Neon’s A Doll A Migraine-less Day, More Or Less - 2019 edition!

[neon_jellyfish]

Thank you both!


Day 306 - Dušičky

All Souls' Day, which we call Dušičky (which literally translates as 'little souls') is a big deal around here. Eastern Europe doesn't traditionally observe Halloween, All Souls' Day is the go-to tradition. It mostly involves going to the family grave (the graves are usually big-ish and all deceased family members are there, not just one person), clean it and decorate it with flowers and candles. Our cemeteries don't have any lights, the only light comes from candles, and it's really beautiful. Part of my family has a grave in Prague's most beautiful cemetery, and people who used to take care of it can't anymore, so it's our job now. So we went there today to tend the grave and enjoy the atmosphere, and I took some photos. But I was losing light fast, so they're kinda crappy.



This is our grave. It's a small one, it can only store urns, not coffins.




A slightly darker one, to let the candles shine. You can't really see them, but these are traditional grave candles. They're in ornate red glass with tall brass cap with holes on sides, so they're safe from rain. I really like them. There's a lot of fancier ones, and also some in clear glass, but these red ones are the standard type.




There are some 'main' roads with asphalt pavements, but a lot af graves are hidden in these narrow 'streets', most of them are about 30cm / almost one foot wide.




Our side of cemetery has a lot of abandoned and forgotten graves.




I didn't find this angel's head. This grave doesn't have any names on it anymore.




This one is blurry, because my phone wasn't really able to focus properly anymore, but the Christ on the cross is watching the collapsed grave with a really sad look on his face.




The signs marking which part of cemetery is which are really pretty. The thing on the left is water pump (well, technically, they're not pumps anymore, they all have faucets now). A lot of people grow flowers on the graves, so they can get water here.

And here are some crappy dark photos of the candle-lit graves:







I definitely want to go back and take more photos during the day, and I want to visit some of the fancier parts with older and prettier graves, probably next year.