folkloric traditions

Today is a Catholic Christian holiday : Toussaint- All Saints.

I asked my daughter if she has some idea about its meaning- she doesn’t.

Somehow, in between cultures, in the big cities far away from the dwellings of our ancestors, rites and customs somehow drivel into insignificance. Only the fact that it is a public holiday is a pale reminder of significance. Maybe our society lacks rites and customs that keep us grounded to our roots.

All Saints actually is a merger of pagan rites with Christian traditions. Originally a commemoration-day for martyrs of the Christian faith at the end of spring in Orient it was decreted by a pope as general holiday at the beginning of the V century and fixed as day of honour of all saints and Mary on the 13th of may . The date was suspiciously close to the Lemuria, consecrated in ancient Rome to the pagan tradition of honouring the ancestors.

Louis the faithful, a 9th century French king, changed the Toussaint for France to the 1st of November, as a counter measure to pagan rites during that time of the year. And 50 years later this date was adopted by the pope, again under French influence.That didn’t erase ancient traditions though and the pagan ancestor cult continued until the 10th century .

France then decided to integrate this tradition in instauring a special mass on the 2nd of November for ‘ all who died in Christ’. Nowadays the first of November is a public holiday because it is a commemoration day for those who died for the country in France.

The first of November also happens to be the beginning of the Celtic New Year- the Samain. During the first 7 days of November ritual feasts were organized – rites of the renaissance of the world to restore the foundations of cosmic order. The evening before all fires were extinguished, and the new period started with the lightening of new fires the next day.

The caste of warriors was at the centre of the celebrations because the consumption of consecrated food during this time was considered rendering invulnerable. The feasts in commemoration of the dead were an obligation and missing out on them considered bringing bad luck. The death were said to come to earth and had to be turned from a potential danger to the living into helpful forces for their descendance.

The Catholic relicts of this tradition is the visit to the cemeteries where family members are buried and the lightening of a flame on their grave. Less and less people keep up this tradition now, for a lot don’t live next to the graves of their family members anymore, but far away.



I wrote this to light a virtual flame in commemoration of:
Xavier de Lutzel, Oskar and Henriette Schneyder, Wolfgang Schneyder, Christoph Schneyder Karl and Else Schnelle, Paul and Resi Schnelle, Mariele Jahn, Magdalena, Liesel, Maria Schnelle, Michael Schnelle
and for all of my ancestors that I didn’t know but whose amazing stories are kept alive.