Pominki is a traditional russian ceremony, a part of the funerals. When the dead body has been taken into the grave and all the words have been said relatives and guests leave the cemetery and go to pominki. In Russian language this word has the same root as the word "memory". Pominki is a supper to the memory of the departed.
Usually pominki happens at the house of the departed's relatives (may be even where this man lived) but nowadays some people prefer having pominki in the restaurant or café. Many restaurants offer pominki as a special option in the list of events. This ceremony needs conditions like not having loud music and other guests. Here pominki starts.
Restaurants have a special menu for pominki which includes simple food such as soups, salads, cakes etc. Menu may be changed depending on the personal guts but there is one thing that can't be changed. This dish is called kutia. It has to be on the pominki table necessary. Kutia is a dish that contains two ingredients: rise and raisins (or it can also be with dried apricot but this is a less common option). The plate with kutia goes around the table during pominki and each guest should take a piece of it (usually just with hands not using a spoon or a fork) then say "request in peace" (in the literal translation from Russian it would be "May he goes to the Paradise") about the departed, cross himself and eat this piece of kutia. Some modern recipes of kutia contain different exotic fruits (such as pineapple or mango), cinnamon or coconut.
!Be careful with your imagination because these modern stylish versions of kutia may be recognized as a way of breaking traditions and denied by old babushkas. So leave cooking experiments for the future!
Alcohol is an important part of pominki. People drink vodka (most often), wine or cognac to the memory of the departed. There are two types of people who can refuse drinking alcohol: children and people who can't do it due to some disease. In all the other options refusing drinking alcohol to the memory of the departed may be recognized as an act of offence.
Regular pominki lasts about an hour or two. However, we have to understand the fact that this event gathers together many of remote relatives and old friends, so pominki may be prolonged for an indefinite time. After drinking lots of alcohol to the memory of the departed man people can start remembering childhood, singing, dancing, telling jokes etc. On this stage it is actually hard to distinguish pominki from russian marriage.
#traditions #culture #russia #russian culture #traditions #russian traditions