How to Celebrate All Saints Day in Lithuania

All Saints Day in Lithuania is a solemn holiday. November 1 is set aside as a day to recognize the souls of the dead as well as remembering the Saints of the Catholic Church. In Lithuania, All Saints Day is sometimes referred to as Velines, in honor of the pagan holiday during which those who didn't belong to the Catholic Church would celebrate a fall feast in honor of the deceased.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Begin to celebrate All Saints Day the night before on All Hallow's Eve with a vigil. In Catholic churches, the night is devoted to prayers giving thanks to all the saints. It is also traditional to fast.
2. Attend church to say prayers and take the sacrament as it is customary to do on the morning of All Saints Day. Though the "veles," or souls, of ancestors are said to act as guardians, it is necessary to have performed the appropriate religious rites prior to visiting with the veles. Lithuanians believe that on this day the souls of the dead visit in hopes that the living will pray for them.
3. Tend the graves of your loved ones, weeding or tidying them as necessary. Though people do not celebrate in the traditional sense of the word, there is a sense of responsibility of taking care for the souls who will return to earth on this day. Decorate graves with plants, flowers and candles. It's also customary to light a candle on neglected graves, those which have no family to tend them.
4. Entertain some of the traditional beliefs of All Saints Day in Lithuania. Sprinkle sand on the floor of your home. If a mother who hasn't any small children in the house wakes to find footprints on the floor, she will know the souls of her children have come to visit. She may also see her child in the cemetery at midnight. Further beliefs pertain to the meaning of aspects of nature, beliefs held over from ancient times when Velines was a fall harvest celebration.
5. Gather together with family and friends for a big meal. As All Saints Day is a somber remembrance of loved ones, the living often choose to spend time together while they still can. Conclude the meal by celebrating a Velines harvest tradition begun in Dzukija, in which rye bread was baked and given to beggars as way to ensure a plentiful crop the next year.

Tips & Warnings

• Be aware that since most of the country will be making pilgrimages to the cemeteries, the traffic is often heavy enough to require police direction.