Next week All Saints’ Day is a high church holiday, and the next day is the more familiar All Souls’ Day, on which not only believing Christians commemorate their dead relatives and friends. In Eastern Europe there are several festivals dedicated to spiritual union with the dead sex, and I attended one at the Central Cemetery of Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, which is observed on the first weekend after Easter. For Paștile Blajinilor, the Orthodox “Easter of Remembrance,” tens of thousands gather at the cemetery, which becomes the busiest place in the city. The members of the families, who often live far apart, travel from all parts of the country, sometimes even from Italy, Germany and Belgium, to honor the dead and at the same time to strengthen the solidarity of the living.
Where to eat and celebrate at the grave – opinion
