Human death is mysterious and incomprehensible. This is one of the real realities of human existence, because sooner or later everyone ends his life on earth. Farewell to the last journey is an important religious duty of love for our deceased relatives and friends.
Bread and water in front of a photo of the deceased
Folk tradition ascribes putting bread and water (vodka) in front of a photograph of the newly deceased. This is a very common phenomenon that is not only useless, but also harmful to a person. It is believed that a person's soul is on earth for the first three days after death, visiting his favorite places. Bread and water are left to the soul of the deceased so that it can eat and drink. This custom has nothing to do with the Christian doctrine, since the soul is immaterial and does not need earthly food at all. Such a tradition also harms the living in the sense that people forget about the main thing in remembrance - prayer to God for a deceased relative.
The roots of this myth go back to the days after 1917, when people who hated Orthodoxy came to power in Russia. Real Christian traditions are being replaced by unnecessary fairy tales. Bread and water are some of those. Since the clergy were in persecution in post-revolutionary times, there was simply no one to explain the essence of the commemoration to the people. Therefore, it turns out that such a custom has firmly entered our life.
The problem is that a person often does not even know why he is doing it, but he does it as necessary. But this is a delusion. You don't need to do this. It must be remembered that the main thing is not some rituals, but prayer, alms and the creation of good deeds in memory of the deceased. Putting bread and water on the deceased is a custom that did not even take place during the time of the Orthodox imperial state.
