Back to Alsace - All Saints' Day

Monday morning, I took the train from Meilen to the Zurich Hauptbahnhof where I caught an ICE (Inter-City Express) to Freiberg.  There I changed to a regional train that stops at all the villages between there and Offenburg.  These trains used to be pretty old and grim but now they all seem to be newer with lots of space for people to bring their bicycles on board.  I tried to capture some of the scenery on the journey out of Switzerland because, even with the dull weather, it was lovely.  Here is a not-so-great video that might give you an idea.

Because it was November 1st, it was All Saints Day in Switzerland, Germany, France and in other Catholic countries around the world. This day is also known as All Hallows' Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas, is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the church, whether they are known or unknown.  In places where All Saints' Day is observed as a public holiday but All Souls' Day is not, cemetery and grave rituals such as offerings of flowers, candles and prayers or blessings for the graves of loved ones often take place on All Saints Day.  

In the markets in France, we had seen hundreds of chrysanthemum plants being sold as the tradition is to place them on graves on this day.  On the way back to my friends' place, we passed the village cemetery and almost every grave and chrysanthemums on it.  I had learned about this tradition in my French class so it was interesting to see it in reality.

So, I am back in Alsace until next Sunday.  How much I do while I am here will be weather dependent.  Hopefully, there will be something to blog about before I head to Frankfurt Airport Sunday for a COVID test and an overnight stay before my flight home next Monday.  We are required to get a test before returning to Canada.  However, more about that later.