Today is Cherry All Souls’ Day. The day when we honor our deceased relatives and pray for the souls of the departed always falls on Saturday. A common mass for the dead is served in all Orthodox temples. Later, wheat, bread and the first cherries are given away as offering - hence the name of the ritual.
In our folklore calendar, Cherry All Souls’ Day is also called Spasovska Zadushnitsa, because it is marked after the Holy Ascension (Spasovden). Cherry All Souls’ Day is the second All Souls’ Day of the year after Meatfare Saturday. The next one is Archangelovden (the Day of Saint Michael the Archangel). Each ear Cherry All Souls’ Day falls on the Saturday before the Pentecost (which is marked 50 days after Easter), at the end of May or the beginning of June. The All Souls’ Day before Pentecost is known in Bulgaria as the Cherry All Souls’ Day, because cherries are the most popular fruit of the season, present on the table at all feasts. It is also a day of charity, as the food left after the shared meal is given to the needy.
Compiled by: Gergana Mancheva
English version: Kostadin Atanasov
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