Following the rules and rituals, traditions and norms of social behavior, people annually go to the graves before Easter. It is necessary to visit the burial places of not only close relatives, but also acquaintances. This is the religious duty of everyone living in relation to the deceased. There are innumerable traditions in our society that govern human behavior in a place where death reigns. Some are considered Christian, but in reality they are not. What is it about?
Controversial Rite
Others say that Christian canons prescribed to bring food to places of rest and leave it on the grave. Is it really? For a long time we carry cookies, colored eggs, sweets and various other products in the cemetery. Many people believe that this tradition has sacred roots. The Orthodox Christian, however, must remember that this is a fallacy. Religion forbids leaving food or alcohol on the grave.
How did it happen?
A wake in the cemetery with food and drink is a rite that has pagan roots. In our country, it became widespread in the years after the revolution. In those days, the government fought against religion, actively tried to stimulate the forgetting of traditions and rules of behavior. In those days, some rituals, ceremonies, celebrations were replaced by others that did not have much meaning, especially from a religious point of view.
Before the Soviet regime, people came to places of rest to remember the deceased and to read a prayer, so that his life in another world would be easy and enjoyable. Today, commemoration is the absorption of food on other people's bones. Religion strictly forbids doing this. Many bring food with them, eat it at the grave, and then put the rest on the surface of the earth, as if sharing a meal with the deceased.
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Is it worth it?
A similar ceremony came to us from pagan times, when food was offered to idols. The Christian religion considers this a meaningless and unreasonable behavior. The people think that by doing so they share mortal food with a person who has left our world.
But no one will argue with the fact that at the time of death a person changes the form of being, so she no longer needs all the material. And every time a Christian tries to offer the deceased ordinary food, he shows his ignorance of the religious teachings that he follows. Christianity clearly defines the boundaries of the body and soul of an individual. Any actions contrary to the basis of Christian teaching are forbidden.
but on the other hand
What happens to the food people leave on graves? A cemetery is a resting place, which means it must be clean and orderly. Littering the grave with food is wrong, unethical, ugly. Coming to visit the deceased, you can bring flowers with you. Be sure to clean the grave. But the laying on of food contradicts this, because later these dogs will come for these products, birds will flock. All these wild individuals will trample on their feet the ground in which the loved one is resting. The burial place is the holy land, therefore it is unacceptable by thoughtless actions to attract such life forms here.
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What to do?
Carrying food wrong in the cemetery. But people are used to sweets and bread, Easter and Easter cake to bring here. Usually a lot of food is prepared for the celebration, much remains uneaten. What to do with these remnants, which used to be carried to rest?
Holy Fathers advise giving food to the needy. There are many poor people around who cannot afford the preparation of delicious dishes. There are those who do live in hunger and cold, even without a roof over their heads. Having spread between them the dishes left after the holiday, a person does a good deed, which fully fits into the foundations of Christian teaching. It is much more humane, humane, more ethical than carrying the remains in the cemetery, where they will be eaten by birds and animals.
Our debt
It is a duty to call the need to visit the grave. And some bring alcohol with them. Priests advise to refrain from such practice. The dead need the prayer of those who live on earth. A sober mind is what helps us honor the departed. Alcohol only overshadows consciousness, so there is no place for it in the holy land.
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Where did the tradition of bringing food to the cemetery come from? Yes, it spread widely in Soviet times, but the authorities did not invent it, but only returned it from the nonexistence of centuries. The fact is that in ancient times people honored the dead by serving at the burial sites.
In those days, they organized plentiful feasts. Such was the pagan tradition called the Trizny. The first mention of such events dates back to the X century of the current era. Feast and crying were not the only elements of the ritual. Military games were held, during which others even lost their lives. Christianity, which came to Russia later, completely abolished these rites, although a certain memory of them has survived to the present day.
Ambiguous tradition
There is another way to explain the tradition. Today it’s easy to get to the cemetery - you can use public or private transport, so the trip will take some minutes, at most an hour or two. In the old days, families sometimes had to go to the burial place for long hours. People knew that they could return home only in the morning of the next day - the cemeteries were so far from home. Therefore, they took food with them in order to have the strength to come and return.
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About times, about morals …
Today, a person, desiring to pay tribute to the deceased, should not risk his life or go almost day and night. This means that commemoration with an abundance of products is no longer required.
In the old days, people sometimes brought food to the cemetery to contribute to the common table, which was set up for the poor. Those in need were considered closest to God, therefore it was their prayers that had the greatest power. Feeding them, people hoped that the poor would pray for their relatives. Now, such rites and practices have sunk into oblivion, but everyone can distribute food to the homeless themselves. At the same time, they inform the person what the name of the deceased relative was, and he mentions him later in his prayers. True, one can hope for help only if a truly believing person offers a prayer.
