Parents' Saturdays of the year. Parents' Saturday. Memorial days and the Orthodox calendar

Canons Christian faith They are ordered to commemorate deceased relatives and friends in church. Commemorations among Orthodox believers take place on parental Saturdays, which are Orthodox Christianity there are 7, of which 2 are called Ecumenical, when prayers take place for all the dead on earth. The only day special commemoration, which does not occur on Saturday, but on the 9th day after happy holiday Easter - on Tuesday, is Radonitsa (Radunitsa). Radonitsa 2019 will be celebrated on the 7th May, and you can see the remaining dates on which parental Saturdays fall in 2019 in the Orthodox calendar 2019.

History of the holiday and its name

The historical roots of the holiday go back to paganism. There are several assumptions why this parent's day is called Radonitsa. One of them is based on an ancient legend that this name comes from the names of pagan gods who were guardians dead souls. Memorial days in those days they called it Radavanitsa, Triznami or Naviy day.

Before the adoption of Christianity in Rus', it was customary for our ancestors to organize week-long feasts on burial mounds in the spring. There they lit fires, sang, danced and ate. The pagans believed that in this way they honor, treat and please the souls of the ancestors who come from heavenly kingdom to earth these days. After all, if they are met poorly, the eternally deceased may become angry and send hunger and disease to the earth. It was believed that the souls of the departed should be met with joy, so the spring commemoration began to be called “Radonitsa”.

According to another version, the name comes from the words “clan” and “kinship”, since deceased relatives were commemorated on this day. Most researchers are inclined to believe that “Radonitsa” means joy and connect this with the fact that on the Sunday that came after Easter, according to church scriptures, the Savior descended into hell and won victory over death. Therefore, “Radonitsa” carries within itself the joy caused by faith in the resurrection and eternal life.

Orthodox Christian church, taking as a basis the essence of spring commemoration, gave it its own content and characteristics. The date of the celebration of “Radonitsa” was established based on the fact that in churches on weekdays following the second Sunday after Easter, the singing of the lithium for the dead, which had not been held since Maundy Thursday itself, was resumed. Therefore, commemoration of the dead falls on Tuesday or, in some localities, on Monday.

Traditions and rituals of Radonitsa: history and modernity

Visiting the graves of relatives – main tradition Radonitsy. In the old days, on Radonitsa, as in our days, Easter food and Easter eggs were brought to the graves. If now Easter Egg they simply put it on the grave, then earlier it was customary to bury it under the cross or, breaking it on the cross, cleanse it and beggars for “remembrance of the soul.” This ritual was called “Christening with relatives.” Then it was customary to have large meals with alcohol at the grave, after which some even fell asleep near the graves. Nowadays, the church does not encourage drinking alcoholic beverages at graves.

In some areas it was not customary to go to the cemetery. It was believed that on this day the deceased come to the houses of their relatives. In order to welcome them well, a bathhouse was heated in the morning, in which clean linen was laid for them for the whole day and night. At this time, everyone was forbidden to enter the bathhouse. When morning came, all household members went there and looked for traces indicating the arrival of the deceased. It was possible to wash in the bathhouse only after finishing Radonitsa.

In the traditions of Radonitsa, it was obligatory to place water and pieces of bread on the windowsill. In the evening, a memorial dinner was held, where there were always three extra plates on the table: for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the deceased. It was customary to distribute the food remaining after the festive meal to the poor and homeless. After dinner, young people gathered on the street and had fun festivities.

The oldest tradition of Radonitsa is the ritual of making rain. Now this tradition is forgotten, but earlier our great-great-grandmothers said that on the day of Radonitsa the sky should send at least a few drops of rain to the earth. Therefore, the children were forced to look at the sky and shout at the top of their voices: “Pour rain on the woman’s rye, on the grandfather’s wheat.” Having caused rain, one had to wash oneself with water from heaven for good luck. If thunder was heard in Radonitsa, the girls rushed to wash themselves with rainwater in order to preserve their youth longer. To do this, heavenly water had to be passed through a silver or gold ring.

Children living separately from their parents should visit their father and mother on this day, otherwise Radonitsa will not be joyful for them, but sad, and if the parents get angry, they may unknowingly bring some kind of misfortune upon their careless children.

The church advises starting Radonitsa 2019 with a visit to the temple, where you should pray for relatives who left the earth and order a memorial service. A service is held in the church on this day, and any parishioner can ask the priest for prayer for the deceased a loved one. In Radonitsa, it is customary to make donations for the church, bring Easter dishes and food there, and distribute alms to those in need. It is believed that our good deeds bring joy to deceased relatives. Only after visiting church should you go to the cemetery.

How to behave at the cemetery in Radonitsa

The church does not allow visiting the cemetery on Easter, but this should be done on Radonitsa. It is also not welcomed by Orthodoxy when food is left on a grave. The Church considers this tradition a pagan rite. There is no need to place a glass of vodka with bread on the grave, which has become an undeclared tradition these days. Such commemorations are unacceptable for Orthodox Christians and are considered a sin. You can drink alcohol only at a festive lunch or dinner at home, but under no circumstances should you get carried away with it. A family holiday should take place without obvious fun, but also without tears and bitter sadness.

It is recommended that the food that you were going to leave at the grave be distributed to those in need. The Church claims that this way you give the deceased person the opportunity to help people after death, and only a lit light should remain on the grave church candle. According to Orthodox canons, when you come to the cemetery, you need to clean up and remember your relatives as they were during life, remember them with a kind word and pray for them.

Signs for Radonitsa

• When there is a new moon on Radonitsa, you should expect a rich harvest.
• The more alms and treats you give out at the funeral, the more they will give in the next world.
• If a person forgets to remember his parents on Radonitsa, then he will not be remembered after death and will not be treated in the kingdom of heaven.
• The first person who came to the cemetery on the day of Radonitsa will receive special favor from the deceased.
• Pregnant women are not allowed to come to the cemetery in Radonitsa.
• If you disturb the earth on this day: dig, sow or plant - there will be a bad harvest.
• When it rains on Radonitsa before lunch, it blows in the afternoon and evening strong wind, then deceased relatives are worried why people don’t come to them at the cemetery. If it rains without wind, it means a bountiful harvest.

Fortune telling on Radonitsa

In the old days, on Radonitsa, unmarried friends got together and told fortunes. Special fortune telling unique to Radunitsa is unknown, but fortune telling was used on other Christmastides:

• learning fate from a book. They guessed the page number and the line on which the answer was read, predicting fate;
• fortune telling with a wreath. The girls wove a wreath from birch branches and let it float down the river. Wherever the wreath goes, wait for the groom from there; if the wreath sinks, wait for death;
• fortune telling on a birch branch. To do this, the girl picked a twig from a birch tree and put it under her pillow before going to bed. The man she dreams about this night will become her betrothed;
• prophetic dream. In the old days, they firmly believed that on Radonitsa the souls of the dead visited the earth and tried to resort to their help in order to see a prophetic dream. For this purpose, people went to the cemetery in the evening and asked relatives near their grave to send a prophetic dream at night.

By correctly fulfilling the Orthodox canons of the celebration of Radonitsa, Parents' Day 2017 will become a holiday for you, on which you will feel an invisible spiritual connection with your loved ones who left our land. Let us remind you that Radonitsa is not the only day when memorial days are established in 2017. Give your deceased relatives a few days a year on Parents' Saturdays 2017 to remember them with a kind word, light a candle in church and pray for their souls.

Summary.
Radonitsa in 2019 falls on May 7.
Visiting the graves of loved ones is the main tradition of memorial days.
In Radonitsa it is customary to make donations and give alms.
Dates for parental Saturdays can be found in the Orthodox calendar 2019.

Parents' Saturdays in 2018 are special days in the church calendar on which Orthodox Christians commemorate deceased relatives. The commemoration of the dead by the church is a special ritual. On these days, a memorial service is held, at which the names of people who have left this world are mentioned. On the eve of the prayer service, believers bring notes to church with the names of deceased relatives. On memorial Saturdays, it is customary to remember not only deceased relatives, but also acquaintances.

These Saturdays are called parental Saturdays because parents often leave this world before their children.

IN Lent There are no services during the week. Therefore, Saturdays are set aside for commemorating the dead. On this day, believers go to church, and after visiting it they go to the cemetery.

In churches, prayers are read to cleanse all Orthodox Christians from the sins. People who come to church pray not only for their loved ones, but also for other people who have ended their existence on earth. Reading the general prayer on Parents' Saturday helps to forgive all sins and allow souls to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Many missing people, as well as those killed during different circumstances people gain peace of mind and can ascend to Heaven.

Video: Parents' Saturdays - days of special remembrance of the dead

Parents' Saturdays in remembrance of the departed in 2018

Parents' Saturdays in 2018 are held traditionally. These days, the Divine Liturgy takes place in churches and the remembrance of the dead takes place. People who visit the temple bring notes with the names of deceased relatives and give them to the priest so that he will mention loved ones during the service.

In addition to the usual parental Saturdays, there are also Ecumenical Saturdays (Meat Saturday and Trinity Saturday).

Funeral dates in 2018 according to the Orthodox calendar:

There are sayings associated with parental Saturdays:

Video: Orthodox calendar for 2018: days of fasting and parental Saturdays

The Orthodox calendar is an obligatory and integral part of the life of believers.

By looking into it, you can find out the dates of Lent and holidays, as well as plan your schedule for the next year - working days, weekends, planting days, fasting days and memorial days.

Parents' Saturdays in 2017 have clearly established dates. If you don’t have time to go to church and light a candle, then you should definitely go to the graves of the departed. Deliver flowers, clean up and pay respects. There are not many parent's Saturdays throughout the year, but they allow us to stop in the daily bustle and remember, at least for a minute, about those people who were and remain very dear to us. It is important to have the whole meaning of Lent in your heart and limit yourself to weaknesses.

Parents' Saturdays in 2017

Parents' days are special days on which it is customary to remember deceased people.

What to do on Parents' Day

Enough a large number of People visit relatives and friends at the cemetery on Easter. Many, unfortunately, adhere to the blasphemous custom of accompanying visits to the dead with drunken wild revelry. And those who don’t do this very often don’t even know when to Easter days it is possible (and necessary) to remember the dead.

The first commemoration of the deceased after Easter takes place on the second Easter week(week), after Fomin Sunday, on Tuesday. And the widespread tradition of going to the cemetery on the Easter holiday itself sharply contradicts the institutions of the Church: before the ninth day from Easter, commemoration of the dead cannot be performed. If a person passes into another world on Easter, then he is buried according to a special Easter rite.

Like many Orthodox clergy, priest Valery Chislov, rector of the church in honor of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the Dormition Cemetery in Chelyabinsk, warns against rash actions and other actions committed out of ignorance on the feast of Radonitsa:

“It should be remembered that a cemetery is a place where one should behave with reverence. It is sad to see how some people drink vodka there and sing worldly songs. Someone crumbles bread and eggs onto the grave mound and pours alcohol. Sometimes they get into a real riot. All this is more reminiscent of pagan funeral feasts and is unacceptable for Christians. If we already took food to the cemetery, it is better to distribute it to the poor. Let them pray for our departed, and then the Lord may send some consolation to our relatives.”

When you come to the cemetery on the feast of Radonitsa, you need to light a candle and perform litia (pray intensely). To perform litia during the commemoration of the dead, a priest should be invited. You can also read the Akathist about the repose of the dead. Then you need to clean up the grave, be silent for a while, remembering the deceased.

There is no need to drink or eat in a cemetery, it is unacceptable to pour alcohol on a grave mound - these actions insult the memory of the dead. The tradition of leaving a glass of vodka with bread on a grave is a relic of pagan culture and should not be observed in Christian Orthodox families. It is better to give food to the poor or hungry.

Christian traditions based on eternal life, call to remember our ancestors and pray for their reassurance. The best place for commemoration it is a church, but there are 8 days a year of general worship, the main one is Parents' Day 2017, which is celebrated on the 9th day after, it falls on Tuesday.

Traditions of Parents' Day

On Memorial Day, even non-believers go to the grave to visit their parents and other deceased loved ones. On Parents' Day in 2017, in the morning you need to visit the temple of God, pray for the reassurance of the soul of the deceased, leave a memorial note and light a candle. The whole family usually goes to the cemetery, they remember all the good things that are associated with the deceased, it is not customary to be sad and cry - even the name speaks of the joy in which the soul of the deceased rests. But to invite a priest and order a litiya means to take care of the forgiveness of sins and the peaceful stay of a relative in the next world. One should behave with restraint, speak in lower tones, in order to maintain respect for the resting souls. If you decide to take communion at the grave of your relatives, mainly Easter treats, you need to lay out the towel, put out the food, and with a kind word drink a glass of wine or vodka for the repose of the soul of your loved one. The leftover food is distributed to the poor in the cemetery or left on the gravestone, and a lit memorial lamp or church candle is also placed here.

When are Parents' Day and other memorial dates celebrated?

Throughout the year, departed relatives and friends are remembered, this individual dates– birth and death, and general. The church calendar will help you keep track of the holidays, since only the main memorial day is especially revered among the people; almost everyone knows what date Parents' Day is in 2017 - April 25. Here are other days of special commemoration:

• February 18 – Ecumenical Parents' Saturday. They remember all the deceased without exception; this is the day of unity of all souls and communication with the departed;
• March 11, 18, 25 – 2nd, 3rd, 4th Saturdays of Great Lent, during which no other church mass services are held;
• May 9 – a solemn service dedicated to those who fell for the liberation of the country during the Great Patriotic War;
• June 3 – Trinity Parents' Saturday, all relatives are remembered, but the main attention is devoted to the memory of parents;
• November 4 - Dimitrov Parents' Saturday - was established on the initiative of Dmitry Donskoy in honor of those who fell on the Kulikovo Field in the battle with Mamai.

On all of the above dates, solemn services are held in churches, but it is Parents' Day in 2017, on which date the major liturgy is celebrated, that Christians especially honor. On church services It is customary to bring food with you and lay it out on the eve (funeral table). After the end of the service, the offerings are distributed to the poor and needy and transferred to shelters.

Parents' days for visiting the cemetery in 2017 are any of the above list, but usually this is the general holiday of Radonitsa and, at the request of relatives, the birthdays and deaths of departed loved ones. If relatives live in another city or country, they simply go to church, pray and light a candle for the repose. Prayers addressed to God help souls find eternal peace and deliver them from sins committed during life.

Pagan beliefs accompanying Parents' Day

Before the advent of Christianity, there was also a holiday called Radonitsa, in which the pagan deities Radunitsa, who protected the souls and peace of the departed, were glorified. Gifts were brought and left on the hillock in order to appease the deity. Orthodox Christians celebrate Parents' Day 2017 with some traditions that came from pagan times; they try not to be sad, but, on the contrary, to rejoice for their relatives who have moved to the eternal kingdom of peace. The resurrection of Christ, as a victory over death, helps to overcome the sadness of loss. But the ancient, pre-Christian customs of having fun in the cemetery, drinking alcohol and pouring vodka on the grave, fortunately, have disappeared from our lives. Church canons I am categorically against drinking alcohol in a cemetery and singing secular songs there - this is an insult to the memory of the deceased. Parents' Day 2017, the date on which Orthodox Christians honor relatives, should be celebrated with restraint, with prayer and respect. Cleaning up the grave, standing silently and distributing alms and food to the disadvantaged - these are the actions that befit a true believer.

Parents' Saturdays in 2017 are held according to the Orthodox calendar. The next day of remembrance of ancestors is very soon - April 25, 2017.

Parents' Saturdays in 2017, what date?

The most extreme Parents Saturday will be very soon. This is Radonitsa, celebrated on April 25th. Although this day does not fall on Saturday, it is Orthodox Church included in the number special days to remember ancestors. There are eight Parents' Saturdays in total in 2017.

Radonitsa still stands apart from other days. The peculiarity of this holiday is that it is not only celebrated on Tuesday, but is essentially the main memorial day for the dead of the year.

The exact date for Radonitsa is not assigned. It is celebrated on the ninth day after Easter. Or the first Tuesday after Krasnaya Gorka (Fomina Sunday). Exact dates commemoration is explained by the calendar of Orthodox Parental Saturdays.

After Radonitsa, the next memorial day is May 9. It is not transferred, the date is permanent. This is a day of remembrance for fallen soldiers.