Celebrating All Saint’s Day in Italy

by Kailey Navin, CCI Greenheart Travel High School Abroad student in Italy

Hey everyone! So November 1st is All Saint’s Day, and in Italy it is a major religious holiday. This morning I got up with my host family and went to mass, then we went to the cemetery and it blew me away how many people came to honor and respect their dead loved ones. The cemeteries here are marble box-like structures that are built up, no one is buried in the ground. Every box has a name and the dates of birth and death and most of the time, a picture. Every single box had flowers, candles, something on it in remembrance of the person it housed. This was such a surprise for me, because in America, we rarely go back to the cemetery unless it’s a funeral/burial or some other occasion, such as the deceased persons birthday or a holiday. I thought it was fantastic that here people treat All Saint’s Day as a day of remembrance.

Read more about Kailey’s time in Italy on her blog…