A man prays for a relative or friend in New Roads, Louisiana on All Saints Day, 1938

[Reposted]

ALTHOUGH traditionally Catholics visited cemeteries to pray for the dead on Nov. 2, All Souls Day, in parts of Louisiana it has long been the practice to honor deceased relatives and friends on Nov. 1, All Saints Day. When the custom was at its peak, fences were whitewashed and crepe decorations hung. Families would gather with priests in cemeteries before what were often-times humble graves. Black Americans observing All Saints Day in New Roads, Louisiana in 1938 are captured in these photographs by Russell Lee from the Library of Congress. More can be viewed below and here. They show that it’s possible even in poverty to bury the dead with dignity.

According to Ryan Brasseux:

Burial culture in New Orleans and rural southern Louisiana, which is predominantly Catholic, has long intrigued outsiders. High water tables, particularly in the state’s coastal regions, require many undertakers to construct above-ground tombs in graveyards, but these brick and concrete structures can deteriorate in the region’s subtropical climate. Hence, All Saints Day has traditionally served both a practical and a social function. In the past, families repaired tombs and coated them with a mix of lime and water (whitewash) to seal the structure. They also cleared overgrowth and weeds and placed floral arrangements, or coronne de toussaints, on the graves to show their respect for the dead. In years past, women would make wreaths of crepe paper or waxed paper, known as immortelles or couronnes, and sell them at churches and cemeteries on All Saints Day, but that tradition waned as more durable plastic flowers came into vogue. In less-affluent communities, families simply painted wooden crosses to use as grave markers. Modern granite headstones have obviated the need for whitewashing, but some families continue the tradition of cleaning and decorating gravesites on November 1. All Saints Day remains a recognized state holiday in which Louisiana government offices and courts are closed.

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In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, cemeteries in New Orleans took on a festive air on All Saints Day as families would pack picnics and spend the day visiting among friends while decorating tombs, and vendors would conduct business selling food and flowers. The act of beautifying is also an act of continuity. Remembering loved ones not only keeps the memory of the deceased alive, but transmits family lore across generational lines. Children learn genealogy at the cemetery as their parents recount anecdotes about their ancestors.

In 1871, the Feast of All Saints Day was explained by the Rev. Leonard Goffine:

All saints, my dear brethren, and all sinners who attain to eternal life, are closely joined together in the solemnities of these first two days of November. The morrow of All Saints’ day is All Souls’ day. The joy of Paradise and the weariness of its vestibule are both offered to our thoughts and almost at the same time. We quickly leave praying to the saints in glory to begin praying for the sinners in Purgatory. And this is a beautiful way of meditating on the future life, for love is too unselfish to tarry long with a happy friend while there is another friend outside the door in a state of great unhappiness.

That these beautiful customs have waned is not proof that they have died.

“On All Saints’ Day it is customary in Louisiana for fences to be painted and whitewashed.”

Prayer for the Practice of Virtue

Grant me to impart willingly to others whatever I possess that is good, and to ask humbly of others that I may partake of the good of which I am destitute; to confess truly my faults; to bear with equanimity the pains and evils which I suffer. Grant that I may never envy the good of my neighbor, and that I may always return thanks for Thy graces. Let me always observe discipline in my clothing, movements, and gestures. Let my tongue be restrained from vain words, my feet from going astray, my eyes from seeking after vain objects, my ears from listening to much news; may I humbly incline my countenance, and raise my spirit to heaven. Grant me to despise all transitory things, and to desire Thee alone; to subdue my flesh and purify my conscience; to honor Thy saints, and to praise Thee worthily; to advance in virtue,; and to end good actions by a happy death.

Plant in me, O Lord, all virtues: that I may be devoted to divine things, provident in human affairs, and troublesome to no one in bodily cares.

Grant me, O Lord, fervor in contrition, sincerity in confession, and completeness in satisfaction.

Deign to direct my soul to a good life: that what I do may be pleasing to Thee, meritorious for myself, and edifying to my neighbor.

Grant that I may never desire to do what is foolish, and that I may never be discouraged by what is distasteful; that I may never begin my works before the proper time, nor abandon them before they are completed. Amen.

Saint Thomas Aquinas

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