"Dziady" is a term used in Slavic folklore to identify ancestral spirits and a collection of pre-Christian rites, rituals, and customs dedicated to them. The purpose of these rites and rituals was for the living to commune with the dead and to establish relationships with the spiritual ancestors. The aim of the rituals was to win over favor with the deceased whose spirits were considered caretakers in the "sphere of fertility." Dziady is celebrated in the European Slavic and Baltic regions.