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Believers celebrate the Ascension of the Lord on the 40th day after Easter. According to the Gospel, Jesus Christ, after his resurrection from the dead, spent more than a month on earth among his disciples and flock. And after this period, the Savior gathered the apostles in the Jerusalem suburb of Bethany on Mount Olivet, blessed them and in the flesh ascended to heaven. At the same time, two angels appeared to the audience and proclaimed that Christ would come to earth again in a visible way after a while to judge the living and the dead. In the meantime, the Lord will not leave the disciples even after his Ascension: although he will cease to appear to them in the form of a man, he will invisibly still be near them.
When is Ascension celebrated in 2023
Ascension is a holiday with a “floating” date, which directly depends on the day of Easter. It falls on the 40th day after Bright Sunday and always falls on a Thursday. In 2023, Orthodox Easter is celebrated on April 16, respectively, Ascension – 25 May. Catholics will meet the Ascension on May 18.
The full name of the holiday is the Ascension of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ.
Feast in the church
In Orthodoxy, Ascension is one of the twelve twelfth holidays (they are dedicated to the main events of the gospel history). The services dedicated to this day begin the day before. On Wednesday morning, Easter hymns are heard for the last time of the year. And in the evening they serve a solemn All-Night Vigil. The next day, during the liturgy, the Gospel of Mark is read, which describes the events of Christ’s ascension to heaven.
Since the holiday falls on Thursday, there is no fasting on this day – you can eat any food, as well as do your usual things. However, believers try to attend church services and take time to pray.
In Catholicism, there are several special church rites on Ascension, for example, the blessing of beans and grapes during Mass or the extinguishing of the Easter candle. In some churches, a statue of Christ is raised to the very ceiling of the church on a holiday, which symbolizes the process of Ascension itself.
Traditions and folk customs of the holiday
The people believed that on this day spring finally turns into summer: it gets really hot, the gardens fade. Considering that Ascension always falls in May or June, this sign is quite fair.
Like many Orthodox holidays, Ascension is associated with everyday folk traditions and even ancient pagan customs. For example, in Our Country on this day they danced in honor of the future good harvest, in some places they organized fun festivities.
In Ascension houses, they baked pies stuffed with green onions, as well as special bread dishes – “ladders”, or “ladders”, on which seven “beams” were necessarily made, symbolizing steps (according to the number of heavens of the apocalypse). These cakes were consecrated in the church, and with refreshments they went to visit relatives.
It was considered a special sin in the period from Easter to the Ascension to refuse something to wanderers and the poor. And today, believers are trying to help the needy more, to give alms to those who ask.
By the way
One of the first stone tent-shaped (instead of the usual dome – a structure in the form of a tent) temples in Our Country was consecrated precisely in honor of the Ascension. This is a church in Moscow’s Kolomenskoye, it was built in the 30s of the XNUMXth century, and it has survived to this day. And the temple was erected as a gratitude to God for the birth of Vasily III’s long-awaited son and heir – the future Tsar Ivan the Terrible.
In Moscow, the Church of the Ascension at the Nikitsky Gate is also known – it was here that Alexander Pushkin and Natalya Goncharova once got married.
Popular questions and answers
What can not be done in the Ascension of the Lord?
In addition, weddings and other celebrations should be rescheduled. However, if it’s problematic with free dates in the registry office, then there’s nothing to worry about if you sign – but you should definitely choose another day for the wedding.
Those who are just getting acquainted with religion can confuse the traditions associated with the dates of the church calendar, so it would not be out of place to remind you: do not greet loved ones on this day with the words “Christ is Risen” – Easter is celebrated with this phrase, and it is also pronounced for 40 days after, but only before Ascension.
What to put on the table on the Ascension Day?
Special attention is paid to baking on this day. It is good to cook pancakes, pies with or without filling for the festive table. According to tradition, cookies are baked in the form of a ladder, buns and juicy – in the form of shoes. The ladder symbolizes the rise to the top, shoes – as a gift for Christ, who during his stay on earth trampled on his sandals.
Otherwise, everything is allowed, both fish and meat, since fasting is not observed on this day.
What are the signs associated with this holiday?
On the morning of this day, you can go outside (if you do not live in a concrete metropolis) and wash yourself with fresh dew – it is believed that it has healing properties.