The synergy of pagan and Christian notions of the “other side”. The first stage of helping a dying person – removing barriers and causing the passage to start: death on the straw, water for the soul, lighting a death candle and a few words about the last sacrament. The arrangements: washing and dressing up the deceased. What to do with ablution attributes. Dead-clothes (a brief note of historical interest). The system of omens, amulets and interdictions connected with dead-clothes.