November 1st is an important holiday for Poles, during which we visit our deceased loved ones. It is also an ideal time to meet living relatives.
How do we celebrate this day? In churches, solemn masses are held in memory of all the saints and people whose lives were marked by holiness. In theory, All Saints’ Day is to remind us that every believer has a calling to holiness and that after death they can achieve salvation. During the mass, priests wear white liturgical vestments, symbolizing joy and emphasizing the solemn mood. After the liturgy, the priest leads a solemn procession to the cemetery, where a joint prayer takes place over the graves. The holiday, contrary to what it might seem, has a joyful character. We decorate the graves of our deceased loved ones with flowers, most often chrysanthemums, and we also light a candle.
How did this holiday look like in the past? According to folk beliefs, on the night of October 31st to November 1st, the souls of the deceased gathered for a mass in the church, which was celebrated by the deceased priest. After the mass, under the leadership of the priest, the souls took part in a somber procession to the cemetery.
It was widely believed that on this night the souls of the dead could visit the homes of the living. People tried to remember to leave doors and windows open for them. They moved with great caution so as not to accidentally bump into a soul residing in the house. Before sitting on a chair or bench, they made a slow movement of the hand to gently move the deceased visitor.
At the beginning of the 20th century, there was still a custom of “grooming souls” – small breads called peretyczki or powałki were put on the table especially for them, on which a cross and the initials of the deceased were impressed. Women competed with each other in decorating this type of bread. The bread was prepared by the housewives a few days in advance, because it was believed that lighting a fire on All Saints’ Day would upset the souls, who loved to warm themselves in the oven. If disturbed, they could start a fire. Often, a bowl of groats and a bottle of vodka were left on the windowsill along with the bread. In Podlasie, oatmeal jelly was prepared especially for the spirits.
In some regions the ancestors also had to be provided with the opportunity to bathe (a sauna was prepared for this occasion) and warm up. Warming up was made by lighting fires. Fire also supposed to light the way for wandering souls, so that they would not get lost and could spend the night among their loved ones. A remnant of this custom are modern candles lit on graves. Fire – especially the one lit at crossroads – could also have another meaning. The idea was to prevent demons (souls of people who died suddenly, suicides, drowned people, etc.) from coming out into the world, which – as it was believed – were exceptionally active during this period
Many cemeteries in Poland have been indexed and have a list of people buried there. The most popular search engine for burial places is the Grobonet website. We enter the name and surname of the person we are looking for in the search engine and if we are lucky, an entry regarding the burial place will appear. If we are very lucky, we can also find a photo of the tombstone. However, we must remember that many cemeteries are not indexed and then we have to go to the cemetery in person to find the tombstone. Very often, there are also situations in which there is more than one person in the grave, so it is good to know the names and surnames of all relatives, siblings of their children, etc.
Large cities have their own search engines, and for example Warsaw has its own search engine of the Warsaw City Council, but not all cemeteries are in this search engine, so we also have to consider other search engines in other regions of the city.
The city of Krakow also has its own search engine, but we will not find photos there, so it is good to go there in person.
If you want to find living relatives – cemetery is a great place for such a search. First, we always recommend conducting a full search to find as many relatives as possible. Due to the fact that it is not possible to contact relatives through the cemetery search engine, we must visit the cemetery in person and leave a note asking for contact. Since in Poland we visit the graves of our loved ones very often, this method works almost always.
Have you already found the grave of your ancestor and would you like us to find living relatives? Or maybe the cemetery of your ancestors is not indexed? We will be happy to help!
