Toussaint

November first is La Toussaint, All Saints Day, a far weightier holiday in France than is Halloween. It's a day for commemoration of the dead, and this is done primarily with chrysanthemums. If you didn't know about Toussaint, you'd think France was having a huge Fête de Mums, because the marchés and fleuristes are full of them.

 

 

 

Relatives take mums to the graves of their loved ones. Since the apartment where I'm staying has a bird's eye view of cimetière de Montmartre:

I've had a chance to watch the growing accumulation of colorful mums.

 

 

To mark the holiday/holyday, we took a walk through the cemetery, which is a peaceful and beautiful spot.

It's filled with old tombs:

 

 

and new tombs:

 

 

The famous dead:

 

 

 

and the unknown and forgotten dead:

There's a museum's worth of artwork in the cemetery:

 

 

and then there are cats....lots and lots of cemetery cats:

 

 

 

I kind of like being able to live with a cat even after death.

Comments

[Leah]

I love all the photos, what a place! That last cat looks like it has a major attitude! Thanks for sharing!