Picnic with the dead

[Natalie O. Kononenko]

Dear Mr. Sabo and others interested in Slavic customs,
        Indeed, there is a picnic with the dead, celebrated
after Easter.  It used to be on the Tues. after Easter, but,
because a major holiday mid-week was inconvenient was moved to
the Sunday after Easter, also called Fomina Nedelia or Doubting
Thomas Sunday.  The term for this holiday is Radunitsa in
Russian and Provoden' in Ukrainian (also Provody).  I know of
the custom in Russia and Ukraine.  I would image that it is
practiced by all of the Orthodox (and Uniates), though I am not
sure.  There seem to be 2 types of celebrations of the dead,
those that are determined by the date of death and celebrated
3, 6, 9, 40 days, 6 mos. and 1 year after death.  After one
year, the dead enter the general category of ancestors and are
ALL honored on Provoden' regardless of the date of death.  The
person who knows most about celebrations of death and the dead
is my former student Anne Ingram.  I suggest you contact her.

Natalie Kononenko

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