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La Toussaint!
In France, November 1st or La Toussiant is celebrated throughout the country.
La Toussaint, or All Saint’s Day, is celebrated across France on November 1 each year. The Catholic holiday honors all the saints recognized by the Roman Catholic Church. In honor of La Toussaint, November 1 is a jour ferie, or a public holiday. If you are vacationing in France during this time, you will find everything is closed other than flower shops, churches and cemeteries. Businesses, schools, museums etc. are all closed in honor of this national holiday and anyone who knows France knows that the French take their holidays seriously. It’s not like in the United States where you’ll still find many stores open for business. In France, when things shut down, they shut down.
La Toussaint is usually celebrated in France by bringing flowers to the graves of deceased loved ones. Chrysanthemums are the traditional flower laid out on grave sites and you will see these flowers lining florists displays and windows around this time of year. Something that is important to keep in mind, that because these flowers are traditionally flowers placed in cemeteries, you should not bring chrysanthemums to a French hostess before a dinner party. You will definitely get a strange look and you may offend. Better to avoid this awkward exchange all together and pick another flower.