Today, the Orthodox celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
Traditions and rites, beliefs and omens, important rules and prohibitions on this great holiday – on Styler.
Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord is a great Christian holiday, which is considered a special twelfth, and it is celebrated on September 27. This day is dedicated to the discovery of the cross on which Jesus Christ suffered for the salvation of all people – the relic became a symbol of great sacrifice and love. In the people, the holiday is also called Zdvizhenia or Zdvig. There is a considerable number of rites for this date, since ancient times there have been preserved beliefs and rules that our ancestors respected and were afraid to violate.
Churches hold festive services on Ascension Day, during which priests raise the cross high above their heads so that everyone present can see it.
The holiday was celebrated for the first time on September 14 (according to the old style) in 335 after the consecration of the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem on Calvary, where Jesus was crucified.
Even our ancestors applied this sign with chalk or garlic in their houses, on the doors and on the furniture – they believed that the crosses scare away evil spirits, which activate before the holiday and hunt for people’s souls, subjecting them to temptations and creating all kinds of tricks.
Also, processions of the cross took place around the houses to protect their homes from the evil eye and other misfortunes.
The cross on which Jesus was crucified was identified after the miracles of the healing of a sick woman and the resurrection of a man when he touched a tree – hence the name of the feast of Exaltation of the honest and life-giving Cross of the Lord.
One of the main prohibitions is not to go to the forest on September 27 – just refers to the threat of falling into the clutches of evil spirits and becoming seriously ill. The people believed that the evil one could appear either in the form of a snake or a Forester. It must be said that the ancestors’ fear of encountering reptiles was fully justified, because at this time the snakes were in a hurry to crawl into their burrows for winter hibernation, and accordingly behaved very aggressively: if someone got in their way, they would bite without further ado.
But other animals were often carried on the holiday as if they were carrying a sack – we are talking about cats, which, according to beliefs, could bring prosperity to the house and ward off all kinds of diseases. Often, peasants “borrowed” murchiks from their neighbors for a while and brought them to their homes, where they treated them with milk. Tailed ones, as it was believed, could expel the unclean from all corners and crevices.
At the Ascension, it was believed that a cat in the house could attract luck and drive away diseases, take over the “functions” of the Housekeeper.
It is interesting that even today on Vozdvizhennya cleaning at home is not considered a sin and is even welcomed (unlike other work). The premises are meticulously cleaned of dust and dirt, which, as you know, are quietly but persistently capable of sharpening our body.
Housewives on this day were served dishes without meat, eggs and milk due to fasting on the holiday. Everyone tried to eat cabbage on the Epiphany – this vegetable was attributed special healing qualities on September 27… and not only that.
The fact is that girls and boys arranged “kapusniki”-parties (kapusten evenings) on the holiday. Young people dressed in bright clothes and spent evenings in cheerful large companies. Fortune-telling from the Ascension to the Intercession was not considered a sin, so the girls received a “green light” and with the help of pies with cabbage they could bewitch their beloved.
There was another way to accomplish the desired. September 27 was considered the last day of the “woman’s summer”, and if you saw birds flying away to warm countries, you had to think about the cherished, and then the dream should soon come true.
The main signs and beliefs on the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross:
- On Ascension, any undertaking of important affairs is doomed to failure;
- On a festive day, in no case should you quarrel or swear;
- He who gives alms at the Ascension will soon increase his wealth;
- On Ascension, you can predict the weather for other autumn months: warm and dry October and November could bring cranes on their wings – but only if they fly high in the sky on September 27;
- Also on this day, the people predicted the summer weather: if the wind blows from the west, it means that the season will be cold, and if it is from the north, then they expected hot summer months.
Friends! Subscribe to our Facebook page and always be aware of the latest news.
