As mentioned before, in Sweden we celebrate All Saints' Day on the first Saturday in November (i.e. today), rather than on November 1st. (The holiday was moved here back in 1952, which means it's been like that all my life.) It's a rather solemn holiday, mostly about remembering the dead, tending to family graves, and church concerts with requiems.
Nowadays it also tends to get mixed up with American Halloween traditions, though - even if many still claim that those do not belong in our culture; or should at least be limited to the night of October 31st (never mind what day of the week). Others argue that as All Saints has been moved, then Halloween should also be celebrated on the Friday before All Saints. And with schools nowadays also closed a whole week for "autumn leave" (no such thing back in my own school days!), Halloween time now tends to sort of spread out to cover two weekends + the week in between!
For me, All Saints used to be a rather gloomy holiday (sad rather than festive and child-friendly). Nowadays, I feel more free to celebrate or ignore it as I please, though.
In my own home, decorations for autumn/Halloween/All Saints are sparse. Basically, I just change the display on the old chest in my living room a bit - adding a bit of orange, and featuring my owl collection. (If you can call just a handful of something a collection!)
These tiny ones sit on the rim of my vase of fake twigs.
(They can also sit on a plant pot.)
The big one used to be my mother's. You can put a tea candle inside it. With a real candle, it gets very hot, though... So I sometimes put a battery candle in it instead.
Back in summer I found this little one in a souvenir shop and added it to the "collection". It's small but heavy - made of solid concrete. I fell for it because it reminded me of the bigger hollow one, and I thought they might like each other's company... ;-)
On another wall (all year round) hangs an owl made in batik technique, made by my maternal grandfather back in 1976. He made quite a lot of batik art back in those days. I think I got this one for either my birthday or Christmas that year.
For this weekend, I put a lantern with a battery candle in my living room window. That's for all the family graves that I don't visit... The lantern may get stay up until it's time to put up Advent candles instead, though. (Or until the battery runs out; whichever comes first.)
I did also go out to put a real candle on the one family grave we have in the old cemetery nearby where I "always" walk, though. Someone else had been there before me:
I like your owls and the owl lanterns and nice you put the other lantern and battery candle in your window, that has a pretty look.
ReplyDeleteThanks Terra. I like to do some changes in my decorations according to season - without going "overboard"! :-)
DeleteI love your grandfather's owl, and the rich colors he used. The schools here do not close for Halloween. You make me want to collect owls!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ginny. Oops, sorry to be tempting you to collect things, though! (lol)
DeleteLike Mieke, I love your decorations and always enjoy looking at them. I've always loved everything Swedish and looking around fabric, glass and china shops was always a big treat - I rarely came away empty handed.
ReplyDeleteI love the owls; they look so effective when lit up. Years ago, when I went to pottery classes, I made several. They were all given away as gifts and I was surprised how genuinely delighted the recipients were. One even went back to the U.S. with a long-time penfriend!
In spite of all the local supermarkets and Chinese shops selling Halloween costumes and masks, I didn't see any children or adults, wearing them. I am (thankfully) too far out of town for trick or treat, Christmas carol singers, and even the most dedicated Jehovah's Witnessess rarely make it up here!
Thanks CG. I've not seen any kids going trick-or-treating in my neighbourhood either - and I doubt they'd find it very rewarding if they tried.
DeleteThank you, Meike. My owls are usually found on some shelf in my flat all year round - just getting a more prominent position as autumn decorations just now. ;-) As you say, 1st Advent is not far away, and then I'll start getting some Advent/Christmas decorations up instead.
ReplyDeleteI admire your colour scheme and decorations. Owls are lovely, we have Moreporks here and at night we can hear them calling with the Kiwis.
ReplyDeleteThanks Amy. I had to lok up Morepork, don't think I've heard that name before. They do look rather like mine, don't they! ;-)
Delete