7 All Saints’ Day Traditions in Louisiana That the Rest of the Country Has Never Seen

Early November means a trip to the cemetery for some Louisiana families.

It’s a quiet, personal tradition, and one many Americans outside the state have never seen.

Here’s how families mark the day.

1. Candlelit Graves at Dusk

On All Saints’ Day in Lacombe, a community on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, folklorists in 1985 and 1986 found candles lit one by one on many graves.

Country Roads magazine reported in 2012 that white candles encircle the graves in Lacombe as daylight fades.

In 2016, the blessing started at 1 p.m. and moved through nine cemeteries before candles were placed on the graves at dusk.

Before November 1, Lacombe families spread fresh sand on graves that don’t have cement covers.

If you’re wondering why the sand goes down, there are two reasons, neatness and the reflection of the candlelight.

The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities says French, Creole, and Choctaw cultures all influenced the custom.

If you go, the vigil is open to the public but is a religious event.

2. Painting the Family Tomb

Traditionally, All Saints’ Day grave care in Louisiana began with whitewash, 64 Parishes says.

Families used a mix of lime and water to coat tombs and seal the structure.

Families also cleared overgrowth and weeds and placed flowers.

Folklorist Jane Vidrine wrote in a 1989 festival booklet that families would gather all day to whitewash the graves and decorate them.

Folklorists who studied the custom in 1985 and 1986 found tombs painted, once with whitewash and by then more likely with latex.

A New Orleans woman told WWL-TV, a New Orleans television station, that her family brings flowers to the tomb, washes it down, and paints it.

3. Mums on the Tomb

By tradition, chrysanthemums have been laid in front of New Orleans tombs on All Saints’ Day, New Orleans Magazine wrote in 2010.

A 2020 inRegister piece quotes a Southeastern Louisiana University history professor on chrysanthemums, grave cleaning and candle lighting as part of the day.

4. Wreaths for the Tomb

On All Saints’ Day, families traditionally placed a wreath called a coronne de toussaints on the tomb.

Those wreaths were made of crepe-paper flowers dipped in wax, according to a University of Louisiana at Lafayette library page published in 2022.

Vidrine wrote in her 1989 booklet that artificial wreaths became popular because the flowers of All Saints’ Day were meant to be everlasting through the year.

Today, modern artificial flowers have taken their place.

5. Blessing of the Graves

The Archdiocese of New Orleans said in 2018 that Catholic cemeteries host grave blessings on All Saints' Day to encourage prayer and remembrance.

The archdiocese's 2025 schedule had Archbishop Gregory Aymond celebrating All Saints' Day Mass at Our Lady of the Rosary Church at 10 a.m.

The blessing of the graves at St. Louis Cemetery No. 3 was set to follow immediately.

Blessings at St. Louis Cemeteries Nos. 1 and 2 were set for 2 p.m.

6. Mass Before the Blessing

The Lafayette television station KATC reported that Fountain Memorial Cemetery in Lafayette planned an All Saints' Day program for November 1, to begin with a 9 a.m. Mass.

A second listing dated the program to Saturday, November 1, 2025, and said the general public was welcome.

Folklorist Jane Vidrine wrote in 1989 that many churches in Lafayette, St. Martin, St. Landry, and Evangeline parishes held a daytime Mass followed by a blessing of the cemetery.

Most of the people she interviewed there didn't recall the late-evening Mass and candlelight ceremony she described elsewhere.

The archdiocese's 2025 schedule also paired a 10 a.m. Mass with the blessing of the graves at St. Roch and Des Allemands, among others.

7. Visiting and Picnics at the Cemetery

On All Saints' Day, New Orleanians are especially faithful about visiting cemeteries, New Orleans Magazine wrote in 2010.

A New Orleans woman said her family comes to the tomb together.

In Lacombe, the atmosphere was festive, with family and friends visiting and socializing.

In the 1800s and early 1900s, 64 Parishes says, New Orleans cemeteries took on a festive air on All Saints' Day.

Families packed picnics, visited friends while decorating tombs, and bought food and flowers from vendors.

A photo caption in the folklorists' 1985-86 study notes that one Baton Rouge family picnicked in Green Oaks Cemetery after attending the blessing of the graves.

La Toussaint and Día de los Muertos

La Toussaint, the French Louisiana name for All Saints' Day, is similar to Mexico's Día de los Muertos, according to a 2022 University of Louisiana at Lafayette library page.

64 Parishes describes Día de los Muertos as a two-day event, with public parades featuring flowers, wreaths, and effigies of skeletons.

The grave practices of All Saints' Day are largely limited to New Orleans and the Acadiana region of South Louisiana.

The Custom Today

64 Parishes says participation in the tradition has waned in many places.