--keeping them alive in our hearts. Americans also have Memorial Day, which really began as a holiday to remember soldiers who died in service to their country, but the holiday later came to include remembering all of our loved ones who have passed on.

Red rose by BabyMj2k5 on Photobucket

I have come to greatly appreciate the Czech way of celebrating All Saints Day--at least the way my Czech family celebrates it. This holiday, in the Czech Republic, is a kind of peaceful, sometimes solemn day. It is a day when we can all gather and share memories and stories about those who have passed on and keep their memory alive in our presence. It is a lovely way to celebrate All Saints Day—one that I have been readily able to adapt into my more American ways of being and doing.

Part of being an expat is learning how to live in and adapt to the new country of residence. This is not an easy process at all. For me, it has helped being married to a Czech—the adapting process begins a little bit faster in some ways. Adventure is also part of the expat life—one that I've been enjoying at this point in my life. My life has become much richer for having married my Czech husband. The tapestry of our lives is being woven together as we learn to live with one another and adapt to the cross-cultural differences we both bring into our relationship. Having new ways to celebrate holidays brings more meaning and depth to such days as All Saints Day, or as we call it here, Všech svatých.

Well, that's all for now! Please visit the next blog, by Sparrow, called The Spotted Sparrow and read about her favorite holiday or celebration! And thanks goes to our Twitter Reporter, Karen, from Empty Nest Expat . She will be busy sending out provocative Tweets on Twitter about each WBSD participating blog! Karen is an American expat writer last seen in Prague. The Wall Street Journal said "her blog makes a fun read for anyone looking for reassurance that change can be a wonderful thing—and also anyone interested in visiting the Czech Republic."

Thanks so much for coming by! Have a great day and enjoy surfing the world on World Blog Surf Day! Follow that link to find a master link list--if you come across a blog with no post for WBSD, then refer back to the master list to find the next blogger!

God bless,
Sher :0)
Photos of cemetery, candles and church property of S. Vacik. All rights reserved.

Czech Off the Beaten Path Website
Czech Off the Beaten Path T-shirts & More
Sher's Stuff

© 2009 by Sher Vacik