Picnic with the dead

[Natalie O. Kononenko]

Dear List subscribers,
        Please pardon me for indulging in one more picnic with
the dead comment.  To follow up on the 2 most recent
contributions: I had forgotten that, in big cities where there
are multiple cemeteries, the date of the visit to the graveside
cum picnic is indeed staggered.  That way, if you have family
members buried in several cemeteries, you can manage to visit
all of them.
        Also, Ukraine, too has a Nov. celebration called dedy
and other terms which escape me at the moment, but maybe the
person who provided multiple terms for Provoden' can help.  As
far as I know, the Nov. celebration of the dead does not
involve a picnic in the graveyard, but setting out food for the
dead at night.  There are 3 dates in Nov. on which the dead
return and their reaction to the food set out for them (whether
there are any signs of their having partaken of the food) is
used to predict the future.  I do not know if there is a
similar Russian holiday.

Natalie Kononenko

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