A person preparing to accept death made a will, put his affairs in order, paid off debts, distributed his fortune. Before his death, he did some good deeds: gave out alms, allocated money for the construction of churches, or donated some sums to charitable institutions - hospitals, shelters, etc.
Then he lay down on a bench in the holy corner, and his sons dismantled the earthen roof of the hut above him, so that the soul could fly out more easily, so that it would not torment the body, and also so that it would not decide to stay in the house and disturb the living.
It has long been accepted that to die among one’s family (“in one’s own bed”), having lived a long, dignified life, is a heavenly grace for a person. And our ancestors believed that if a person died quickly and easily, then his soul would certainly go to heaven. If he suffered heavily before death, then his sins are great and he will not escape hell. It was also believed that sorcerers and witches die hard if they do not have the opportunity to pass on their knowledge to someone. (and this seems to be true, my great-grandmother witnessed such torment of a village witch who, by hook or by crook, called on her closest living relative on her deathbed, and when she finally came, they were left together, only after which the first gave up the ghost)
Feeling the approach of death, people called a priest to them for confession. After confession, they said goodbye to their relatives, gave instructions, blessed them, and “ordered them to live long.”
Among the adherents old faith, on the contrary, it was considered a grave sin to confess to Orthodox priest. Repentance could only be brought before one’s mentor. It happened that the most convinced Old Believers left the village before their death and died somewhere completely alone, often starving themselves to death.
In the old days, in villages it was believed that it was easiest to die on the floor, where straw was laid, and later - linen. Relatives gathered around silently condoled the dying man. It was impossible to talk loudly near him. If a person was suffering, they tried to help the soul fly away, opened the door, window, chimney, broke the ridge on the roof or simply lifted the top part of the roof of the house.
When death occurred, relatives began to lament and cry loudly. It was believed that the soul that had just flown away from the body was still in the house, nearby. If the deceased is mourned ("lamented") in a proper manner, then his soul will be at peace and he will not later bother the living in visions, thoughts and in reality. (in our time, the priest, on the contrary, exhorts not to sob, not cry, not to kill himself, otherwise it will be difficult for the deceased to leave and not calmly - it’s as if his loved ones are holding him on the ground)
Forms of burial.
The early form of burial of the ancient Slavs - the burial of a corpse in a crooked form, that is, in the position of a fetus - is associated with the idea of reincarnation, the reincarnation of the deceased, his second birth on earth, the transition of his vital force (soul) into one of the living beings.At the turn of the Bronze and Iron Ages, a method of burying the dead in a straightened form arose.
Then came cremation - the burning of a corpse on a funeral pyre. This ritual was also associated with the idea of the indestructibility of life force. What was new was the idea of the place of residence of invisible souls - the sky, where souls fell with the smoke of the funeral pyre. The ashes of the burned deceased were buried in the ground, placing them in urns or pots or simply in pits. Initially, a grave structure in the form of a residential building, a domovin, was built over each grave. It is from here that the custom originates (in particular among the Old Believers) of making a top similar to a grave cross over a grave cross. gable roof. (and in no way protecting the cross from rain or snow)
In the middle of the first millennium, the ritual of burial of funeral urns was replaced by burial in mounds - “graves”.
After the baptism of Rus' in the 10th century, Russians switched to burying the dead in the ground in coffins made of boards or hollowed out logs, which were also called domovin or domin.
Pagan customs were being eradicated slowly. Only from the 12th century did Christian symbols (crosses, icons) appear in Slavic village graves. The lighting of ritual bonfires in cemeteries, symbolizing the burning of a corpse, persisted in some places until the 19th century, and the insertion of objects into the coffin that would supposedly be useful to the deceased in the next world still happens.
Ideas about death.
Orthodox funerals do not bear the imprint of the tragedy of what happened. On the contrary, it is largely joy from the hope that the soul of the deceased godly man will go to heaven, appear before God and will pray there for those remaining on earth.In everyday life, death, the irretrievable loss of a loved one, is always and quite naturally a grief that requires expression in crying and lamentations. In the old days, to give funerals a solemn and sad character, there was even a profession of mourners.
The presence of close relatives at the patient’s bedside at the time of death was considered a duty of first necessity. By folk beliefs, at the last breath of a person - the release of the spirit - the soul parts with the body and a struggle for the soul occurs between evil spirits and an angel sent by God for the soul of the dying person. The suffering before death was explained not by the severity of the disease, but by the fact that in the last minutes the dying person is tormented by evil spirits (the devil, the devil), as if she did not give up her soul to the angel.
Trying to ease the soul’s path to God, they placed a candle in the hand of the dying person and burned incense around him.
Death was considered good on Easter, on the day Christ's resurrection, when, according to legend, the doors of heaven are open, by analogy with the royal doors in the temple. An easy death was regarded by the people as a reward for a pious life, a difficult death as the lot of sinners.
Preparations for the funeral.
In folk customs associated with funerals, three main stages can be distinguished.Pre-funeral ritual actions: preparing the body of the deceased for the funeral, washing, dressing, positioning in the coffin, night vigils at the coffin of the deceased.
Funeral rites: removal of the body, funeral service in the church, road to the cemetery, farewell to the deceased at the grave, burial of the coffin with the body in the grave, return of relatives and friends back to the house of the deceased.
Funeral service: after the funeral in the house of the deceased on the third, ninth, twentieth, fortieth days, six months, the anniversary after death, with ordering funeral services in the church, with meals and home prayers for the deceased.
Many pre-funeral activities have ancient ritual origins. Death was thought of as a road to afterlife, and washing, dressing the deceased and other actions to prepare him for the funeral are preparations for a long journey.
Ablution.
Ablution had not only a hygienic purpose, but was also considered as a cleansing rite. According to church teaching, the deceased must go to the Lord with a pure soul and a clean body. Ablution was performed by a special professional category of people - flushers.Flushes.
Washing machines, mytnitsa, wash basins - they are called differently everywhere.Old maids and old widowers who no longer “had sin,” that is, intimate relationships with people of the opposite sex, often became washers. The old age of the washers seemed to emphasize that the deceased, in the eyes of the living, becomes not only a representative of the “other world,” but now also an ancestor, a part of the past. The man was washed by the men, the woman by the women. Washing the dead has always been considered a godly act, promoting the forgiveness of sins.
The girls who were engaged in “gathering” the dead and reading the Psalter over them wore dark clothes. For their labor they received the deceased’s linen and personal items.
If there were no professional washers, the washing of the dead was carried out by people who were not related to the deceased. True, in some villages it was customary to wash the body of relatives of the same sex as the deceased.
According to church teaching, a mother was not supposed to wash her dead child, since she would definitely mourn him, and this was condemned as a departure from the belief in the immortality of the soul. According to Christian doctrine, a child will have a heavenly life, and therefore his death should not be mourned. People believed that a mother's tear “burns the child.”
In some villages, the deceased was undressed before washing, by tearing his clothes along the body, rather than removing them over the head. While washing, a prayer was read.
The ablution procedure was ritual in nature and magical in nature. It took place on the floor at the threshold of the hut. The deceased was laid on straw with his feet facing the stove.
They tried to wash it very quickly. Usually three people washed: “one washes, the other holds the dishes, the third supports the body.” Washing, in fact, was similar to wiping a dead person: with a rag, a towel, cotton wool, or simply back side hands moved over the deceased from top to bottom. They lubricated the eyes, nose, ears, mouth, chest, and also “in all the places where the joints were.” Washed two or three times warm water with soap from a clay, usually new, pot.
The attributes of ablution - pot, water, soap, comb - transferred the properties of the dead man, his deadening power. They tried to get rid of them as quickly as possible. The water with which the deceased was washed was called dead; it was poured into the corner of the yard, where there were no plants, where people did not walk, so that healthy person couldn't step on it. They did the same with the water they used to wash dishes after the funeral. Clay pots used for ablution were taken to a ravine, to the edge of a field, to a crossroads, where, as a rule, there was a cross, a pillar, or a chapel (they were broken there or simply left). The straw on which they washed it was burned or thrown in the forest under a Christmas tree when they were taken for burial. All this was done with the aim of preventing the return of the deceased. These places were considered scary by the people.
After performing the ritual, the washers had to wash in the bathhouse and change clothes.
The sorcerers skillfully used the objects of ablution: they used “dead” water to spoil the newlyweds. Carpenters hammered into door frame when building a house, a piece of shroud, when they wished trouble on an owner they did not like. The soap used to wash the deceased was used in home medicine for a different purpose - to suppress and moderate undesirable effects. Wives gave it, for example, to wash their evil husbands, so that their “anger would die away,” and girls washed their hands so that their skin would not sag.
There was a belief that if evil spirits managed to get close to the deceased, they would twist his arms and legs. Therefore, the Old Believers, for example, bandaged the joints of the dead with harsh threads, a cross was obtained, and the evil spirits retreated.
The deceased's hair was combed with a comb, and sometimes with a sliver from the coffin. Then they put them in a coffin.
Dressing.
In medieval Russia, people were buried, as a rule, in white. This was explained not only by the influence of Christianity, which associated this color with the spiritual, infantile purity of the Christian soul - the soul goes to God as it came to earth at birth. White the clothes of the deceased are the natural color of homespun canvas.At the beginning of the 17th century, the dead were buried in the clothes they wore: a caftan, trousers, boots, a hat and other dress. If a patient died, they took him out of bed, laid him on a bench, washed him thoroughly and put on him a clean shirt, linen trousers, and new red boots. They wrapped his body in a white cloth made in the form of a shirt with sleeves, folded his arms crosswise on his chest, sewed the cloth at the head of the bed, and also on his arms and legs. And they laid him in the coffin on a stretcher. If it was a rich man or nobleman, the stretcher was covered with velvet or expensive cloth. If this person is not wealthy or poor, the stretcher was covered with his own caftan made of canvas or other cheap material. So they carried him to the cemetery.
It was customary to bury women in headscarves: young people in light ones, older ones in dark ones. There was a custom to dress a girl who died in the prime of her youth in a wedding dress. At the funeral of the deceased girl they even imitated wedding ceremony, sang wedding and wedding songs. Both the girl and the guy ring finger a wedding ring was put on the right hand, while a married man and a married woman were not given a ring.
The method of making funeral clothing emphasized its intended use for the underworld. It was as if the clothes were not real, but only a replacement, not sewn, but only basted. It was necessarily sewn by hand, and not on a machine, the thread was secured, the needle was held forward; otherwise the deceased will again come for someone to his family. The shoes of the deceased were also imitated: in leather shoes, as a rule, they did not bury it, but replaced it with cloth. When boots were put on, the iron nails were pulled out of them. Onuchi, worn with bast shoes, were tied on the legs so that the cross formed by the laces was in front, and not behind, as with the living. In this way, the direction of movement of the deceased was given, as it were, so that he could not return back to the house.
Once upon a time, the bed of the deceased and the clothes in which he died were placed under a chicken roost and kept there for six weeks (while the soul of the deceased was believed to be at home and in need of clothing).
Nowadays, things belonging to the deceased are usually burned or buried. And they try to bury them in new clothes that have not yet been worn, so that the soul appears pure in the next world. Many older people prepare their “death outfit” in advance. Although, it happens that people are buried in their old clothes - men are usually in a dark suit, shirt and tie, women - in a dress or skirt with a jacket, usually in light colors. Special slippers are usually used as footwear (they, like a blanket imitating a shroud, are included in the funeral accessories set of funeral bureaus).
Position in the coffin.
In the old days, a washed and dressed deceased lay on a bench under the icons for one or two days. The body was placed in a coffin only before being taken out of the house. At this time, distant relatives, acquaintances, and neighbors came to say goodbye to him. Old women-readers were invited to read the psalter, who, in addition to psalms, sang spiritual poems.The deceased, like the dying, should under no circumstances be left alone. It was believed that it was necessary to protect him from evil spirits, “from demons.”
Coffin. When making a coffin, it was necessary to put the resulting shavings into it. The wood chips were then taken further outside the village and thrown away, rather than burned, so that the deceased would not feel hot in the next world. They preferred to make a coffin from cedar or pine, but not from aspen. In areas rich in forests, they tried to make coffins hollowed out from a tree trunk.
The coffin was accordingly regarded as the last home of the deceased. Sometimes they even made glass windows in the coffin.
Before laying the deceased, the coffin was necessarily fumigated with incense smoke from a censer. The inside of the coffins was covered with something soft: soft upholstery, covered with white material, pillow, bedspread. The bottom of the coffin was also covered with leaves of a birch broom, and “clean” ones, i.e. not done on Sunday. The same leaves were used to stuff a pillow under the head. Some older women collect their own hair during their lifetime to stuff their pillows with.
Position. Previously, magical precautions were taken when placing the deceased in the coffin. The body was not taken bare hands, and put on mittens. The hut was constantly fumigated with incense; dirty linen was not taken out of the hut, but was swept under the coffin, directed towards the deceased. While the coffin was being prepared, the washed deceased was placed on a bench covered with straw in the front corner of the hut so that his face was turned to the icons. Silence and restraint were observed in the hut.
According to the rules of Orthodox burial, it is necessary to place in the coffin of a layman, in addition to a cross on his body, an icon, a crown on his forehead and a “handwriting” - a written or printed prayer for forgiveness of sins, which is placed in right hand deceased. The deceased is then covered with a white blanket. The coffin is unrolled in the direction of the sun and placed again so that the deceased faces the icons with his feet. Candles are placed on the coffin.
There is a custom of putting things in the coffin that could supposedly be useful to the deceased in the next world. In ancient times, sometimes several small coins were placed in the dead man’s mouth, as if for expenses on a long journey to the next world, and the caftan of the deceased was hung from the coffin.
As a sign of mourning, mirrors in the house are curtained and the clocks are stopped; The TV is taken out of the room where the coffin with the body of the deceased stands.
15-20 minutes before the removal of the coffin, only relatives and friends remain in the room to say goodbye to the deceased.
Seeing off the deceased.
Home farewell. Although now in the city most often they try to transport the deceased to the morgue on the day of death, in Orthodox families in small towns and villages where there are no morgues, the tradition of night vigil near the deceased is preserved.If a priest is not invited, the psalter or other holy books are read by lay believers. But often the gatherings of old women at the coffin take place in the most ordinary memories or conversations.
Immediately after death, they try to place a glass of water covered with a piece of bread on the shelf next to the icons or on the window. At a funeral dinner, a glass of vodka covered with a piece of bread is left in a similar way, and sometimes this symbolic device is placed at the symbolic place of the deceased at the table. The most typical explanation for this is “the soul stays at home for up to six weeks.”
Candles are lit at the head of the deceased, they are attached to the corners of the coffin, placed in a glass on the table, and lamps are placed in front of the icons.
Previously in winter time they were in no hurry to bury them and placed the dead in the church, where the clergy served daily liturgy and requiem services, and only on the eighth day did they bury the body.
Carrying out the body. There is an opinion that it is impossible to take the deceased out of the house before 12 o'clock or after sunset. There is a custom to carry the body out of the house feet first, trying not to touch the threshold and door frames, in order to prevent the deceased from returning in his wake.
They tried to immediately take a place after the deceased - on the table or chairs on which the coffin stood in the house, after removing the deceased, sit down, and then turn this furniture upside down for a while.
There was also such a custom: one of the relatives walked around the coffin three times with a stopper in his hands, holding it with the blade forward, and during the last walk around, hit the coffin with the butt. Sometimes, when carrying out a dead body, an ax was placed on the threshold.
Axe.
Since ancient times, the ax - the weapon of the Thunderer - has been attributed miraculous power. An ax was used to hit the bench on which someone had died: it was believed that by doing so death would be “cut down” and expelled. The ax was thrown crosswise over the cattle so that they would not get sick and would reproduce well. With an ax they drew a solar cross over the patient, calling on two brother gods for help at once. And symbolic images of the sun and thunder were often engraved on the blades of axes. Such an ax, planted in a double jamb, was an insurmountable obstacle to evil spirits seeking to penetrate human habitation.Many peoples, including the Slavs, tried to carry out the deceased not through front door, serving the living, but through a window or a specially made hole to deceive the dead person, in order to “confuse his trail.”
In the old days, as soon as the deceased was taken out of the house, they tried to wash the entire hut with water alone: walls, benches, even all the dishes. Now only the floor is washed.
When carrying the body of the deceased out of the house, it was customary to cry loudly. Not only close relatives of the deceased, but also neighbors lamented over the coffin. If relatives did not cry, neighbors questioned the family's sense of affection for the deceased.
Even the ancient Russian church imposed a ban on popular cries and cries. Funeral laments were regarded as a manifestation of pagan ideas about the fate of the soul beyond the grave, and the lack of Christian faith among the people in the immortality of the soul. Mothers were not supposed to cry for their dead children. However, the church ban in everyday life was not followed. Peter I even issued a special decree prohibiting crying at funerals, which also had no effect.
Funeral procession. The funeral procession was led by a person carrying a crucifix or an icon framed by a towel. If a man was dying, a man walked with the icon in front of the funeral procession; if a woman, then the icon was carried by a woman. Before the procession, spruce or fir branches were scattered, and in the summer, flowers.
Then followed one or two people with a coffin lid on their heads, followed by the clergy. Two or three pairs of men carried the coffin, followed by close relatives. Neighbors, acquaintances, and curious people brought up the rear of the funeral procession.
In Russian villages back in the last century, for superstitious reasons, they tried to carry the coffin in mittens, on towels, poles, and stretchers.
In some places they tried to deliver the dead person to the burial site on a sleigh, even in the summer.
Sitting on a sleigh.
This is where the expression “sitting on a sleigh” comes from, which means “at the end of life.” Vladimir Monomakh began his famous “Teaching” this way: “Sitting on a sleigh, I thought in my soul and gave praise to God, who saved me until these days, a sinner. My children or anyone else, listening to this letter, do not laugh, but to whom She will be my favorite among my children, let her take her into her heart and not be lazy, but work..." An overturned sleigh often served as a grave monument. But sometimes the sleigh was burned or left with its runners up until the fortieth day.When the deceased was taken out of the house, a ritual of “first meeting” was performed - the person who first met the funeral procession on the way was given a piece of bread wrapped in a towel. The gift served as a reminder that the first person he met should pray for the deceased, and the deceased, in turn, should be the first to meet in the next world the person who accepted the bread.
Along the road to the temple and from the temple to the cemetery, grain was scattered to feed the birds.
The funeral procession, according to church regulations, was supposed to stop only at the church and near the cemetery. But, as a rule, she stopped in the most memorable places in the village for the deceased, near the house of a deceased neighbor, at crossroads, at crosses, which in some areas were called the deceased’s crosses. Here some of the mourners left the procession, followed mainly by relatives.
At modern funerals, children (sons) are usually not allowed to carry the coffin with the body of their parents and bury the grave.
The composition of a modern funeral procession is usually as follows: first they carry wreaths, then the coffin lid with the narrow part forward, and the coffin with the deceased. The first to follow the coffin are relatives and friends, then all the mourners.
Publications in the Traditions section
Funeral rites in Rus'
In Rus', a person’s farewell to another world was revered no less than his birth. We will tell you about the most unusual funeral rites that scientists learned about from ethnographic expeditions. Some of these rituals are still observed today.
Potassium permanganate, eggs and “magic” soap
Leonid Solomatkin. After the funeral. 1869
In the village of Srednyaya Sukhona, Vologda Region, the custom of preparing for death was popular. The old people prepared their death clothes in advance, expressed wishes about where and how to bury them, and how to commemorate them.
To better preserve the body of the deceased, a basin with cold water, in which manganese was dissolved. Placed near the deceased's ears raw eggs, which were thrown into the grave pit during burial.
There was a belief here that soap, after washing the deceased, acquires magical properties. It was stored and used in the future against diseases in humans and animals. If the hands got sick, they washed their hands and said: “The man left, nothing hurts him, and nothing hurts me.”.
Spending the night over a dead person, “purchasing” a new place of residence
Vasily Perov. Seeing off the deceased. 1865
In the village of Cheryomukha, Bryansk region, it was customary to sit/spend the night over a dead person at night - to go to havturas. The sittings were usually attended by older women, many of whom knew the church prayers. They came here without an invitation. At six in the morning the deceased’s face was uncovered and washed with holy water, the women went out into the street and wailed.
At the cemetery, coins were thrown into the grave, which was always dug by strangers, before lowering the coffin - they “bought off” the place. A memorial meal was also held here, with a small towel - a bed - and a tablecloth laid on the grave, which were then taken home. Until the 40th day after death, the tablecloth could not be washed, and after 40 days the bed was given to the church.
“Bad” water, nettles and metal objects
Marc Chagall. Dead man. 1908
In the village of Novosoldatka, Voronezh region, the deceased was washed and dressed two hours after death. Both relatives and strangers could wash the deceased; there was a ban only on children washing their mother. It was believed that this water acquired special properties; touching it could have a negative effect on a person, so it was poured into places where people could not step on it, for example, under a fence.
The deceased person was placed on a bench and his hands and feet were tied. They were untied only in the cemetery, before lowering the coffin into the grave. Magical actions were performed on the deceased in order to preserve the body longer. For example, under the bench on which the deceased lay, they always placed some metal object (most often an ax or a lock), and covered the deceased with nettles.
At night, while the deceased was in the house, it was not allowed to sleep. At midnight, a funeral meal was held, at the end of which the face of the deceased was covered. According to traditional beliefs, this is due to the fact that “if he is not covered, he will not sleep, but will disturb the living.”
Length of legs, burnt straw and lamentations
Vasily Perov. Return of peasants from funerals in winter. 1880s
In Osinovitsa, in the Smolensk region, they compared the length of the deceased’s legs: if he has longer left leg- the next one in the village will die is a woman, and if the right one - a man.
A pillow was placed under the head of the deceased, which was stuffed with dry leaves from birch brooms. They laid the deceased on a bench on straw covered with white linen. After the funeral, this straw was taken to the field and burned, watching where will he go smoke: “If it goes to the house, then it’s good, but if it goes to the fields, then they say that everything will be pulled along with it, the house will be bad, empty.”
After the deceased was washed and laid on a bench, they began to lament and wail. But certain prohibitions were imposed on the performance of lamentations. It was forbidden to shout in the dark and especially at night. Pregnant women were not supposed to vocalize, “otherwise the child would be restless.”
“Orders” and white scarves
Alexey Korzukhin. Funeral service at the cemetery. 1865
One of the local ethnographic groups of the Russian population, which attracted the attention of researchers back in the 19th century, is the Goryuns. They lived in the western part of the Kursk Posemye, in the Putivl (and earlier in the Belopol) districts of the Sumy region of Ukraine. This territory was part of the Kursk province until 1925.
The most specific features of the funeral tradition of the Goryuns include the custom of burying the dead in gardens, within the area of residence.
In addition, all the women of the village participate in mourning the deceased. Loud funeral lamentations notified all residents of the death of a fellow villager. The washed and dressed deceased was placed on a bench, men - to the front wall of the house, and women - to the right side, facing the yard. They started wailing - or, as they said here, ordering - from the threshold when they came into the house to say goodbye to the deceased. IN warm time years, residents, according to an ancient custom, came to the funeral in white scarves.
“Readers” and spiritual poems
Karl Friedman. Funeral. 1966
The main musical and folklore genre of modern funeral and memorial rites in the village of Epikhino, Shatura district, are spiritual poems. They are sung alternately with the reading of the Psalter before the funeral ( “They didn’t leave the funeral home, they read all this”), on “devyatinki” (ninth day), “fortieth day”, “six months” and on “godina” (year) from the day of death.
The guardians of spiritual verses are older women (over 60 years old). In everyday life they are called “readers”, “readers” or “spiritual” ( “When the spiritual gather, they don’t discuss what’s going on in the world, but sing everything about God”, and the poems themselves - “divine songs”, sometimes - “poems”.
If you see a burning candle in a dream, you will soon meet old friends. This dream can also foreshadow new opportunities and new meetings.
Several candles burning with a bright, clean flame portend happiness and mutual understanding.
A candle blown out by a gust of wind symbolizes the appearance of ridiculous rumors around your name.
If you blow out a candle in a dream, get ready for unpleasant events.
Light a candle in a dream - you will get the pleasure you have dreamed of for so long. True, for this you will have to make some effort.
A candlelit dinner is a hint that you need to be a little more liberated sexually. It's good if your partner is attentive enough and understands you.
A flickering candle flame means that excessive irritability and intolerance can ruin your relationship.
If in a dream you lit a candle in church for someone’s health, then you are in vain counting on the support of your friends. And the point here is not at all that all your loved ones are traitors and selfish: it’s just that each of them has their own concerns.
According to Nostradamus, a candle is a symbol of faith, comfort, romance, feelings, and asceticism. He interpreted dreams about a candle as follows.
The light of a candle in a night window - in your declining years you will be no less loved and long-awaited than in your youth.
Selected wax candles, scattered along the road - trouble can happen.
If you see a glow reminiscent of candlelight, be prepared to take any surprise for granted.
Having acquired new knowledge, use it to help those who need it.
A procession walking with candles is a harbinger that misfortune will happen in the spring.
We walked along the street illuminated by candles - your love is yet to come.
If you received as a gift a candlestick with countless candles burning on it, your spiritual teacher will not leave you at a difficult moment and will help you concentrate not only your own energy, but also that of heaven.
If you dreamed of a gust of wind blowing out all the candles, some evil will interfere with the implementation of your plans.
Unsuccessful attempts to light a candle are a sign of danger that will haunt you at every step and take you by surprise at the wrong moment.
And the Bulgarian soothsayer Vanga interpreted dreams about a candle as follows.
Seeing a burning candle in a dream is a good sign. Such a dream foreshadows the long-awaited peace and quiet in the family.
If you saw the light of a candle in a night window in a dream, you are under the protection of higher powers that will help you cope with any, even the most difficult, tasks. IN real life this patronage is expressed in the face of a very influential person, which tirelessly monitors all your actions and actions, although it is quite possible that you are not even aware of its existence.
If in a dream you, despite all your attempts, cannot light a candle, then, unfortunately, in real life you are destined to cause the death of a person. Sometimes such a dream suggests that you will not prevent the commission of a terrible crime in which a person will die.
Putting out a candle in a dream is a prophecy of bad news. You will receive news of the death of a person close to you and will very much regret that you did not spend time with him. last hours life.
If you dreamed that a candle went out before your eyes, then an imminent illness awaits you. It may be a serious illness that you can still prevent now.
Seeing a lot of scattered candles in a dream is a terrible prophecy.
If in a dream you saw a lot of people walking with candles, then soon you will be overcome by old problems that you put aside, thinking that they would never remind you of themselves. Such a dream suggests that the work started must always be completed.
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"Death should not be feared, for it is immortality."
Venerable Anthony the Great
Russian funeral rites (or funerals) are based on pagan Slavic ideas and, of course, on Orthodox traditions. Orthodox Christians have certain rules for conducting funerals and subsequent commemorations.
Funeral procedure for Orthodox Christians.
1
The coffin with the body of the deceased should stand on a table (or stools) covered with some kind of cloth. The narrow part of the coffin (where the legs of the deceased are located) must necessarily face the exit from the room (or house). The coffin lid must be vertical with its narrow part on the floor. It is not recommended to place it in a flight of stairs. For this purpose there is an entrance hall or corridor.
2
In the house with the deceased there must be his portrait in a mourning frame, wreaths, as well as any of his awards (if any). Mirrors and paintings should be covered with fabrics. This is required by Orthodox burial custom. If possible, everyone present at the funeral (and, of course, at the funeral itself) should wear only dark and black colors.
3
The coffin with the body is taken out of the house with the narrow end first. Relatives are strictly prohibited from carrying the coffin and lid. This is done either by funeral organizers, or just friends and acquaintances. The coffin is carried either to the funeral service in the church, or directly to burial in the cemetery. Everything depends on the last will of the deceased and the wishes of his relatives.
4
At the cemetery, relatives, friends and relatives of the deceased say goodbye to him. Someone makes a funeral speech, someone stands silently and listens. After saying goodbye, the face of the deceased is covered. This is done with the help of a shroud. The coffin is then closed with a lid. By the way, if the deceased was buried in a church, then the earth consecrated in the temple is sprinkled on the shroud in a cross shape. Cemetery workers carry the coffin to the dug grave and then lower it into it.
5
After this, a handful of earth is thrown onto the coffin, which is lowered into the grave. The first to do this are the relatives and friends of the deceased, then all the other people who came to see the deceased off on his last journey. The grave is then covered with earth, and the original wooden structure is installed. orthodox cross with the registration details of the person buried underneath. Participants in the funeral ceremony lay flowers and wreaths. All. The funeral ceremony is over.
6
The procedure for holding funerals among Orthodox Christians. A wake is a ritual that is performed in memory of a recently deceased person. The essence of the wake is a collective meal (or funeral dinner) organized by his relatives. The funeral can take place either in the house where the deceased recently lived, or in a cemetery in a specially designated place. Orthodox commemorations are held on the day of burial and on subsequent specific dates of commemoration.
7
Orthodox Christians hold funeral dinners three times. The first commemoration takes place immediately after the burial, the second - on the ninth day after death, and the third - on the fortieth day (that is, on the 40th day). Sometimes wakes are held six months later. The further period of this ritual is once a year (on the day of death). Often a deceased person is remembered on his birthday.
8
While eating the funeral meal, Orthodox Christians pray for the repose of the soul of the deceased. Any action performed during a wake has a sacred basis. That is why the menu for the funeral meal is determined in advance. The food on the table is simple. No fancy food. The tablecloth on the table should be plain, not colored. They may be invited specifically to funeral dinners, or they may wait for anyone who wants to remember the deceased. In any case, you shouldn't stay there for long.
Before death and during its coming...
If a person knows that he will soon “pass away” or the person is dying from a serious illness, he needs to confess and take communion.
If a person cannot do this himself and is lying on his deathbed, it is necessary to invite a priest who can conduct confession and unction; I pour the remaining oil from the unction onto the body into the coffin before nailing the lid (this should not be stored at home, nor should it be thrown away).
When a person’s soul departs at this moment, loved ones must read, in the absence of a priest, the Canon for the Exodus of the Soul (or, in other words, the “Departure Prayer”, it must be written by the hand of the deceased)
If a person suffers long and hard and cannot die, then relatives can read another canon - “The rite performed for the separation of the soul from the body, never a person suffers for a long time.” (with the blessing of the priest).
At the moment of separation of the soul from the body, it is necessary to read the Canon of Prayer to the Mother of God. When reading the Canon, a dying Christian holds a lighted candle or a holy cross in his hand. If he lacks the strength to overshadow himself sign of the cross, this is done by someone close to him, leaning towards the dying person and clearly saying:
“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me. In Your hands, Lord Jesus, I commend my spirit; Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
You can sprinkle holy water on a dying person with the words:
“Grace of the Holy Spirit, who sanctified this water, deliver your soul from all evil.”
According to church custom, the dying person asks for forgiveness from those present and forgives them himself.
As soon as a person has died, relatives and friends must order the magpie in the church, that is, daily commemoration during the Divine Liturgy.
Farewell prayer for death
“The Lord Jesus Christ our God, who gave the divine commandments to the saints as his disciple and apostle, to bind and solve the sins of the fallen, and from them we also accept the guilt of creating: may He forgive you, spiritual child, if you have done anything in this present world, voluntary or involuntary, now and ever, forever and ever, Amen."
Washing the deceased.
Before death, the “mortal” must be prepared.
For women: according to general civil funeral customs:
Underwear;
stockings (or tights);
long sleeve dress (or robe);
head scarf (not black);
shoes (or slippers);
For men:
Underwear;
socks;
razor;
T-shirt, white shirt;
black/gray pantsuit
shoes/slippers
toilet water, soap, comb, towel.
You cannot dress a deceased person in the clothes of another, living person. Thus, the owner of the clothing will receive serious damage. Do not listen to those who will assure you that there is nothing wrong with this. People whose suit or dress was put on the deceased will then get sick, waste away and visit healers. If there are no suitable clothes, you need to buy new ones or, as a last resort, take the clothes of a deceased person.
If a person died in the city, he (after certification of death by a doctor) is taken to the morgue, where all necessary preparations for burial.
In villages and towns (especially in the case of the death of older people), preparations for burial, namely ablution and dressing, are still done at home. To do this, it is customary to invite 3 elderly women/or old maids (the point is that the washers should not have relationships with men) - or one washer.
In the past, the ritual of ablution was of a magical, ritual nature - to prepare the deceased for the transition to another world - Nav. Old women who were knowledgeable in this were usually invited to perform ablution. If such a need arises in our time, it is better to call this person on the recommendation of someone you know and pay him for this work. The point is that the water and soap remaining after washing the body must be properly disposed of.
The body of the deceased is washed immediately after death. Washing occurs as a sign of the spiritual purity and integrity of the life of the deceased, as well as so that he appears in purity before the face of God after the resurrection. Ablution should cover all parts of the body.
To make it more convenient to wash the deceased, an oilcloth is laid on the floor or bench and covered with a sheet. The body of a deceased person is placed on top. They take one basin with clean water, and the other - with soapy, warm (not hot!). Using a sponge dipped in soapy water, wash the entire body, starting from the face and ending with the feet, then wash with clean water and dry with a towel. All parts of the deceased’s body are washed with cross-shaped movements while the “Trisagion” is read.
However, you should not spill such water on the floor. Usually water and soap are poured into a specially prepared hole and buried far from home. Clothes and sheets (during ablution), the bedding on which the person died, as well as the towel with which the deceased was wiped, are burned - do not get exposed to smoke, far from the house and buried in earth!
The comb used to comb the hair under the pillow in the coffin.
Pregnant women should not wash the deceased in order to avoid illness of the unborn child, as well as women who are menstruating.
Until the deceased is carried out, household members are not allowed to see their reflection.
For some time after the death of a loved one, you should avoid saying his name out loud.
Relatives should not carry the deceased. At the funeral of loved ones, you need to be especially careful and attentive, as at this time they try to cause damage. They often throw earth by the collar, or they may ask the child to jump over a dug grave. After this, the person begins to have convulsions, his blood pressure rises sharply and he may die. You should especially be wary of strangers wearing clothes inside out.
Before lowering the coffin into the grave, you need to throw a coin there (the ransom from the coffin) - this is the first thing that close blood relatives do, and then the earth is thrown.
If there is a deceased person in the apartment, before the funeral you should not use sharp metal objects (knives, needles, nails, blades, axes, etc.) and keep them in the open.
While the deceased is in the house, a cup (new white saucer) of water should be placed on the windowsill (to “wash the soul”). After removing the body, the bowl (glass) must be taken out of the house, the water should be poured out, and the glass should be thrown into the river.
If a dead person is in the house, you cannot clean up and take out the trash, otherwise the rest may die.
When nailing down the lid of a coffin, care must be taken to ensure that the shadow of a living person does not “get into the coffin.” Likewise, care must be taken to ensure that the shadows of those present do not fall into the grave before lowering the coffin.
During a funeral, you need to make sure that there are no knots or rings on the deceased; buttons should be undone.
Don't forget to untie the deceased, otherwise someone else will die soon! If, by chance, the deceased was not untied, his relatives need to put scissors in someone’s coffin as quickly as possible.
Until the 9th day it is necessary to wash and iron all his things, carefully fold them - as if to prepare everything. None of the deceased’s belongings are given away until the 40th day, no rearrangements are made in the house, etc.
It is necessary that relatives in the house are not left alone overnight for 9 days. We need friends and relatives to live through this time. Thus, the soul, staying at home for 9 days, calmed down that his loved ones were not abandoned and he had someone to leave them with.
The things in which the deceased is buried must be new; if this is not possible, then clean, freshly washed, without traces of blood and dirt, carefully ironed. They are buried in clothes appropriate to the season. That is, in winter they don’t bury just one shirt! Shoes - very important point. You need to buy soft, comfortable and, if possible, beautiful slippers. necessarily with a backdrop (not flip-flops).
If a very young, fashionable person dies, they are buried in comfortable soft shoes, women - always in soft shoes without heels, but then - these slippers are still put in the coffin! The coffin must be tight by all standards.
By the way, many, when buying a place in a cemetery, try to grab a larger plot - this cannot be done. The area should be small, cramped - only the most necessary things.
If the deceased is baptized, it is necessary to perform a funeral service for him in the church. It is better to buy new icons, which are placed on the chest during the funeral service.
Until 40 days, nothing is given away from the house of the deceased - no chairs, no dishes, or anything else. They don't even lend money.
Even if the deceased was in the morgue, he is brought to the house before the funeral service and stays there for some time.
As soon as the car with the coffin drives away, the floor in the house must be thoroughly washed. This cannot be done to blood relatives!
If you go to a funeral, take everything you bought for this occasion out of the house. Let’s say you bought flowers - everything needs to be taken away (if a part is broken, damaged, etc., you can’t leave it - everything needs to be taken out.
Also, on the way, you cannot enter anyone’s house, much less ask for something from that house (water for flowers, etc.). If they come to you with such a request, always refuse.
Everyone probably knows that they don’t go ahead of the coffins and even overtake funeral cars...
Flowers scattered on the path of a deceased person are not picked up or stored.
People ALWAYS enter the cemetery only through the gate, and the body is taken through the gate. You can go back through the gate. They also don’t go ahead of the dead man.
And during the funeral service, relatives need to carefully watch next to the coffin. But there is a lot going on at a funeral. Make sure that nothing is placed in the coffin and that nothing is taken from the coffin. When leaving the funeral service, you must say goodbye to the deceased.
Touch his legs and arms. If something turns you off, don't kiss him on the crown. Hypocrisy is unacceptable here. Having said goodbye, they move away from the coffin and leave the church without turning around. If you have suspicions or fears, when you come up to say goodbye, you need to hold on to your shoes and say to yourself - goodbye! We will come to you, but you don’t come to us!
By the way, if the deceased had poor vision in life, they give him glasses, if he was limping - a cane, etc.
If the deceased was married, they are not buried in a wedding ring. And it is better to bury without jewelry.
Witches always save the soap that was used to wash the deceased and the candle stub from the funeral service.
It is better to nail the coffin in a church, sprinkled with consecrated earth.
Before lowering the coffin, it is better for relatives to silently ask for forgiveness from the “neighbors” for disturbing the earth and their peace!
DO NOT wear uncomfortable shoes to a funeral. If you stumble and fall at a funeral, there will be no rust for YOU...
Living flowers are removed from the coffin before being nailed up.
Icons are not buried; they must be removed from the coffin before the lid is sealed; they are taken to the temple and left there
You can't have fun in a cemetery, laughing is very bad omen. This is one reason not to take children with you!
Pregnant women are also not allowed to visit the cemetery - only before the funeral service.
When burying a dead person, one does not drink in the cemetery.
After the funeral itself, you should definitely go in and remember the deceased.
The following must be present at the wake: kutia (rice with raisins) - it is mandatory to eat it. You need to put in a little, because you can’t leave half eaten.
Compote or jelly (better), bread, something fishy, hot - soup. It's good when pancakes are baked.
Memorials are not held in restaurants and pompously (no matter what the status of the deceased). Traditionally, people get drunk now. You can't do this! This is an insult to the dead. Moreover, there is a sign - whoever gets drunk at a wake will have incurable alcoholics in their family! It is also a bad omen if a wake turns into fun and a farce. Relatives must keep an eye on everything.
Scarves are distributed to everyone present; extra ones can be distributed in the courtyard to everyone.
At funerals, a glass of water and bread are always provided. Nowadays they often pour vodka, but this is wrong. After the funeral at home, they also pour a glass of water (buy a new one), cover it with bread and pour a little salt into a small dish. All this costs 40 days. We need to clean it all up so that no one spills or spills it, otherwise there will be trouble. So be careful with children. Witches then store salt and bread for many purposes. If they ask you, don’t give it away, this is a powerful tool, it’s very easy to bake this bread into the next world.
They are also commemorated on days 9 and 40.
After the funeral, the next day they gather early at the fresh grave. It is believed that the deceased is waiting for everyone.
Drinking in a cemetery in general (alcoholic drinks) is very bad, try to convince everyone to drink jelly and compote. It’s good to burn candles on the grave and leave food for people and animals.
Every time they leave the cemetery, they don’t look back. You can say to yourself - We will come to you, but you don’t come to us!
Take into account the wishes - many elderly people prepare their lives in advance - it is better to fulfill their will.
About monuments. Nowadays it is fashionable to install large, heavy monuments - this is also undesirable. Many dead people may then complain in their sleep that it is very difficult to lie down - the monument is pressing, suffocating. That is, it is better not to overdo it.
After the 40th day, at least some of the deceased’s belongings are given to friends and acquaintances as souvenirs. It is not advisable to sell these things.
It is good to order a commemoration for several years at once in different churches.
Also, you can’t visit a young grave very often.
It is very good to remember with alms - change and food. If the deceased is not buried, then this is the only way to remember him.
The widow must burn her mourning scarf on the 40th day if she does not expect to be left alone in the future. People often ask for this scarf - it has power.
The soap used to wash the dead is necessary for any witch. Sometimes it is used in the simplest matters.
Dressing the deceased and laying him in the coffin.
The bed on which a person died does not need to be thrown away, as many do. Just take her out to the chicken coop, let her lie there for three nights, so that, as the legend goes, the rooster crows her three times/or put her outside in the open sky for 3 days.
Immediately after death, it is customary to cover all mirrors in the house for 40 days. It’s better to also cover all highly reflective surfaces, such as sideboard doors. Curtaining mirrors is explained by the need to free the soul, or, if you like, the energy essence of a person from his physical body with minimal losses and psychological trauma, so that he does not get lost in the looking glass. Under no circumstances should mirrors be taken out of the room. If someone offers to temporarily keep a mirror from the house where a person died, you don’t have to agree. Such a mirror is used to cause damage.
When a person has died and measurements are taken from him to make a coffin, under no circumstances should this measurement be placed on the bed. It is best to take it out of the house and put it in a coffin during the funeral.
Relatives and friends should not make a coffin. It is customary to bury shavings from coffins, but DO NOT BURN them.
Not often, but it still happens that a person prepares his own coffin in advance. It is usually stored in the attic. In this case, pay attention to the following: the coffin is empty, and since it is made to a person’s standards, he begins to “pull” it into himself. And a person, as a rule, dies faster. Previously, to prevent this from happening, in empty coffin sawdust, shavings, and grain were poured. After the death of a person, sawdust, shavings and grain were also buried in the hole. After all, if you feed a bird with such grain, it will get sick
Before placing the body in the coffin, the coffin is sprinkled with holy water OUTSIDE and INSIDE, and fumigated with incense - reading the Trisagion.
Immediately after washing and vesting the deceased, the priest (or one of the relatives) reads a canon called “Sequence on the departure of the soul from the body” from the prayer book. If a person died not at home, then the canon must still be read on the day of death. “Following” is read on behalf of the deceased with the purpose that God’s mercy, through our prayer for the deceased, will ease his soul the bitterness of separation from parting with the body. It ends with the prayer “Remember, O Lord our God, in faith and hope the eternal life has passed away...”, which can be read separately from the canon.
The coffin should not be larger than the dead person - otherwise there will be another dead person in the family / it should not be smaller either (it will “reduce”). If there is too much in the coffin free space, it must be filled out so as not to provoke another death in the family. To do this, personal belongings (clothing) of the deceased, his pillow, blanket, sheets, etc. are placed in the coffin.
When the deceased is dressed; the dead man's jaw is tied up, the women's head is covered with a scarf so that it covers their hair, the scarf is not tied in a knot, but the ends are folded crosswise.
A pillow, usually made of cotton wool, is placed under the feet and head of the deceased.
Hands and feet are tied, these ties are removed when saying goodbye and placed in a coffin with the deceased (or given to a good witch... at her request)
To prevent a heavy smell from coming from the deceased, you can put a bunch of dry sage at his head, popularly called “cornflowers”. It also serves another purpose - it drives away evil spirits. Or they put it - consecrated in willow-willow branches or a birch tree consecrated for the Trinity.
If the deceased is a Christian, they put on an aluminum cross on a string, or an attached cross - with which he was baptized during baptism, but on a string - a chain cannot be used.
I read that there should not be silver on the deceased, but I think that they should be buried in the cross that the person wore during life. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
It happens that the church is located far from the home of the deceased, then a funeral service is held for him in absentia. After the funeral service, the relatives are given a chaplet, a prayer of permission and land from the funeral table.
At home, relatives place a prayer of permission in the right hand of the deceased, a paper whisk on the forehead, and after saying goodbye to him, in the cemetery, his body, covered with a sheet from head to toe, as in a church, is sprinkled with earth in a cross shape (from head to feet, from the right shoulder to the left - to form a correctly shaped cross).
Hands are folded so that the right one is on top. IN left hand the deceased is enclosed with an icon or cross; for men - the image of the savior, for women - the image of the Mother of God. Or you can do this: in the left hand - a cross, and on the chest of the deceased - a Holy image.
The body of the deceased, when placed in the coffin, is covered with a special white cover (shroud) - as a sign that the deceased, who belonged to Orthodox Church and united with Christ in her holy Sacraments, is under the protection of Christ, under the protection of the Church - she will pray for his soul until the end of time. This cover is decorated with inscriptions with texts of prayers and excerpts from the Holy Scriptures, an image of the banner of the cross and Angels.
DO NOT BURY WITH A WATCH ON YOUR HANDS!!! (well, only if the deceased died while wearing a watch, through these hours you can cause a quick death to the living...)
The wedding ring should also be removed if the spouse of the deceased is alive. Abandonment wedding ring on the deceased while the spouse is alive will lead to damage to the latter. Do not listen to advice that a ring supposedly left on the finger of the deceased will make the loss less bitter for the survivors. This is not true.
Only personal belongings of the deceased can be placed in the coffin - glasses, for example, or a smoking pipe or cigarette holder. Any items related to living relatives should absolutely not be placed in the coffin. There were wild cases when photographs of grandchildren, children's drawings and toys were placed in the grandfather's coffin. And one case is completely out of the ordinary - a grandson’s baby pacifier was placed in a grandmother’s coffin. As a result, the child never spoke properly, and until the age of five he only mumbled. And doctors for years could not understand what was wrong.
A candle is placed on four sides of the coffin - in the head, legs, and on the sides - so that they form a CROSS. The coffin is placed in the middle of the room in front of the icons, turning the face of the deceased with his head towards the icons. Feet to the exit.
Every person on this earth has two of the most important events life is birth and death b.
Between these two events lies life.
For one person it is long, for another it is short, but in their lives people, as a rule, drive away the thought of death. But here he comes death, and with it - the inevitable bitter worries about the burial of a person dear to you.
The hours of preparation for a funeral become even more burdensome if this process is accompanied by many " important advice"about the obligatory "traditions" of funerals. Such recommendations are often literally imposed on relatives, making the funeral an unbearable and frightening event. In fact, most of them are superstitions and prejudices accumulated by humanity over the centuries and have nothing to do with reality.
Here are just a few of these superstitions. However,Every person is free to decide for himself what to follow and what not to follow.
Not often, but it happens that a person thinks about his future death and prepares his coffin in advance. Such a product is usually stored in attics. But here there is a small but very significant “but”: the coffin is empty, and since it is made according to a person’s standards, he begins to “pull” it into himself. And a person, as a rule, dies faster. Previously, to prevent this from happening, sawdust, shavings, and grain were poured into an empty coffin. After the death of a person, sawdust, shavings, and grain were also buried in the hole. After all, if you feed a bird with such grain, it will become sick.
When a person has died and measurements are taken from him to make a coffin, under no circumstances should the measurement be placed on the bed. It is best to take it out of the house and put it in a coffin during the funeral.
Be sure to remove all silver objects from the deceased: after all, this is precisely the metal that is used to fight “the unclean.” Therefore, the latter can “disturb” the body of the deceased.
If there is a dead person in the house, do not do laundry. This must be done after the funeral.
When the coffin is being made, relatives and friends are prohibited from participating. It is best to bury the shavings formed during the manufacture of the coffin in the ground, or, in extreme cases, throw them into water.
The bed on which a person died does not need to be thrown away, as many do. Take her and take her out to the chicken coop, let her lie there for three nights, so that, as the legend goes, the rooster will crow her three times.
When the time comes to place the deceased in a coffin, then they sprinkle holy water on the body of the deceased and his coffin, outside and inside. You can also cover it with incense. The body is then transferred to the coffin. A whisk is placed on the forehead of the deceased. It is given in church when the deceased is brought to the funeral service. The deceased's lips should be closed, his eyes closed, his hands folded crosswise on his chest, the right one on top of the left. A Christian woman's head is covered with a large scarf that completely covers her hair, and its ends do not need to be tied, but simply folded crosswise. Should not be worn on the deceased Orthodox Christian tie. An icon or cross is placed in the left hand of the deceased; for men - the image of the savior, for women - the image of the Mother of God. Or you can do this: in the left hand - a cross, and on the chest of the deceased - a Holy image. A pillow, usually made of cotton wool, is placed under the feet and head of the deceased. The body is covered with a sheet. The coffin is placed in the middle of the room in front of the icons, turning the face of the deceased with his head towards the icons.
When you see a dead person in a coffin, do not automatically touch your body with your hands. This is due to the fact that in the place where you touched your hand, various skin growths in the form of a tumor can grow.
If there is a deceased person in the house, then when meeting your friend or relatives there, you should greet with a bow of the head, and not with your voice.
While the deceased is in the house, the floor should not be swept. If you do not follow this advice, your family members may soon become ill, or worse may happen.
During the funeral, you cannot visit the graves of relatives and friends located in the same cemetery.
Do not listen to those people who advise placing two needles crosswise on his lips to preserve the body of a deceased person from decomposition. This will not save the body of the deceased, but the needles that were on his lips will definitely disappear; they are used to cause damage.
To prevent a heavy smell from coming from the deceased, you can put a bunch of sage on his head; people call it “cornflowers.” It also serves another purpose - to drive away “evil spirits”. For the same purposes, you can use willow branches, which are sacred in Palm Sunday and is stored behind the images. These branches can be placed under the deceased.
A man died, his body was placed in a coffin, but the bed on which he died had not yet been taken out. Friends or strangers may come to you and ask you to lie on this bed. The argument put forward is the following: so that their back and bones do not hurt. Don't listen to them. Don't hurt yourself.
Don't put a dead man in coffin fresh flowers. For this purpose, use artificial ones or, as a last resort, dried ones.
Near the coffin light a candle as a sign that the deceased has moved to the region of light - the best afterlife.
A lamp or candle is lit in the house and burns as long as the deceased is in the house.
Instead of a candlestick, glasses are often used for candles, into which wheat is poured. Some people sprinkle this wheat on others and thereby cause damage. This wheat should also not be used for poultry or livestock feed.
Make sure that no one is put under the deceased other people's things. If you notice this, then you need to pull them out of the coffin and burn them somewhere away.
It happens that, out of ignorance, some compassionate mothers put photos of your children in the coffin to grandma or grandpa. After this, the child began to get sick, and if help was not provided in time, death could occur.
You cannot give your things for dressing a dead person. The deceased is buried, and the one who gave away his things begins to get sick.
A coffin with a deceased person is taken out of the house, and someone stands near the door and starts tying knots in rags. He explains this operation to people by saying that he is tying knots so that no more coffins will be taken out of this house. Although such a person has something completely different on his mind...
If a pregnant woman goes to a funeral, she will do harm to herself. A sick child may be born. Therefore, try to stay at home during this time, and you need to say goodbye to your loved one in advance - before the funeral.
When a dead person is being carried to a cemetery, do not cross his path under any circumstances, as various tumors may form on your body. If this happens, then you should take the hand of the deceased, always the right one, and move all your fingers over the tumor and read “Our Father.” This needs to be done three times, after each time spitting over your left shoulder.
When they carry a dead man in a coffin down the street, try not to look out the window of your apartment or house.
The ties that bind the hands and feet of the deceased must be untied and placed in the coffin with the deceased. Otherwise, as a rule, they are used to cause damage.
If you say goodbye to the deceased, try not to step on the towel that is placed in the cemetery near the coffin, so as not to damage yourself.
If you are afraid of a dead person, grab the dead person's legs and hold on. This can be done before he is placed in the grave.
Sometimes people can throw earth from a grave in their bosom or collar, proving that this way they can avoid the fear of the dead. Don't believe it - this is done to cause damage.
Returning from a funeral, it is imperative to dust off your shoes before entering the house, and also hold your hands over the fire of a lit candle. This is done in order to prevent damage to the home.
The funeral is over, and as before Christian custom On the table to treat the soul of the deceased, water and something from food are placed in a glass. Make sure that small children or adults do not inadvertently drink from this glass or eat anything. After such a treat, both adults and children begin to get sick.
During the wake, according to tradition, a glass of vodka is poured for the deceased. Don't drink it if anyone advises you to.
There is a dead man on your street, and you urgently need to plant potatoes. Don't waste your time and effort. If you plant potatoes at a time when the deceased has not yet been buried, do not expect a good harvest.
If you came to the grave to a loved one pull out the grass, paint the fence or plant something, you start digging and dig up things that shouldn’t be there. In this case, everything you found must be taken out of the cemetery and burned. When it burns, try not to get exposed to the smoke, otherwise you may get sick yourself.
Funeral in New Year- a very bad omen: in the coming year, at least once a month they will be buried.
Sunday's funeral predicts three more funerals throughout the week.
It is dangerous to postpone a funeral for any reason. Then one, two or three deaths in the family or immediate area will occur within a week or a month.
If the funeral is postponed until next week, it is probably unlucky, because the dead person will try his best to take someone with him.
After the funeral, do not visit any of your friends or relatives.
Viburnum is planted at the heads of the graves of young men and women.
For the first seven days from the date of death of the deceased, do not take any things out of the house.
Do not distribute the deceased’s belongings to relatives, friends or acquaintances for up to 40 days.
If one of you has lost a loved one or loved one, and you often cry for him, then it is advised to have thistle grass in your house.
When someone dies, try to have only women present.
If the patient is dying seriously, then for an easier death, remove the feather pillow from under his head. In villages, the dying person is laid on straw.
To ease the agony of death, the patient must be covered with white material, which will later be used to upholster the coffin.
When there is a dead person in the house, in the neighboring houses you cannot drink water in the morning that was in buckets or pans. It must be poured out and freshly poured in.
It is advisable that the washing of the body of the deceased occur during daylight hours - from sunrise to sunset. Water after ablution must be handled very carefully. It is necessary to dig a hole far from the yard, garden and living quarters, where people do not walk, and pour everything, to the last drop, into it and cover it with earth. The fact is that with the water in which the deceased was washed, they do very strong damage. Therefore, do not give this water to anyone, no matter who approaches you with such a request.
Try not to spill this water around the apartment so that those living in it do not get sick.
Pregnant women should not wash the deceased in order to avoid illness of the unborn child, as well as women who are menstruating.
As a rule, only elderly women prepare the deceased for his last journey.
The shroud must be sewn on a live thread and always with a needle from yourself, so that there are no more deaths in the house.
Prejudices in Rus' in former times
In the house where the dying person lay, all the keys were removed from the keyholes and the doors and windows were opened so that the person’s soul could leave the body without interference. When a person gave his soul to God, he was necessarily washed so that he would appear before the Lord pure in soul and body.
Strict rules were followed when washing the deceased. The deceased was laid with his feet to the stove and washed 2-3 times with warm water and soap from a new clay pot. The water with which the deceased was washed became “dead”, and it was poured somewhere far away, so that a healthy person would not step on this place, and also so that the sorcerer would not take it for himself to cause damage. The same was done with the water used to wash the dishes after the funeral and the floors after removing the deceased from the house. They also tried to get rid of other attributes of ablution as quickly as possible.
The baptismal sign is placed in the coffin of the deceased pectoral cross, an icon, a whisk on the forehead, candles and “handwriting” - a written prayer for the remission of sins. They give a towel (handkerchief) in their hands so that the deceased can wipe the sweat from their face during the Last Judgment. Who died on Easter - an egg in his hand.
The deceased is usually buried in white clothes, personifying the infantile purity of the Christian soul.
A sign was strictly observed: do not make the coffin larger than the deceased, otherwise there will be another deceased. In the house, as a sign of mourning, mirrors are curtained or turned “facing” the wall so that the person’s soul does not remain locked on the other side of the mirror. They also stop all the clocks as a sign that life path person is completed. Before the funeral, friends and relatives come to say goodbye to the person, but 20 minutes before the removal of the body, only the closest relatives should remain with the deceased.
Take the deceased's dirty linen out of the house - take everyone out of the house.
In preparation for removing the body, first they take wreaths and a portrait of the deceased out of the house, then the lid of the coffin (with the narrow part forward), and finally the coffin itself (the deceased is carried out feet first). At the same time, thresholds and doorposts should not be touched so that the deceased is not tempted to return home.
“The dead man is alone out of the house,” they say as they take him out and lock him in the house for the time being of the residents. According to the old tradition, the deceased should not be carried out before noon and after sunset, so that the setting sun could “take” the deceased with it. Relatives should not carry the coffin so that the deceased does not take a blood relative with him to the grave.
After removing the coffin from the house, be sure to wash all the floors (previously they washed not only the floors, but the whole house with water).
The path of the funeral procession to the cemetery is covered with spruce branches, which serve as a talisman, a guarantee that the deceased will not “walk” and will not retrace his steps.
At funerals, it is customary to present those present with pies, sweets, and handkerchiefs. This is nothing more than the distribution of alms, which obliges those who accept it to pray for the deceased. In this case, those praying take on part of the sins of the deceased.
When you come home after a funeral, you need to warm your hands so as not to bring the cold of the grave into the house. After the funeral, no intoxicating drinks are allowed in the mouth for 40 days. At the wake they drink only vodka, and those who come are always fed pancakes and kutya.
For the soul of the deceased, a glass of vodka is placed on the table, covered with a slice of bread. It must stand for 40 days, until the person’s soul has finally left this world.
They don’t stay long at wakes. For six weeks after the funeral, there should be a glass of water on the windowsill, and a towel should hang on the corner of the house, outside the window, so that the soul can bathe and dry itself before the funeral. On the fortieth day, the soul of the deceased comes to his home for the whole day and leaves only after the so-called farewell. If they are not arranged, the deceased will suffer. Six weeks after death, “ladders” of dough are baked to help the soul climb to heaven. According to Russian tradition, in the folk month there are special days on which Orthodox Christians commemorate those who moved to another world.