Autumn Santa, Halloween or Day of the Dead? "...Remember! The saints of the Slavs are their parents and grandparents. And so on until the first ancestors." Vitaly Sandukov: Slavs always honored and respected their ancestors. Our holiday Autumn Grandfathers talks about this. The second half of October is a special time. Nature freezes, the sun no longer warms, and in the morning there is frost on the grass. During this transition between autumn and winter, the Slavs celebrated Autumn Grandfathers, or Navia Week - memorial days of ancestors, those who went to the Nav world. It was believed that on these days the souls of ancestors return home - to look into their homes, see how their descendants live, bless and protect them from harm. Therefore, Autumn Grandfathers were called a time of sacred communication between generations. Every house was cleaned and a bowl of water and a piece of bread were placed, a candle was lit and the doors were opened so that spirits could enter. Departed ancestors could come due to the fact that at this time the world of the living and the dead intersect. It is important that Autumn Grandfathers are celebrated in many countries, but not everyone remembers what this holiday actually means. For example, in Poland these days candles are lit in cemeteries, like small lights for our memory.

Autumn Santa, Halloween or Day of the Dead? "...Remember! The saints of the Slavs are their parents and grandparents. And so on until the first ancestors." Vitaly Sandukov: Slavs always honored and respected their ancestors. Our holiday Autumn Grandfathers talks about this. The second half of October is a special time. Nature freezes, the sun no longer warms, and in the morning there is frost on the grass. During this transition between autumn and winter, the Slavs celebrated Autumn Grandfathers, or Navia Week - memorial days of ancestors, those who went to the Nav world. It was believed that on these days the souls of ancestors return home - to look into their homes, see how their descendants live, bless and protect them from harm. Therefore, Autumn Grandfathers were called a time of sacred communication between generations. Every house was cleaned and a bowl of water and a piece of bread were placed, a candle was lit and the doors were opened so that spirits could enter. Departed ancestors could come due to the fact that at this time the world of the living and the dead intersect. It is important that Autumn Grandfathers are celebrated in many countries, but not everyone remembers what this holiday actually means. For example, in Poland these days candles are lit in cemeteries, like small lights for our memory.

In Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, the Day of the Dead is celebrated during this period - a colorful holiday dedicated to the memory of the dead. It goes back to ancient times. And it has a clear common origin with the Autumn Grandfathers holiday. It is believed to have come from Aztec and Maya traditions. The Aztecs believed that death is not the end at all, but a transition to another state, a kind of transformation. Therefore, they treated it as an important part of the cycle of life, rather than a tragic event. But in the West, so-called Halloween is celebrated. It is believed that Halloween originates from the pre-Christian traditions of the ancient Celts, who lived in what is now Ireland and Scotland. The Celts divided the year into two parts - summer and winter. Summer, that is, the light part, ended around late October - early November, when the last harvest was reaped.