The Bolesławiec cemetery was also full of people during this year’s All Saints’ Day. They visited the graves of loved ones, lit candles and prayed. In an atmosphere of kindness, warmth and mutual understanding, the people of Bolesławiec remembered those closest to them, recalled good times and also had an opportunity to reflect on their own lives.
All Saints’ Day is a moment of contemplation, a pause in everyday life, a time to touch upon a sphere that is usually not given much attention. All emotion is treated as something shameful, incompatible with the world of illusion, money and youth promoted by the media. In reality, it is the only day when we can allow ourselves to reflect on death, a phenomenon treated as a by-product of life.
Cemeteries have been places of worship for centuries. It is heartening that, despite the advancing secularization of life, there is a holiday during which we can allow ourselves time for reflection.
The crowds visiting the Bolesławiec cemetery, gathering beneath the cemetery cross and lighting symbolic candles, create the impression of a community connected by some mysterious, mystical bond. It is a pity that it is so short-lived.