Home » Travel » Russian Culture » Rus: Customs, Habits and Superstitions

Rus: Customs, Habits and Superstitions

© Dr. Donald R. Houston

Every culture has its own unique behavioral habits, social customs, & a plethora of superstitions. Much of the information in this article also applies to inhabitants of many other former Soviet Union countries as well. In the Rus, there is a right way & a wrong way to do everything. As a foreigner, you will be accorded the courtesy having a lot of leeway but it is a better & much more polite to learn a few of the major customs. habits & taboos.

Probably the single most important thing to say about customs & cultural habits is that if you show respect, no matter how silly or trivial the custom or habit may seem, the better you will be responded to & treated in return. No one is going to try to force you to believe or not believe in a superstition, a custom or a cultural habit but they will expect that you be polite & respectful. Remember that many of our customs, superstitions & cultural habits often seem strange to the Rus folk.

Death & Funeral Customs

Attitudes about the dead were 2-pronged. Peasants & kulaks never ceased fearing the deceased & went great lengths to protect themselves by magic. They also tried to placate & pacify the deceased, by praising & lauding him as well ass by honoring him with offerings. To protect against another person's death, all items used to prepare the body were also disposed of at a place where people did not walk. The deceased's eyes & mouths were closed. As a protection against the dead's return, the deceased would be laid out on a table with their feet toward the outer door. A special opening would be cut into a wall or the roof. It was done to allow the coffin to be carried out through that opening. This was because they had to make sure that the coffin did not touch either the jamb &/or frame of the door or window or the spirit of the deceased would be permanently attached to the house. After the funeral procession cleared the yard, the gates were closed & then tied with a belt to ensure that the deceased's spirit did not return. Next the home was swept clean of any & all traces of the death then holy water was sprinkled along the path that the procession followed in order to neutralize the powers of the dead. Other customs included the of placing water in a vessel with a towel hung up, so the deceased's soul could wash& clean itself. At all wakes a place was left at the table for the deceased & food was placed there. A bath was heated & bath linens brought into the

The copyright of the article Rus: Customs, Habits and Superstitions in Russian Culture is owned by . Permission to republish Rus: Customs, Habits and Superstitions in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.