Parental Saturday, as a day dedicated especially for the ritual commemoration of the departed, is known in Russia for two intertwined types of rites dating back to the Slavic and Orthodox Byzantine cultures. Thus, in Russia, not always the folk traditions of commemoration of the departed coincided with church rites.
So, the main parental Saturdays in 2015 have floating dates, 7 of them are dedicated to church holidays, and only one parental Saturday has a fixed day. This is May 9, the day of remembrance of the dead soldiers.
Memorial services and cemeteries
The very name of such Saturdays occurred, 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 remembrance by Christians of their parents.
Be that as it may, these days in the temples special services are held - requiem. The memorial service (translated from Greek as "all-night") is a memorial service in which people pray for the repose of the dead and ask the Lord to forgive the deceased for their sins and show condescension to them.
Parent Saturday also has another tradition - visiting the graves of relatives and relatives in 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 deceased. They are the Meat Saturday - the parent Saturday of 2015 falls on February 14, a week before Lent. The second is the Trinity Saturday, going on the eve of the Pentecost. This parent Saturday of 2015 falls on May 30th.
“Floating” parental Saturdays for two months
There are also memorial dates that fall on different months due to their attachment to the Julian calendar. One of these dates is Dmitrievsky Parental Saturday. Such a temporary reference is due to its dependence on the memory of Dimitry Solunsky, celebrated on October 26 according to the old style (or November 8 according to the new style). Thus, parental Saturday falls either in November or in October.
These days, priests strongly recommend that believers attend general prayer in the temple, explaining this by bringing greater benefit to the deceased, but it is undoubtedly necessary to visit the cemetery in the near future.
The rest of the parental Saturdays of 2015, as in any other year, is the date of the private commemoration of the dead.
The tradition of visiting cemeteries these days is folk. The church does not protest against it, but recommends that before going to the cemetery, first attend funeral services.
Orthodox calendar of parental Saturdays in 2015
Parent Saturdays in 2015 are distributed according to church canons as follows:
- Meat Saturday (Ecumenical Parental Saturday) is celebrated on February 14th.
- Saturday of the 2nd week of Lent takes March 7.
- Saturday of the 3rd week of Lent - March 14.
- Saturday of the 4th week of Lent is celebrated on March 21.
- Radonitsa falls on April 21.
- Commemoration of the dead soldiers - May 9.
- Saturday Troitskaya set May 30.
- Saturday Dimitrievskaya is celebrated on November 7.
Thus, further each parental Saturday, passing in 2015, will be considered separately.
Meatless Saturday, called the Ecumenical Parental Saturday, is held on February 14
Precisely Saturday was in ancient times the day of remembrance of the departed. The establishment of the Meatless Sabbath on the eve of Great Lent is attributed to the apostolic tradition of the gathering of Christian believers in cemeteries for a certain time. On the Sunday day of the Shrovetide - Cheese Week , the Orthodox Church performs rituals commemorating the Second Coming of Christ, and on the previous day it is required to restore the connection of all people living and living on earth to meet the Last Judgment.
All-church solemn remembrance on this day brings immeasurable benefits to the deceased relatives, since the immortal soul, after losing the body, most of all needs prayer, because it cannot do good deeds itself.
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. Souls put food in a separate bowl, pour vodka and kvass, and after dinner they don’t clean the dishes until morning.
In some places, this parental Saturday was associated with the lighting of fires on the graves of relatives, with the aim of awakening nature to a new life.
Saturdays of the second, third and fourth week of Great Lent
According to the charter of Christian Orthodox churches, during Lent, memorial services such as lithium, requiem, litany, magpie, and commemoration of the third, ninth, and fortieth day from death cannot be performed. Especially for such ceremonies, the church allocated the Saturdays of the second, third and fourth weeks of Lent.
Thus, the second parent Saturday in 2015 falls on March 7th. Saturday, March 3rd, is on Saturday March 14th, and Saturday, 4th Saturday , is March 21st.
April 21, 2015 - Radonitsa
It is an East Slavic festival of remembrance of the dead, held in the spring. It falls on Tuesday of Fomina week and in some places is called Krasnaya Gorka. According to Russian Orthodox traditions, the first day after Easter is the day of remembrance, since until the ninth day of the memorial services are not held. In Belarus - an official day off.
This holiday has a lot of pagan constituent parts, including the tradition of remembering their ancestors in the cemetery with alcohol. Part of the food brought to the graves was eaten, another was given to the poor, a third was left on the graves.
Radonitsa is a day full of signs. Particular attention was paid to signs of approaching rain.
May 9 is the day of remembrance of the dead soldiers
This date is fixed in the calendar fixedly and never changes. This is Victory Day in World War II. On May 9, after the liturgy in the churches, a memorial service is served for the dead soldiers who gave their lives for the Fatherland.
May 30 - Ecumenical Trinity Saturday
The second Saturday, in which the Christian church commemorates absolutely all people baptized into Christianity. Held on Saturday, which precedes the feast of Pentecost - Trinity. On this day, special temples are served in the temples - the Universal Memorial Service.
It is one of the most revered dates in Russia and Belarus. People visited cemeteries, cleaned and decorated graves, communicated with the souls of relatives, and gathered ritual meals. According to Slavic folklore, on this day, mermaids, gobbers, and aquatic people leave their habitat and go closer to people. To scare away evil spirits, youth burned ritual bonfires.
November 7 - Dmitrievsky Parent Saturday
This memorial date is celebrated a week before November 8 - the day of memory of Dimitry of Solunsky. Including, if the day of remembrance of this saint falls on Saturday, then the previous one is considered to be the parent.
After the victory of the Russian army in the Battle of Kulikovo Field in 1380, it was endowed with the significance of the day of special commemoration of the deceased and was originally intended to commemorate the soldiers who died in this battle. However, by the 15th century in the Novgorodian annals, it was mentioned as the day of the general requiem.
It will be the parent Saturday in November 2015. By tradition, on Saturday before Dmitriev’s day, a farewell memorial was held for the ancestors, and Dmitrov’s week itself was called Grandfather. In some places in Belarus, commemorations that cope on Friday were fasting ("grandfathers"), and on Saturday - fasting ("broads").
During the general funeral feast at home, adult members of the family recited 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 - grandfather or man - and then everyone was seated in seniority. Strict observance of this principle is connected with the belief that death takes away before the one who earlier sits at the memorial table. Women sat at the table on the left side of the entrance to the house, men on the right. A separate table was set for the children.
Sometimes it happens this parent Saturday in October. Her ritual is no different from that of the November commemoration. An odd number of dishes were prepared for the funeral dinner, among which the indispensable and first course was kutia, made from pearl barley or rice. At the end of the dinner, the funeral candle was extinguished with a loaf of bread.
Parental Saturday in November 2015 allows the use of alcohol. Alcohol was always on display at funeral tables - it was vodka, beer, mead. Also, one third of each filled glass or cup was cast to the spirits of their ancestors.
Parent Saturday in October 2015 will also be held. This is the parent Saturday on the eve of the Intercession, this year falls on October 10th. It is celebrated only in several regions of Russia and is associated with prayer for the dead soldiers who laid down their lives for faith and the Fatherland in the battle of Kazan in 1552.
A small note on notes
In the evening, in all the churches on the eve of the parent's Saturday, parastases are served - great memorial services. Parental Saturday itself begins with the morning funeral service of the Divine Liturgy, followed by a general requiem. At parastasis or liturgy, you can submit notes on the commemoration of relatives. There is also an old church tradition of parishioners bringing lenten food or Cahors to the temple for the celebration of the liturgy.