The Lord's Birth 2016: the history of the holiday, the signs and traditions

All orthodox Christians every year are waiting for this holiday - the Lord's Day 2016. The day when the Old and New Testaments, the ancient world and the new Christian time converge at the same time. And all thanks to the man who, through his death, redeemed the sins of all people on Earth. In the article you will find out what kind of holiday it is, when it is celebrated and what exactly it means, and also get acquainted with the main signs and traditions of the church holiday, the Presentation of the Lord.

The Lord's Birth 2016: what a feast

Unlike Easter, this holiday is not a passing one - the celebration of the Presentation of the Lord is held annually on February 15. Recently, many Internet users are interested in what kind of holiday it is and what it means. After all, we have known such church holidays as Christmas or the aforementioned Easter since childhood, and we perfectly know their meanings: in the first case, "Christ was born," in the second case, "Christ is risen". But what does the word "Meeting" mean?

History of the Orthodox Presentation of the Lord

In translation from the Old Russian (church) language, this word means "meeting". According to the Bible, a righteous man named Simeon appeared to the temple, at the direction of the Holy Spirit, where he saw a small Jesus with his mother Mary and father Joseph. God's baby was then only 40 days old. This meeting was preceded by a whole story, when 300 years ago Simeon translated the sacred book from Hebrew into Greek and wrote instead of the word "wife" - "maiden". The righteous thought that he made a ridiculous mistake, but immediately an angel came to him and said that in 300 years he would see in the temple the Virgin Mary, who will have the baby Jesus in her arms. It is worth noting that this is not the only meaning of the Presentation of the Lord. "Meeting" here is a rather polysemantic concept, meaning, in particular, a meeting of winter with the summer, as well as the expectation of spring. In addition, the roots of the holiday go to a distant pagan past. History says that only when Christianity came to Russia, the Lord's Birth of 2016 became a church holiday. And if on February 15 they worship Jesus Christ, then before it was dedicated to the Mother of God.

The invention refers to the main Orthodox (so-called twelve) festivals. On this day, lit and consecrated church candles, which are called Sretenskys. After serving in the church, parishioners usually bring a candle home and store it for a year, sometimes lighting while prayers are being read. In schools and gardens on the day of the Meeting of the Lord, a festive concert can be held according to the script.

The Presentation of the Lord 2016: Signs

There are a number of signs and customs performed on the Lord's Day. We list the most basic of them:

• On February 15, do not leave money on the table, otherwise there is a risk that you will lose money all year round.
• If the Thaw of the Lord is a thaw, the spring will begin early, and in autumn there will be an excellent harvest of wheat.
• Check if there is spoilage on you: dial the holy water on the Sacrament of the Lord, at home, pour a small amount of it into the perfume bottle and put it beside your bed next to the pillow. If the water is dark in the morning, it's spoiling you.
• As well as on Christmas Eve, on the sretensky day it is possible to guess. For fortune-telling any Christmas fortune-telling is quite fitting.
• On this holy holiday, pancakes are also cooked, but they can only be eaten after 8 pm - otherwise luck can leave you.

Let this wonderful Christian holiday, the Lord's Birth 2016 bring you much joy, happiness and prosperity!