Riga City Funeral Service
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October in Latvia is the season of candle evenings, and every year the same question returns: when is it? There is no single answer — and that is not confusion but the way it works. The date for each cemetery is set by its own municipality, so in one region the candle evening may fall at the start of October and in the next at the end of the month; even within one region different cemeteries have different times.
We write separately about the times at Riga's cemeteries — see the news item on the candle evening in Riga. This item is about the rest of Latvia. If you need help with a plot, call: +371 2208 4540
A candle evening is not a public holiday with a fixed date in the calendar. It is organised by the municipality together with the parishes, and the time is fitted to local circumstances: how many cemeteries the region has, when a minister is available, when it suits people travelling from other towns. In October, therefore, lists appear on regional websites with a date — and often an hour — against each cemetery.
Separate from this is the Day of Remembrance of the Dead, the last Sunday before Advent. In 2026 it falls on 22 November. Some families visit the plot then, and in many places that day is also called the candle evening.
| Where to look | What you will find |
|---|---|
| The regional municipality's website | The main source: it publishes the list of all the region's cemeteries with the time for each. The section is usually called News or Events |
| The parish council office or the cemetery keeper | The quickest route if no list can be found: the keeper knows their cemetery's time exactly |
| The parish that owns the cemetery | For parish cemeteries the time is set by the parish, and they may not appear on the municipal list |
| Local press and regional social media | Lists usually appear in late September and October, often with later corrections |
The practical part is simple but usually left to the last moment. The plot is best tended a week beforehand rather than on the day: on a candle evening the cemetery is full of people and work is awkward. Professional work — tending, installing a memorial — may in any case be carried out only during the working hours of the cemetery administration.
Opening hours are worth remembering too. For visitors the cemeteries are open from 1 April to 31 October from 7.00 to 21.00 and from 1 November to 31 March from 8.00 to 18.00, in both periods with a break from 12.00 to 12.30. On days of remembrance the hours are set by the Cemeteries Board and may differ from the usual.
This is common: the family lives in Riga or abroad while the plot is in the regions. Tending can be ordered separately — we travel out and prepare the plot before the candle evening, so that it looks as though the family had come themselves. It is enough to name the cemetery and roughly where the plot is; if you do not know the exact location, the name of the person buried and the year of burial will do.
If the family faces not only the plot but the funeral arrangement as well, we take that on in full, outside Riga too.
