All Saints’ Day in Poland: A Beautiful Tradition of Remembrance
Every year on November 1, Poland celebrates All Saints’ Day, followed by All Souls’ Day on November 2. Among the country’s most cherished traditions, these holidays bring families and communities together to remember loved ones, friends, distinguished individuals, and national heroes who sacrificed their lives for freedom.
In the days leading up to these holidays, millions of Poles visit cemeteries to clean and decorate graves with flowers and candles called znicze. As darkness falls, cemeteries become breathtaking seas of light, creating an extraordinary atmosphere of reflection and remembrance. This beautiful tradition, passed down through generations, reflects Poland’s deep respect for its history, heritage, and those who came before us.
This year, Marek Skulimowski, President of the Kosciuszko Foundation, joined Polish and Ukrainian volunteers in cleaning historic Polish graves dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries in Sokilnyky, near Lviv, Ukraine.
The effort was part of “Pamięć Pogranicza” (Memory of the Borderlands), a Polish-Ukrainian initiative dedicated to preserving the region’s shared historical and cultural heritage. The project brought together the Folkowisko Foundation, students and professors from the Ukrainian Catholic University and Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, members of the Polish Brotherhood of Knights of Gutenberg, and local volunteers.
Working side by side, participants cleared overgrown vegetation, cleaned gravestones, and restored dignity to a historic burial ground. Beyond preserving the cemetery, the initiative gave Polish and Ukrainian participants, particularly young people, a chance to connect through a shared commitment to history and remembrance. In a region marked by a complex and sometimes painful past, such cooperation carries special significance, demonstrating how respect for history can strengthen friendship and understanding between neighboring nations.
During his visit to Lviv, President Skulimowski also paid tribute to those who lost their lives in the struggles for freedom and independence.
At the historic Lychakiv Cemetery, he laid flowers at the memorial honoring American volunteer pilots of the legendary Kościuszko Squadron, who fought alongside Polish forces in the Polish-Soviet War of 1919–1920. Their service remains an enduring symbol of Polish-American friendship and a shared commitment to freedom. He also placed flowers at the graves of the Lviv Eaglets (Orlęta Lwowskie), including young Polish volunteers who died defending the city during the Polish-Ukrainian conflict of 1918. He paid another tribute at the memorial to the victims of the Brygidki Prison massacre, where Soviet NKVD forces murdered thousands of political prisoners in June 1941, one of the darkest chapters in Lviv’s wartime history.
From restoring forgotten graves in Sokilnyky to honoring those who sacrificed their lives in Lviv, these acts of remembrance reflect a simple but powerful message: preserving history is a shared responsibility that transcends national borders.
For the Kosciuszko Foundation, which has spent a century strengthening educational, cultural, and intellectual ties between Poland and the United States, this commitment to remembrance also reflects enduring values of friendship, mutual respect, and freedom.
All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day remind us that those who came before us remain part of our lives as long as we preserve their memory.
May the lights of remembrance continue to shine for generations to come.
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