Ecumenical parental (meat-free) Saturday

Great Parental (Meat-Eating) Saturday precedes the Meat-Eating Week - the third of four preparatory Sunday days before Lent The days are called meat-free days, since they are followed by a week when the ban on eating meat products comes into effect In folk tradition, this week is called Maslenitsa, because you can still overeat with dairy and cheese dishes, which will become unavailable from the beginning of Lent Thus, the day of Great Parental Saturday does not have a fixed date and depends on the beginning of the forty-day fast If Meat Saturday coincides with church days of Christian saints, they should be celebrated later or earlier But if Great Saturday falls on holidays that cannot be rescheduled, for example the Presentation of the Lord, it would be correct to perform the funeral service outside the walls of the church, preferably in a cemetery, or on another day of the week Parental Saturday is also called universal Saturday, and is the day of remembrance of all the dead The holy fathers put a lot of meaning into establishing this memorable date It is necessary to remember not only loved ones who have passed on to another world, but also all strangers Especially those who have suffered sudden or unnatural death Prayers addressed to Jesus Christ ask for mercy and forgiveness of the sins of all those who have fallen asleep since the beginning of time, starting with Adam The funeral church service calls to remember the coming Last Judgment, when everyone will appear before the mercy of God Believers need to attend a service on Holy Parental Saturday; to personally commemorate deceased relatives, they need to order a mass in the church When giving out alms and alms, you can silently mention those for whom it is not customary to ask in the temple These are suicides, unbaptized, unbelievers, women who died from abortions and unborn babies, whose souls also need mercy After visiting the temple, Christians arrange a funeral dinner, where the obligatory dish is kutya, consisting of wheat grains and honey The composition of kuti has a symbolic meaning, where a person is likened to a grain that can grow from the ground, and honey reminds of heavenly life In folk tradition, commemoration of ancestors was characteristic throughout the entire Maslenitsa week Therefore, on Parents' Saturday, one could start baking pancakes and preparing for the winter farewell All family members gathered around a large common table with an odd number of dishes Treating deceased ancestors was obligatory; for this purpose, they left the remains of the meal at the funeral table all night or went with treats to the graves of loved ones