Easter is a Christian holiday, celebrated in 2016 on May 1. Easter is probably the most "rich" day for traditions, customs and ceremonies, and the Passion Week before Easter is special. The customs and rules of what to do in the Passover, and what - it is impossible, what the believers do before Easter, and what they should do after it, there is so much that it is accurate to describe what they do on Easter and after it only a very literate historian, a servant of the church or a person who devoted his entire life to the study of the rites and traditions of the Slavic people.
What to do before Easter and Easter morning
A few days before Easter. On Pure Thursday, a one-year-old baby is trimmed with his first hair. Girls can also cut their hair to make them grow better. Traditionally, it is on Clean Thursday that the house is prepared for Easter - they clean everything around, wash, polish dishes, go to the bath. Having come from a bath, children and adults can do the painting of Easter eggs, which later they will be taken to the church for consecration. The last three days before Easter are devoted to the preparation for the Great Day, but on a passionate Friday it is best to avoid any deeds and festive preparations. This day should be spent in tribulation, remembering the torments of Jesus, crucified on the cross. Great Saturday prepares believers for the brightest day. Believers add Easter cooked, Easter cakes and painted eggs and go to the temples to consecrate this food.
What Christians do on Easter
Sunday Easter breakfast begins with the adoption of consecrated food in the church. On Easter morning it is necessary to congratulate household members with the good news, having told them the words: "Christ is risen!", To which they will answer you: "Verily, He is risen!". After these words, it is customary to fight with eggs and have breakfast, tasting delicious Easter cake and cottage cheese. At Easter, joy and a happy mood prevail in the house, so it is impossible to organize cleaning, work, and even more so - it is impossible to hold a wake for Easter. If the ninth or fortieth day after the death of a person close to you falls on Easter, the funeral feast is postponed to another day. In this case, the relatives of the deceased should visit the cemetery and their loved one. Traditionally, Easter is a day of joy, and this holiday is not supposed to go to the cemetery. However, the church refers to people who came on Easter day to the graves of loved ones, with great understanding.
Nevertheless, for visits to the cemetery a special holiday is envisaged - Radonitsa.
Traditions and customs for Easter
Despite the fact that Easter is a festival of Christians, many of the customs of this day and, especially, the signs of Easter, are clearly pagan in nature.
- For example, to attract wealth and luck, Easter morning should be met very early, with the first sun rays, and even then dark;
- The shells of colored eggs are not thrown out after Easter, but are given to animals and birds. Generally feeding birds and animals for Easter provides your year free from material problems;
- It is believed that added to the water to wash the shell from the krishaks, gives the skin a face of freshness and beauty;
- According to the belief, the dug in the vegetable garden, left from the Easter eggs, provides a generous harvest;
- Good deeds, created for Easter, return to us in triple size;
- On Easter, you need to wear only new clothes, and all your troubles and problems will be left behind;
- After washing the Easter morning with water in which silver was previously deposited, you will be protected from the evil eye and "bad" energy;
- The baby born on Easter will grow up a great man;
- The item that crashed on the Easter day is a messenger of trouble;
- Snow, frost or a thunderstorm on Easter day promises an excellent harvest;
- Easter "in the clouds" brings a gloomy summer, and the rain that began this day - spring and rain.
Of course, the church considers most of these to be superstitions related to paganism, but many traditions on Easter are closely related precisely to the paganism of the Slavs (colored eggs - a symbol of sun and life, Easter cake is a symbol of male fertility, curd easter, indicating prosperity and fertility).
What do Orthodox people do after Easter?
Radonica - Parent's Day, coming on the ninth day after Easter. This day is included in Fomin's week - the first week after Easter, fully dedicated to the commemoration of the dead. It is on these days, not on the Easter week, that you must visit the graves of the deceased, clean up there, plant plants and flowers in the cemetery. Every day of the week after Easter (Fomina) has its significance. The main of these days is Radonica - the parental day. Monday - "Seeing off." The deceased souls come to the houses, where they need to prepare a meal beforehand. Souls of murdered and suicidal people can come to the house on Thursday. In order not to offend the "guest", the windows of houses are opened these days, and on the table they leave a treat. On Saturday it was customary to drive out death. One of Sabbath rituals of Thomas of the Week is that. That people, armed with pitchforks and knives, run around the cemetery, driving away evil spirits. Sunday - Krasnaya Gorka - the day of festivities and holidays: death and evil spirits were driven away, the souls of the dead were treated and calmed down, and life continues!
Knowing in advance what is being done on Easter, before and after the holiday, you can always meet this Great Day prepared and spend the holidays in a beautiful mood.