Sue's purchases and travels

This Thanksgiving my mother-in-law will not be joining us.  She is 96 years old and though pretty strong is not capable (nor comfortable) coming to our homes and doing the long drawn out Thanksgiving feast.  We will, instead, join her at her assisted living location for an early brunch and then have a later Thanksgiving Dinner.  My own parents passed away years ago and so, it seems, that the table gets smaller each year-with no grandchildren in the very near future.  This long preamble brings me to the Swedish All Souls Day tradition of placing candles on graves.
There is no religious connection but rather all individuals gather, with candles, at local cemeteries and place them on the graves of loved ones AND on those graves that don't seem to have someone to visit.  It is a lovely way to remember EVERYONE who is gone from the life.  Not just war heroes, not just the famous, and not just those we loved but anyone who has been in our community.  It's quite special and the imagery is breathraking.  We were once driving through Sweden on November 1 and were told to look out for these and, sure enough, we would see lovely glows, every few miles, at the local cemeteries.

All of this has made me decide that this Thanksgiving I will have a candle lit for those who are NOT at our table...as a way of including everyone who has meant so much to our family.

Labels: All souls day, ekelund linens, sweden tradition, Swedish Antiques, swedish gifts, Swedish holiday shop, swedish textiles., Thanksgiving