The funeral ceremony has a very long tradition, and therefore some of them are not understandable to modern people. For example, few people can intelligibly explain why it is impossible to use forks at a memorial dinner.
There is a belief that on the day of the funeral at the memorial dinner, you cannot use forks. People prefer to eat with spoons, although this is not always convenient.
Household versions
One of the most common versions of the emergence of such a restriction is very simple: a few centuries ago, forks were not known to the people, because even in Soviet canteens, they mostly ate with spoons. Maybe this is what served as the basis for eating with forks at the commemoration "sin".
In Soviet times, the tradition was explained in an even more banal way: forks are sharp objects, "remembering", those who came to see the deceased on their last journey could inflict bodily harm on each other, for example, in the heat of emotions, when dividing an inheritance, etc.
Traditional versions
Kutia is a memorial porridge made of wheat with honey dissolved in water (satiated). Kutia is prepared not only for commemoration, but also on the eve of Christmas and Epiphany.
More objectively and believable from the point of view of history is the version that initially the main memorial dish - kutya - was eaten with spoons, and the dishes that had to be divided into pieces simply broke.
The memorial dinner traditionally begins with the fact that everyone eats exactly three spoons of kutya. People take bread with their hands. In modern tradition, by the way, during commemoration, kutya is often replaced with pancakes, which must be baked by a widow or widower, and in their absence, the closest relative of the deceased.
The first memorial dinner opened six weeks of mourning, during which there should be no amusements in the house, but holidays and weddings in the family.
In old church books, you can often find statements that a fork is an object of demonic (remember that the devil has a trident, and devils are endowed with a tail with a hook-shaped point). However, such views were characteristic during the period when a new subject was introduced into everyday life, because to reject everything new is characteristic of conservative human thinking. Today, such speeches can be heard from Old Believers who, in the old fashioned way, only use spoons, even in everyday life.
Modern priests explain that there is no canonical prohibition on the use of forks at funerals, but this is a tradition that would be nice to observe. However, it is much more important to observe the funeral ceremony: to perform a funeral service for the deceased, to conduct a funeral rite with prayer and humility, and also to perform a church commemoration on the ninth and fortieth days after the funeral.
