Today we will celebrate All Souls' Day, days before the great Christian holiday of Archangel's Day. On All Souls' Day we pay tribute to our deceased loved ones and relatives, and on All Souls' Day we also honor the angels. All Souls' Day is an expression of the Christian belief in the immortality of the soul and the resurrection of the dead.
Here are some common beliefs and customs about All Souls' Day:
On All Souls' Day, one should not work and women should not do housework. The belief is that if we work on this day, we may anger the souls of the deceased.
On this day, food is distributed to acquaintances, and maybe even strangers, and people go to cemeteries and church. According to the belief, everyone should give from what they have, with wheat, a piece of bread and wine being mandatory. These three things symbolize Christ. Wheat is associated with Christ's resurrection, and bread and wine with his flesh and blood. When you give out food, you say "Take for God to forgive" and list a name or names. When you take alms, you respond only with "God to forgive!".
According to custom, the offerings for All Souls' Day most often include homemade sweets, seasonal fruits, a little cheese and yellow cheese.
It is customary, if you have gone to cemeteries, to give out an alms to everyone who has come to the grave or is nearby, to neighboring graves. Even if they are strangers, you can give them an alms to honor each other's deceased loved ones. It is always said "God forgive!".
If you go to church to pray, a meal is also taken there.
Although many people leave food on the grave on All Souls' Day, according to most customs this is not right. On All Souls' Day, a meal should not be left on the grave, as it is not for the deceased, but for the living who honor his memory.
Another folk belief says that if a butterfly or a fly appears around the table during lunch or dinner on All Souls' Day, it is the soul of the deceased, appearing briefly to his relatives.
In some regions on this day, it is customary to leave an empty place on the table so that the deceased can "sit" when he visits his relatives. In some places, flour and salt are also distributed along with the offerings, which symbolize the sins of the deceased, az-jenata.bg also writes.