Parental Saturday, as a day set aside specifically for the ritual commemoration of the dead, is known in Russia for two intertwining types of rituals, dating back to, in fact, Slavic culture and Orthodox-Byzantine. Thus, in Russia, folk traditions of commemoration of the dead did not always coincide with church rites.
So, the main parental Saturdays in 2015 have floating dates, 7 of them are timed to church holidays, and only one parental Saturday has a fixed day. It's May 9, the day of commemoration of the departed warriors.
Dirge services and cemeteries
The very name of such Saturdays was most likely due to the fact that the deceased ancestors and relatives were called "parents". According to another version, the name came from the primary commemoration of Christians of their parents.
Be that as it may, these days special services are performed in churches - requiems. Panikhida (translated from Greek as "all-night service") is a funeral service at which people pray for the repose of the dead and ask the Lordforgive the departed for their sins and show mercy to them.
On parental Saturday there is another tradition - visiting the graves of loved ones and relatives at the cemetery.
Two parent Saturdays in 2015, as in all other years, are called Ecumenical. These days, the church commemorates with prayers absolutely all the baptized dead. They are Saturday Meatfare - the parental Saturday of 2015 falls on February 14, a week before Lent. The second is Trinity Saturday, going on the eve of the feast of Pentecost. This parent Saturday 2015 falls on May 30th.
"Floating" for two months parental Saturdays
There are also memorial dates that fall on different months due to their attachment to the Julian calendar. One of these dates is Dmitrievskaya parental Saturday. This time reference is due to its dependence on the day of memory of Demetrius of Thessalonica, celebrated on October 26, according to the old style (or November 8, according to the new style). Thus, parent Saturday falls either in November or October.
These days, priests strongly recommend that believers be present at the general prayer in the temple, explaining this by bringing greater benefit to the departed, but, of course, it is necessary to visit the cemetery in the near future.
The rest of the parental Saturdays of 2015, as in any other year, are the date of private commemoration of the dead.
The tradition of visiting cemeteries these days is folk. The Church does not protest against it, but recommendsbefore going to the cemetery, first attend funeral services.
Orthodox calendar of parental Saturdays in 2015
Parental Saturdays in 2015 are distributed according to church canons as follows:
- Meatfare Saturday (Universal parental Saturday) is celebrated on February 14.
- Saturday of the 2nd week of Great Lent is March 7.
- Saturday of the 3rd week of Great Lent - March 14.
- Saturday of the 4th week of Great Lent is celebrated on March 21.
- Radonitsa falls on April 21st.
- Commemoration of the dead warriors - May 9.
- Trinity Saturday is set on May 30.
- Saturday Dimitrievskaya is celebrated on November 7th.
Thus, further each parental Saturday in 2015 will be considered separately.
Meatfare Saturday, called the Universal parental Saturday, is held on February 14
It was Saturday that was in ancient times the day of remembrance of the dead. The establishment of Meatless Saturday on the eve of Great Lent is attributed to the apostolic tradition about the gathering of believing Christians in cemeteries at a certain time. On the Sunday of Shrovetide - Cheese Week - the Orthodox Church performs rites to commemorate the Second Coming of Christ, and on the previous day it is required to restore the connection of all people living and who have lived on earth to meet the Last Judgment.
The all-church solemn commemoration on this day brings immeasurable benefits to the deceased relatives, since the immortal soul after the loss of the body is mostneeds prayer because she cannot do good deeds herself.
At home, the whole family gathers for a memorial dinner. Dinner is preceded by a thorough cleaning of the house and yard, as well as the preparation of a large number of dishes. To welcome and treat the souls of the ancestors, dishes with grain are placed on the table, into which a burning candle is inserted. They put food for souls in separate dishes, pour vodka and kvass, and after dinner the dishes are not cleaned until the morning.
In some places, this parental Saturday was associated with lighting fires on the graves of relatives, in order to awaken nature to a new life.
Saturdays of the Second, Third and Fourth Week of Great Lent
According to the charter of the Christian Orthodox Churches, during Great Lent, funeral services - litias, memorial services, litanies, magpies, as well as commemorations of the third, ninth and fortieth days from death cannot be performed. Especially for such rites, the church has allocated Saturdays of the second, third and fourth weeks of Lent.
Thus, the second parent Saturday in 2015 falls on March 7th. March 14 falls on Saturday of the 3rd week, and Saturday of the 4th week falls on March 21.
April 21, 2015 - Radonitsa
This is an East Slavic holiday of commemoration of the dead, taking place in the spring. It falls on Tuesday of St. Thomas' week and in some places is called Krasnaya Gorka. According to Russian Orthodox traditions, the first day after Easter is the day of commemoration, since until the ninth day there are no funeral servicesheld. In Belarus - an official holiday.
This holiday has a lot of pagan component, including the tradition of commemorating ancestors in the cemetery with alcohol. Part of the food brought to the graves was eaten, another was given to the poor, and the third was left on the graves.
Radonitsa is a day rich in omens. Particular attention was paid to the signs of the approach of rain.
May 9 is the Day of Remembrance of the Dead Warriors
This date is fixed in the calendar and never changes. This is the day of Victory in World War II. On May 9, after the liturgy in the churches, a memorial service is served for the fallen soldiers who gave their lives for the Fatherland.
May 30 - Ecumenical Trinity Saturday
The second Saturday, on which the Christian church commemorates absolutely all people baptized into Christianity. It is held on the Saturday that precedes the feast of Pentecost - the Trinity. On this day, a special service is served in churches - the Ecumenical Panikhida.
Is one of the most revered dates in Russia and Belarus. The people visited cemeteries, cleaned and decorated the graves, communicated with the souls of relatives and collected ritual meals. According to Slavic folklore, on this day mermaids, wood goblins, and mermen leave their habitual habitats and come closer to people. To scare away evil spirits, young people burned ritual bonfires.
November 7 - Dmitrievskaya parental Saturday
This memorial date is celebrated a week before November 8 - the day of memory of Demetrius of Thessalonica. ATincluding, if the day of memory of this saint falls on Saturday, then the previous one is considered to be the parent.
It was endowed with the meaning of the day of special commemoration of the dead after the victory of the Russian army in the Battle of Kulikovo field in 1380 and was originally intended specifically to commemorate the soldiers who died in this battle. However, by the 15th century, in the Novgorod chronicle, it was mentioned as the day of common memorial services.
This will be the parent Saturday in November 2015. By tradition, on Saturday before Dmitriev's Day, a farewell commemoration for the ancestors was celebrated, and Dmitrov's week itself was called Grandfather's. In some places in Belarus, the commemorations celebrated on Friday were Lenten ("grandfathers"), and on Saturday - fast ("women").
During a common memorial meal at home, adult family members read a prayer for repose, remembering all family members up to the seventh generation inclusive. At the head of the table sat the head of the family - a grandfather or a man - and then everyone sat down according to seniority. Strict adherence to this principle is associated with the belief that death takes away before the one who sits down at the memorial table earlier. Women sat at the table on the left side of the entrance to the house, men - on the right. Children were served a separate table.
Sometimes there is this parental Saturday in October. Its ritualism is no different from that of the November commemoration. An odd number of dishes were prepared for the memorial dinner, among which the indispensable and first dish was kutya, prepared from pearl barley or rice groats. At the end of dinnerthe memorial candle was extinguished with a slice of bread.
Parental Saturday in November 2015 allows alcohol. Alcoholic drinks were always displayed on funeral tables - they were vodka, beer, mead. Also, one-third of each filled glass or cup was poured to the spirits of the ancestors.
There will also be a parent Saturday in October 2015. This is the parental Saturday on the eve of the Intercession, which this year falls on October 10th. It is celebrated only in a few regions of Russia and is associated with a prayer for the dead soldiers who laid down their lives for the faith and the Fatherland in the battle of Kazan in 1552.
A little note about notes
In the evening, in all churches on the eve of parental Saturday, parastases are served - great memorial services. The parental Saturday itself begins with the morning divine liturgy for the dead, followed by a general memorial service. For parastas or liturgy, you can submit notes about the commemoration of relatives. There is also an old church tradition for parishioners to bring lenten food or Cahors to the temple to celebrate the liturgy.
