Page:The Mythology of All Races Vol 3 (Celtic and Slavic).djvu/358

 behind the oven, the most important place in the room. Abundance of good food and a neat and tidy house are supposed to attract the souls and to fill them with pleasure. In the evening the members of the household bathe, and having put a pail of fresh water, with a wisp of straw in it, for the Dziadys to wash in, the family, together with the relations who have been invited, assemble in the room arrayed in their Sunday best. The head of the house lights a candle in a corner of the room, and having said a prayer, extinguishes it; after which, with all the people sitting round a table covered with dishes and drinks of various kinds, he solemnly invites the "holy Dziadys" to partake of their meal. He then pours water into a cup so as to make a few drops flow over the brim and stain the table-cloth, and empties it, whereupon all the others drink, likewise allowing a small portion to fall. Before beginning to eat, the householder sets aside a portion of every dish on a separate plate, which he then puts in the window; and whenever a dish is finished, the spoons are laid upon the table for the forefathers to help themselves. While eating, silence is observed, except for abrupt whispers, in which the ancestors and their deeds are the chief theme; and any slight motion of the air, any rustling of dry leaves, or even the appearance of an emperor-moth is taken to be the coming of the forefathers. The ample supper finished, the Dziadys are bidden adieu and requested to fly back to heaven, while the food appointed for them is left on the table and distributed among the poor on the following day.

The winter dziadys are celebrated in a similar way on the Saturday preceding Quinquagesima Sunday.

The spring dziadys, or radunica (derived from Greek ῥοδώνια, "meadow of roses"), fall on Tuesday in Easter-Week. The housewife prepares two sorts of dishes, one for the members of the household, the other for the forefathers; and after a short prayer before the icons, the members of the family betake themselves with food and drink to the churchyard, where the