A Very Slovak Halloween

Yesterday was All Hallow’s Eve. While children in the United States were dressing up and traipsing through neighborhoods for tricks and treats, the young and old were celebrating Halloween in a different way. In Slovakia, Halloween is a day for families to remember those who have died. All three regions of Slovakia (Western, Central and Eastern) have a four day weekend so that people can travel to their hometowns to tend the graves of those who have gone before them. As I sat by my window yesterday, I watched as groups of people armed with flowers and candles made their way down the street and up the hill to the cemetery. When I went on a run through the neighborhood, I saw people in their windows setting their tables for a large, family meal.

At about six o’clock my friends and I met to watch “The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” and to eat some candy corn that Rachel’s dad sent her last week. Then, we too made the climb to the cemetery. As I stepped onto the hallowed ground and saw the graves lit up in candles, I was struck by the simple beauty and reverence of Slovak Halloween.
















This last picture is my favorite. The name on the tombstone has long since been weathered away. On any other night, this tombstone woud look like an anonymous grave. Yet tonight, and year after year this person is remembered with flowers and candles, love and care . If I had to title this picture, I would call it "Never Forgotten." Perhaps this is the point of Slovak Halloween. We should not forget those who have gone before us because they ground us and center us. As we tell the stories and tend the graves of loved ones, we remember a shared history and we learn again the things that these saints can teach us. What better way to end the church year than by reflecting on the past so that we can prepare to move forward to the next?