Belarusians Celebrate Dziady Today

Until 1998, this day was officially a holiday in Belarus.

Our grandfathers believed that deceased ancestors turn into spirits that need to be appeased so that they have a positive influence on the living. On Dziady it is customary to come to the burial places of deceased relatives, clean the graves, and arrange a dinner in memory of relatives.

The Autumn Dziady has many similarities with the Orthodox holiday of Radunitsa. On this day, there is an opportunity not only to visit the graves of ancestors and remember the deceased representatives of one’s family, but also to take stock of the past year and reflect on the meaning of one’s own life.

For the democratic public of Belarus, Dziady also became a day of honoring the memory of the victims of Stalin’s repressions: in 1937, about 130 representatives of the intellectual Belarusian elite were shot before this holiday.

Until 1998, this day was officially a day off in Belarus.