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Traditions of commemoration of the dead exist in every society and religion. In Christianity, they originate from the time of the apostles. According to the Charter of the Ecumenical Orthodox Church, before the onset of the Trinity or Holy Pentecost, a funeral service is performed in churches in memory of all those who have left the world of the living.
Everything happens in the same way as on the day of the first Ecumenical Parental Saturday – on the Meatless Week before Great Lent.
To distinguish between two holidays, the summer parental Saturday is called the nearest holiday – Trinity.
Read in our material what is interesting about this date of the church calendar, and what date is celebrated on Trinity parental Saturday in 2023.
When is Trinity Parental Saturday celebrated?
Memorial Day has a rolling date, which depends on the celebration of the Trinity. The twelfth feast, established in honor of the descent of the Holy Spirit and the apostles, falls on the 50th day after Easter.
It comes a few days before the start of the Apostolic or Peter’s Lent. In 2023, believers will celebrate the Holy Trinity on June 4th. Consequently, Orthodox Christians and Greek Catholics who live according to the “synodal” charter will celebrate the Trinity parental Saturday 3 June.
Do’s and Don’ts
| What can you do | • commemorate relatives and friends with prayer; • to defend the service in the church; • go to the cemetery, tidy up the graves, remove dry branches and rubbish, lay flowers; • after the cemetery to gather at home and modestly commemorate the dead; • commemorate suicides who were not buried in church; • engage in creativity, needlework, cleaning. |
| What not to do | • be very sad, grieve and shed tears; • drink alcohol; • eat non-lean food; • quarrel, swear, swear, loudly sort things out, lie and be offended; • organize lavish banquets, fun feasts and celebrate weddings; • to work (implies hard physical labor), to laze around. |
history of the holiday
The origins of Trinity Sabbath can be found in biblical texts. In Orthodox symbolism, Meatless Saturday marks the last day before the Second Coming, and Trinity Saturday is the last day of the Old Testament Church before the establishment of new traditions that are associated with Christ. In other words, the memorial day before the Trinity is the forerunner of the birthday of the new Church.
The holiday is dedicated to the commemoration of all the departed: not only relatives, friends, acquaintances, missing persons, those who died in wars and disasters, but also all the deceased from the beginning of time. Therefore, Trinity Saturday is called Ecumenical. In the regions, the holiday was given its own names. For example, in the Kaluga region this day has long been called the Easter of the Dead or Trinity parents, and in the Kursk region – Spirits Day or Soul Wake.
The ancient Slavs also had a spring-summer memorial day. According to Slavic mythology, at this time the ancestors temporarily left the afterlife and came to the world of the living in the form of trees, grass and flowers. The living were to meet the dead and commemorate them. It was customary to visit cemeteries, decorate burial places with greenery, dine with friends and communicate with the souls of relatives.
Holiday traditions
Trinity parental Saturday today is one of the main days of commemoration of deceased relatives, including those who did not go through baptism and all those who died of their own free will. In Orthodoxy, the holiday is considered important, so they prepare for it in advance.
In churches, a liturgy is held, and after it, a memorial service. Usually the church service starts at 9:00. Believers come in advance, submit funeral notes, which indicate the names of departed relatives, light candles and turn to God and the saints with prayers for the repose of their souls.
The note must contain the full name in the genitive case. If there is a clergyman among the relatives, his name is written at the very top. On this day, you can order Sorokoust for 40 days, six months or a year, so that the name of a relative is mentioned at church services.
During Trinity Parental Saturday, it is allowed to bring lenten food, homemade cakes, sweets, fruits and liturgical wine to the church for consecration. For this, memorial tables are specially set up. The consecrated products are then distributed to everyone so that they commemorate the dead. After leaving the temple, believers distribute alms to the poor with a request to pray for their loved ones who left this world.
A good tradition on parental day is to visit cemeteries with the whole family.
The Church recommends cleaning up not only the graves of your relatives, but also putting in order unmarked burials. You can arrange a small memorial meal, but food is not left on the graves. Better to pass it on to those in need.
Holiday signs
Many traditions of the Trinity parental Saturday have come down to our days from pre-Christian, pagan times. Before the Trinity, women were always forbidden to wash clothes in ponds – they were afraid of mermaids who go out to people just before the holiday. For the same reason, they did not dare to swim and bathe. To avoid trouble, on Trinity Saturday, young people chased mermaids and mermen with screams along the reservoirs.
Before Trinity on Saturday, an aspen branch was brought into the house. If the next morning the leaves remain green, then everything will be in order, next year no one will get sick or die. If the leaves turn yellow – expect trouble.
There are other folk signs:
- If a rainbow appears in the sky on parental Saturday, all loved ones will have good health.
- It started to rain that day – you can count on a good harvest of berries and mushrooms.
- The day turned out to be hot – expect drought and crop failure.
- Heavy dew has fallen – there will be early frosts.
And it was also believed that on this day it is good to plant trees for the well-being of the family.
Popular questions and answers
The customs and traditions associated with the Trinity parental Saturday are of interest to many Orthodox. We answer popular questions from readers.