Why You Can't Leave Food On The Graves In The Cemetery

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

Why you can't leave food in the cemetery

In Russia there is a tradition when relatives of the deceased bring food and drink to the cemetery. But not many people know that such behavior is far from the Orthodox canons.

Superstitions and omens

People are sure that by bringing food to the cemetery, they thereby "feed" the person who has just died, help him settle in the next world and not remain hungry. It is believed that the richer the treat is left, the easier it is for the deceased.

In fact, such a tradition goes back to ancient times and has nothing to do with Orthodoxy. Leaving food on the graves was customary in pagan religions, in particular in the Voodoo cult.

Ants attracted by food can spoil the roots of flowers on the grave

In our country, this custom was firmly established during the period of the USSR. There is an opinion that the Bolsheviks gave the instruction: to remember the dead not with prayer, but with a plentiful meal. However, there is no confirmation of such statements. Most likely, people took a lot of food with them, since they went to the churchyard with whole families with their children, and the graves were far outside the settlements. This means that the path was not short, during which there was a feeling of hunger. Arriving at the cemetery, the relatives ate themselves and "treated" the deceased.

Church opinion

Clergy do not approve of the tradition of leaving food on the grave of a deceased person. After all, after death, a person passes into another world and he no longer needs earthly food. In Orthodoxy, it is possible to help the deceased to settle in another world only with the help of prayer, but in no way with the help of food.

Video: how the church views the custom of leaving food at the grave

Rational reasons for the ban

The ban on leaving food on graves has logical reasons:

• firstly, food tends to spoil, after which an unpleasant smell “stands” in the cemetery;
• secondly, the food, most likely, will go to stray dogs, who will not only trample the grave of a deceased relative, but will also regularly visit here in search of new prey;
• thirdly, if the left food is eaten by animals or the homeless, the food packaging will remain on the graves, thereby polluting the cemetery.

Thus, it becomes clear that leaving food in the cemetery is not worth it. Better give it to the poor or homeless, and commemorate the deceased person with a prayer.