Contents
When is it customary to celebrate a holiday
Annually 13 December – the day of veneration of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called (popularly called “St. Andrew’s Day”, “Andrew”).
Rational experience and religious and magical beliefs intertwined in the holiday, in particular, the custom of guessing: on suitors and on the weather in winter – “listening to water”.
Interestingly, this saint has another day of remembrance – 12 May Andrew the First-Called is revered in Georgia. The holiday is celebrated at the state level, since it was in Georgia that the saint preached Christianity in the XNUMXst century AD.
Varangian apostle
The Bible says that the brothers Andrew and Simon were born and raised on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, in the family of a fisherman, and they themselves also continued their father’s work. But Andrei was looking for a way to God, did not marry and led a chaste lifestyle.
Hearing the prophecy of John the Baptist, he came to the saint, received baptism from him and became a disciple. Andrew met Jesus when he was baptized in the Jordan. Having witnessed the descent of the Holy Spirit on Christ in the form of a dove, he believed and was the first to follow him. Then he brought to him his brother Simon, whom Jesus will call Peter, and Andrew – the First-Called.
50 days after the resurrection of the Savior, the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles and they gained the ability to heal people from deadly diseases and preach in different languages.
The apostles cast lots, choosing the direction of their further path.
Saint Andrew had a road to the lands lying on the Black Sea coast. He climbed up the Dnieper, predicting the founding of the city of Kyiv in that place, blessed the hills and erected a cross on one of them.
He reached Novgorod, erected a cross near the village of Gruzino. He destroyed the temples of the pagans and converted their former priests to Christianity. Therefore, the inhabitants of Our Country and Ukraine revere St. Andrew the First-Called as their patron. Through the land of the Varangian, the apostle returned to Thrace.
He met his death in the village of Patras, whose ruler, the pagan Egiat, ordered the execution of Andrew for his preaching of the teachings of Jesus, crucifying him on the cross. Then the apostle asked that the cross on which he would die was of a different form than the one on which Jesus was crucified, since he considered that he was unworthy to be crucified on a similar one.
The patron saint of sailors
On the icons we see Andrew crucified or next to an X-shaped cross. He is also depicted on the St. Andrew’s flag, the official banner of the navy of the Federation, since St. Andrew is revered as the patron saint of sailors.
According to legend, by the power of his prayer, he resurrected forty drowned men, his future students, who were heading towards him. Back in 1698, Peter I established the first highest state award “For Faith and Loyalty” – the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called.
Traditions
In Polissya, in the Dnieper region, guys were initiated, after which they are accepted into the company of older comrades and they have the right to participate in parties with girls, go on dates, get married and marry. Now they are entrusted with all men’s work.
The rite of passage itself is playful, and at the same time requires dexterity, dexterity, and physical perfection from men: you need to bite off a kalita – a hanging ceremonial bread baked by girls.
This is done as follows: on a poker they “drive up” to the gate, guarded by other guys, in whose hands are tow stained with soot. Try it, jump on your poker, bite off the muffin dangling on the rope (it is, by the way, sweet, baked with cherry jam), and even risk getting a smear of soot in your face if you don’t succeed!
There is laughter and fun, but for a guy – his finest hour, a statement that he is an adult if he passes this test.
No less amusing in these parts is the fortune-telling of girls who sincerely believed that St. Andrew’s Night would help them find out their fate – whether she would marry or be a girl for another year. They guessed on “balabushkas” – small buns made of white bread. Water for the test was supposed to be carried from the well by mouth. They wear it so that the guys who lay in wait for them and tried to make them laugh so that the girls would not hold water could not see. The girls asked the guys to leave and not interfere, but they, in turn, demanded a ransom – a makitra (large clay pot) of dumplings.
The girls also baked buns and each marked her own. After cooling them, they laid them out side by side on the floor and let a hungry dog into the house. They watched whose bun she grabbed, that one would be the first to marry, whose she would not touch – wait another year. And if the dog takes the bun into a dark corner, then the girl will end up in foreign lands. Worst of all, if the animal does not eat, but only bites …
On this day…
… a church service is held, at which it is useful for people whose activities involve risk (military, sailors, those who often travel on business trips, travel) to take communion.
… girls who dream of marriage pray for a happy future family life.
… feasts are arranged in houses where there are Andreys and Andreevichs. But without noisy celebrations and with a fasting table (because the Christmas fast is underway).
… no hard work is done. Women were forbidden to weave, spin, sew.