Parent’s Day or Radonitsa is the time when the whole family gathers at a common table, commemorates the dead, wishes them “rest in peace”, sets the tables, decorates the graves with wreaths.
Radonitsa is annual and depends on Easter: Radonitsa is celebrated on the 9th day after Easter or on the 2nd day of the Radonitsa week. And since Easter this year is celebrated on April 28, then parental day (Radonitsa) among Orthodox in 2019 is celebrated on May 7.
When is Radonitsa week celebrated in 2019
In 2019, Parents’ Week falls on May 5-11. The name of this week is comparable to the word “joy”. The ancestors believed that this is the period of “joyful commemoration”, since Easter is a joyful time. And on Radonitskaya week, you need to share bright feelings with those who are no longer there, just remembering them.
Folk traditions of the Radonitsky week
You need to pray for all your loved ones: wish health to the living, and remember those who have died.
1 or 2 weeks before Radonitskaya week, they come to the cemetery and put the graves in order. For many people, this is a sacred duty to their relatives and friends. Often, before going to the cemetery, they visit the church, confess.
If it is not very cold, flowers are sown on the graves. Iron fences, all wooden and metal parts of pedestals, platforms are tinted, monuments are being repaired.
Sweets and cookies are left on the graves so that they can be eaten and remembered for your loved ones who are no longer here. People who collect sweets from graves should never be chased away – this is a great sin.
It is very useful to give alms to those in need on memorial days. Traditionally, the one who gives gets ten times more. You need to give money or food with a pure heart, wish the person well.
It is customary to bring food with you to the cemetery – special dishes prepared specially for the commemoration, sometimes alcohol – although the church directly prohibits commemorating with vodka and other strong drinks, maximum – a little sweet red wine….
Radonitsa is Easter of the dead, and therefore it should be celebrated in almost the same way as Bright Sunday. And dyed eggs, Easter and kutya should become a must-have dish on every table. When going to a memorial dinner, each family member takes a spoonful of kutya from a common bowl before the meal – always with a spoon, forks are not welcome at such a meal.
We will remind, earlier we told how to cook an unusual Easter cake.