♥ PosetteForever ♥

:eh:  I don't have pictures to show you, sorry  :oops:

I spent some time in Canada as a child.

:eh:  :eh:

Rayera, the precise translation is "The Day of the Dead".  However, on the church calandar here it is called "All Souls Day".  That sound so much nicer than how it is celebrated here.  Our churches are open only at one mass time a week, and locked the rest of the time, unless someone pays for a special mass.  That is not how it was when I was little, but it is now.  :sad:

Pangor

Here gives several mass a day and allmost all are open until 9:00 pm specially the downtown old big churches that are churches, museums and some are National monuments too at the same time, in special religious days they are open all day and as I mentioned some concerts too because of the acoustic, but maybe because, as you may know, roman catholic is the oficial religion here, anyway I have a protestant friend that like to go to pray at a catholic church (St Francis Monastery) because of the the special ambient that place has

Here the churches are open mon-fr 8.00 - 22.00, sat 8.00 - 20.00 and sunday 8.00 - 22.00.
Everyday there's laudes at 8.45, on thuesdays there's also a mass during the day and on friday at 7.30 (and then the church is open for ppl to eat breakfast together).
Everyday there's completorium at 21.00. A mass on wednesday at 18.00, vesper on saturday and a big mass on sunday.

On christmasand easter the churches are open 24 hours a day.

Everyday there are different groups, studies, singing, gatherings....

Here the churches  are open 8:00 to 9:00 but weekends when 7:300 to 9:30. In some special like "All Souls Day" the can go to 11:00 and on christmasand easter the churches are open 24 hours a day like Thilda's country!

During my childhood and teen year, our churches were like all of yours too.

After that, everything started to change.  Now most parishes don't even have a single priest, instead they will travel to a church for one mass a week and then when mass is over the clear the building and lock the doors.  It is so different now, from when I was little.

On the inside of the doors I have seen a signs that read "This door to be kept lock at all times except during business hours."  The first time I saw that it was so strange to me, that I froze and stared at it.  It made me feel very sad, and a little lonely.  The bells, statues, alters, etc are disappearing from our churches.

I hope this is true for only our local diocese, but I fear that it is more widespread than here alone.

Pangor