The stores will be closed tomorrow and children out of school. Traffic sharply increases around the cemeteries (temető) in Hungary. This is because the first two days of November are All Saints' Day (or All Hollows Day) and All Souls' Day, which are both Catholic holidays. I have read a few articles on what exactly happens these two days. I'm still not sure I understand the differences between the days; they seem to be the same. However, here is a glimpse of what these two days are all about :
November 1, All Saints’ Day (a mindenszentek napja)
- This is day to commemorate souls (lelkek).
- According to Hungarian folklore the dead will return to their homes on this day. For this reason many households set a place at the table and place bread, salt, and water out in anticipation of the returning dead. Candles are placed in the window to guide the souls back home.
November 2, All Souls' Day (halottak napja)
- This is the day to commemorate those souls who haven't received salvation and are currently in purgatory (purgatórium).
Traditions of both days :
- On the first two days of November, all families in Hungary visit cemeteries. They clean the graves of their dead relatives and decorate them with bouquets, wreaths and candles, praying for the salvation of their family members’ souls.
- The tradition is to light candles for deceased relatives. People light one candle for each person that is no longer with them. According to Catholic tradition, this is to give warmth to errant souls and help them find their graves and prevent them from disturbing living people.
- The chrysanthemum is the flower of the dead since it blooms in late October and early November. This flower is seen all over cemeteries.
- Church bells all over the country also continuously clang for 1-2 hours, because souls in purgatory are thought to be calmed by tolling.
It was saddening for me to read about these two days in Hungary. The devil has deceived the people into believing these lies about their deceased loved ones. They believe they can pray their dead loved ones into salvation. How terribly sad! So long as a person is alive, he has second, third, fourth, fifth, etc chances to accept Christ and be saved (Romans 10:13). Once saved, always saved (John 10:28). However, once a person dies, there are no more chances. It is so important for us, our friends and loved ones to accept Christ today while there is still a chance, because there will be no praying anyone out of "purgatory" on November 1st, 2nd, or on any day of the year for that matter.
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