Tomorrow is Mitrovdan Memorial Day! You should never do anything in the cemetery so that you are not cursed

church, believers, prayer, Photo: Hello! / Dejan Briza

The Serbian Orthodox Church and its believers will celebrate the Mitrovdan commemorations tomorrow.

The Holy Liturgy and memorial service are served in Orthodox churches on Remembrance Day, in which the priest pours wine over the grain, and after the service, people visit the cemetery.

Candles are lit on graves and priests hold individual memorial services and read prayers for the dead. If there is no possibility to visit the grave of the deceased, a memorial service can be held in the church.

One of the customs dictates that on the day you remember the dead, alms are distributed – food and drink, and that beggars should not be thrown out of the cemetery lest they curse you. It is believed that on that day everyone is equal and it is a great sin and insult to the dead if someone is rejected or cast out of the grave.

In Serbia, the custom has continued to this day, according to which people should go to the cemetery on the day of remembrance as early as possible, and certainly before noon, because it used to be “valuable” to go to church for liturgy, and only then to the cemetery.

Also, customs in eastern Serbia forbid making anything with wool on that day, and the shears are closed to close the wolf’s jaws.