Signs and ceremonies on Maundy Thursday

Video: Signs and ceremonies on Maundy Thursday

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

On Maundy Thursday, people try to refresh their memory of the sequence of New Testament events that the Christian Church historically passes on to subsequent generations, performing canonical rites from year to year. What can and cannot be done on this day according to church rules, as well as what folk signs and superstitions exist, read on.

What holiday is it

Great Thursday is the fourth day of Holy Week, and it is called so because all the days of the week before Easter (which always falls on Sunday only) are considered special for Christians.

Since the Resurrection of Christ is a rolling holiday, its date changes every year, and it most often does not coincide for different confessions. This is due to the fact that Catholics and Protestants from the 17th century switched to a more accurate Gregorian calendar (it has fewer leap years). The Orthodox were categorically against changing the instructions of the Apostles and to this day use the Julian.

In 2020, Orthodox believers have Maundy Thursday on April 16. What did they do on this day in ancient times? In Christian mythology, all the days preceding and following Great Lent in the annual circle of church holidays are called church times, and Great Thursday comes just 3 days before the main event.

The New Testament tells of the last days of the Savior. The last week before the crucifixion is especially detailed. So, on the Jewish Passover (Passover, which in translation from Hebrew means “pass, pass by”) - the feast of unleavened bread, Jesus arranged a closed meal for his closest 12 disciples, where they drank wine and ate festive bread (“This is My Body … this is Blood - Matthew 26:26, 28).

According to the legend of the apostles, on Thursday he washed their feet and approved the celebration of the Eucharist in memory of himself - Holy Communion, the main of the seven sacraments of the church. After the Last Supper, Jesus performed his most powerful prayer to his father in the Garden of Gethsemane.

He even began to sweat with blood from horror, but the disciples could not support him with prayer and, exhausted "from sorrow," they simply fell asleep next to him. Therefore, the Angel came to serve and strengthen him.

His father’s plan meant that in order to redeem sinners who are unable to take care of themselves, the Son of God must sacrifice everything he has and suffer much in the human body before he can return to his divine nature to reign. in heaven, thereby defeating the devil and death.

This holiday differs from the usual magnificent celebrations, so that people remember the sacrifice of God and learn not to break the commandments, think about true humility and service to their neighbors, as the New Testament teaches. Leave your sins and everything bad in the past, so as not to carry it with you for the whole next year.

On this day, the liturgy has a number of features, the canons are read in full, and therefore the ancient statutes allowed even the taking of the sacrament not on an empty stomach.

What do they do on this day

On Maundy Thursday, immediately after waking up, you should wash your face with silver water, for example, taken from a jug with a silver coin or a spoon. Everyone is supposed to take a bath or shower in the morning, having had time to do this even before sunrise.

The hostesses start putting the dough early in order to bake Easter cakes in the late afternoon. I must say that making ceremonial bread requires a lot of skills, great patience, knowledge of the exact recipe and stages (the dough is very capricious and fits several times).

In this case, the most important thing is to maintain peace of mind, to think more about spiritual, and not about worldly things. The festive menu must be carefully thought out in advance so that in the period before and after breaking the fast (leaving the fast for many days) there is no unnecessary hassle in purchasing certain products.

In addition to Easter cakes, on Thursday, it is customary to cook Easter cottage cheese (custard, pressed, baked) and paint eggs. According to legend, egg dyeing became fashionable after the conversion of the Roman emperor Tiberius in the 13th century. The empty shell of a hard-boiled egg symbolizes the tomb and the Resurrection of the Son of God.

The story of the red egg says that the ministry of Mary Magdalene did not end at the grave of Jesus. She continued to testify of faith and resurrection and did so with the egg. She was a wealthy woman and was able to get an audience with the Emperor Tiberius in Rome.

Condemning Pilate for his behavior at the trial of Christ, Mary told the emperor about salvation and the resurrection of the Son of God. Holding out the egg to him, she proclaimed, “Christ is Risen!”, But the emperor was not impressed.

He said that the likelihood that a person will return to life from the dead will be about the same as that this egg will turn red. And it immediately blushed quickly!

This is why many icons painted in the Byzantine Catholic style show Mary Magdalene holding a red egg. Even before Christianity, eggs were a symbol of creation, spring and rebirth. Now they have acquired an even deeper symbolic meaning.

The sealed tomb was an "unbroken egg." Saint Augustine described the resurrection of Christ from the dead as a chick hatching from an egg.

What else do they do on Maundy Thursday? Despite all the efforts to prepare for the end of Great Lent, the main duty of a Christian is to visit the temple to illuminate the soul in the sacrament of the sacrament. In the old days, they tried to baptize newly converted believers on this day, so the custom of washing in advance before diving into the consecrated font became so popular.

Nevertheless, the holy fathers insistently remind that for God no rituals can compare with a pure and immaculate heart, which in the last days of Holy Week is especially carefully preserved and freed from all malice by sincere prayer.

What not to do on Maundy Thursday:

Fuss and work hard, because true believers try to turn their eyes to heaven on this day.
Guess, although a lot of different superstitions and rituals came to us from paganism.
Strongly angry and indulge in other sins (foul language, fornication, drunkenness, overeating, etc.).
Planning large purchases, lending. Worshiping Mammon (the idol of material wealth) should be avoided in every possible way.
To get married and hold festivities, because at this time it is not customary to do anything noisy, but only to read a humble prayer.

Signs and superstitions on Maundy Thursday

If the cake turned out to be tasty and lush on this day, the year will be happy.

Unexpected guests, including stray animals - to well-being and prosperity.

If you find a long-lost thing, good luck.

Cloudy weather - the cold will last until summer, if the sun, then, on the contrary, wait for a warm spring.

Summarize

On this day, it is customary to clean thoroughly ("There is no good in the mud").
Attend morning and evening liturgy, perform the sacraments of confession and communion, baptize children and adults.
Prepare Easter meals (without trying).
Consecrate food, water, gifts.
Give alms, help those in need.
Get a haircut, carry out various cosmetic procedures.
To give to the needy all the things that have not been used in the last year.
Decorate yourself and your home.