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The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



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I NTS' FLORAL FESTIVAL. 



at Day in New Orleans. 



•icscoiit city di' Xew OrlcMiis, 

 All (if 01(1 \V(irl<l customs, All 

 IV is to tlio ]iiil)lic, and to tlu; 

 hat MciiKirial clay is iu the 

 , (inc (lay (if all tlie yc^ar wlieii 

 ,.iilclicr must iKM'ds boar its 



i(Miu»ml)ian(',e. 



■iits' day is as hroad >as llie 



itholic ciiur(di, a festival iiitro- 



. .-auso of the impossibility of 



separate day for every saint. 



uularly iiistitute(| by (iref^ory 



>.;."), and appointed to be ccle 



\ii\('ndier 1. it has been ol)- 



"!■ more than a thousaiul years, 



iicrc in the N<'\v AVorld so inii- 



nr so be;uit ifully as in N'(>\v Or- 



Tlicic it is the day of uniNcrsal 



■ 11 ot' graves, of jiayinji liomajic; 



■ lead, and llu.' eemeterit's, them- 



iiilike any othei's in all the land, 



'lifted from mornini; until niylit. 



- so luimlde that his last resting 



left nnadoriKHl by those who hohl 



'ii.iiy dfar; tlie grave of the la- 



Mid the tomb of the city's bravest 



.lily icmembered ; vvojiien iTi .silks 



'11^ and women in <>arm(Mits attest- 



ing ii\('S of tidl and sacrilice kneel to- 

 getlier w ilii their Mowers ami offer 

 piaycis for the souls of the dead. 



Real Cities of the Dead, 



To the \ isitor from afar nothing about 

 this ohl city of th(> south, with its quaint 

 French (piarter of wide renown, is of 

 dee[)(n' interest than its cemeteries — ■ 

 \('ritable (dties of the dead, for there the 

 nature of tin; ground is su(di that all 

 that is nu)rtal must b(> entondx-d at the 

 surface, not luiried under it as has been 

 the almost universal jjractice of man- 

 kind since liic \\((rld began. The 

 originality tiiat in otiu'r cities goes into 

 tile designing of iiiipre.<si ve immumeuts, 

 is here (•ni[)loye(l upon tiic scpiilchers 

 thems(d\es. Rich niariilcs and I'ugged 

 granite are worked with rare art into 

 these resting ]ilac('s dt' the men (d' ye-; 

 tt'iilay. People of other cities come to 

 marv(d and admire, Init Xew Orleans 

 hers(df — she comes to mourn. 



At the gate of each great cemetery of 

 the group, on All .Saints' day sits a pa- 

 tient, sweet-faced JSi.ster with her or- 

 jdian ciiarge, not seeking alms, but by 

 the \(My fact ot' tiieir ]ircsence asking 

 tiiat I hose who Itring tiieir tlowcrs remem- 

 ber the living as well as tlu^ dead. 



.\^ is so l;irg(dv the case with M(>- 



moiial day at the north, the original pur- 

 po.•^e of All Saints' day has been lost. 

 .\lmost excry grave i-; decorated with 

 its llovvers. but .-ifter the \i-it to the 

 t'amily plot or vault, ihe great crowds 

 ot' pcdple spend their day walking, walk- 

 ing, walking, up .-ind dov\ ii the avenues of 

 the cemeteries. It is in a \v;iy like the 

 Ivister par;ides ot' northern cities, o.xcept 

 that these are not the fashionable crowds 

 of fifth avenue- tli(\v ;iie the plain 

 people. 



How the Custom Came. 



The cnsioni of decorating the graves 

 on .\ll Saints' (lay is ijcculiar to New 

 ()rleaus and t lios(> ue.irby places that, 

 liki' the ( 'resceiit ('ity, were largely ]ieo- 

 ple(| by the French, or v\hi(di have been 

 jnllueiiced by the ciisliiiii in 2se\v Or- 

 leans. In France, wlieiice came the idea, 

 the jiractice is to observe All Souls' day, 

 \()\ ember li, whiidi is set aptirt for pray- 

 ers and almsgiving to alleviate the suf- 

 ferings of the souls in purgatory. There 

 is a measure of (lec(U';itioii on All Saints' 

 day in France, but llu" real observance 

 is on the day following. Just the reverse 

 of the custom in New Orleans, where the 

 (lecorat ion of graves (Ui .\ll Souls' day, 

 while jiracticed to some extent, is noth- 

 ing at all comparabh! to the universal use 

 of llovvers (UI the day preceiLing, 



How the observance came to be (dianged 

 ill date is unknovvn, but it may be that 

 .Xovember I was t;ikeu. many, many 

 ye.ai's ago, by those who came t'rom Paris 

 and were iu reality transplanting to 

 their new home La I'ete des .\Iortes, 

 vvlieii eveiyone visits the cemeteries and 

 when that strange cust(mi is prticticed, 

 the living leaving calling cards at the 

 tombs of the dead. Fresh flowers then 

 adorn every gr.-nc; the streets are tille(l 

 with llovver stands and those who have 



All Saints' Day Flowers in Old St. Louis Cemetery, New Orleans. 



