Parents' Memorial Saturday: traditions and prohibitions
Kyiv • UNN
On Parents' Memorial Saturday, Orthodox believers honor the memory of deceased relatives and friends by visiting graves, praying, and having a lean memorial dinner with kutia at home.
On April 6, Orthodox believers celebrate Parents' Saturday. On this day, it is customary to commemorate deceased relatives and loved ones, UNN writes.
This is the second memorial Saturday of Lent. The first was on March 30 this year, and the third will be on April 13.
According to Old Testament traditions, the Sabbath is a day of rest, so it is on this day of the week that the dead are traditionally honored.
In Orthodox churches, parastas (the evening and morning service of the Orthodox Church, during which prayers are offered for the repose of the souls of the dead and the forgiveness of their sins) is held on Friday evening.
On Saturday mornings, the church celebrates a Divine Liturgy and a memorial service. Traditionally, on this day, believers submit notes for the repose before the memorial service, where they indicate the names of relatives and friends who have passed away and order a forty-day prayer for the repose, which is a daily prayer for the repose that is performed for 40 days.
Traditions
Traditionally, on this Saturday, Orthodox Christians visit the graves of their deceased relatives and friends. It is customary to clean the graves, pray, and remember something good about the deceased.
It is considered a good deed to clean up the neglected grave of a person you do not know.
Sometimes people bring food to the cemetery with them, but we must remember that Lent is in full swing. And in general, a funeral dinner at home is considered more traditional and acceptable. On this day, there should be a lean kutia on the table.
Prohibitions Prohibitions
On this day, it is forbidden to mention anything bad about the dead. It is also not customary to cry bitterly for the dead.
It is forbidden to swear, gossip, or get into disputes on the memorial Saturday.
Alcohol consumption is prohibited.
Heavy physical labor is also prohibited.
On Parents' Sabbath, one does not refuse to give alms.
It is not customary to leave objects from the mundane life of the deceased on graves, especially those associated with bad habits.
