Contents
Candlemas, or the Presentation of the Lord, is a Christian holiday celebrated annually on February 15 (February 2 according to the Julian calendar). It appeared in the 40th century and was originally the day that completed the XNUMX-day cycle after the feast of the Epiphany. Now Candlemas is one of the twelve holidays: the twelve most important Christian celebrations after Easter. The meeting is connected with the biblical story about the meeting of the elder Simeon and the infant Christ.
On the fortieth day after Christmas, Mary and Joseph came from Bethlehem to Jerusalem to bring the baby Jesus to the temple. On the same day, Elder Simeon came to the temple. According to legend, the Angel foretold him to live to meet the Messiah. In a deep sense, the Meeting is a meeting of all mankind in the person of the elder Simeon with God.
The history of folk signs for the Candlemas
The word “sretenie” is Slavic and means “meeting”. In Our Country, Candlemas was not only an Orthodox holiday, but also the day of the first meeting of spring. The second fell on “magpies” (Forty Saints Day), the third – on the Annunciation. In the peasant environment, not everyone knew the church meaning of the holiday. The people said: “At the Candlemas, winter met spring”, “At the Candlemas, the sun turned to summer, winter turned to frost”, “At the Candlemas, a caftan met a fur coat”, “At the Candlemas, gypsies sell a fur coat”. It was also called “Tombs”, “Zimobor”, “Candlemas frosts”, “Candlemas thaws”, “Semyon the God-bearer”.
It was believed that the last winter frosts fell on the Meeting. After the holiday, you should not go on a long journey in a sleigh and, moreover, cross rivers. Going on a long trip that day was a bad omen.
At the Meeting, it was customary to light the water. It was considered healing and was valued on a par with baptismal. Initially, Sretensky water was not carried to the temple, but was collected from melting dripping icicles.
Candles were also consecrated in churches, and then distributed to parishioners. According to tradition, candles – popularly called them “thunders” – were kept at home for a year. They were credited with the ability to protect a house from fire and troubles, crops from hail, and a person from the evil eye and diseases.
On the feast of the Meeting of the Lord, it was recommended to pray, because the prayers uttered on this day will help every believer, as well as ask for forgiveness for sins and do good deeds. In some regions, on this day, they went around their homes with the icon of the Presentation of the Lord or the Savior.
The holiday was accompanied by folk festivals. Women baked pancakes – a symbol of the sun. In some areas, bagels were baked and fed to livestock – it was believed that this would help protect animals from diseases.
After the holiday, the peasants began the cycle of spring work: they drove the cattle from the barn to the paddock, prepared the seeds for sowing, whitewashed the fruit trees.
What can you do on the Candlemas
Any church holidays were accompanied by a number of prescriptions.
- At the Meeting, it is worth going to church for a special solemn service and prayer service.
- It is recommended to bring consecrated candles from the temple. And you need to light such a candle only in special cases.
- On this day, it is customary to invite relatives to a festive dinner, and before that, bake pancakes.
- Another important activity for the Candlemas is helping others, it is important not to forget about good deeds.
What not to do on the Candlemas
- As with most great holidays, dirty and hard work, including cleaning and washing, should not be done on this day. Also, you can not work in the garden and heat the bath.
- It is worth spending the day at home, you can’t travel and go on the road: at best, the road will be long.
- You can not put money on the kitchen table – this way you can drive luck out of the house.
- On the Meeting, as on other church holidays, one cannot swear, quarrel and fight.
- Sadness and despondency on this day also should not be.
signs of the weather
It is not surprising that many agricultural signs are associated with the Candlemas, as well as predictions of spring weather.
- The late arrival of spring promised a starry sky and evening frost.
- The thaw spoke of early spring. She was also prophesied by a rooster that drank water that day.
- The snow that fell on the Candlemas, said that the spring would be long and rainy – “On the Candlemas day, the snow is a rain in the spring.”
- The sun peeking out before sunset heralded the end of the last frosts.
- If on this day the sun is not visible at all, wait for the Vlasevsky frosts (February 24).
- The upcoming harvest also depended on the weather. So, a drop promised a harvest for wheat, and a snowstorm and a blizzard meant that there would be no good harvest. The wind spoke of the fertility of fruit trees. On February 15, gardeners “shaked the trees with their hands so that they would bear fruit.”
- It was believed that if it snows on the Candlemas in the morning, this year there will be a harvest of early breads, snow at noon promised a harvest of medium breads, and in the evening – late ones.