In the twenty-first century, wakes are more reminiscent of pagan funeral feasts, which were held by the ancient Slavs, who hoped that the richer and more magnificent the farewell to the deceased, the better he would live in another world. There were considerations of vanity, prestige, the financial condition of the relatives of the deceased, as well as ignorance of Orthodox traditions in this action.

Funerals on days 9 and 40 are very important. According to Orthodox canons, until the 9th day after death, angels show the soul Paradise, and after that they lead the soul to God, and this is how the showing of Paradise to the soul ends. After this, until the 40th day, the soul is shown hell, where, beholding the torment of sinners condemned to eternal torment, it is horrified and “cries bitterly for its deeds.”

Compliance with the norms in the Orthodox funeral meal requires that before it begins, one of the loved ones reads the 17th kathisma from the Psalter in front of a lit lamp or candle. Immediately before eating, read “Our Father...”

Kutya and funeral pancakes are required on the table.

Kutya

Traditional kutya is made from wheat grains, which are washed and soaked for several hours (or overnight), then boiled until tender. Boiled grains are mixed with honey, raisins, poppy seeds to taste. Honey can first be diluted in water in a ratio of 1/2 and wheat grains can be boiled in the solution, then the solution can be drained. Kutya from rice is prepared in the same way. Boil fluffy rice, then add diluted honey or sugar and raisins (washed, scalded and dried).

Butter pancakes

4 cups flour, 4 cups milk, 3 eggs, 100 g cream, 1 tbsp. spoon of sugar, 25-30 g of yeast, 2 tbsp. tablespoons butter, salt to taste. Pour two glasses of flour into an enamel pan, pour in two glasses of warm milk, after diluting the yeast in it, stir everything well and put in a warm place. When the dough has risen, add the remaining warm milk and flour to it and put it in a warm place again. When it rises again, add beaten egg yolks, sugar, salt, melted butter. Mix well, add whipped cream and egg whites and mix again. Place the dough in a warm place for 15-20 minutes. After this, bake pancakes.

Sample dishes for a funeral meal:

Snacks and salads

Ham rolls with cheese and garlic

Compound
ham (preferably sliced) - 300 g,
processed cheese - 2 pcs (200 g) or hard cheese,
eggs (hard-boiled) - 3 pcs.
garlic - 2 cloves,
greenery,
mayonnaise

Preparation

Cut the ham (if not sliced) into thin slices
Separate the yolks from the whites of boiled eggs.
Grate the whites on a coarse grater.
Grate the yolks on a fine grater into another bowl.
Grate the processed cheese on a coarse grater.
Wash the greens, dry and finely chop.

Combine grated cheese, egg whites, herbs and garlic. Add mayonnaise and mix the filling well.
Place 1 dessert or tablespoon of filling on the edge of a slice of ham.
And roll it up.
Dip each roll in mayonnaise on both ends and roll in grated yolks.
Place the rolls on a platter lined with lettuce leaves and garnish with herbs.

Tomatoes stuffed with fish salad

Compound
tomatoes - 5-6 pcs,
eggs - 5 pcs,
canned fish in oil - 1 can (200 g),
greenery,
salt pepper

Preparation

Wash the tomatoes. Cut off the tops of the tomatoes and carefully scoop out the pulp with a teaspoon and place it separately.
Boil the eggs and grate them on a coarse grater (you can chop them finely), mix with the tomato pulp.
Mash the canned fish with a fork and season with mayonnaise (you can add a little finely grated cheese).
Salt, pepper and add herbs. Combine eggs and mashed canned food and mix well.
Salt the inside of the tomatoes and carefully fill with the filling with a teaspoon.
Place the finished tomatoes on a plate and garnish with herbs. You can place small handfuls of finely grated cheese on top of the tomatoes or garnish with green peas.

Eggplant appetizer with tomatoes and garlic

Compound
eggplants - 2 pcs.
tomatoes - 4-5 pcs,
garlic - 2-3 cloves,
cilantro or parsley,

salt,
pepper

Preparation

Wash the eggplants, dry and cut into circles, 0.5-0.7 mm thick.
Wash the tomatoes, dry and cut into circles.

Peel the garlic and pass through a garlic press or crush a clove of garlic, pressing it with the flat side of a wide knife, then chop finely.
Lightly salt and pepper the eggplant mugs.
Place the eggplants in a frying pan heated with vegetable oil and fry over medium heat for 3-4 minutes (you should get a golden brown crust).
Turn the eggplants over and fry for another 3-4 minutes until done.
The fried mugs can be placed on a paper napkin to absorb excess oil.
Place the eggplants on a dish, alternating with tomato slices, sprinkle with garlic and herbs.
* This dish can be stored for several days in the refrigerator if you put it in a small saucepan in layers: eggplants, put tomato slices on top, sprinkle with salt, pepper, chopped garlic and herbs. Thus, continue to lay out vegetables, alternating layers. The eggplants will be soaked in tomato juice, and the dish will be even tastier.

Sandwiches with sprats

Compound
half a white loaf
sprats (canned in oil) - 1 can
mayonnaise,
garlic - 1-2 cloves
pickled cucumbers - 2-3 pcs (you can use lemon instead of cucumbers),
greenery

Preparation

Cut the loaf into slices and fry each slice on both sides in vegetable oil.
Rub the fried loaf slices with garlic.
Grease each slice with mayonnaise and add a slice of pickled cucumber or a thin slice of lemon.

* you can not rub each piece of loaf with garlic, but mix the garlic with mayonnaise, and then spread the slices of bread with this garlic mayonnaise
Place one or two sprouts on top and decorate with herbs.

Beet salad with garlic

Compound
beets - 2 pcs.,
garlic - 2 cloves,
cheese - 70-100 g,
mayonnaise,
salt,
walnuts, raisins or prunes - optional

Preparation

Wash the beets (do not peel), wrap each one in foil and bake in the oven at 180° ~60-80 minutes (depending on the size of the beets) or boil until tender.
Peel the boiled beets and grate them on a coarse grater.

Grate the cheese.
In a bowl, combine beets, garlic and cheese.
Season the salad with mayonnaise, add salt to taste and transfer to a salad bowl.

* If desired, you can add chopped walnuts, raisins or steamed and finely chopped prunes to the salad

Vegetable salad

Compound
bell pepper - 1 piece,
tomatoes - 2 pcs,
cucumbers - 1 piece,
canned corn,
vegetable oil,
salt,
pepper

Preparation

Wash the vegetables. Remove the skin from the cucumbers and cut into small cubes. Cut the tomato into cubes too. Place tomatoes and cucumbers in a salad bowl, add diced red bell pepper and canned corn. Season the salad with salt and pepper to taste, mix well and season with vegetable oil.

Salad “Spring freshness”

Compound
cucumber - 1 piece,
tomatoes - 1-2 pcs,
radishes - 4 pcs.
dill greens,
granular cottage cheese - 1 tablespoon,
natural yogurt - 1-2 tablespoons,
salt

Preparation

Wash and dry the vegetables.
Using a sharp knife, cut off the skin of the tomato and set it aside for rose decoration. Cut the tomatoes into strips.
Cut the cucumber into strips.
Cut the radishes into half circles or small slices.
Chop the greens.
Place the vegetables in a salad bowl, add salt and mix.
Add a little grainy cottage cheese to the salad and season with natural yogurt or sour cream.
The salad is prepared immediately before serving.

Vinaigrette with herring

Compound
herring - 1 pc.
potatoes - 2-3 pcs.
beets - 1 pc.
carrots - 1 pc.
onion head - 1 pc.
pickled cucumbers - 2 pcs.
vinegar - to taste
salt
pepper
green salad leaves.

Soak the herring in strong tea, separate the fillets from the bones, and cut into small pieces. Boil potatoes, beets, carrots, cool, peel, cut into small cubes. Finely chop the cucumbers. Combine all ingredients, mix, season to taste with salt, pepper, vinegar, vegetable oil, garnish with lettuce leaves.

Olivie

Compound
boiled sausage (or boiled/fried poultry fillet) - 250g,
potatoes - 2-3 pieces,
pickled or pickled cucumbers - 2 pcs.
eggs - 4 pcs,
green peas - 0.5 cups,
boiled carrots (optional component) - 1 piece,
mayonnaise,
salt to taste

Preparation

Cut sausage or boiled chicken into cubes. Cut boiled potatoes, boiled carrots, boiled eggs, pickled or pickled cucumbers into small cubes. Add green peas.
Mix everything and season the salad with mayonnaise.

Cabbage salad with crab sticks

Compound
cabbage - 300g,
crab sticks - 100g,
corn - half a jar (400 grams),
mayonnaise

Preparation

Wash and chop fresh cabbage. Finely chop the crab sticks.
Place shredded cabbage in a salad bowl (mash the cabbage a little with your hands to make it softer), add chopped crab sticks, half a jar of corn and season with mayonnaise. Mix the salad well and serve.

Hot dishes

Chicken legs stewed in sour cream

Legs 4 pcs
Sour cream – 250g
Tomato – 1 piece
Sweet pepper – 1 piece
Salt pepper
Cut the legs in half and fry in a frying pan, preferably without oil, until golden brown. Then put them in a bowl for stewing, pour in sour cream and cut the tomato and pepper into cubes, add salt and pepper. Cover the dish with a lid and simmer over low heat until done

Cutlets baked with mushrooms and cheese

Compound
minced meat (pork + beef) - 500 g,
onions - 2 pcs.
white bread or loaf - 1-2 slices,
cheese - 100-150 g,
champignons - 150-200 g,
parsley,
garlic - 2 cloves,
mayonnaise or sour cream,
salt,
black pepper,
vegetable oil for frying

Preparation

Peel the onion and chop finely.
Peel the garlic and pass through a garlic squeezer or finely chop.
Grate the cheese.
Wash the champignons, dry and cut into slices.
Wash the greens, dry and chop.
In a frying pan heated with vegetable oil, over medium heat, fry the onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes.
Place half the fried onion in a bowl and set aside.
Add the champignons to the onions remaining in the pan and fry, stirring, for 8-10 minutes (if desired, you can fry the mushrooms until golden brown or just lightly fry). Salt and pepper.
Crumble yesterday's white bread without crusts or a bun, pour in milk and leave to swell. Squeeze the swollen bread well.
Add squeezed bread, fried onions with garlic, herbs, salt, pepper to the minced meat, mix well and beat the minced meat several times, throwing the minced meat into a bowl or on the table.
Form the minced meat into round cutlets and fry on both sides until golden brown.
Place the cutlets on a baking sheet or in a baking dish.
Grease each cutlet with mayonnaise or sour cream and add a pile of fried mushrooms and onions.
Sprinkle cheese on top.
Bake at 180°C ~25 minutes.

Meat in French

Compound
pork - 400-500 g,
onions - 3-4 pcs,
hard cheese - 200-300 g,
mayonnaise - 400 g,
pepper,
salt,
greenery

Preparation

Wash the meat, dry it and cut it across the grain into layers 1 cm thick.
Beat each layer of meat well, add salt and pepper.
Peel the onion and cut into rings or half rings.
Grate the cheese on a coarse grater.
Place the meat on a greased baking sheet.
Place onion on top of the meat (not in a very thick layer).
Pour mayonnaise over the meat.
Sprinkle with grated cheese.
Bake for 25 minutes at 180°C.
Let the finished meat sit for 10-15 minutes. Serve hot, sprinkled with herbs.

Stuffed peppers

Compound
minced meat (pork + beef) - 400 g,
pepper - 7-10 pcs,
rice (dry) - 2-3 tablespoons,
onion - 1 piece,
carrots - 1 piece,
garlic 2 cloves,
tomato - 1-2 pcs,
parsley, dill,
tomato paste - 1 tablespoon,
sugar - 1/4 teaspoon,
vegetable oil for frying,
salt,
pepper

for tomato sour cream sauce
tomato paste - 2-3 tablespoons,
sour cream - 200 g,
water - 1-1.5 cups (more is possible)

Preparation

Wash the peppers, carefully cut out the seed box and rinse them again to remove the seeds.
In a saucepan or frying pan heated with vegetable oil, lightly fry the peppers on all sides and transfer them to a plate.
Prepare the filling:
Rinse the rice and boil until half cooked in salted water. Drain the water.


In a frying pan heated with vegetable oil, fry the onion for 3 minutes, add the carrots and fry, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine minced meat, rice and fried onions and carrots.
Wash the tomato, dry it and grate it on a coarse grater, discard the skin.

Wash the greens, dry and chop.
Add tomato mass, tomato paste, herbs, garlic, salt, sugar, pepper to the minced meat and mix well.
Fill the prepared peppers with the resulting minced meat.
Place the peppers in a saucepan or other thick-walled container.
Prepare tomato-sour cream sauce:
Combine sour cream with tomato paste, dilute the sauce with water, salt and pepper.
Pour the resulting sauce over the peppers.
Cover the saucepan with a lid. Over medium heat, bring the liquid to a boil and reduce heat.
Cook the peppers for 40 minutes.
Turn off the heat and let it brew under the lid for another 10 minutes.
When serving, sprinkle with herbs and sour cream.

If funeral services take place on fast days, then the food should be fast.

If the commemoration falls during Lent, then the commemoration is not held on weekdays, but is postponed to the next (forward) Saturday or Sunday. This is done because only on these days (Saturday and Sunday) are full Divine Liturgies performed, and during the proskomedia, particles are taken out for the departed.

Memorial days falling on Bright Week (the first week after Easter) and on Monday of the second Easter week are transferred to Radonitsa - Tuesday of the second week after Easter.

Lenten food

Lenten pancakes

Lenten pancakes are prepared without adding baked goods (cow butter, eggs, sour cream, sugar, etc.). For lean pancakes you will need: 4 cups of flour (buckwheat or wheat, you can mix both types of flour), 4.5 cups of milk, 20-25 g of yeast, salt to taste. Pour half a glass of warm milk into an enamel pan and dilute the yeast in it, add another one and a half glasses of milk. While stirring, add 2 cups of flour. Mix the dough well, cover the pan with a towel and place in a warm place. When the dough has risen (increases 2-3 times in volume), add the rest of the flour, milk, salt, stir well and put it back in a warm place. After the dough has risen again, you should bake the pancakes, carefully scooping the dough so that it does not fall. The frying pan is usually first greased with one teaspoon of vegetable oil.

Snacks and salads

Sandwiches "Spring"

Compound
white or brown bread - 4 slices,
Guacamole sauce or avocado pulp (optional component in the recipe) - 4-6 teaspoons,
tomato - 1 piece,
cucumber - 0.5-1 pcs (small),
lettuce leaves,
basil or dill greens,
lemon - 1/3-1/2 pcs,
salt,
black pepper

Preparation

Cut white or black bread into slices (if desired, the bread can be fried in vegetable or olive oil and cooled).
Spread the slices of bread with Guacamole sauce.

* if you don’t have Guacamole sauce, you can simply chop the avocado pulp with a fork, add salt, and sprinkle with lemon juice - spread this avocado cream on the bread
* if there is no avocado, you can not grease the bread with anything at all, but immediately start placing vegetables on the slices of bread or, if the bread is fried, you can rub it with half a garlic clove

Wash the tomato and cut into circles.
Cut the cucumber into circles.
Wash the lettuce leaves and dry them.
Wash and dry the dill or basil.
Place lettuce leaves, tomato slices, cucumber slices on slices of bread.
Salt the sandwiches with coarse salt, pepper and sprinkle with lemon juice.

Fish jelly

1 kg. any fish (preferably several varieties), 1 pc. carrots, 1 onion, 1 parsley root, 1.5 l. fish broth, salt, pepper.

Cut fresh or frozen fish, divide into pieces and salt. In the prepared fish waste broth, boil pieces of fish together with roots and spices, then take out the fish, strain the broth, pour it over the fish and put it in a cold place to harden.

The vinaigrette

Compound
potatoes - 2-3 pcs,
beets - 1 piece,
carrots - 1-2 pcs,
sauerkraut - 100-150 g,
onion - 1 piece,
salted or pickled cucumbers - 2-3 medium pieces,
vegetable oil,
green onions - optional
salt

Preparation

Wash potatoes, beets, carrots well.
Place the vegetables in a saucepan, add water, bring to a boil and cook until tender.

* If desired, vegetables can be wrapped in foil and baked in the oven at 180°C until cooked. Each vegetable must be wrapped separately in foil.

Peel boiled vegetables and cut into small cubes.
Peel the onion and chop finely.
Cut the cucumbers into cubes.
Squeeze the sauerkraut a little from the brine.
Add a little vegetable oil to the beets and stir - then the beets will not color the rest of the vegetables.
Combine together: potatoes, carrots, onions, cucumbers, cabbage, season with oil and mix gently.
Add beets, salt to taste and mix everything together again.
When serving, you can sprinkle with green onions.

Salad of Chinese (white) cabbage with tomatoes

Compound
Chinese or white cabbage - 1/3 of a small cabbage,
tomatoes - 2-3 pcs,
bell pepper - 1 piece,
vegetable oil,
salt

Preparation

Wash the cabbage, drain and chop.
Wash the tomatoes, remove the stems and cut into small slices or cubes.
Wash the bell pepper, remove the seeds and cut into cubes.
Mash the cabbage a little with your hands so that it releases the juice and put it in a salad bowl.
Add tomatoes and peppers.
Salt the salad (you can lightly sprinkle it with lemon juice) and season with vegetable oil.

Potato salad with pickled mushrooms and green peas

Compound
potatoes - 6-8 pcs,
onion - 1 piece,
pickled champignons or other mushrooms - 1 jar,
pickled cucumbers - 4-5 pcs,
green peas - 1 can,
greens (optional),
salt,
pepper,
vegetable oil

Preparation

Wash the potatoes well and cook in their skins until tender. Peel and cut into cubes.
Drain the liquid from the marinated mushrooms and cut into slices.
Cut pickled cucumbers into small cubes.
Peel the onion and cut into half rings or quarter rings.
Drain liquid from green peas.
Wash the greens, dry and chop.
Combine the prepared ingredients: potatoes, mushrooms, cucumbers, onions, green peas, herbs, salt, pepper.
Season the salad with oil and mix.

Canned fish salad with green onions

Compound
canned fish - 1 can,
olives - 0.5 cans,
green onions,
potatoes - 2-3 pcs,
lean mayonnaise or salad dressing

for salad dressing

vegetable oil - 2 tbsp. spoons,
lemon juice - 1 tbsp
pepper,
salt

Preparation

Mash the canned food with a fork.
Boil the potatoes, cool and cut into cubes.
Cut the olives into rings.
Chop the green onions.
Combine canned food, potatoes, onions, olives, season with salad dressing or lean mayonnaise, add salt to taste and stir.
Salad dressing: vegetable oil, lemon juice, pepper, salt - combine all ingredients.

Hot dishes

Eggplant stuffed with mushrooms

Compound
eggplants - 2 pcs.
bell pepper - 1-2 pcs,
onion - 1 piece,
tomatoes - 2 pcs.
champignons - 150 g,
garlic - 2-3 cloves,
parsley or cilantro,
walnuts,
vegetable oil,
salt,
pepper

Preparation

Wash the eggplants, cut off the stems and cut each eggplant lengthwise into 2 halves.
Carefully cut out the flesh from each half using a knife or spoon and set aside.
Place the hollow eggplant boats on a baking sheet or in a baking dish, salt them on the inside and grease them with vegetable oil.
Bake the boats at 230 degrees for 10-15 minutes.
Peel the onion and chop finely.
Wash the pepper, cut out the seed box and cut into small cubes.
Cut the eggplant pulp into small cubes.
Wash the champignons, dry and cut into slices or small cubes.
Wash the greens, dry and chop.
Peel the garlic and pass through a garlic press.
In a frying pan heated with vegetable oil, fry the onion for 2 minutes.
Add pepper and cook for another 4 minutes, stirring.
Add eggplant and stir-fry for 7 minutes until eggplant is cooked through. Salt and pepper.

* When the eggplants are ready, you can add grated tomato without skin, stir and simmer for another 4 minutes.

Add chopped herbs, garlic and stir.
In a separate pan, fry the champignons for 8-10 minutes.
Combine eggplants with mushrooms and mix the filling well.
Remove the eggplant boats from the oven and fill them with filling.
You can sprinkle crushed walnuts on top of the eggplants.
Bake in an oven preheated to 200 degrees for 10 minutes.
When serving, sprinkle with chopped herbs.

Lenten cabbage rolls with vegetables and champignons

Compound
cabbage - 1 medium head,
rice (dry) - 100-120 g (about 0.5-0.75 cups),
tomatoes - 1-2 pcs (optional),
onions - 1-2 pcs,
carrots - 1-2 pcs,
champignons - 150-200 g,
garlic - 1-2 cloves,
parsley, dill,
tomato paste or tomato sauce 1-2 tablespoons,
vegetable oil for frying,
salt,
pepper

for filling

tomato paste or tomato sauce 3-4 tablespoons,
water - 0.5-0.75 liters,
salt

Preparation

Wash the head of cabbage and separate it into leaves.
Place cabbage leaves in boiling salted water for 2-4 minutes until the leaves are soft. Immerse 2-3 sheets in water at a time.
Remove the boiled leaves using a slotted spoon and place in a colander. Cool.
Cut off thickenings from each leaf.
Prepare the filling.
Boil the rice until half cooked (5 minutes).
Wash the champignons and cut into slices.
Wash the tomatoes, peel them and cut the pulp into small cubes.
Peel the garlic and chop finely.
Wash the greens, dry and chop.
Peel the onion and chop finely.
Wash the carrots, peel and grate on a coarse grater.
In a frying pan heated with vegetable oil, fry the onion for 2 minutes, then add the carrots and fry together for another 3-4 minutes.
Place the onions and carrots in a bowl and fry the champignons in the remaining oil for 4 minutes.
Combine together: rice, onions with carrots, champignons, tomatoes, garlic, herbs, salt, pepper (you can add 1-2 tablespoons of tomato paste) and mix the filling well.
Place 1-1.5 tablespoons of filling on the prepared cabbage leaves and roll up the cabbage rolls.
Fry the cabbage rolls in hot vegetable oil for 2 minutes on each side.

Prepare the filling: combine water, tomato paste, add a little salt and mix well.
Pour the filling over the cabbage rolls, cover with a lid and bring to a boil over high heat.
As soon as the liquid boils, reduce the heat to low and cook at low simmer for 30-40 minutes.

Oat cutlets

Compound
oatmeal - 1 cup,
water (boiling water) - 0.5 cups,
fresh champignons - 3-4 pcs,
potatoes - 1 piece,
onion - 1 piece,
garlic - 2 cloves,
greenery,
salt,
pepper,
vegetable oil for frying

Preparation

Pour oatmeal into a bowl or saucepan, pour boiling water, cover with a lid and leave to swell for 20-30 minutes.
Peel the potatoes, wash and grate on a fine grater.
Peel the onion and grate it on a fine grater.
Cut the champignons into small cubes.
Chop the greens.
Pass the garlic through a garlic press.
Add potatoes, onions, garlic, mushrooms and herbs to the swollen oatmeal - mix the mixture well, add salt and pepper.
The oatmeal mass should not be too thick and not too liquid - so that you can scoop it up with a spoon.
Place oatcakes in a frying pan heated with vegetable oil using a tablespoon.
Fry the cutlets over medium heat on one side until golden brown.
Turn over to the other side, fry for 1 minute over medium heat, then reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 5 minutes.
Cutlets can be served with fresh vegetables or mashed potatoes.

Fish with vegetables baked in mayonnaise

Compound
fish fillet - 300-400 g,
potatoes - 5-6 pcs,
carrots - 2 pcs.
onions - 2 pcs.
mayonnaise,
salt,
pepper

Preparation

Wash the fish fillet, dry it and cut into portions.
Cut the potatoes into large cubes.
Cut the carrots into cubes.
Cut the onion into rings.
Place a layer of fish in a greased baking dish, add a little salt and pepper, place chopped vegetables on top: potatoes, carrots, onions - add a little salt and pepper to the vegetables and pour mayonnaise over everything.
Place the fish and vegetables in the oven over medium heat and bake for 40 minutes until cooked through.

Pies

From lean yeast dough prepared according to this recipe, you can bake pies with different fillings, open and closed.
Ingredients: 2.2 kg of flour, 2 cups of warm water, 1 cup of vegetable oil (0.75 cup is possible), 30-40 g of yeast, 1 teaspoon of salt.
To prepare lean yeast dough according to this recipe, you need to dissolve the yeast in 0.5 cups of warm water and place in a warm place. When the yeast foams, knead the dough from the indicated products, cover with a towel and place in a warm place.
Knead twice and form pies. If the filling is juicy, you need to make a hole in the middle of the pie so that it does not burst from the steam during baking. The surface of the pie is brushed with strong sweet tea and baked at 180 degrees until done. After baking, lightly brush the cake with boiled water, cover with a towel and let it rest.

Pie fillings

Apple filling

Wash the apples, peel them, removing the seeds (you don’t have to cut off the skin, as it contains aromatic essential oils), cut into slices. Place the apples in a bowl, add granulated sugar, butter, a little water and simmer.

Potato filling

Potatoes - 7-10 pcs. medium size; onions - 3 pcs.; butter - 4 tbsp. spoons; eggs - 2 pcs.; salt and pepper - to taste.
Instructions: Peel the potatoes, rinse, boil, mash until smooth, add raw eggs, butter, sautéed onions, salt, pepper and mix thoroughly.

Fish filling

fish fillet 600 g, 2 onions, flour 1 tablespoon, vegetable oil 4 tablespoons, bay leaf, salt, pepper, herbs to taste
Wash the fillet, salt and fry on both sides. Then cool and pass through a meat grinder. Finely chop the onion, fry until pink, add flour and fry until light brown. Then dilute with a small amount of water or broth to the consistency of thick sour cream, add minced fish and mix everything well.

Stuffed rice with mushrooms

rice 3 tablespoons, fresh mushrooms 100-150 g, vegetable oil, water 3 glasses for cooking rice, onion 1, wheat flour 1 teaspoon, salt, pepper to taste
Cook the rice. Peel the mushrooms and boil in salted water until tender. Pass the cooked mushrooms through a meat grinder and fry. Prepare the sauce as follows: pour vegetable oil into a frying pan, heat it and fry finely chopped onion in it. Add a tablespoon of flour and fry it until it turns light brown. After this, pour in about a glass of water, and the mixture should have the consistency of thick sour cream. After boiling the mixture for 10 minutes, add salt, pepper, and chopped herbs. Mix the sauce with rice and minced mushrooms.

Fresh cabbage filling

Chop 1 head of medium-sized white cabbage and add salt. After 10 minutes, squeeze it out, put it in a saucepan, pour in 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, add grated carrots or, if you like, finely chopped onion. Fry, stirring, until soft so that the cabbage does not brown. When it cools down, add ground black pepper and finely chopped dill.

Orthodox canons establish that there should be no alcohol at the funeral table, since the main thing in a funeral service is not food, but prayer, which is clearly incompatible with a drunken state, in which it is hardly permissible to ask the Lord to improve the afterlife fate of the deceased.

Beverages

Gingerbread cookies, gingerbread cookies, pancakes, and sweets are served with drinks, but cakes and pastries are not recommended.

Kissel

Nowadays they cook liquid sweet fruit jelly, but in the old days jelly (jelly - sour) was prepared from flour - rye, oatmeal, wheat - with sourdough and sourdough. Oatmeal jelly was thick, it was cut with a knife and eaten with a spoon (remember milk rivers with jelly banks in Russian folk tales). That is why the funeral custom preserves jelly in this form: with milk. You can make your own oatmeal by grinding oatmeal in a coffee grinder.

Oatmeal jelly

2 cups oatmeal, 2 tablespoons honey, 8 cups water, salt to taste. Pour warm water over the oatmeal and mix well so that there are no lumps. Let it swell for 6-8 hours (you can leave it overnight). Then strain through a sieve, add honey, salt and cook, stirring, until thickened. Pour hot jelly into molds, let it harden and cut into portions with a knife.

Cranberry jelly

200-400 g cranberries, 6-8 tbsp. spoons of sugar, 4-6 tbsp. spoons of potato starch.
Sort the cranberries, rinse, rub through a sieve, squeeze out the juice. Pour the marc with five times the amount of hot water, bring to a boil, strain. Cool part of the broth and dilute potato starch in it. Put sugar in the remaining broth, boil it, then pour in the diluted starch, squeezed juice and bring to a boil. Pour into a dish, sprinkle with powdered sugar to prevent a film from forming, and cool.

Apple jelly

Finely chop 2-3 pounds of apples, boil in water with a piece of cinnamon, strain through a sieve; Mix 5 glasses of this juice with 1/4-1/2 pound of sugar, grated with lemon zest, squeeze the juice out of 1/2 lemon, boil, pour in flour diluted with 1 glass of cooled apple broth, boil thoroughly, stirring constantly.
take: 6-8 apples, cinnamon, 1/2 lemon, 1/2-1 cup. sugar, 1/2-3/4 cup. potato flour.

Dried apple jelly

Take 1/2 pound of dried apples, pour 6 cups of water into them, boil the apples, strain and rub through a sieve, pour into a saucepan, add 1/4 or 1/2 cup of sugar, boil, pour in a glass of water mixed with 1/4 or Boil 1/2 cup potato flour, stirring vigorously, pour into mold, cool, serve.

Raspberry, red or black currant jelly, cherries or plums

Pour water over the berries, boil, grind with a spoon, strain, take 5 cups of this juice, add 1/4 or 1/2 pound of sugar grated with lemon zest, boil, pour in flour diluted with 1 cup of cold water, etc. Serve sugar separately.

Take: 1-1.5 lb. berries, 1/2-1 cup. sugar, 1 cup. potato flour, lemon zest, sugar.

Cranberry juice

For 2 liters of water – 250g cranberries. Mash the cranberries and squeeze out the juice through cheesecloth, put the pulp in water, bring to a boil and boil for 7-8 minutes. Leave for 30 minutes to cool. Strain through cheesecloth, add juice and sugar to taste.

Bread kvass

half a loaf of rye bread;
3 liters of boiled water;
half a pack (25-30 grams) of dry yeast;
half a cup (125 grams) of sugar;
raisin.

Preparation

Cut the rye bread into regular pieces and cut into quarters. Place in one row on a baking sheet and place in a low-heat oven. The bread should dry thoroughly and lightly brown, best done over low heat. Dry the crackers for about 10-15 minutes, then turn off the oven, leaving the baking sheet in it.

Place the finished crackers in a non-oxidizing container (an ordinary three-liter jar is perfect for these purposes) and pour boiling water over them up to the shoulders of the bottle. Add three tablespoons of sugar and leave to cool. Cool a small amount of water, for example a glass or even less, to body temperature or slightly higher and pour dry yeast into the water. When the water in the jar has cooled to about 36-37 degrees, pour the diluted yeast into the jar and mix thoroughly.

After this, cover the jar with the future kvass with a lid or saucer and set aside in a warm place for 2 days.

After this period, carefully strain the infusion through a very fine sieve or cheesecloth to completely separate the grounds. Place the grounds in a separate jar.

Add the remaining sugar to the strained infusion and mix thoroughly until it dissolves. Add a well-washed handful of raisins to the infusion and leave at room temperature for another half day. After this, pour the kvass into plastic bottles and carefully tighten the lids, because The kvass must be very well sealed. Place the bottles with the finished product in the refrigerator and after a day you can drink the kvass.
The grounds obtained during the preparation of kvass can not be thrown away, but stored in the refrigerator in a glass jar. Now this is ready-made sourdough, and when preparing the second portion of kvass, instead of diluted yeast, add 4 tablespoons of sourdough to the breadcrumbs. Next, everything is as in the recipe: let it brew for two days, drain, add sugar and raisins, let it sit again and put the bottles in the refrigerator. It is better to renew the starter, i.e. leave the last portion of grounds.

Lemonade recipe

To prepare lemonade, cut 5 lemons into slices, remove the seeds, put in a saucepan, add 300 g of sugar, pour in 2 liters of water and put on fire until one fifth of the liquid has boiled away.
Place the drink in the refrigerator. Serve lemonade with ice cubes

Sbiten

Dissolve 100 g of honey and sugar in 1 liter of boiled water, add cinnamon, cloves and boil for 15-20 minutes, and then strain.
Sbiten is served hot.

The funeral meal ends with a general prayer of thanksgiving.

When loved ones pass away, it is a great grief, and no one can change anything here. For people close to the deceased, all that remains is to see him off with dignity, according to the traditions of Christian culture, by giving the person his final honors. In the souls of Orthodox people lives the belief that with death only the earthly path ends for a person, and his soul is imperishable and will live forever. Therefore, it is so important to conduct according to the rules not only the funeral ceremony, but also the wake that follows.

Among Christian peoples, the most important commemorations are supposed to be held three times: on the day of the funeral, on the ninth day and on the fortieth.

• The first time a funeral dinner is held is on the day of the funeral - and it is customary to invite all the people who came to the funeral to the table.
• The second wake is held on the ninth day after death. It is not customary to invite guests to it, and they are celebrated in a close family circle.
• Still others - on the fortieth day (fortieth), according to ancient beliefs, this day is the hardest for the soul of the deceased, its future fate is decided, and it finally leaves our mortal world.

The funeral dinner is an important part of the ceremony.

It is necessary to celebrate the funeral simple food, no frills, especially if memorial days fall during fasting. The required minimum of dishes on the funeral table d Must include cold appetizers and at least one hot dish. In the old days, it was believed that the rising steam from the first dish helped the soul of the deceased rise to God.

Mandatory funeral dishes

The main dish of all funeral dinners is kutya- a symbol of the rebirth of the soul of the deceased. Each person present at the funeral table must eat his portion (at least 3 spoons) before starting other dishes.

Kutya is a porridge cooked from wheat grains (sometimes they can be replaced by whole grains of barley, oats, rice, peas and pearl barley), which also includes honey, raisins and nuts. The whole grain in this dish symbolized rebirth and the eternal afterlife.

Kutia is the main dish on the funeral table and must be consecrated in the church after the funeral or funeral service. You can also sprinkle the kutya with holy water before serving.

Preparing funeral kutia from rice is simple. For this we take:

• 0.5 cups steamed rice;
• 1 tablespoon honey;
• 100 grams of raisins;
• 50 grams of dried fruits (dried apricots, prunes);
• 2 glasses of water;
• 20−30 grams of walnuts;
• vanilla sugar on the tip of a knife.

Before cooking rice, it should be soaked for 2-3 hours to remove excess gluten and starch. Drain the water, transfer the rice to fresh cold water, and cook until done like regular crumbly porridge. In order for the honey to be well absorbed into the grain, it should be melted in a water bath. And the sweet and dry ingredients of kutya are added at the end. Stir and let stand for 10-15 minutes so that the dried fruits steam.

After kutya, guests are served Lenten funeral pancakes and sweet honey jelly with milk.

Pancakes, like jelly, are not just a dish; their appearance on the table on Memorial Day is deeply symbolic. Pancakes have great ritual significance; they are a symbol of eternal immortality and resurrection, and represent the sun.

To prepare ordinary funeral pancakes you will need:

• 0.5 liters of warm water or milk;
• 500 grams of wheat flour;
• 2 eggs;
• 25 grams of vegetable oil or butter;
• ½ teaspoon salt, sugar and soda.

Mix flour, eggs, salt, sugar with warm water or milk. Knead into a homogeneous dough without lumps, add soda. Bake in a well-heated frying pan in vegetable oil.

Kissel (made from oats, rye or wheat) with milk symbolizes milk rivers and jelly banks in the other world. Kissel ends the funeral dinner and is served to the guests last. To cook funeral oatmeal jelly you will need:

• 2 cups oatmeal;
• 1.5 liters of boiled water;
• 1 crust of black bread.

Pour boiled water over the oatmeal, dip a crust of black bread into the liquid so that the jelly ferments. After the jelly has fermented after two days, it needs to be strained, brought to a boil and sweetened with honey.

In addition to ritual dishes, you can prepare the following for the funeral table:

• Hot dishes include cabbage soup, borscht, chicken noodle soup, meat dishes (cutlets, roasts), fish, buckwheat porridge, stuffed peppers, and boiled potatoes.
• Served as appetizers: cucumber and tomato salad, feta cheese with tomatoes, vinaigrette with herring.
• You can also bake a pie or filled pies, gingerbread cookies, pancakes, and gingerbreads from the dough.

Of course, the composition of the dishes largely depends on the family structure, wealth and traditions, the number of people who will come to the funeral and other decisive factors. But, it should be remembered that the set of dishes should be as simple as possible, as if setting a regular dinner table on Sunday.

Sample menu for a funeral at home

Funeral table option:

1. Kutya, Lenten pancakes and jelly (are a mandatory treat at a funeral dinner).
2. Sandwiches with fish (red fish or sprats).
3. Beet salad with garlic.
4. Vegetable salad with vegetable oil.
5. Baked cutlets with cheese and mushrooms or cabbage rolls.
6. Beetroot borscht.
7. Pie with filling (fish, rice and mushrooms, potatoes, apples).
8. Drinks that are perfect include: jelly (oatmeal, currant, cranberry), sbiten, fruit drink or kvass on bread.
9. Fish jelly.
10. Tea, sweets.

A funeral dinner is not a social event or a feast, and should not be considered as an occasion to gather with friends and relatives for idle communication and discussion of everyday issues. Therefore, the Christian Church prohibits fun, alcohol and music, so that the funeral meal does not turn into a noisy feast.

Funeral - from the word remember. This is an ancient Orthodox rite aimed at helping a suffering soul find a better world.

After all, what is important is not the fact of the funeral dinner itself, but the fact that people who cared about the deceased came to it, and what is important is that they gathered together at one table to support each other in their grief.

Video

From the video you will learn how to properly prepare and conduct a funeral dinner.

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If the memorial day of 9 or 40 days falls during fasting, then a Lenten memorial dinner should be prepared. What is included in it, what dishes may be present at the funeral table - read below. Read the general rules for holding funerals.

If a commemoration of 9 or 40 days falls during Lent, then the commemoration is not performed on weekdays, but is postponed to the next (forward) Saturday or Sunday, the so-called “counter commemoration.” This is done because only on these days (on weekends during Lent) are the Divine Liturgies of St. John Chrysostom and St. Basil the Great celebrated, and memorial services are held. If the memorial days fell on the 1st, 4th and 7th weeks of Lent (the strictest weeks), then only the closest relatives are invited to the funeral dinner.

Kutya recipe for a funeral

It has long been considered a traditional dish at the funeral table among the Slavs. The simplest and most unpretentious dish: wheat grains are soaked overnight, then boiled until soft, add steamed raisins and poppy seeds, and honey. You can replace wheat with rice, but this tradition appeared much later.

Lenten pancakes for funerals

There should also be pancakes on the table. During the fasting week, they are prepared without eggs and milk, but this does not affect their taste in any way. To prepare lean pancakes, mix flour, salt, sugar and dry yeast, dilute with warm water, add vegetable oil and leave for a while in a warm place so that the pancakes can rise.

Uzvar or compote for Lenten funerals

Uzvar (brew) is a traditional compote of dried fruits with honey. You can serve its modern analogue: compote of frozen berries or dried apricots. However, you should not replace this dish with soda and any sweet water from a bottle or juice. Compote has traditionally been present at the funeral table among the Slavs since ancient times.

Traditionally, pies should be present at the funeral table. They are also distributed to guests after the end of the meal.

Recipe for Lenten funeral pies:

The dough for Lenten pies is made according to the recipe given below. Mushrooms, onions, green onions, and sorrel can be used as filling.

For the dough, dilute the yeast in 1.5 cups of warm water, add 200 g of flour, stir and place in a warm place to stand for a couple of hours. Then mix 100 g of vegetable oil with 100 g of sugar, pour into the dough, add 250 g of flour, leave for another hour.

Form the finished dough into balls and let them rise. Then roll the balls into cakes, put the mushroom mass in the middle of each, make pies, let them rise for half an hour on a greased baking sheet, then carefully brush the surface of the pies with sweet water and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes over medium heat.

Cover the finished pies with a towel to cool. Remove from the pan when they are completely cool.

First courses of a funeral lunch in Lent

For starters, prepare any soup, cabbage soup or borscht, but not with meat broth, but with beans, beans, and lentils. You can make mushroom puree soup. If you serve it with croutons, it will turn out no less satisfying and tasty than a regular meat entrée.

Second courses of a funeral lunch during Lent

For the second meal at a Lenten funeral table, dishes with mushrooms are suitable. For example, boiled potatoes in mushroom sauce, stewed potatoes with mushrooms, noodles with mushrooms. You can cook rice with vegetables (prepared like pilaf, only without meat). This is a rather aromatic and satisfying dish, quite appropriate on a funeral table.

You can make soy cutlets or even soy chops. If you don’t want to buy ready-made soy products in the store, you can make your own cabbage or carrot cutlets. After frying in breadcrumbs, they will become a worthy replacement for their meat prototypes.

For the second course, you can serve salted and soaked vegetables: cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini (in general, check your country supplies). Vinaigrette, Olivier salad without meat and mayonnaise, any vegetable salad (cucumbers + tomatoes, cabbage + cucumbers) are suitable as a side dish.

Remember that the essence of any (whether fast or fast) funeral dinner is not to eat deliciously, but to “reinforce your strength to pray for the deceased.”

After the funeral, members of the family of the deceased usually gather close relatives, acquaintances, colleagues, and friends of the deceased for the wake, to which they tried not to come without an invitation, because, due to the natural delicacy of the people, they took into account that the family could be short of money due to sudden material expenses , as well as the family’s decision to gather only a narrow circle of people.
In some areas it was not customary to invite people to funerals, and anyone who knew the deceased closely through life and work together could come to them. Such a visit signified respect for the deceased and his family. The clergy were formally invited to the commemoration, in fact trying not to participate in it.
When arriving at the house from the cemetery, they always washed their hands and dried them with a towel. They also “cleansed themselves” by touching the stove and bread with their hands; they used to even specially heat a bathhouse and wash in it, and change their clothes. There was a custom for those who kissed the deceased on the lips - they had to rub their lips on certain points of the stove (near the choke). This custom among the Slavs is obviously connected with ideas about the cleansing power of fire and is aimed at protecting oneself from the deceased.
During the time the deceased was taken to the cemetery and buried in the house, preparations for the meal were completed. They tried to clean the house before the deceased was lowered into the grave, although it was difficult to guess the timing. They arranged the furniture, washed the floors, swept away all the garbage that had accumulated over three days from the large corner to the threshold, collected it and burned it. The floors needed to be washed thoroughly, especially the corner, handles, and threshold. After cleaning, the room was fumigated with incense or juniper smoke.

The funeral meal in the Orthodox tradition is interpreted as a continuation of the service by eating food, therefore, certain rules and traditions are followed in the funeral ritual.
A funeral service is a kind of Christian almsgiving for those gathered, as interpreted in the Holy Scriptures. Funeral feasts also existed in ancient times, when pagans ate food at the graves of their dead fellow tribesmen. This tradition became part of Christian rituals, and ancient Christian funeral meals were transformed in later times into modern commemorations.
Funeral dinners are traditionally held three times, which allegedly coincides with a threefold change in the body of the deceased (on the third day the image changes, on the ninth the body disintegrates, on the fortieth the heart decays). The threefold commemoration also coincides with beliefs about the journey of the soul to the next world.
The deceased is also commemorated on other days (six months, a year, birthday, day of the Angel of the deceased). There are also so-called calendar commemorations associated with certain holidays that accompany the economic and everyday life of peasants, and which are included in church rituals.

In an effort to bury the deceased according to folk rituals and in accordance with church rules, relatives and friends of the deceased often formally follow the performance of ritual actions, without going into their meaning.
According to the church, the establishment of the symbolism of commemorating the dead on the third day after death is that the deceased was baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, believed in the Triune God - the Trinity Consubstantial and Indivisible. The living in their prayers beg the Holy Trinity to forgive the deceased for his sins committed in word, deed and thought, and to credit him with three virtues: faith, hope and love.
The unknown regarding the afterlife state of the soul is also important for Orthodox Christians. When Saint Macarius of Alexandria, as written in the Holy Scriptures, asked the Angel accompanying him in the desert to explain the meaning of the church commemoration on the third day, the Angel replied that for two days the soul, with the angels who are with it, is allowed to walk on the earth, where she wants, so the loving soul wanders around the house in which the body is located, like a bird looking for a nest. A virtuous soul walks where it has done justice. On the third day, in imitation of Christ, the soul ascends to heaven to worship God.

On the way to the throne of God, the soul undergoes tests of spirits in its earthly affairs. These tests are called “ordeals” and usually begin on the third day after death. The entire space (according to Christian mythology) represents several judgment seats, where the incoming soul is convicted by demons of sins. Each judgment (ordeal) corresponds to a specific sin; evil spirits are called tax collectors. A total of twenty ordeals are indicated, corresponding to a certain group of sins depending on the degree of severity (for example, sin of words, lies, condemnation and slander, gluttony, laziness, theft, love of money, stinginess, covetousness, untruth, envy, pride and vanity, rage and anger, murder, sorcery, fornication, adultery, sodomy, etc.), i.e. the main human vices are listed.
On the 9th day, loved ones pray for the deceased, so that his soul will be honored to be canonized and receive the reward of heavenly bliss.
Saint Macarius of Alexandria, by revelation from an Angel, says that after worshiping God on the third day, the soul is commanded to show the various abodes of saints and the beauty of paradise. The soul watches all this for six days, admiring the beauty and forgetting the sorrow that it had while in the body.
If she is guilty of sins, then she begins to grieve and reproach herself for having spent her life carelessly and not serving God as she should. After viewing heaven, the soul (on the ninth day of its separation from the body) ascends to worship God.
The number forty is significant and is often found in the Holy Scriptures. According to the testimony of the same Saint Macarius, after the second worship, the Lord commands to show the soul hell with all its torments, and for thirty days the soul, led through the torments of hell, trembles so that such a fate is not prepared for it.
On the fortieth day, the ordeal ends, and the soul ascends for the third time to worship God, who judges it and determines its place in anticipation of the Last Judgment according to its earthly affairs and by the grace of the prayers of the Church and loved ones during these forty days.
The court of the fortieth day is a private court to determine the position of the soul, which, according to the teachings of the Orthodox Church, can change through the prayers of relatives and friends, their performance of alms and good deeds in memory of the deceased.
For funeral meals, they gathered first of all relatives, closest friends, and earlier also the poor and the poor. Those who washed and dressed the deceased were especially invited. After the meal, all relatives of the deceased were supposed to go to the bathhouse to wash themselves.
The fortieth day was considered the most important. It was believed that after the magpies the soul goes far, far away, and therefore they were in a hurry to get everything done by this time. They ordered a memorial liturgy (requiem service or magpie in the church), gave something for the commemoration of the soul and the church parable. They always paid money for funeral services until the fortieth day.
Commemorations on the ninth, fortieth and other days of death usually consisted of a visit by the relatives of the deceased to the cemetery and a funeral home meal for those invited.

Nowadays, funerals are sometimes more reminiscent of pagan funeral feasts, which were organized by the ancient Slavs, who believed that the richer and more magnificent the farewell to the deceased, the better he would live in another world. Elements of vanity, prestige, the financial condition of the relatives of the deceased, as well as ignorance of the church charter in this matter also play a certain role in this.
Compliance with the norms in the Orthodox funeral meal requires that before it begins, one of the loved ones reads the 17th kathisma from the Psalter in front of a lit lamp or candle. Immediately before eating, they read “Our Father...”.
It was customary to serve ritual dishes at the funeral table: kanun (fed), kutya (kolivo), pancakes, jelly. In addition to these mandatory dishes, cold fish appetizers, herring, sprats, fish dishes, and fish pies are usually served, which has a certain connection with Christian symbolism.
On fasting days, meat dishes were allowed: roast, meat stew, kulebyaka pies, borscht, porridge, noodles with poultry. Hot food was considered obligatory, because they believed that the soul of the deceased flies away along with the steam.

Currently, the funeral table menu also consists of a certain set of dishes, depending on what days the funeral falls on (Lenten or Fast).
Salads of beets with garlic, radishes, cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese with tomatoes, fresh and sauerkraut are served as appetizers; caviar from apples, vegetables (carrots, zucchini, eggplants), vinaigrette, vinaigrette with herring, etc. Hot dishes, in addition to those mentioned, include cutlets, stewed lamb, poultry baked or fried in vegetable oil, duck with sauerkraut, fried eggplants, stuffed peppers, boiled potatoes, cabbage rolls stuffed with vegetables. Pies with potatoes, berries, apples, dried fruits, dried apricots, mushrooms, cabbage, fish, cereals, rice, etc. were made from lean yeast dough. Funeral pancakes were obligatory. Gingerbread cookies, gingerbread cookies, pancakes, and sweets were placed on the table. Cakes and pastries were not recommended. Drinks include berry jelly, lemon drink with honey, apple drink, rhubarb drink, kvass made from crackers.
We tried to have an even number of dishes on the table; changing them was not practiced, but we adhered to a certain sequence of meals.
The ancient funeral dish with which the funeral dinner began was kanun (fed), which used to be prepared from beans with sugar or made with honey, bread crumbled in water or unleavened cakes, which were poured with sweet sati. In the old days, wheat or barley kutia was used. Later, funeral kutya (kolivo) was made from boiled rice, doused with honey diluted in water, and sweet fruits (raisins). According to tradition, the funeral dinner began with kutia, which was eaten in three spoons.
Kutya must first be consecrated in the temple. Here, too, there is its own symbolism, in which grains serve as a sign of resurrection, and honey (raisins) signifies the spiritual sweetness of the blessings of eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven. Kutya seems to contain the ideas of the ancients about the immortality of the soul.

Orthodox canons establish that there should be no alcohol at the funeral table, since the main thing in a funeral service is not food, but prayer, which is clearly incompatible with a drunken state, in which it is hardly permissible to ask the Lord to improve the afterlife fate of the deceased. No wonder the popular proverb says “Drinking is joy of the soul,” but on such a day the fun is unlikely to be festive.
In real life, there are rarely any wakes without alcoholic beverages. These are mainly strong drinks (vodka, cognac), dry red wines. Sweet and sparkling alcoholic drinks are usually excluded. The presence of alcoholic beverages at the funeral table is partly explained by the fact that they help relieve emotional tension and stress associated with the loss of loved ones.
The table conversation is mainly devoted to the remembrance of the deceased, reminiscing with kind words about his deeds on earth, and is also aimed at consoling relatives.

For believers, it also mattered what day the commemoration took place: fast or fast, since the assortment of dishes changed accordingly in accordance with the requirements of Lent. If the commemoration fell during Great Lent, then they were not performed on weekdays, but, as usual, were postponed to the next (forward) Saturday or Sunday. Also, memorial days that fell on Bright Week (the first week after Easter) and on Monday of the second Easter week are transferred to Radonitsa (Tuesday of the second week after Easter).
Before the meal began, food was sometimes fumigated with a censer containing incense.
Food was served in everyday (not festive crystal or brightly painted porcelain) dishes, with, if possible, a calm color scheme.
We ate as usual with tablespoons or dessert spoons, trying not to use knives and forks. In some cases, if there was silverware in the family, the relatives of the deceased used silver spoons, which also serves as evidence that silver was given magical cleansing properties.
With each change of dishes, the Orthodox tried to read a prayer.
The funeral table was often decorated with branches of spruce, lingonberries, myrtle, and black mourning ribbon. The tablecloth was laid in a single color, not necessarily white, but often in muted tones, which could be decorated at the edges with black ribbon.
The table setting was normal, except that the cutlery did not include sharp objects (knife, fork), and spoons were placed with their backs facing up.
There is a tradition of placing a utensil on the funeral table for the deceased (a knife and fork are placed parallel to an empty plate), a lighted candle, often decorated at the base with a black ribbon, as well as a glass (shot glass) with vodka, covered with a piece of black bread.
The tradition of leaving dishes and food on the table for the deceased, as well as covering mirrors, windows, and TV screens, has nothing to do with Orthodoxy; its origins go back to paganism, but in real life it is widespread. This example, like many others, indicates that modern funeral rituals are syncretic, because includes heterogeneous components of folk culture, an integral part of which among the Slavic peoples is Orthodoxy.
Folk tradition also regulated the order of placing people at the funeral table. Usually the owner of the house, the head of the family, sat at the head of the table, on both sides of which were relatives in order of proximity of kinship by seniority. For children, as a rule, a separate place was allocated at the end of the table. In some cases, at the request of close relatives of the deceased, they were seated next to (on both sides) the father or mother if one of the parents died. The place where the deceased usually sat was left empty, the back of the chair was decorated with a mourning ribbon or a spruce branch.

A special order for the funeral dinner also developed, the main content of which was the commemoration of the deceased through eating food, interspersed among the Orthodox with reading prayers, memories of good earthly deeds and the personal qualities of the deceased. According to tradition, the first word was spoken by the head of the family, then the right to lead the feast was usually transferred to a special, respected person, whom close relatives of the deceased asked to fulfill this duty of “tomada-host.” Traditionally, close relatives tried not to say farewell words, but in the actual situation of a funeral dinner, as a rule, they were also given the floor.
It was customary to pronounce funeral words while standing, and after the first one to honor the memory of the deceased with a minute of silence, also standing.
If there were a large number of guests, they sat at the table in several shifts.
It was customary to break bread and pies with your hands rather than cut them. The remains of the funeral dinner, and especially baked goods, were always distributed to those present “to take away” so that they and their household could once again remember the deceased with a kind word, especially since not everyone could, for various reasons, attend the wake. The next day, crumbs of bread were carried to the grave, thereby, as it were, introducing the deceased to information about how the wake took place.
The last funeral dish was usually jelly and tea. The Orthodox ended the meal with a prayer of gratitude: “We give thanks, O Christ our God...” and “It is worthy to eat...”, as well as wishes for well-being and an expression of sympathy for the relatives of the deceased.

It was not customary to say thanks for the treat. After eating, the spoon was usually placed on the table and not on the plate. By the way, it should be mentioned that according to custom, if during lunch a spoon fell under the table, then it was not recommended to pick it up.
Getting up from the table, they often bowed in the direction where the deceased’s utensil stood, addressing “him” with words like “we ate, drank, it’s time to go home, and may you rest in peace,” after which, saying goodbye to the relatives of the deceased, went home. As a rule, they sat at the table for a long time, which was considered a good omen, since many good things could be remembered about the deceased. In some places there was a sign that whoever stood up first from the funeral table would soon die, so they tried not to be the first to leave the table.
There was also a custom of leaving the device with a glass of vodka covered with bread for up to forty days. They believed that if the liquid decreases, it means that the soul is drinking. Vodka and snacks were also left at the grave, although this has nothing to do with Orthodox rituals.
After the guests left, the household, if they had time, usually washed themselves before sunset. There was no need to remove anything from the table, but they tried to cover all the cutlery and remaining food with something, except for that intended for the deceased. All doors and windows were tightly closed at night. At dusk they already tried not to cry, so as not to “call the deceased from the cemetery,” according to popular belief.
After the funeral of a loved one, many people, especially close relatives, observed mourning.
The widow had to observe the deepest mourning - up to a year. Earlier at this time, she was wearing only clothes, mostly black, and no jewelry at all. Naturally, in the eyes of others, even thoughts of remarriage before the end of the period of mourning were considered indecent.

In most cases, a widower mourned for six months. Children were required to mourn for their deceased parents for a year, successively changing from black to lighter shades of clothing. This mourning for the deceased father or mother was divided in duration into deep - six months, ordinary - three months and semi-mourning - the remaining three months, when white and gray were mixed with the black color of the clothes. It was customary to wear six-month mourning for grandparents, which was also divided equally into deep and semi-mourning. The same period of mourning was for the deceased sister and brother.
Mourning clothes were dark, black or blue, in which shades of red were completely excluded. Most often not new. Currently, if there are no suitable clothes or headdress in the wardrobe, they buy a black dress (suit) and a headscarf. Previously, during mourning, they did not even try to take special care of clothes, because, according to popular beliefs, careful care of them was a manifestation of disrespect for the memory of the deceased. During the period of mourning, women should cover their heads with a scarf.
There was a widespread custom during this period not to cut hair, not to do elegant, voluminous hairstyles, and in some cases, even to braid girls’ hair. In general, in Rus', women, as a rule, had to observe external signs of mourning longer, and men could wear black, dark-colored clothes only on days of remembrance, which was not condemned in the public consciousness even by village residents.
Signs of mourning in the house remained for a long time, depending on the way of life. In most cases - up to 40 days, and also up to a year.
In the families of believers, mourning was celebrated with intense prayers, reading religious books, abstinence in food and pastime. It was not customary to participate in various amusements, holidays, and gambling.
If the wedding of one of the relatives happened during the period of mourning, then on the wedding day the mourning attire was removed, but put on again the next day.
It was not customary to go to public and entertainment places during deep mourning; even appearing in the theater was considered permissible only after the mourning had completely lifted. An arbitrary reduction of mourning in a society with a certain way of life and observance of folk traditions immediately catches the eye and can cause condemnation.
In modern conditions, as a rule, such a long period of mourning as before is not observed, especially in the city. All this is individual and in each specific case depends on a number of circumstances.
When wearing mourning, one should not show boundless grief by demonstrating it to others. Everything should be done with dignity, since the meaning of mourning lies not only in observing external decency, signs of a person’s mental state, but also in the fact that it is a time for a person to deepen into himself, a time for thinking about the meaning of life. Ultimately, the way we honor the memory of our relatives, others may also honor our memory, for no one is eternal in this world.

Menu of the Russian funeral table, its traditions and features

Among the ritual Russian national feasts, they were most firmly held throughout the 20th century. both under the Tsarist and Soviet regimes, the so-called wake is a feast organized after the burial of a person for his relatives, close friends, and sometimes for all those who came to his funeral and accompanied him to the grave. After the cemetery, people close and familiar to the deceased return, at the invitation of close relatives, to his house, where a prepared table usually awaits them.

In Soviet times, it was either a cold table, or a dinner with one hot dish, or (if the funeral was organized by the institution) - a cold buffet table. Of course, during the 20th century, the composition of food and dishes during such funerals changed enormously and, in general, as a rule, reflected the state of culinary capabilities of both the entire society and a particular family. It was considered important to invite and feed people, but with what, in what quantity, in what composition or on what menu - this was not at all part of the organizers’ considerations. Thus, the funeral lunch or memorial dinner completely lost its ritual culinary character and turned into an ordinary lunch or dinner arranged by relatives to thank the people who came to the funeral of their loved one. That is why they ate and drank everything that a particular family could get and put on the table at the moment.

Meanwhile, the Russian funeral table (be it lunch or dinner) must traditionally consist of a mandatory and certain number and composition of dishes.

The classic funeral menu, whether held immediately after the funeral or on the ninth or fortieth day, consists of the same stable composition of dishes, served in a strictly defined order. This is precisely why the funeral table differs sharply from all other forms and categories of food. And this is its deep meaning, which sets it apart from the usual series of feasts.

By the way, the funeral table has another traditional Russian name - “hot”, which directly indicates that replacing the funeral table with a “cold snack bar”, and even more so with a buffet table, is a gross violation of the rules of this type of feast. This violation directly affects and undermines the very meaning of food at a funeral as an expression of respect for the memory of the deceased. Here is the classic, traditional, correct menu for the funeral table:

Pancakes. They can be served with butter (butter), sour cream, salmon or salmon and caviar - red, granular or pressed. All these traditional “butts” depend solely on the individual wealth and tastes of the organizers. But there must be pancakes, and specifically yeast pancakes, and not just any pancakes.

Cabbage soup We are talking about classic Russian cabbage soup. What kind of cabbage these cabbage soup will be made from - fresh or sour, pickled, whether they will be rich or lean (that is, with or without meat), fresh or daily - all this is again decided individually in each specific case. But cabbage soup must certainly be prepared for real, and not be replaced with borscht or other soup.

Pies They can also be any, with any filling - meat, cabbage, onion, potato, fish, mushroom. But they absolutely must be. The type of funeral pies can be any. Moreover, the more different types of pies presented at a wake, the better. These can be hearth pies, fatty meat pies, multi-layer kulebyaki or light puff pastry pies; they can also be made from simple sour dough, rye or wheat-rye sourdough.

The only strict requirement for all types and types of pies served at funerals is that they must be closed and also unsweetened, since sweet pies are always made either open or lattice, and also because they serve as ritual pies for days joy - on birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, etc., while on days of sorrow only closed pies should be consumed. This alone creates the correct, restrained background for the entire feast, befitting the occasion of the funeral, which is what a person should feel, even if he is not versed in any rules, conventions and ceremonies.

Roast. This dish is the culmination of a funeral feast. It can be prepared from any meat or poultry and is usually accompanied by a modest vegetable side dish, most often potato or vegetable puree, since the puree is convenient to share among a relatively large number of people. Less often and, so to speak, poorer, when porridge or pasta (vermicelli) is served as a side dish, but in the 20th century. these replacements can be considered acceptable, especially for mass “feasts”, like products based on grain (flour) raw materials.

Kissel. The final dish at a funeral has extremely important ritual significance. It cannot be excluded from the funeral table menu under any circumstances. Even in the case of extreme poverty of the deceased, when it is allowed to limit and reduce the funeral table to a minimum. This minimum should remain two dishes: the first is pancakes and the last is jelly. Kissel must be sour and vegetable, that is, cranberry, lingonberry or, at worst, apple, gooseberry, currant, but not milk! This is connected both with the ritual, pagan meaning of funeral food, and with the purely culinary meaning of this gastronomic procedure, taken into account in ancient times, on the basis of centuries of experience. The fact is that heavy flour and meat foods are easily and well digested and processed in an acidic environment. That is why heavy pancakes are always followed by sour cabbage soup, and pies and roasts are always followed by sour jelly.

Drinking during a funeral. At funerals, if they are ritually correct and cultural, of course, certain canons are provided for the consumption of drinks. Unfortunately, in the last decades of the 20th century. the wake turned into a kind of excuse to get drunk “in honor of the deceased.” This is, of course, not true. The consumption of alcoholic beverages, like all other funeral food, is ritualistic and subject to clear rules. The first course - pancakes - is preceded by one glass of pure vodka (about 50 g), which everyone present must drink in memory of the deceased. And this is where the use of vodka (or cognac) as strong alcoholic drinks, in fact, ends during a classic wake. Then, throughout the entire feast, beer, mash, and kvass are consumed, and red grape wine is served with the roast, especially if it is poultry. But vodka, after the first general glass, must be demonstratively removed from the funeral table.

This special character of the Russian funeral feast, however, was completely forgotten, ignored and violated. Meanwhile, it is full of meaning: at the moment of grief, everyone must maintain sobriety of thought and action, and also do not have the moral right to insult the memory of the deceased with an indecent form of behavior (being drunk).

As we can see, the menu and nature of food at funerals, developed by the Russian people in the 17th-19th centuries, were subjected to changes during the 20th century. systematic violation and distortion both due to the loss of experience of previous generations and due to the extreme lack of culture of the vast majority of the population, which does not connect the nature of the funeral food with the meaning of this event and looks at the wake only as an occasion for drinking, meeting with friends and a form of gratitude these acquaintances for their closeness or past assistance in something to the deceased person.

Another reason for the distortion of the funeral feast in the 20th century. - this is a general loss of culinary skills, the habit of using ready-made or semi-finished industrial food products. That is why sausages, canned food, chocolate, and sweets appeared on the funeral table, completely inappropriate for this event.

If you look closely at the funeral menu presented above, it will become quite obvious that it included the main Russian national dishes that require manual preparation from raw ingredients using an oven or stove (pancakes, cabbage soup, pies, roast, jelly).

Namely, these dishes by the end of the 20th century. completely disappeared from the family table of most average Soviet, and including Russian families, especially in cities. These dishes require, of course, not only good culinary skills, but also time, fuss, and, if there are a large number of funeral participants, an extremely large amount of dishes. This is why actual wakes should actually be limited to only an extremely close circle of relatives and friends. Only then can they be carried out truly correctly - both in ritual and culinary terms. Only then will they be able to preserve the atmosphere necessary for this event and have serious national educational significance for the family and its closest ones. And this was the original purpose of organizing and repeating the commemoration three times - to educate future generations in the family-partriarchal national spirit, to unobtrusively, but consistently and definitely establish the connection and continuity of generations, at least in the sphere of assimilation and maintenance of national traditions.

Now, by the end of the 20th century, such a connection, frankly speaking, has been completely lost. And this is what sadly forces us at the end of the 20th century. to remind those who will continue the Russian people in the 21st century about the forgotten, confused and distorted rules and canons of the Russian national memorial table. Indeed, it is not a sin to restore, preserve, and transfer this heritage of distant ancestors into the 21st century. At least for those who, although indifferent to “native graves”, want to be a good cook or want to preserve one of the important “corners” of Russian national cuisine and have the opportunity to remember it at least several times in their lives, upon a sad parting with your “ancestors” or close friends.

From the book Kitchen of the Century author

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