All Souls’ Day

Every November, 2 we celebrate All Souls’ Day here in the Czech Republic. On the one hand it is a Christian feast when a church prays for the faithfully deceased, on the other hand it is a day when many people regardless of their faith come to cemeteries, clean and decorate for winter their family tombs and also light a candle in memory of those buried there. It’s a beautiful tradition and I always like to see so many candles lit at the same time and expressing all the memories and prayers.

As much as I like that tradition and tried several times to capture the atmosphere, I’ve never liked the photos. The tombs always look rather depressive and harsh in the photos.

Yet not all photos I’ve taken in cemeteries have been predestined to be thrown away and I have a few that I really love. Such as the following ones…

A few years ago my husband and I visited a town Zlaté hory and when we roamed its streets, we came across a cemetery. It had two parts, a new one where people were obviously taking care of the tombs, and an old one, lost somehow in history.

I loved that old part and its quiet soulful atmosphere, and the photos that I took there belong to my favourites.

The statue of the woman below was placed on a headstone and was quite big, I find her enormously impressive. Embodiment of grief, isn’t she?

Death is generally not a topic to enjoy speaking about but it is an inseparable part of our lives so it is important to have a healthy attitude towards it. It is time to mourn and it is time to acknowledge the flow of time.

As much as it hurts sometimes.

In memory of all those departed we loved…