PARK AND CEMETERY. 
470 
ALL SAINTS’ DAY IN NEW ORLEANS CEMETERIES 
PLACING DECORATIONS ON TOMBS IN ANCIENT ST. LOUIS 
CEMETERY, NEW ORLEANS. 
In New Orleans, the city of Old 
World customs, no day is observed 
with more picturesque ceremonies 
than All Saints’ Day, the great Cath- 
olic holiday which fell this year on 
Sunday, November 1, and was quite 
generally observed among the Catho- 
lics of Mobile, Shreveport and other 
Gulf cities. 
It is the day of universal decoration 
of graves and paying homage to the 
dead and the cemeteries are thronged 
from morning to night. The grave of 
the humble citizen and the tomb of 
the valiant soldier were equally re- 
membered. Women in silks and the 
finery attendant upon wealth and wo- 
men in coarse garments attesting lives 
of sacrifice knelt together and of- 
fered up prayers for the souls of their 
dead. Many men also visited the cem- 
eteries and with uncovered heads mut- 
tered supplications for the repose of 
the souls of the departed. Flowers 
clung high on the marble shafts of 
the rich and covered completely the 
graves of the poor. 
At the gate of each cemetery sat 
the patient, sweet-faced Sister, with 
her orphan charge, not soliciting 
alms, but in the very fact of their 
presence, asking that the living be re- 
membered as well as the dead. 
With a visit to their own little lot 
of ground, or perhaps handsome tomb, 
and a visit to the plat or tomb be- 
longing to some one else they knew, 
the crowds of people spent their time 
walking around. 
The original idea of the day, that of 
a religious celebration, is quite lost 
sight of in the scenes which take 
place in the cemeteries. The custom 
of decorating graves on All Saints’ 
Day is peculiar to New Orleans, and 
to those places which have been in- 
fluenced by its customs. In France, 
from whence the decoration idea 
comes, the practice falls on All Souls’ 
Day, though a sort of getting ready 
for it takes place on the day preced- 
ing, the opposite of what takes place 
in New Orleans, where the decoration 
of graves on All Souls’ Day, though 
done in a slight degree, cannot be 
compared with the great celebration 
of All Saints’ Day. Nobody seems to 
be able to explain just how this has 
happened, but such is the case. 
In Paris, on the first day of Novem- 
ber, “La Fete des Morts” is observed. 
Great preparations are made. Fallen 
leaves, withered wreaths are removed, 
fresh chaplets adorn every grave, and 
that — to us — strangest of customs, the 
leaving of cards at the tomb door, on 
the part of friends, is carried out. 
Special services are held in nearly all 
churches, and out of respect for the 
dead all business is suspended. It 
may be said that every one visits 
cemeteries. If one has no beloved rel- 
ative buried in some city cemetery. 
then the bunch of flowers or the sin- 
gle flower bought in readiness for the 
occasion is laid on the grave of some 
man or woman, well known or deserv- 
ing. All the city streets are turned 
into flower gardens. Everywhere are 
stands of blossoms, roses, lilies, vio- 
lets, and it is hardly possible to sup- 
ply the demand for all, whether 
mourners for lost friends or not, take 
part in this beautiful observance. 
The weather in New Orleans this 
year was ideal on All Saints’ Day, and 
the crowds were at their maximum. 
The decoration was quite general; 
even the poor, ordinary, neglected 
graves and vaults showed the pres- 
ence of a reclaiming hand, and the lit- 
tle offering of flowers. The work of 
cleaning up, of sanding and planting 
was going on late in the evening, in 
out of the way places in the ceme- 
teries. 
Among the thousands who observed 
All Saints’ Day at the beautiful Me- 
tairie Cemetery none paid greater ven- 
eration to the dead than the members 
of the various Confederate organiza- 
tions that were assembled at the site 
of the memorial to Gen. George Moor- 
man, founder of the United Confeder- 
ate Veterans. 
The old St, Louis Cemetery was 
thronged by thousands of people. 
With scarcely an exception every 
grave in this ancient cemetery was 
decorated with flowers. Many of the 
tombs were decorated with flags, and 
on some Old Glory and the tri-color of 
France were twined together. 
MAIN AVENUE, METARIE CEMETERY, NEW ORLEANS, ON ALL 
SAINTS’ DAT. 
