Grandma always covered the mirrors on Good Friday. It was once believed that this would protect against poverty

Good Friday is the perfect time to recall a few old folk customs, which of course should be treated with a pinch of salt, but from the perspective of the modern world, far from rural rituals, the topic may turn out to be very interesting. It was the day when most rural customs related to . From covering mirrors, to washing your hair in water from boiled eggs, to standing guard at the Tomb of Jesus and bathing in a stream at dawn.

Covering mirrors. What did it symbolize?

Good Friday is a time of sadness, reflection, concentration and strict fasting. Due to its symbolism, the same behaviors and rules apply on this day as during mourning. They dressed in black and avoided loud work and even conversations. Clocks were stopped and mirrors were covered or turned against the wall so that a person looking at them on that day would not see the devil. It was believed that if a farmer looked in the mirror on Good Friday, he would suffer a crop failure and hail would destroy his crops. Interestingly, the custom of covering mirrors was practiced in villages also after death.

The Blessed Sacrament was transferred to the grave on Good Friday, and its adoration will continue there until the evening Easter Vigil combined with the resurrection or the Sunday morning resurrection. In the photo, the Lord’s Tomb in the parish of St. Francis at the monastery of the Order of Capuchin Friars Minor. Photo Paweł Małecki / Agencja Wyborcza.pl

Covering mirrors after death. For what reason was this done?

In the villages it was believed that mirrors were intermediaries between the human and metaphysical worlds. When a person in the family died, all household mirrors were covered so that the soul leaving the body, tempted by the reflection, would not want to stay in the world a little longer.

At the moment of death, clocks were also stopped to symbolically end the deceased’s earthly time. A small mirror was placed to the mouth to exclude traces of the dying person’s breath. Then, of course, they were hidden or covered.