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Epiphany eve: traditions and signs
Epiphany eve: traditions and signs

Video: Epiphany eve: traditions and signs

Video: Epiphany eve: traditions and signs
Video: Река Иордан | К празднику Крещения | Святая Земля 2024, March
Anonim

January is rich in holidays and weekends, and is probably the most busy calendar month. Worldly and religious holidays go on almost continuously and in a row.

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Epiphany Eve consists of a number of aspects: traditions and rituals, conspiracies, signs, fortune-telling. The history of the origin of the holiday and all of the above aspects deserve special attention from the interested person, because such a bright variety of primordially old Russian beliefs will hardly leave anyone indifferent. But let's start from the very beginning.

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Why is the holiday named that way?

First, let's say that the name itself did not appear easy, but thanks to the main dish on this holiday - sochi. Sochivo is a lean food traditionally served on Christmas Eve evenings. On Epiphany Eve, it is forbidden to eat and drink anything other than this dish until the blessing of water, if medical indications do not contradict.

In this case, refined dishes are not eaten, replacing them with low-fat, lean and fast food. After the fast is over, dishes of plant origin with water or juice are allowed.

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Dinner on Christmas Eve is modest, but it consists of no less than 9-12 dishes, there is also consecrated water on the table, you cannot start dinner without it, because before starting a meal, each family member takes a sip.

Epiphany Eve takes place on January 18, this is the day of restrictions and repentance before Epiphany, which is a magnificent and solemn celebration. On this holiday, the last carols and Christmas fortune-telling take place, they say that the results at this time are the most accurate. Consecrate water - they say that it bestows health, blessing and purification, physical and internal strength.

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They go to natural reservoirs, carefully and scrupulously clean the house, bring out Christmas decorations. Previously, snow was collected - it was believed that it has healing powers and copes with any disease.

It was used for washing in the morning, for baths (it was believed that it was good for a person), for whitening canvases, they threw a handful into a well - so that it served faithfully, so it turned out that they kept and used melted snow until next Christmas Eve. If it ran out, it was permissible to add the water brought from the service to the usual one. Then all the properties of holy water will spread to it.

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Traditions and rituals observed on Epiphany Christmas Eve

As with any holiday, on the Eve of the Epiphany (in another way they call Hungry kutia or Epiphany kolyada) there are a number of customs that have evolved over the centuries and were anxiously observed by believing Christians.

Not every tradition has retained its original appearance, because time does not stand still and some changes take place so gradually that you don't even notice, but the essence itself remains the same - to become closer to God.

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There are several main traditions:

  1. One day of fasting was to be observed before the first star in the sky shone.
  2. Pancakes, oatmeal jelly, uzvar, sochivo and kutia were put on the festive table, regardless of other dishes. Pancakes represent a bountiful bread harvest. Kutia is a dish made from cooked cereals with the addition of honey, raisins, nuts and poppy seeds. Most often, it is rice, but originally whole grains of wheat were used. Uzvar is a decoction of herbs, berries or wine additives.
  3. Crosses were drawn with chalk over the holes in the house, as it was believed that this way the house would be protected and evil spirits would not be able to get inside. It was also customary to consecrate the house with water brought from the service, using dry ears of wheat or simply dried herbs. It was important to sprinkle a cross on every corner, door and window in the house. Often the house and adjoining buildings (for example, a barn) were fumigated with incense for similar purposes.
  4. Swimming in Jordan is a common and healthy tradition. People believe that this washes away sins and worldly dirt from a person, makes the soul cleaner, although the priests claim that only the Lord God himself can forgive a person's sins, this tradition is considered permissible, since tempering is useful.
  5. This celebration is considered a family one, therefore it is celebrated in the circle of close people and certainly in the house of the older generation.
  6. The most important rituals on the Eve of the Epiphany are considered to be reading prayers, going to church, receiving miraculous water and dipping in Jordan. Those who wish 3 times go into the hole in order to strengthen their faith and health. Of course, you are not forced to immerse yourself in water freezing from frost. To maintain the tradition, it is enough to wash your face with baptized water, as an option, you can take it home.

The Baptism of the Lord is an important event in Christianity, so the ministers of the church ask you to take it seriously and prepare in advance at the time allotted for this - on Epiphany Eve.

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Once on the Epiphany evening, the girls wondered …

The eve of the Epiphany is also known for a variety of fortune-telling, which girls and boys often use and use to learn more about their fate. Girls and young guys wondered and wondered at their betrothed: the name, where they would come from and whether there would be a meeting and wedding in the coming year; there is also fortune telling about fate and the weather.

The result of such entertainment is not always positive: you can suddenly guess difficulties or death. However, this should not be taken too seriously.

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Fortune-telling was considered a deal with an evil spirit, so a special rite had to be observed: before fortune-telling, remove crosses and belts, untied the knots and loosen the hair. Afterwards, in order to be cleansed of sin, it was imperative to dive into an ice-hole, shower or wash with holy water.

So what kind of fortune-telling are there? Let's list a few of them:

  1. In the name of the betrothed or betrothed. To tell fortunes on the future couple, they leave the house and ask the first counter of the opposite sex for a name. This will be the name of the couple in the future.
  2. Divination by the betrothed find out who the spouse will be through a prophetic dream. To do this, the girls comb before going to bed and put a comb or cards under the pillow, eat everything salty in the evening and do not drink drinks.
  3. Divination for marriage. To find out which of the assembled girls will be the first to go down the aisle, the girls used short threads, which they set on fire and then watched who burns out faster - she will be the first to marry. If the fire did not start or the unfortunate thread did not burn for long, it would not be possible to get married. The second method is also easy to implement. They put a ribbon and a piece of bread and, with their eyes closed, pull the first thing they come across. Bread - for the wedding. The third option differs from the two previous ones: a thread or hair was tied to a ring and lowered to the bottom of a glass of water. Lifting, they listened to how many times they hit the wall. It was believed that this way you can find out how old you will get married.
  4. Divination by the shadows … Clean paper is crumpled, placed on a flat, non-combustible surface and fire is brought up. When the paper burns out, with the help of a candle, shade it on any other surface and try to consider and guess what awaits in the future.
  5. Fortune telling on wax. Milk is poured into a saucer and placed at the threshold, after which molten wax is poured into it. A star - to success in a career or study, a flower - to marriage, a cross - to illness, an animal - to long-distance roads and travel.
  6. Fortune telling with a cat. Make a wish and call a pet. If he crosses the threshold of the room with his left paw, it will come true, with his right paw - no.
  7. Fortune telling with a mirror. Simple and at the same time terrible - fortune telling with a mirror. They put candles on both sides and peer into the reflection. It is important that there is no one in the room except the fortuneteller, with the exception of a cat or a cat.
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Signs

Over the centuries, many completely different signs have developed - people year after year sensitively noticed the peculiarities of nature and weather, their idea of the future was slowly taking shape. Even in the modern world, there is no person who is unfamiliar with at least one omen. They mostly predict the weather or the yield, but there are exceptions.

Believe it or not is a difficult question, of course, but everyone must decide for themselves on their own - perhaps the experience of ancestors should be adopted?

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So, consider the signs that are directly related to Christmas Eve:

  1. If it sweeps outside the window on Epiphany, then you should expect a blizzard on Maslenitsa.
  2. If the snow bends the branches, there will be a large harvest, and the bees will swarm well.
  3. There is little snow on the trees - mushrooms and berries will grow poorly.
  4. If the stars are very bright on Epiphany, then there will be a litter of livestock.
  5. If a lot of snow fell on Epiphany Christmas Eve, there will be a good harvest of wheat.
  6. Snow fell in the morning - the buckwheat harvest will be good.
  7. A snowstorm on Epiphany Eve means an abundance of honey.
  8. If the sun is shining brightly, but the frost does not recede, then a very dry summer is expected.

And this is not the whole list that could be cited in the topic of signs on Epiphany Eve, promising happiness or unhappiness, warning and preparing for difficulties.

Signs are not necessarily fulfilled, this is not an infallible truth, only observation of the world around and an attempt to draw important conclusions.

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It was always important for a person to know everything in advance - this allowed him, at least, not to be afraid and to make his life easier.

In no case should we consider Epiphany Eve as a simple holiday in a tear-off calendar. For believers, this is one of the main events in the Christian calendar, for a person who is not inclined to believe in the supernatural, it is an integral, impressively multifaceted part of history, with its own traditions, rituals and customs, allowing at least a little glimpse behind the curtain that separates modern society from a distant, familiar only with stories, of the past.

Often, girls are now engaged in fortune-telling on Christmas Eve, believing that this is how you can learn about the future husband, although in fact they do not believe either in evil spirits or that the night is really special.

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Every year, hundreds of people dive into the ice-hole, bring home blessed water, stand at the liturgy, keep a one-day fast - after all, only the world around them changes. In essence, the person remained the same - with a desire to become closer to God, to be cleansed of sins, to become better and stronger, to be healed of diseases. A person wants to live in harmony with himself and others, to be happy. And this is really admirable.

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