Customs and Religion

We present here the newest photographs from the celebrations of the All Saint's Day in Poland (November 1st, 2007). All the graves are decorated with flowers, especially fresh autumn flowers - like chrysantemum (read more about Polish Flowers - Funerals, All Saints Day, Christmas and other Occasions - Birthdays, Women Day ).

Cemeteries in Poland are really ... full of life! They are visited by family members of these whose graves are there and by visitors on the daily/weekly basis. But nothing compares to how the cemeteries look on November 1st during the day and by night.

Read more: All Saints' Day Celebration in Poland: Polish Cemeteries

Polish cemeteries are unique. I did not see such a rich variety of graves' styles and care for the graves by alive family members anywhere else in the world. This is partly due to the fact that Poles are Roman Catholic. For Roman Catholics the death is important part of human existence. The death does not end human life since we all have eternal spirit. Y We all will meet there, on the other side. Poles also have a tendency to remember past, history, not to live in the present time like people in other cultures. For a long time Catholic Church was very skeptical towards burning bodies, crematoria are still rare in Poland. Therefore the graves are large, since each person need to be buried in a coffin which is of the size of a human body.

Read more: Polish Cemeteries: History, Styles and Regional Differences

Although death makes us all democratically equal, Polish burial sites may differ in looks and value a lot. The difference depends mainly on finance. The bigger and more ostentatious the grave or tomb, the more affluent the family is. The sites range from simple earth graves for 100$ to giant double tombs for 5000$. The chosen material matters a lot.

The typical materials for the graves are sandstone, marble or granite, the cheaper graves are made of wood. The quality, color and type of the chosen material depends also on the availability of the material in certain geographical region and also on the fashion and style in the time when the grave was built. The earth and semi-earth graves (which has a rock material as a grave frame) allow to plant flowers and plants on the top of the grave. So, only families or widows who live in the neighborhood can affort to take care of the earth or semi-earth grave. Below are photographs of a variety of graves found in Polish cemeteries.

Read more: Polish Tombs and Graves: Overview of Styles

While Poland is usually thought of as a staunchly Roman Catholic country, the founding of another popular Christian denomination, the Unitarians, can be traced to that nation. Unitarians' main belief is a rejection of the Trinity, that is, belief that God is incarnate in three forms, namely the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, is rejected. Instead, they believe in God as a single entity and in Christ as a divine teacher but not as a God. Freedom of religious thought and rationalism are hallmarks of Unitarianism.

Read more: Unitarians' Polish Roots