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I remember the scene in the TV show "How I met your mother" where one of the main characters, Marshall, goes to visit his dad's grave with a BBQ and some beers

I remember the scene in the TV show "How I met your mother" where one of the main characters, Marshall, goes to visit his dad's grave with a BBQ and some beers to watch a game(of football?) with his dad like they always used to. I thought it was extremely unusual but actually, kind of lovely. Where I come from(Poland) cemetaries are almost sacred, instead of halloween we celebrate "wszystkich świętych"(all saints day) where everyone does the annual pilgrimage to the graves of their families to pay their respects. At the end of the night every cemetery is glowing with candles, all graves are adorned with flowers and other decorations it's all very solemn and sirious - I think the idea of a "picnic" at a cemetery would be seen as very disrespectful here - but it's still very interesting.

vlovich123 5y ago
That sounds very similar to the Spanish Día de los Muertos.
- enriquto 5y ago
  I lived for 30 years in what you would call Spain and never heard about that.
  - lelandfe 5y ago
    It’s Mexican - although perhaps it’s observed by Mexicans living abroad as well? I think the commenter just meant the name was in Spanish, though
    - vlovich123 5y ago
      I thought it extended beyond Mexico and existed in most Spanish-speaking/latin countries but this isn’t my culture so I’m much less familiar with the details.
- mejutoco 5y ago
  In Spain we call it el día de todos los santos https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Saints%27_Day#Spain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Saints%27_Day#Spain
- TeMPOraL 5y ago
  Does it? I don't know much about the Day itself, but I know that there's a ton of commercial marketing around it coming from US companies, making it feel like the Day is some kind of party. I was startled by it at first, and then assumed maybe Mexicans prefer the observances to be joyful rather than solemn. I'm from Poland, and it's like 'gambiting describes: the cemeteries are sacred, All Saints Day is a time of solemn observance, and no humor about this is culturally tolerated. I live in a major city, we have some old cemeteries in which various local and national people of importance were buried, with corresponding monuments/artworks. When Ingress[0] launched, some points of interest were placed in those cemeteries. I remember a huge stink about this in the community, and a general agreement to pretend they don't exist, as people felt it's disrespectful to play on cemeteries. -- [0] - The "AR" game by the company that later created Pokémon Go.
  - vlovich123 5y ago
    From my outsider perspective it’s a mix of somber and celebration. I don’t think that comes from commercialization as they’ve done massive parades forever in Latin countries.
- pif 5y ago
  Indeed, it's "All Souls' Day", November, 2nd: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Souls%27_Day https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Souls%27_Day
  - jamiek88 5y ago
    Not in Poland.
pif 5y ago
I think you are confusing "All Saints' Day" (November, 1st [1]) with "All Souls' Day" (November, 2nd [2]). In Italy as well, people will go to cemeteries on the 1st, because it's a bank holiday, but the celebrations if for the 2nd. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Saints%27_Day https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Saints%27_Day [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Souls%27_Day https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Souls%27_Day
- gambiting 5y ago
  Uhm.....not sure how I'm confusing the two? Can you explain please? In Poland "all saints day"(and I say "all saints" because that's literally what "wszystkich świętych" means) is definitely celebrated on the 1st of November, regardless of what day that is. Nothing is celebrated on the 2nd of November. Edit: In fact, in that Wiki article that you linked for "all saints day", click on "Polski" in the bottom left corner, and the Polish version of the same article does say it's celebrated in Poland on the 1st of November. "all souls day" doesn't exist here as a concept.
  - pif 5y ago
    I see. From the other comments, I'd say at least in Spain it works like in Italy, and it is best described by the first sentences of the two Wikipedia articles: All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, Hallowmas, the Feast of All Saints, or Solemnity of All Saints, is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the church, whether they are known or unknown. All Souls' Day, also known as the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed and the Day of the Dead, is a day of prayer and remembrance for the souls of those who have died, which is observed by Latin Catholics and other Christian denominations annually on November 2.
  - Toutouxc 5y ago
    That's interesting, across the border, in the Czech Republic, we also celebrate "dušičky" (meaning "souls") on the 2nd, and the same holiday even has a Polish name "zaduszki", which sounds really similar to our name, so I'd expect it to be a thing, because of the cultural similarities between the countries. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaduszki https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaduszki
clydethefrog 5y ago
See also the Qingming Festival in Han-Chinese culture. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qingming_Festival https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qingming_Festival

vlovich123 5y ago

That sounds very similar to the Spanish Día de los Muertos.

enriquto 5y ago
I lived for 30 years in what you would call Spain and never heard about that.
- lelandfe 5y ago
  It’s Mexican - although perhaps it’s observed by Mexicans living abroad as well? I think the commenter just meant the name was in Spanish, though
  - vlovich123 5y ago
    I thought it extended beyond Mexico and existed in most Spanish-speaking/latin countries but this isn’t my culture so I’m much less familiar with the details.
mejutoco 5y ago
In Spain we call it el día de todos los santos https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Saints%27_Day#Spain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Saints%27_Day#Spain
TeMPOraL 5y ago
Does it? I don't know much about the Day itself, but I know that there's a ton of commercial marketing around it coming from US companies, making it feel like the Day is some kind of party. I was startled by it at first, and then assumed maybe Mexicans prefer the observances to be joyful rather than solemn. I'm from Poland, and it's like 'gambiting describes: the cemeteries are sacred, All Saints Day is a time of solemn observance, and no humor about this is culturally tolerated. I live in a major city, we have some old cemeteries in which various local and national people of importance were buried, with corresponding monuments/artworks. When Ingress[0] launched, some points of interest were placed in those cemeteries. I remember a huge stink about this in the community, and a general agreement to pretend they don't exist, as people felt it's disrespectful to play on cemeteries. -- [0] - The "AR" game by the company that later created Pokémon Go.
- vlovich123 5y ago
  From my outsider perspective it’s a mix of somber and celebration. I don’t think that comes from commercialization as they’ve done massive parades forever in Latin countries.
pif 5y ago
Indeed, it's "All Souls' Day", November, 2nd: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Souls%27_Day https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Souls%27_Day
- jamiek88 5y ago
  Not in Poland.

pif 5y ago

I think you are confusing "All Saints' Day" (November, 1st [1]) with "All Souls' Day" (November, 2nd [2]). In Italy as well, people will go to cemeteries on the 1st, because it's a bank holiday, but the celebrations if for the 2nd. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Saints%27_Day https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Saints%27_Day [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Souls%27_Day https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Souls%27_Day

gambiting 5y ago
Uhm.....not sure how I'm confusing the two? Can you explain please? In Poland "all saints day"(and I say "all saints" because that's literally what "wszystkich świętych" means) is definitely celebrated on the 1st of November, regardless of what day that is. Nothing is celebrated on the 2nd of November. Edit: In fact, in that Wiki article that you linked for "all saints day", click on "Polski" in the bottom left corner, and the Polish version of the same article does say it's celebrated in Poland on the 1st of November. "all souls day" doesn't exist here as a concept.
- pif 5y ago
  I see. From the other comments, I'd say at least in Spain it works like in Italy, and it is best described by the first sentences of the two Wikipedia articles: All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, Hallowmas, the Feast of All Saints, or Solemnity of All Saints, is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the church, whether they are known or unknown. All Souls' Day, also known as the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed and the Day of the Dead, is a day of prayer and remembrance for the souls of those who have died, which is observed by Latin Catholics and other Christian denominations annually on November 2.
- Toutouxc 5y ago
  That's interesting, across the border, in the Czech Republic, we also celebrate "dušičky" (meaning "souls") on the 2nd, and the same holiday even has a Polish name "zaduszki", which sounds really similar to our name, so I'd expect it to be a thing, because of the cultural similarities between the countries. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaduszki https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaduszki

clydethefrog 5y ago

See also the Qingming Festival in Han-Chinese culture. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qingming_Festival https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qingming_Festival