About
Dziady, the Forefathers' Eve, is a Slavic and Baltic tradition of feasting with the dead, especially strong in Belarus, eastern Poland and Lithuania. The souls of ancestors were believed to return home, so families prepared food, opened the doors and kept silence to welcome them. Adam Mickiewicz's nineteenth-century drama Dziady made it famous, and in modern times it has blended with All Souls' Day.
Customs
- Preparing a special supper and leaving some for the dead
- Leaving doors or windows open for the souls to enter
- Lighting candles and fires to guide the dead home
- Visiting and cleaning family graves
- Heating the bathhouse and leaving water and a towel for the ancestors
Food
- Kutia (wheat berries with honey and poppy seeds)
- Pancakes
- Kisiel (fruit jelly)
- Bread
- Honey
A simple ritual
- Tidy your home and, if you can, visit and clean a family grave.
- Light a candle in a safe holder by a window.
- Set a place at the table with a little of the meal for your ancestors.
- Eat in quiet, remembering those who came before you.
- Leave the ancestors' portion overnight, then return it to the earth.
- Put out the candle before you sleep.
Never leave candles or fires unattended, and keep them away from pets and children.