The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-11-02
French And BeIgians Observe La Fete des
 MOrts Today

An-Sou1s' Day will be observed to- day by Catholics in this city and throughout the world, but it is in ravaged Belgium and battIe-scarred France that the observance is most general. The thousands of grief stricken Catholics of those countr1e 1es who have lost dear ones in the war will today repair to churches and cemeteries and offer up petitions for the release of their souls from purga- tory. La Fete des Morts, or s'tI1e Day of the Dead" is the French and Bel gian name for this commemoration, and on the second of November all Catholics feel in duty bound to visit the cemeteries, and to offer prayers and perform masses for the depart ed
 Tens of thousands of Belgian exiles driven from their homes by the con- quering Germans, will perfor0 this service for the dead in foreign lands, far removed from the graves which hold the ashes of their loved ones. England, Holland, France and even America hold many of these exiIes, the pit1fu1 victims of the most re- markab1e exodus of modern times. In happier times these refugees observed the "Day of the Dead'' by decorating the graves of their loved ones, but now even that poor consolation is de- nied them.
 It is a matter of Catholic faith that the suffering souls in purgatory, who
 must undergo a period Of expiatton for venial sins before entering Into the company of the blessed, are re-
 ieved by the intercession of the saints in heaven and the prayers and
 masses of the faithful on earth. In the ninth century St. Odi1on, Abbot of CIuny, set aside special day to be devoted to prayers for the dead, and this custom soon spread and was eSf tfrA 11~Y yH6@1eS xkS~rn1.
 For many centuries All-Sou1ss Day
 was observed generally in England 1 and Ireland and it was the custom
 for persons dressed in mourning earh to pass through the streets, ringing | a bell. and calling upon all persons | to remember the stricken souls in purgatory. The Irish peasantry be- lieved that the souls of the dead
 were permitted to return to earth or the night of November 2nd, and be- fore retiring they left food and fire for the comfort of the visitors. The
 windows were left open so k11at tla4 ghosts might have no trouble in ef- fecting an entrance and 1t was usu- ally discovered on the foI1owins
 morning that the food had disappear ed. Certain young scamps who were far from being spoolks were usually
 connected with the disappearance o1 the food, however, and as the ghosts grew bolder. and began to carry of portable property as we'll as food, the
 custom came into disfavor. The same custom obtained inN Italy, and there
 too, the thieves reaped a rich harvest from the pious belief.
 The custom of visiting cemetertes on .AIl-Sou1s' Day, now general in many Catholic lands, had grisly pre- cedent at Naples, where 1t was long the practice to open the charne1, l houses on this day. The fIeshIesz skeletons were ranged along the walls which were a brilliantly lighted and
 bedeeked with flowers. and all day 1 long crowds nocked through the vaults to gaze upon the griunins skulls of their dead relatives.
 One of the odd customs of the
 PArisian observance Of the day was Isthe gathering of mourners at the graves of dead cats, dogs, horses and even monkeys, buried in the am 1 iInal cemetery on the island of the
 Seine. In these serious times, how ever, it is to be feared that the de-
 ceased four-footed pets will be neg 1ected and that few will visit their
 resting place today.