Dziady


Dziady is an ancient Slavic feast commemorating the dead ancestors. The Polish, Belarusian and Ukrainian word means "grandfathers" and is sometimes translated into English as Forefathers' Eve.
The commemoration took place twice every year, but nowadays it is usually held around end of October. During the feast the Slavs perform libations and eat ritual meals, to celebrate the living and the souls of the forefathers who joined the dziady after dark.
In Poland the tradition was supplanted by the Christian Zaduszki feast but original Dziady celebration continues among Rodnovery.
In Belarus, Dziady usually took place on the last Saturday before St. Dmitry's day, at the end of October/beginning of November. There were also Trinity Day Dziady, Shrovetide Dziady, and some other dates. Today, it is celebrated on November 2.
Lithuanians and Latvians have a similar feast, called Ilgės or Veļu laiks. It has roots in pagan times, and differs slightly from the Slavic Dziady.
In 1988 the newly founded Belarusian Popular Front initiated the revival of the tradition in Belarus. In addition, on this day a rally to Kurapaty on the outskirts of Minsk is arranged, in the memory of the victims of Soviet political repressions. The communist administration of the country at that time strongly opposed the initiative. The BPF and other movements in Belarus have continued the tradition.

In literature

Much of the second part of Adam Mickiewicz's verse drama Dziady depicts the Dziady feast organized in what is now Belarus, and popular among Ruthenians and Lithuanians during the times of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.