What kind of holiday does Spiritual Day mean? Spirit Day and its meaning

The Day of the Holy Spirit is celebrated in the Orthodox world on May 28 this year. The holiday is considered great and especially revered among believers. For many people, an important question is what can be done on a holiday and what is strictly prohibited.

The media published a commentary by Church representatives on these issues. The priests are unanimous on the issue that on great church holidays one should not engage in ordinary chores and work (washing, cleaning, sewing, working in the garden). There is no such ban on cooking.

Church ministers note that if a person is forced to work as part of his main work activity, since not everyone works a five-day work week and the working day may coincide with a great holiday, then there is no sin here.

In the temple they answer that you cannot sin and avoid prayers and attending church. On this great holiday, you should definitely visit the temple and pray. It is also recommended to perform good deeds, such as helping those in need.

Since the date of celebration of this day is tied to Easter, it changes from year to year. And to determine it, you should add 51 days to the date of the Resurrection of Christ. So in 2018, Holy Spirit Day falls on May 28th.

The purpose of the holiday is to once again remind people of the Resurrection of Christ, the most important Christian dogmas and values, as well as the salvation of those who truly believe. It is for this purpose that special services are held in churches and temples, during which parishioners are told all this in detail. So visiting church on this day is not just recommended, but extremely necessary.

But people have their own relationship with the calendar. And it just so happened that the Day of the Holy Spirit coincided in time with the pagan holiday - the Name Day of the Earth. And if you consider that in many pagan traditions the Earth was in some way deified, it is not surprising that the idea of ​​“God and his power” spread everywhere was liked by the people.

The result is a rather amusing synthesis of two different traditions. For example, in many places it was customary to rise at dawn and sprinkle a field or vegetable garden with holy water. They say this can protect the crop and save the field from various natural disasters. At the same time, it was strictly forbidden to carry out ordinary agricultural work - no loosening of the earth, weeding or other similar manipulations.

Folk traditions associated with this day include decorating the house with birch branches and herb wreaths. By the way, these same wreaths were later used for fortune telling. However, fortune telling was as harmless as possible - for example, throwing a wreath into a river. If he floats, then everything in life will be fine. And if not, then you should prepare for trouble.

It was believed that it was impossible to work on this day. This was especially true for everyday life - washing floors, washing, sewing, knitting - all this was extremely undesirable.

It was believed that on this day it is especially important to help those who need something. Moreover, it’s as simple as giving alms, or seriously engaging in charity in all its forms.

We also believe that you would be interested in learning about the features of the celebration of Trinity, which immediately precedes the Day of the Holy Spirit. Just to better understand the characteristics of your culture.

It is believed that you cannot sweep on this day - this way you can sweep all the joy out of the house. You cannot do any work related to land. Running on Spiritual Day means running away from your destiny. Looking into the water, you can see your fate.

If you walk barefoot on the grass, you can ensure your health for the whole year. If you put your ear to the ground on Spiritual Day, it will indicate the place where the treasure is buried.

On Spiritual Day, medicinal herbs collected on Trinity Day are dried - it is believed that this way they will receive special power. They should be kept behind icons.

Noticed a typo or error? Select the text and press Ctrl+Enter to tell us about it.

Whit Monday.

The fifty-first day after Easter, or the first Monday after Trinity.
Whit Monday(Day of the Holy Spirit, Earth Birthday) is an Orthodox holiday celebrated on the first Monday after Trinity. The Monday following Pentecost is a holiday in honor of the Holy Spirit. This holiday was established by the Church “for the sake of the greatness of the Most Holy and Life-Giving Spirit, as one is (from) the Holy and Life-Giving Trinity,” in opposition to the teachings of heretics who rejected the Divinity of the Holy Spirit and His consubstantiality with God the Father and the Son of God.
On this day, the church glorifies the Holy Spirit - according to Christian ideas, the “giver of life” who supports the Universe in its existence; in his person, God, as believers believe, “pours out grace on his children.” This holiday was established with the aim of establishing the divine essence of the Holy Spirit and its unity with the other two hypostases of the Holy Trinity - God the Father and God the Son.

Shortly before His suffering on the cross, Jesus Christ, speaking with His disciples, promised them that after His departure He would send them a Comforter. “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever” (John 14:15). In Greek, the word "comforter" means someone who helps you, being next to you, side by side, a faithful protector in times of trouble. So what kind of Comforter does the Lord promise to send? “But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything that I have said to you” (John 14:26) - Jesus explained.
And indeed, after the Resurrection of Christ, ten days after His ascension into heaven, on the day of the celebration of the Old Testament Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Spirit took place.
“When the day of Pentecost arrived, all of them (that is, the apostles, other disciples of Christ and the Mother of God - M.G.) were unanimous together. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as if from a rushing strong wind, and filled the whole house where they were. And cloven tongues appeared to them, as if of fire, and rested on each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2:1-4). The pilgrims who came to Jerusalem from all over the Roman Empire to celebrate Pentecost were shocked not only by the unusual phenomenon, the noise “as if from a rushing strong wind,” but also by the fact that these simple-looking people - disciples of Christ - suddenly spoke in different dialects . And some of the eyewitnesses of these unusual events, mockingly, began to say about the apostles: “They got drunk on sweet wine” (Acts 2:13). And then the Apostle Peter “lifted up his voice and proclaimed” that it was the Lord who had poured out His Spirit on all flesh. Peter's preaching was so convincing - after all, Peter spoke filled with the Holy Spirit - that many people repented and were baptized that day. Thus began the spread of the Church of Christ - first in Jerusalem, then in Judea, and then throughout the world. And the feast of Pentecost, from the moment of the descent of the Holy Spirit, has already become the birthday of the Church of Christ.
Even in the Old Testament, people were given a revelation about God as the unity of three Persons, three Hypostases. This happened when the Lord appeared to Abraham in the unity of three “men”, three Angels at the “oak grove in Mamre” (Gen. 18. 1-14). But only in the New Testament were these Three Persons of God revealed to people. The descent of the Holy Spirit revealed to the world the fullness of God, all Three Persons of the Trinity. The festive icon, which on the Day of the Holy Spirit is brought to the center of the temple, precisely reflects the event of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles sitting in the Upper Room of Zion.
According to the Church Charter, no bows are made for fifty days after Easter, until the Day of the Descent of the Holy Spirit. But at the Great Vespers of the Trinity, which is served immediately after the Divine Liturgy for Trinity, three touching prayers of Basil the Great are read on kneeling, in which believers confess their sins before the Heavenly Father and, for the sake of the great sacrifice of His Son, ask for mercy; they ask the Lord Jesus Christ to give us the Holy Spirit to enlighten and strengthen our souls: and, finally, in the third kneeling prayer they pray for the departed.

The service in honor of the Holy Spirit begins with the great vespers of Trinity Day (Trinity) and continues on Spiritual Day. On Monday, at the end of the Divine Liturgy, the birch trees that decorated the temple during Trinity are taken out of the church. Believers break off branches from the blessed trees, take them home and place them near the icons. According to the church calendar, the Week of All Saints (All Saints Week) begins on Spiritual Day.
On Spiritual Day, a wooden image of a dove, a symbol of the Holy Spirit, was hung from the shrines. Russian people believed that on the evening of Trinity the Holy Spirit descends to earth, “spills over the fields,” and appears in houses. According to popular beliefs, he had creative power. The special veneration of this holiday among Russians is associated with ideas about the earth. The peasants believed that on this day the earth had a birthday, “all the herbs and flowers rejoice,” so they were categorically forbidden to touch it: plowing, harrowing, planting vegetables, digging, sticking stakes. In a number of places on Spiritual Day they walked around the fields with a procession of the cross. In Vyatka province. there was a custom to feed the earth during the so-called "woman's" holiday, the participants of which were married women, mostly elderly. Having gathered together, they went into the field, where they spread tablecloths on the ground and laid out food on them, and had a meal. At times the meal was interrupted: women, singing, carried pieces of brought dishes across the field. The eldest of them performed a ritual action - “feeding the countrywoman.” Having placed pieces of food under the top layer of soil, which was carefully lifted, or on the ground and sprinkled with earth on top, she said: “Birthday Earth, give us a harvest.” It was widely believed that on Spiritual Day, before sunrise, Mother Cheese Earth reveals her secrets. Those who wanted to recognize them, praying to the Holy Spirit, went to “listen to the treasures,” putting their ears to the ground. According to legend, earthly and underground secrets are revealed only to truly righteous, pious people. Ideas associated with the land celebrating its name day on this day were also reflected at the everyday level. Peasants of Vyatka province. They believed that on this holiday one should walk barefoot on the ground, and it is also advisable to eat and drink on the ground.
According to the folk calendar, Spiritual Day was part of the cycle of Trinity-Semitic holidays (see Semik, Trinity Saturday, Trinity), being its final stage.
Among the people, this holiday was considered a difficult day; it belonged to a dangerous period of time when otherworldly forces most actively invaded human space. In a number of regions of Russia, Dukhov Day opened the Russian week; Beliefs were widespread here, according to which, from this day on, mermaids began to walk the earth, to whom the properties of evil spirits were attributed. In Tsarevsky u. Astrakhan province. Spiritual Day was considered the most dangerous, because it was the last day when mermaids could walk freely in human space; on this day they were escorted out of the villages. Therefore, the peasants considered it unsafe to visit the forests alone - a mermaid might tickle them, and to swim - a mermaid might drown. In some places, the hostage-laden dead were commemorated, i.e. those who did not die a natural death; According to popular beliefs, they were also related to evil spirits. In Kostroma province. On Spiritual Day, the sorcerers began to make perezhins - magically transporting the harvest to their barns.
Spiritual Day, as the last day of the celebration of Semik-Trinity, was considered as a time of cleansing the human soul from idle revelry and the living space from evil spirits. It was believed, for example, that this day “like fire, the evil spirits roaming the earth are afraid of,” since “during a church service... sacred fire descends from heaven, which incinerates evil spirits.” On this day, elderly women made herbal powder, with the help of which they “cast out demons,” i.e. treated various diseases. In Kaluga province. the next day after the Trinity festivities and games, one was supposed to go to the holy well, throw change into the water, pray and wash with holy water in order to pray and wash away from oneself the sinful and unclean things that one had come into contact with the day before; They took holy water home, and left funeral food at the well.
According to popular belief, frosts stop only after Spiritual Day; they don't appear until autumn. “Don’t trust the warmth until the Holy Spirit Day!”, “When the Holy Spirit Day comes, it will be in the yard, like on a stove,” “The Holy Spirit will warm the whole world!”

Holy Pentecost smoothly passes the Spiritual day. What kind of holiday is this and what is its significance?

Many centuries ago, after the death, resurrection and ascension into heaven of Christ, His disciples gathered with the Virgin Mary, as usual, to pray in the Sinai upper room. They had long been waiting for the Comforter promised by the Savior, who would strengthen them and give them strength for their life’s work - preaching the Gospel.

They did not know exactly how it would happen and when, but the Lord said: wait. And they waited. Suddenly a strong noise was heard in the sky and the Holy Spirit in the form of gracious tongues of fire descended on each of those present. He did not burn, but affectionately hugged everyone, and they felt such a surge of strength, self-confidence, courage that they began to exclaim loudly and, joyful, ran out into the street.

Initially, when they heard the apostles saying something in some alien language, they began to laugh - were they drunk on sweet wine in the morning, or what? But then each of them realized that they were addressing him in his own language, how is this possible? And they began to listen to the words of the Apostle Peter, who colorfully explained the whole situation to them. Then people understood why the grief-stricken apostles, who had not ceased to grieve for their Teacher since He left them, suddenly became so unusually joyful and excited.

Peter then delivered his first sermon, addressing all those gathered. He explained the miracle that happened to them, and said that everyone who repents of their sins will be baptized, receive forgiveness and the Holy Spirit. People rejoiced, and many began to follow the advice of the apostles. On that day, almost 3,000 people converted to the Christian faith. A beginning was made, and this day began to be considered the birthday of the Church of Christ.

After this, the apostles, having received the strongest support of the Holy Spirit, scattered around the world, preached the Gospel all around, and attracted many people of different nationalities into their ranks. What was beyond the power of a simple and weak person became possible with the help of the Holy Spirit. Now Love itself breathed in them, because they became the temple of God. Since then, the Christian faith has gained many adherents, spreading very quickly throughout the world. The apostles endured everything in order to fulfill their mission, many died in terrible agony, but with the joy of their duty accomplished, and the faith that they were going to heaven, to their Teacher.

Folk traditions and beliefs

Among the Slavs, this day was called Birthday Earth; it was believed that no work should be carried out on the land, because it was pregnant with the harvest. As on the Annunciation, in Tsarist Russia it was strictly forbidden to work, the day was a day off, everyone went to churches, carried birch branches, and when they came home, they decorated their houses with them.

This holiday has many names in folk traditions - Name Day of the Earth, Spiritual Day, Seeing Off Mermaids, etc. There was a belief that it was on this day that the Earth was created, the Spirit descended on it and life on earth was born. Until now, many believe that on this day the Holy Spirit descends to earth, penetrates people’s homes, and gracefully spills over the fields. In some areas, they brought tablecloths with food to the fields, treated themselves, and fed the land. The eldest of those present buried pieces of food in the ground, saying: Mother-nurse, give us a good and abundant harvest.

People, especially in villages, after the service in the temple, walked around the fields in procession and blessed wells. Initially, the priest went to the common village well, then further home. Anyone who wanted to consecrate a house put a table with treats outside, a procession of the cross was greeted, and his house and all the outbuildings were consecrated by the priest.

They took a birch tree with braided branches into the forest, unbraided the birch tree’s braids, left it, or, according to some traditions, went to drown it in the river. The girls threw wreaths into the river for good luck, and whose wreath quickly floated downstream, it means that family happiness is just around the corner.
The healers collected their medicinal herbs on this day. It was believed that they were sanctified by the spirit and the most useful properties were collected in them on this day. Having washed themselves with water from the consecrated well, the peasants believed that all evil spirits had been washed away from them, and everything sinful had gone away. This is how Spirits Day was celebrated in ancient times by our ancestors.
Look

Spiritual Day, also called Holy Spirit Day, in 2018 falls on Monday, May 28th. This is a Christian and folk holiday, which the Orthodox celebrate on the 51st day after Easter. On this day, Orthodox and pagan traditions are intertwined into one whole.

In terms of its significance, the Day of the Spirits was comparable to the Trinity. The Holy Spirit - in Orthodox Christianity - is the third divine component of the Holy Trinity.

Do's and Don'ts

So, the Feast of the Holy Spirit is a special church holiday in honor of the third Person of the Trinity - the Holy Spirit, revered along with God the Father and God the Son. It is believed that it is on such a day that the Holy Spirit descends from heaven and pays attention to every person.

On this day you need to go to church and pray. In worship, the holiday in honor of the Holy Spirit begins with Great Vespers.

A prayer is offered to the Holy Spirit: “Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of truth, who is everywhere and fills everything, the source of all good and the Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all sin and save, O Good One, our souls.”

Traditions on Spirits Day

In the Slavic tradition of Spirits, Day is the holiday of Pitchfork and Madder, Earthly Moisture. It began with honoring ancestors. They were invited to stay in the house, scattering fresh birch branches in the corners of the house.

This is also a day of remembrance and communication with water, meadow and forest navies. According to legends, those who die prematurely without becoming an adult or who pass away voluntarily become mermaids and merman.

Women performed secret rituals on this day. Mothers left their children's old clothes, towels, and linens in the field or on the branches near the springs for the mermaid children. In this way they tried to appease the mermaid spirits.

The girls threw wreaths into the water: if it sinks - unfortunately, if it floats - fortunately. The last spring youth festivities also took place.

Thunderstorms are often associated with Spiritual Day - on this day “sacred fire descends from the sky, which incinerates evil spirits.” Also, according to some Spirit beliefs, the day determines the weather for the rest of the summer.

According to popular belief, frosts stop only after Spiritual Day; they don't appear until autumn.

Sayings and signs for Spirits Day

Don't trust the warmth until Spiritual Day!

When the Holy Spirit Day comes, it will be in the yard as if on a stove.

The Holy Spirit will warm the whole white light!

And the siverok is cold until Spiritual Day.

If it rains on Spiritual Day, it will be a warm and mushroom summer.

Whatever the weather will be like during Spiritual Day, the summer will be like that.

You can help the project by merging articles (see merging instructions).

If it is necessary to discuss the feasibility of merging, replace this template with the template ((to unification)) and add the corresponding entry on the VP:KOB page.

Other holiday names

Holy Spirit Day, Spirit Day; God's Day, Rosigri(Ukrainian); Trinity(Voronezh.); Name day of the Earth(Vyat.), Earth birthday girl(tamb., sib.); Seeing off the mermaids(Ryazan.); Rusalnitsa, Ivan da Marya, Brezzyny(Belarus.); Rusaje (Serb.); Pentecost(Christ.); Holy Spirit Monday(theological).

Church version of the origin of the holiday

The descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles on the day of Pentecost is described in the Acts of the Holy Apostles (Acts). On the fiftieth day after the Resurrection of Christ (tenth day after the Ascension), the apostles were in Jerusalem, “Suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as if from a rushing strong wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And cloven tongues as of fire appeared to them, and one rested on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”(Acts).

Russian traditions

It was widely believed that on Spiritual Day, before sunrise, Mother Cheese Earth reveals her secrets. Those who wanted to recognize them, praying to the Holy Spirit, went to “listen to the treasures,” putting their ears to the ground. According to legend, earthly and underground secrets are revealed only to true righteous people, pious people. The East Slavic tradition is characterized by the belief that the Earth is the birthday girl on Spiritual Day, because “on this day she was created” (also see “The Earth is the birthday girl” by Simon the Zealot).

On the Earth's name day, “all herbs and flowers rejoice.” On this day it was forbidden to plow, harrow, or drive stakes. In many places, on Spiritual Day, a religious procession was held around the fields. In the Vyatka province, the custom of feeding the land was recorded - “women's holiday”. Married women, mostly elderly, went to the field, where they laid tablecloths on the ground, laid out food and had a meal. From time to time the meal was interrupted and the women, singing, carried some of the food they had brought across the fields. The oldest woman “fed the landlady”: putting pieces of food on the ground, carefully covering them with a small layer of soil and saying: “Birthday Earth, give us a harvest.”

In Ukraine, there was a custom on “God-Spirited Day” to consecrate wells (it was believed that it was in them that mermaids most often hid). After the liturgy, the peasants walked in procession to the wells to sprinkle them with holy water. First, the priest blessed the rural public well, and then went to his personal ones. The owners, who wanted to get rid of the “evil spirits in the house,” placed a table at the gate, covered it with a tablecloth and put bread and salt. After reading the prayer, the priest entered the house, sprinkled the walls, and then all the buildings - “so that the mermaids would not disturb the courtyard.”

In popular church culture there was a particularly strict ban on work on Spiritual Day, as well as on the day of the Annunciation. In modern Russia, this day, like Monday, is almost always a working day.

In folk tradition, thunderstorms are often associated with Spiritual Day. They also said that the weather on Spirits Day gives a forecast for the next 6 weeks. The Germans have similar signs: “If it rains on Holy Spirit Day, it will rain for seven Sundays in a row” (Holy Spirit Day in Germany is celebrated for two days - Sunday and Monday), “Raw Holy Spirit Day is a rich Christmas.”

Sayings and signs

Since Spiritual Day, warmth has been coming not only from the sky, but even from underground. The Holy Spirit will warm the whole white light. Do not remove the casing until the Holy Spirit. Ukrainian Before the Holy Spirit, do not throw the casing, but according to the Holy Spirit in that very casing. Don't trust the warmth until Spiritual Day. When the Holy Spirit Day comes, it will be in the yard as if on a stove. And the siverok is cold until Spiritual Day. The girl-seedling is chilly, and she also asks God for a chill after the Spiritual Day. Live until Spiritual Day, and it will be warm. Belor. The Spirit is dry and dry. Czech Na Svatý Duch do vody buch! (The Holy Spirit hits the water!)

The whole cathedral is having fun, a falcon (that is, the holy spirit) rolls towards us / eunuchs /. At the descent of St. Birch trees develop the spirit, throw wreaths into the water; if it drowns, it’s unfortunate; if it floats, it’s good. “As taken by the holy spirit.” “I will do it with the Spirit.” The light of the flesh is the sun, the light of the spirit is the truth.

see also

Notes

Literature

• Agapkina T. A.Slavic antiquities: Ethnolinguistic dictionary/ Ed. N.I. Tolstoy; . - M.: International Relations, 1999. - T. 2. - P. 157. - ISBN 5-7133-0982-7.
• Diak. Mikhail Zheltov Spirits Day // Orthodox Encyclopedia. Volume XVI. - M. : Church and Scientific Center “Orthodox Encyclopedia”, 2007. - pp. 372-374. - 752 s. - 39,000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-89572-028-8
• // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional ones). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
• Zimina T. A.. Russian Ethnographic Museum. Archived from the original on May 15, 2012. Verified???.
• Maksimov S. V.. - St. Petersburg. : Partnership of R. Golike and A. Vilworg, 1903. - 529 p.
• Skurativsky V. T. Diduh. - K.: Osvita, 1995. - 271 p. - ISBN 5-330-02487-0(Ukrainian)
• Fursova E. F. Calendar rituals. Part 2: Customs and rituals of the summer-autumn period. - Novosibirsk: , 2003. - 267 p. - (Ethnography of Siberia). - ISBN 5-7803-0116-6

Links

• // Russian Ethnographic Museum

Categories:

• Holidays in alphabetical order
• Holidays
• Russian folk holidays
• Spring holidays
• Moving holidays
• Folk Christianity

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.