Holy Week is the week after Easter. What can and cannot be done. Customs, signs, rituals by day. Easter week: do's and don'ts, rituals and traditions

According to Orthodox canons, Easter is considered the second most important holiday after Christmas, and for many believers it is perhaps more important, as it is associated not only with Christ's resurrection, but also with the arrival of spring.

Easter cakes, colored eggs are used even by those who are far from fasting, but another specificity of the holiday is that Easter week 2017 is celebrated, and not just on Sunday. This year, Easter week, which is also called Bright Week, falls on the period from 9 to 15 April 2018. Easter has its own meaning by day, and each of them has its own traditions.

History of the celebration

A lot has been written about Easter itself and its essence is known to almost everyone, while few know why it is customary to celebrate it for a whole week. According to legend, the resurrection of Christ was accompanied by natural wonders and the sun did not set for a whole week, rejoicing at what had happened. It is difficult to judge to what extent this corresponded to reality, but there is no doubt that from that moment Easter was celebrated and is being celebrated every day.

The meaning of each day of the Easter week:

Easter Monday
Easter week 2017 calls this day Polivny. folk traditions on this day, young girls were recommended to roll Easter eggs on a saucer of water, and then wash their faces with it. It was believed that such washing prolongs youth, and also washes away all ailments. Then the girl had to give a painted egg to a guy she was not indifferent to, and in exchange for this gift, he poured water on her, which was supposed to help preserve her beauty.

Easter Tuesday
Easter for weeks on this day continued with Christening, that is, the exchange of eggs and a triple kiss. The believers attended the services and continued the wide festivities. It was forbidden to work, so they went to visit, rode on a swing, young people led round dances. The whole week was devoted to flirting, not for nothing that the end of the fast marked the beginning of weddings.

Easter Wednesday
Easter week 2017 calls this day the Khorovodnitsa. In the evenings, they were taken by all the inhabitants of the settlements and this continued until the Trinity itself. On the same day, prayers acquired an additional message: believers asked for spring rains, so necessary for a good harvest.

Easter Thursday
This day was somewhat similar to Shrovetide Thursday, when the sons-in-law went to their mother-in-law for pancakes. On bright Thursday, couples who got married last year came to visit their father-in-law and mother-in-law and celebrate Easter together. Sometimes such a celebration stretched out for the rest of the week. Also on this day, it was customary to visit the graves, bringing painted eggs there as a symbol of resurrection.

Easter Friday
The fun continued. Despite the fact that Orthodoxy does not provide for the abuse of alcohol, Easter week 2017 associated Friday with this process. They poured young beer into barrels and tasted it with the whole family, although this tradition is more close to the folk one, since for the church the celebration of Easter is primarily services and prayers.

Easter Saturday
The fun reached its peak, and for young people it had a double meaning: at collective parties, the free picked up a mate for their future marriage.

Easter Sunday
This is the last day of Easter, the so-called tribute. For the Easter week of 2017, the bell ringing died down on Sunday, the services from the festive ones became everyday. The people also called this day Red Hill and opened a series of weddings. They also rolled eggs on Krasnaya Gorka, walked the last day, and from Monday they returned to everyday life.

"Christ is risen from the dead,

correct death by death

and to those that are in the tombs he gave life!”

New Testament Easter joyful experience the most sacred event: the resurrection from the dead of our Lord Jesus Christ on the third day after the day of the crucifixion. Our Passover, Christ, was slain for us (1 Corinthians 5:7). The Resurrection of Christ marks the victory over death and foreshadows the general resurrection. Paschal joy represents endless bliss in non-evening days in the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Russian people still celebrate Easter. Despite many years of preaching unbelief, thousands of people gather on the night of the Resurrection of Christ in Orthodox churches, tens of thousands consecrate Easter food. Russian hearts respond to the colossal charge of joy, renewal, enlightenment, which carries the greatest of Orthodox holidays. But for the majority, immediately after the first day of Easter, weekdays come, and the celebration stops. In fact, the Holiday lasts much longer, because the Easter joy is so great that it cannot be limited to one day!

Also on Easter in Jerusalem in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher ignites Holy Fire, which millions of believers carry around the world. This Fire is brought into every temple of our country. And the faithful, reverently accepting it in their lamps, carry it to their homes as a shrine and a sign of the miraculous and incomprehensible manifestation of divine power.

Liturgical Features

In the Easter Week in the temples, divine services are performed daily according to the Paschal rite.

Since apostolic times, the feast of Christian Easter has lasted seven days, that is, the whole week, from Easter itself to St. Thomas Week. This week is called "Bright Easter Week". Each day of the week is also called bright - Bright Monday, Bright Tuesday, etc., and the last day is Bright Saturday.
In the Easter Week in the temples, divine services are performed daily according to the Paschal rite. morning and evening prayers are replaced by the singing of the Easter Hours.
All week, after the Liturgy, processions are made near the church, in which the cross of Christ is worn. Throughout the whole week, the daily ringing of all the bells is due.

The eight days of the celebration of Christ's Resurrection are, as it were, one day that belongs to eternity, where "time will be no more" (Rev. 10:6).

Morning and evening prayers are replaced by the singing of the Easter Hours.

During the entire Paschal Week of the Divine Liturgy, a festive procession is performed, symbolizing the procession of the myrrh-bearing women to the tomb of Christ. At the procession, the worshipers walk with lighted candles.

During the entire Paschal Week, the Royal Doors in the iconostasis remain open throughout the week as a sign that on these days the invisible, spiritual, Heavenly world is opening before the believers. Open Royal Doors - the image of the Holy Sepulcher, from which the Angel rolled away the stone. Throughout Bright Week, they do not close even during the communion of the clergy, and only on Saturday before the 9th hour will they close.

Throughout the entire Week, the daily ringing of all the bells is due. By tradition, every layman, with the blessing of the rector, can climb the bell tower and strike the bells.

During Bright Week, one-day fasts (on Wednesday and Friday) are cancelled.

Starting from the day of Holy Pascha, believers greet each other with the words of Paschal joy: “Christ is Risen! To this greeting they answer: Truly Risen!

Earthly bows are canceled until the day of the Holy Trinity.

There are no weddings and prayers for the dead during Bright Week.

Funeral services are performed for the dead, but more than half of them consist of Easter hymns.

Tuesday bright week a special celebration takes place in honor of the Iberian Icon Mother of God.

On Friday of the Bright Week, the memory of the icon of the Mother of God “The Life-Giving Spring” is celebrated (according to tradition, on this day, after the Divine Liturgy, the blessing of water is performed, and if local circumstances allow, a procession to reservoirs or water sources).

Throughout Bright Week, a special bread called artos stands near the open Royal Doors. This custom has been established since apostolic times. It is known that after His resurrection, the Lord repeatedly appeared to His disciples. At the same time, He either ate the food Himself, or blessed the meal. In anticipation of these blessed visits, and later in memory of them, the holy apostles left the middle place at the table unoccupied and placed a piece of bread in front of this place, as if the Lord Himself was invisibly present here. In continuation of this tradition, the Fathers of the Church established on the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord to lay bread in the temple. On Saturday of Bright Week, after the Divine Liturgy, the artos is solemnly blessed and a special prayer is read for the fragmentation of the artos. After that, pieces of this sacred bread are distributed to believers. Then this shrine is given to the sick or to those who cannot be admitted to Holy Communion.

Prayers, having received a part of the artos after the end of the Liturgy, keep it throughout the year (usually cutting it into small pieces and eating them on an empty stomach, especially during illness).

On Saturday of Bright Week, for the first time after Pascha, at the 9th Hour, the Royal Doors in churches are closed.

On the eighth day after Easter, as the end of Bright Week, a special celebration follows, called Antipascha, which means “instead of Easter” or the second Easter.

Easter week 2017 starts on May 1st. This time, the centuries-old traditions of celebrating Easter coincide with May Days, beloved since Soviet times, and the Victory Day following immediately after Krasnaya Gorka. Reasons for joy and free time abound. The question arises as to how to holidays not only fun, but also beautiful, meaningful. Let's look for answers in the traditions of our distant ancestors.

Easter home decorating customs

Since it is customary to visit on Easter week holidays, a visit from your mother-in-law or just a picky girlfriend is guaranteed. So it doesn't hurt to decorate the house.

To create a "Glade" will come in handy:

At the same time, keep in mind that you will have to take care of decorating the table 3-4 days before the holiday. What you need to do:

When decorating your home, remember that the Easter bright week is called so for a reason, these days it is not customary to boast of wealth. Therefore, when choosing flowers for a wreath, give preference to those that grow in their native open spaces. Orchids and other exotics will be out of place. Decorate windows, doors or even the floor with them.

if you have household plot or just a tree under the window, decorate it with ribbon bows of delicate shades and nests with dyes. By the way, since Radonitsa falls on May 10, it would be appropriate to add a St. George ribbon, thereby honoring not only our deceased relatives, but also paying tribute to all the soldiers who died for us.

So, you have decorated your home in accordance with ancient and modern traditions. Now let's see how it is customary to spend the days of the Easter week according to the old rules.

Our great-grandmothers and great-grandfathers had customs during the aforementioned holiday, violating which was considered at least bad form.

The traditional rules correspond to the names of the days of the Easter week, which you will now get to know.

Holy Resurrection of Christ and a week after it

Preparations for the holiday begin on Saturday evening. Zealous housewives put products in a beautifully decorated basket, which the clergyman will consecrate during the procession. You can sanctify not only colored eggs and Easter cakes, it is not forbidden to put bacon, sausage, vegetables, fruits and even vodka in a basket. The latter, by the way, should not be tasted until Sunday: remember that appearing drunk at the Easter service is unacceptable.

In the afternoon, the whole family gathers at a festively laid table to break the fast, congratulate each other with the words “Christ is risen” and hear in response: “Truly, he has risen.” In the evening, all honest people go to mass celebrations with songs and dances.

Watering Monday

Girls and women on this day wash themselves in the morning or even completely douse themselves with water “from a red egg”. According to legend, this procedure provides health and beauty for the whole year. In addition, on the first day of the Easter bright week, it is customary to visit your grandmothers and godparents. Grandchildren and godchildren present Easter eggs and pies to their loved ones, receive the same gifts and take them away with them.

Tuesday Bathing

Those who
had too much fun the day before and ended up oversleeping morning prayer, households mercilessly watered with well water. Nowadays, in order to comply with the custom, it is enough to wash your face with cold water.

Tuesday is also considered a women's day of rest. The fair sex go to visit each other, have fun, and husbands take care of the housework.

Wednesday round dance

In the middle of the Easter week, as the name implies, it is customary to dance and go to the tavern "to the music." In a modern interpretation, the Khorovodnitsa can be celebrated by having fun with friends in a nightclub or having dinner at a restaurant.

In addition, there is also the name of the environment: "Gradovaya". So if, for one reason or another, wild fun does not suit you, you can celebrate this day by placing a hail candle in the church or in front of the home icon. Today, such a rite symbolizes getting rid of troubles associated with natural disasters.

Navsky Thursday

On the fourth day of the Easter week, according to custom, they refuse homework and care for their dead relatives. So, on the "Easter of the Dead" it is customary to clean up the graves, decorate the tombstones with painted eggs, Easter cakes, wine and other consecrated food. At the same time, men tie towels, and women complement the outfit with a beautiful apron.

In addition, keep in mind that on the days of the bright Easter week, you can’t indulge in despondency even at the cemetery. According to ancient beliefs, the souls of the dead at this time return to our world to share with us the joy of the resurrection of Christ. Therefore, Nava Thursday is not a commemoration of the dead, but rather a festive greeting. The evening, as usual, is spent in a quiet family atmosphere.

Forgiveness Friday

A great
a reason to make peace with an unfriendly mother-in-law and an overly demanding father-in-law. On this day, according to tradition, the above-mentioned relatives invite their son-in-law and members of his family to brew and taste young beer together.

Nowadays, this way of reconciliation has been transformed into any help around the house and the subsequent fun feast.

Saturday Round Dance

The youth holiday is celebrated with declarations of love to the chosen one. If the girl reciprocates, she gives the guy krashenka. Then the relatives of the newly-made bride went to the groom's relatives and agreed on the wedding. In the modern version of the Round Dance, lovers introduce each other to their parents.

If romantic experiences are in the past for you, celebrate Holy Saturday in a different old way. Our ancestors got rid of evil spirits washing the outside of the house with water.

Owners of private households can pour a hose over the roof and facade, while residents of apartments in high-rise buildings just need to wash the front door.

Fomino Sunday

Continuing the theme of youth, we mention that holy sunday Also called "Red Hill". stay at home on this day unmarried girls and single guys were considered bad omen. The very name "red" suggests a beautiful, all favorite place- here future spouses exchange vows of eternal love in front of witnesses.

By the way,
It is not customary to get married during the Easter week. You can get married, and the church ceremony can be held on another day.

Now let's look at why the last day of the Easter week is called "Fomin" and how to spend it for those who already have the corresponding stamp in their passports or for people who are in "free flight".

According to the Bible, the Apostle Thomas believed in the resurrection of his teacher only after he saw him in the flesh with his own eyes. Since then, there has been an Easter rite of communion with the body of Christ. For this you will need:

1. Buy in the church or make your own consecrated unleavened bread without yeast - artos.
2. Go to the temple in the morning and on an empty stomach taste a piece of the bread mentioned above, symbolizing the flesh of Christ.
3. Finish the celebration before the "third roosters", that is, a little after midnight.

So, you have read how to celebrate the Easter week by day. Now it's time to find out funny fortune-telling and unusual rituals that our ancestors performed during this period.

Easter signs, rituals and divination - video

Easter men's traditions by profession

It would be appropriate for fishermen to say at Christening: "Christ is risen, and I have a fish." For fishermen who observe all the rules of the Easter week, in general, as they say, green light, because the anagram of the name of Christ is deciphered from Latin as "fish".

More brutal
traditions have been observed by avid hunters since ancient times. On the first day of Easter, the men who hunted the prey of the beast fired from a gun, going behind the back. At the same time, a covenant was given not to kill for fun and a conspiracy was laid on weapons: "Beat all year without a miss."

AT modern conditions gun salvo in the first place will attract attention law enforcement. Yes, and male prey is now expressed not in the number of carcasses of slaughtered animals. So there will be plenty of fireworks in the yard or firecrackers at the door to attract good luck.

Women's custom for Easter, divination

Girls' entertainment during the Easter week certainly includes fortune-telling for the groom. However, since church traditions forbid girls to be curious even about their near future, our great-grandmothers adapted to guess in a playful way.

What you need:

Place sugar, salt, ring and bread in the corners of the room. Then stand in the center, ask a friend to blindfold you with a beautiful scarf and give you a colored egg in your hands. Spin clockwise seven times, get down on the floor and roll the dye. After that, you can remove the bandage and see where it rolled:

1. Closer to sugar is a good omen, meaning good luck and a comfortable life.
2. The ring marks imminent marriage, but how successful it will be, again, an egg that has rolled closer to salt or sugar will show.
3. Salt, of course, means failure.
4. Bread portends an acquaintance with a rich groom.

There is more
many ways of divination in the Easter week, list everything for a long time. If desired, you can use church candles, flowers, consecrated Easter eggs and even festively decorated trees or a swing in the yard.

The only condition - do not use mirrors.

magical rites

During the Easter bright week, our ancestors not only rejoiced at the resurrection of Christ, but also took care of the safety of their families and homes. For example, special beliefs on the night from Saturday to Sunday are associated with a household spirit, known to everyone as a brownie.

It was considered possible to figure out this secret household by walking around the house with a candle consecrated during matins. According to the beliefs evil spirit lived in the basement, and the friendly housekeeper lived in the attic.

Whether you believe in ancient magic or adhere to church canons, drive sad thoughts away from yourself on the days of the Easter week.

Also remember that celebrating Easter is not just an occasion to have fun with friends. At this time, you need to think about whether you are a good person.

HOLY WEEK (week before Easter)

Monday. On this day begins a big tidy. The house is cleared of old, bulky things.

Tuesday. Buying food for Easter. Women prepare medicinal infusions. Men should not even touch herbs, tinctures, powders.

Wednesday. This is the day of washing and all sorts of rubbing. On Wednesday, it is advisable to thoroughly wash, scrape the floors, knock out the carpets. On Wednesday during Holy Week, they remembered a special rite against any bodily infirmity. It was necessary to scoop up a mug of water from a well or from a barrel on the street or draw water from a river. Crossing themselves three times, they covered the mug with a clean or new towel, and at 2 o'clock in the morning, crossing themselves again three times, they poured this water on, leaving a little in the mug. After that, they put on clothes on a wet body, without wiping themselves, and the water that remained in the mug was poured up to 3 hours on a bush or flowers. It is said that a body washed in this way is reborn.

Thursday - Maundy Thursday advised to cut hair for the first time one year old baby(up to a year, cutting was considered a sin), and for girls - the tips of the braids so that they grow longer and thicker. All livestock were also advised to cut a tuft of wool for health and well-being. - On this day, Thursday salt is prepared: it is calcined in a pan, and the salt acquires medicinal properties. It is desirable to consecrate this salt in the Temple. - Maundy Thursday is traditionally called “clean”, and not only because on this day every Orthodox person seeks to cleanse himself spiritually, to receive communion, to accept the sacrament established by Christ. On Maundy Thursday, the folk custom of cleansing with water was widespread - bathing in an ice hole, river, lake or dousing in a bath before sunrise. There are many traditions associated with this day. On Maundy Thursday, they cleaned the houses, washed and cleaned everything. It was customary to collect and burn juniper branches to fumigate dwellings and stables. It is believed that the healing juniper smoke protects the person and the "animal" from evil spirits and diseases. - There was also such a belief that eggs laid on Good Thursday, eaten at Easter, protect against illness, and egg shells buried in the ground in a pasture reliably protect livestock from the evil eye.

Starting from Maundy Thursday, we were preparing for festive table, painted and painted eggs. By ancient tradition colored eggs were laid on fresh sprouted greens of oats, wheat. - On Thursday morning, they started baking Easter cakes, women, small products made from wheat flour with the image of crosses, lambs, doves, larks, as well as honey gingerbread. Easter was being prepared in the evening. - On Clean Thursday, money should be counted three times, so that money is "carried" all year. - Everyone in the family should take a handful of salt and pour it into one bag. This salt is removed and stored, and it is called "Thursday salt", i.e. Great Thursday. You can treat yourself with it, as well as your family and friends. This salt is used to make amulets for the family, livestock, garden, home, etc. - On Holy Wednesday and Maundy Thursday, it was customary to wash with water melted from snow, all domestic animals - from cows to chickens - and burn the salt in the oven, which, according to folk beliefs, acquired from this healing properties. In some villages, at midnight on Maundy Thursday, women were also instructed to douse themselves with water to protect themselves from disease. - If you wash your face on Maundy (Clean) Thursday before dawn, you need to say at the same time: “I wash off what they let loose on me, then what the soul and body toils with, everything is removed on Pure Thursday.” -In the morning on Easter, they wash themselves with water left from Maundy Thursday. It is good to put a silver little thing or a spoon in it, you can use a coin. Wash for beauty and wealth. If a girl cannot get married, she needs to give the towel with which she dried herself on Maundy Thursday to people for Easter, those who beg for alms, along with krashenka and Easter cake. After that, they soon get married.

There was also a custom to burn crosses on doors and ceilings with a candle to protect the house from the invasion of evil spirits. Passionate candles were given into the hands of seriously ill or suffering from difficult childbirth, they have healing power. From Maundy Thursday it was forbidden to sweep the floor in the house until Easter itself.

Friday. Cooking on this day is argued. They continued to bake and prepare for the celebration of Easter. "Angels help" they say pious people. On Friday they sweep the corners with a rag, this rag will help get rid of lower back pain if you tie yourself with it. The same rag is used to wipe the feet in the bath after washing, so that the feet do not hurt. Ash, taken on Friday before Easter, will help to recover from alcoholism, black shaking, from the evil eye and from mortal anguish.

Saturday. Last (quiet) tidy. You can also dye eggs. On this day, they prepare common festive dishes. On Saturday, they brought painted eggs, Easter cakes, Easter cakes and other products to the church to consecrate. And before going to the service on Easter night, they left refreshments on the table so that later they could break the fast. True, they ate a little - only symbolically, after which they went to bed. But late Sunday morning, a real feast began, which lasted all week.

Of course, all the preparatory work: cooking, painting eggs must be completed before Bright Sunday.

Here it is over great post. Noting such significant days Like Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Good Saturday, we celebrate Easter - the Resurrection of Christ. And don't forget that Easter week is ahead!

The Easter Feast is Just Beginning

On the evening of Easter, according to tradition, mass festivities and last the whole Easter week. The tradition of celebrating the Easter week is based on religious belief Orthodox people about the fact that on the day of the Resurrection of Christ, the sun that ascended into the sky sinks below the horizon only after a week. In the Easter week, the celebration changes its flavor.

Remember what begins in the church during the night service with Easter fire and the morning bells. Then the celebration passes into the stage of breaking the fast after Great Lent at festive hospitable tables with indispensable symbols of Easter: consecrated Easter cakes, curd Easter, painted eggs. And on Sunday evening, the celebration turns into a stage of festivities and acquires a street mass character. Usually people go to the squares of cities and villages, smartly dressed. Mass festivities are accompanied by music, dances, round dances, rituals, games.

Easter Week has a number of additional names: Bright, Great, Great Day, Red Week, Bright Week. The names themselves already somehow speak of the nature of the Easter week and its significance in a series of religious holidays.

believers

Every day throughout Easter week Orthodox churches Easter liturgies are held. The altar gates and deacon doors must remain open at all times. This symbolizes that the resurrected Christ opened the doors of the Kingdom of Heaven for believers.

Another custom of the Easter week is the rounds of all the villages of the parish by the church clergy, at the head of which were the God-bearers with icons and banners, and behind them the priests, deacons, psalmists. If the parish was large, then the priests went around the villages for several days. The procession was filled with solemnity and began in the central village, where there was a church. In the course of her procession, the villagers joined the procession, and everyone went to the chapel, where the priest served a prayer service. Then the clergy went from house to house, where they were met with easter eggs and Easter cake. In each house, the priest served a prayer service, censed, sprinkled everything around with holy water. After going around the village, the icons and banners were handed over to the God-bearing peasants who came for them from a neighboring village. And the next day, at dawn, the procession gathered and went to the neighboring village, to perform church clergy in it.

In the evenings before going to bed during the Easter week, one should not only pray in front of the icon, but also read laudatory prayers and hymns in honor of Jesus Christ and the Mother of God. The eve is brought to the images - a small jug of honey and 2 wax candles, which should burn all night for the remembrance of the dead. Easter prayers were supposed to protect people from troubles and misfortunes, bring prosperity to families and prosperity to the economy. It was believed that during the Easter week, the Lord, in joy, gives grace to people.

Easter memorial days

It is customary to commemorate the dead. There are 2 days for this - Easter Monday and Easter Thursday. But this does not at all contradict the joyful spirit of the holiday on the occasion of the Resurrection of Christ. It is believed that the souls of the departed these days temporarily return to earth in order to enjoy the holiday together with the living, and thus they, as it were, receive hope for their own resurrection. Commemoration is not held in churches; commemoration of the dead relies on the cemetery. According to signs, these days you can’t sew, so as not to sew up the eyes of the dead, you can’t wash, so as not to muddy the waters in front of the dead.

Easter rites

Easter week is a symbol of rebirth, renewal of life. And therefore, many rituals that are associated with marriage fall during this period. Of course, the main initiators and participants of such actions are young people. From Easter week, “marriage” festivities for boys and girls begin, as well as bridesmaids are held, the traditions of which are different depending on the area of ​​\u200b\u200bresidence.

For example, the bride could go like this. The girls, wearing the most beautiful outfit, went out into the village street and ... played bacha: they took a long, decorated with a stick and knocked down a wooden figure set on the ground with it. Their dexterity, accuracy and accuracy were observed by the guys and everyone who wanted to, which gave reason to understand which of the girls was the best. There was also such an option. The girls, dressed in everything new, gathered in the square in front of the church and stood there for some time to show off to everyone. Then the girls mounted horses and rode them around the village.

On Easter week, it is customary to perform all sorts of magical actions, which should bring marriage closer: write notes with the names of the intended suitors or arrange various fortune-telling.

Easter games and fun

Throughout the Easter week, you need to visit each other, enjoy a festive meal, dance, sing choral songs, have fun and enjoy life. In the tradition of the festival, there are several popular Easter games and amusements.

1. Round dance. An old folk game, when people join hands and, forming a vicious circle, lead a round dance to the music, changing the direction of whirling after each verse. Gradually, the music speeds up, and the round dance speeds up in rhythm with it, and accordingly, more and more often, the round dance changes the direction of whirling.

2. Choose a bride. This game is somewhat similar to the children's game brook. The girls stand in two rows, forming a corridor along which the “well done” walk. Their task is simple - to choose the girl they like and take her out of the "corridor". And then the “matchmaking” procedure is carried out, when the guy, holding the girl by the hand, asks his girlfriends about her merits. If, after listening to the reviews, the guy kisses the girl, then from that moment they are considered the bride and groom for the entire period of spring and summer festivities.

3. Rolling eggs. This is a game with colored eggs. The first time she. But throughout the entire Easter week, they continue to play it. According to the rules of the game, a low hillock on the ground is selected or some kind of wooden tray is installed obliquely. At the bottom, the eggs of all the participants in the game are laid out in a semicircle. Each participant rolls their egg down the hill with the task of knocking someone's egg off the ground. A knocked down egg is assigned to itself as a “trophy”, and the game is continued by another participant. If the rolled egg does not knock down any eggs, the owner loses it and it remains at stake. It becomes clear how important the original painting of eggs is for this game so that they can be easily distinguished. In addition to excitement and fun, this game also had a magical meaning: it was believed that rolling eggs on the winter, contributes to the awakening and fertilization of the earth and gives hope for a good harvest.

4. Swing. Swinging has always been the most popular and favorite pastime during the Easter week. The main participants, of course, are young people, and the rest are enthusiastic spectators. The girls sit on the swing first. If the swing is paired, then the guy who wants to ride with the girl sits on the swing after her. If the swing is not paired, then the guy rolls the girl from the ground. There was a tradition according to which the girls, in gratitude for skating, gave the boys colored eggs. Swinging was accompanied by the refrain:
On holy week
They hung up the swings.
First you swing -
Then you get married.

Fomino Sunday

Easter week ends on the eighth day, on Fomino Sunday. This day got its name in memory of the appearance of Jesus Christ to the Apostle Thomas, who at first did not believe in the miracle of the Resurrection of Christ - Thomas the Unbeliever.

This day is also called Antipascha or Red hill. By church tradition Antipascha means a day similar to Easter, and is celebrated with the same joy. On this day last time the Easter Liturgy is served, and the royal doors. And it got the name Krasnaya Gorka because the games and festivities that day were held on the hillocks, where the snow melted earlier than others - red (beautiful) hills. The red hill symbolizes the full arrival of spring.

In Fomino, Sunday reaches its peak. On this day, the biggest fun is planned with all the Easter games and fun, crowded booths are held everywhere. By folk custom it is customary to appoint weddings to Krasnaya Gorka. An old Russian proverb says: “Whoever marries on Krasnaya Gorka will never get divorced.” Therefore, participation in the festivities of unmarried boys and girls was considered mandatory, and refusal to participate was considered a bad omen.

And after Fomin's Sunday, Fomin's week begins. But that's a completely different story...

Good Sunday Signs

Our ancestors firmly believed that Easter days were prophetic days. And they noted everything to the subtlety. And the events taking place on Easter were considered to be filled with a special mystical meaning.

Beginning with Clean Thursday, from the house (apartment) before Easter nothing is given to anyone either as a loan or as a gift. Otherwise, money will be tight. But if on Clean Thursday you count all the available cash three times, you will live comfortably.

The most famous sign is Easter must be dressed up, then all next year spend in abundance and with profits
. And yet, putting on a new dress or suit, you can make your most secret wish: it will certainly come true.

On Easter, meeting with relatives and friends, it is customary to kiss three times and say at the same time: "Christ is Risen! - He is truly risen! However, a husband and wife do not christen in front of everyone - this is a separation, but this is not forbidden to parents and children.

As soon as you hear the ringing of church bells on Easter morning, say three times: “Christ is risen, and my family is healthy, my house is wealth, my field is harvest. Amen."

Don't forget for Easter make the first washing with the water left for this from Maundy Thursday by putting something silver in it. This will ensure your health and longevity.

On Easter, you need to avoid any conflicts, quarrels, showdowns, but it’s good to make peace with a person with whom you have been in a quarrel for a long time.

It is believed that a child born on Easter week, and even more so on Easter, will not only be lucky and perfectly healthy, but will also reach high ranks.

Don't forget to Easter night bring water home from a well (or at least pour from a tap). The rooms are sprinkled with it. Especially carefully - children's. Thus, sins, bad thoughts, evil slander are expelled.

Good ride on Easter(and all the days of Bright Week) on the swing. This was called the fanning ritual. They say that the breeze during the swing blows away all sins.

It is believed that Easter days until the Ascension of Christ, Satan lies in hell, does not stir. And Christ walks the earth.

Bright Week has come - the continuation of the Easter holiday. The holiday week has its own traditions.

Christ is Risen!

Easter prayers

On Monday, people continue to christen, greeting each other with the words “Christ is Risen!” and sealing his joy with a triple kiss. On this day, Easter prayer services begin, which are not only a procession of the parishioners led by a priest, but also a round of houses with a cross and icons. The participants in the prayers symbolize the Angels who brought the news of the Resurrection of the Lord. Among the people, people who perform Easter prayers were called "god-bearers" or "covenants". Often, elderly people or those who wanted to beg for the forgiveness of sins, relying on the mercy of the Lord, became "God-bearers". Some asked for healing from illnesses, others - getting rid of their son from recruitment, others - an end to her husband's drinking and beatings.

bathing suit

He loved the people on Bright Week and take a walk. In Siberia, for example, valiant fun began from that day: towns, bast shoes, bobs and, of course, games with an invariable Easter attribute - an egg. In the Yaroslavl province, girls on this day went to the church square “to catch gingerbread” - the beauties stood in a circle, and the guys threw sweets, gingerbread and other sweets at them. However, fun is fun, and missing a church service is unthinkable. On this day, according to the old Russian tradition, all those who slept through matins were doused with ice water. In the decree of the Synod of 1721, one can even find a strict ban on this "lewdness", which "comes from the ignorant." It’s a festive fun for the common people, and, according to the clergy, it causes harm not only to health, but also to life: some drown, others break, and “sleepy and intoxicated people are suddenly deprived of their minds by pouring over.”

round dance

From Wednesday, the girls began to lead the first round dances, which will last until Krasnaya Gorka (Fomina Sunday). Do not come to the round dance without good reason It was considered a sin, a violation of the rules, for which one could earn not only the censure of society, but also doom oneself to celibacy, childlessness or early widowhood. The youth started festivities that day, which took place in specially designated places and with the obligatory presence of spectators. Elderly women and men did not interfere in the games, but followed their course with interest, expressing approval or reprimand to the walkers.

Family bonds

The Gospel says that it was on Thursday that the Pharisee Nicodemus came to Christ, to whom the Lord told about the spiritual birth again and about the sacrament of baptism. The second half of the Easter week was especially solemnly celebrated by the newlyweds and their relatives. In the Vladimir province, on Thursday, the young went to the father-in-law and mother-in-law to be christened - the guests usually stayed for two or three days, after which the parents were invited to the house of the young. It became a kind of symbol that it was time to move on new stage family life and become full owners of their home.

Farewell to the bells

On Friday, during the celebration of the icon of the Mother of God "Life-Giving Spring", after the liturgy, a small blessing of the water takes place. People on this day went to "say goodbye" to the bells, because tomorrow their incessant ringing will stop. With special attention, the Orthodox treated the poor, the orphans and the poor, distributing to them the Gifts consecrated on Easter. According to legend, from Easter to the Ascension, Christ, together with the apostles, wanders the earth in beggarly attire, experiencing human mercy. Good deeds done during the Easter week became for the majority good start acts of mercy throughout the year.

Artos

Sacred Bread, symbolizing the body of Jesus Christ - artos - throughout the entire Bright Week is in the most prominent place in the temple next to the icon of the Resurrection of the Lord. Every day the artos is solemnly carried with procession around the temple. On the last day of Bright Week, on Saturday, sacred bread is blessed and distributed to believers. Artos particles were carefully kept in the red corner next to the icon and used in extreme need, for example, in case of serious illnesses and always with the words “Christ is Risen!”