Toussaint

Happy Halloween!
A poster with a grinning pumpkin welcomed us to the supermarket for the weekly shop. Unlike in the UK, it's rather incongruous,the US traditions for Halloween haven't yet become commonplace here. Inside the supermarket there is one stand with an assortment of witches hats, skeletons and plastic spiders,but one feels that they aren't big sellers. There are pumpkins on sale but most will get used for soup. The parents of children with diabetes here are lucky.They don't yet have to cope with the problems of what to do about the tacky sweets associated with trick or treating

But this time of year is very important here. November 1st is Toussaint, All Saints day.In English , All Hallows,(the origin of Halloween). The following day is All souls. Half a century ago it was celebrated as a solemn festival in Anglican churches, the service finishing with a rousing chorus of 'For All the Saints'. Today its less evident , times have changed. My grandchildren will attend a church party set up to counter the attractions of more secular Halloween activities with their emphasis on witches, ghosts and evil.

It is the church festivals which dominate here.
Outside the supermarket, in a large area of the market and outside every florist are pots and pots of Chrysanthemums. The beautiful displays look lovely in the autumn sunshine.
(If you visit at this time, please don't buy a pot for a French friend). These flowers have one destination;the cemetery. The chrysanthemum is a symbol of immortality. It flowers in the last quarter of the year and resists frosts. Toussaint also marks the turn of the year towards winter,
'A la Toussaint le froid revient,
et met l'hiver en train'
The chrysanthemum's bright petals will be sign of hope in the autumnal fogs to come.

In the week leading up to Toussaint families visit the family graves, and sepulchres, weeding the surrounds, cleaning the stonework, making everything spick and span . The new pots of flowers are placed around the tomb.Those who are too far away from home do not forget, often organising a florist to do the job for them. The cemeteries gradually become a blaze of colour.

As November 1st is a bank holiday, family gatherings take place with those that can, returning to their home towns and villages for the day.
Traditionally, on the day itself masses take place in the churches followed by prayers for the dead in the cemeteries, though in villages like ours, the priest has to spread his services thinly so some services now take place later in the week.

This is a lovely festival, bringing together the generations. It's not sad, not so much a day of mourning. There is no sense of evil or fear connected with the cemeteries. It's a time of remembrance, a time to honour one's dead ancestors and celebrate the family.
Will it survive the pressure of consumerism with it's plastic spiders,dangling skeletons, swag bags and tacky sweets?
I hope so.