Why You Can't Go To The Cemetery On Wednesdays

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 12:53

Why you can't go to the cemetery on Wednesdays

Cemeteries and necropolises have always been endowed with mystical properties. There are many signs and superstitions associated with burial sites. Many are sure that visiting the cemetery on Wednesdays is strictly prohibited. Is this really so? And what is the reason for this belief?

Prejudices of the past

Our ancestors were afraid of cemeteries, considering this place as a gateway to the otherworldly worlds. Many superstitions were associated with churchyards, including the ban on visiting them on Wednesdays.

In the past, people believed that on Wednesdays, souls buried in the cemetery rise from their graves and come together. And if any of the living disturb them at this time, then the dead will steal the soul of this person, and the soul of one of the dead will take its place.

The opinion of church officials

In Orthodoxy, certain days are designated on which it is recommended to visit the graves of the dead:

• the day of the death of the deceased;
• the day of the burial itself;
• the third, ninth and fortieth days after death;
• Radonitsa;
• Saturday is a funeral day.

Neither the church canons nor the Bible Scriptures prohibit visiting burial places on Wednesdays. You can visit the graves of loved ones throughout the week, including Wednesday, especially if it falls on one of the memorable days. In addition, the clergy oppose various signs and superstitions. They insist that people should be afraid of the living, not the dead.

Signs and superstitions have evolved over the centuries based on the personal experience of our ancestors, but to believe them or not, everyone decides for himself

Here is what the archpriest and rector of churches Alexander Dokolin says:

Read more about bans when visiting a cemetery in our new article -

Thus, it becomes clear that the ban on visiting the cemetery on Wednesdays is just a relic of the past, invented by our superstitious ancestors. If you have a desire to visit your deceased relatives or loved ones on Wednesday, then this can and should be done.