Perhaps each of us at least once had to see off loved ones on their last journey. For example, I was a mother in my school years. Out of the corner of my eye I saw how adults put a glass of vodka next to the photograph and covered it with a slice of black bread. It was believed that this whole "composition" should stand for 40 days. During this time, the alcohol evaporated. (Did the deceased drink?) And the bread dried up. He, as the old men taught, according to the Christian tradition, should have been crumbled by birds. Later I learned that the churchmen were so infuriated by this custom.
Our local father Vasily told me this:
In fact, back in the 10th century, the church had to come to terms with drunken parties in memory of the dead. Trizny has existed in Russia since time immemorial. But they did not put bread and a glass to the deceased. He was supposed to have a pancake and a bowl of water. Medieval Slavs often put candles, money and a staff in the coffin, provided the deceased with comfortable shoes. To make it brighter and easier on the way. (NI Tolstoy "Slavic antiquities").
But here's the bad luck: the ancestors, although they respected the relatives who had fallen asleep in eternal sleep, were afraid that they would return and scare the family.
Therefore, the clothes of the deceased were sometimes deliberately nailed to the boards. They carried them out with their feet first so that the hair on the back of the head would sweep the path into the hut. To "follow the trail" not come back. For the same reason, they were buried in the dark. The mirrors were closed so that the soul would not fall into the mirror trap and remain in it forever. By the way, there were also prayers and candles. All means are good here.
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But even more surprising were the games under the deceased, which were arranged by the Western Slavs. They were held in the same room as the body. Boys and girls tickled him, pulled his legs, ruffled his hair. This was called "wake up". (E. Levkievskaya "Myths of the Russian people").
Also, young villagers staged role-playing games, depicting confessions and funerals, dressed up as grandfathers and grandmothers, and imitated intercourse.
All this fun was aimed at re-filling the orphaned home with life and joy. In fairness, relatives did not participate in such rituals.
