One of the most beloved holidays among the people - the Day of the Holy Trinity - began to be widely celebrated in Russia since the time of St. Sergius of Radonezh. The holiday existed before, but only at the beginning of the 15th century did it take on that purely Christian form that is inherent in our day. In former times, traditions that survived from paganism dominated in it. But even now, many conspiracies and ceremonies on the Trinity are echoes of long-gone pre-Christian times. Our story about them.
The Neighborhood of Paganism and Christianity
For a long time, the week preceding the feast of the Trinity was called by the Rusal people, or the Green Christmastide, which immediately suggests the ancient rites and customs. She was the seventh after Easter, and these days one could hear equally pagan conspiracies and prayers for the Trinity, read today. Christianity and paganism coexisted side by side. This week was the line between spring and summer, which was the reason for its other name - "Edge-Week".
Our distant ancestors felt their inextricable connection with nature and perceived themselves as its integral part. They existed in her environment, and were vitally dependent on her changeable disposition. It is not surprising that the ancient Slavs often offered their prayers to those gods who were really tangible, and therefore more understandable. From these prayers the conspiracies on the Trinity, now known, were born.
Agricultural rites
The festival of the Trinity always fell at the beginning of summer, when the sowing was already ending, and for the future harvest it was necessary to enlist the support of those gods on whom he depended. In this regard, great importance was attached to various rites. One of them was "going to life."
It consisted of the fact that women and girls went out into the field and, having examined the first shoots, arranged a meal from the fried eggs traditional for this holiday. Then, picking up full spoons of the shell, they threw them up, loudly exclaiming: "Let the rye rise as high as these spoons." The ritual ended with somersaulting on the ground and various magical cries. They say it helped a lot.
This week, rituals and conspiracies on the Trinity were widely practiced, which were supposed to rid the villagers of various weather disasters and prevent the death of the harvest. And here the merger of paganism with Christianity was manifested in its entirety. On the same day, Orthodox prayers in the fields could be performed with sanctification and water the graves of those who died an unnatural death. Especially drunkards and drowned men. It was believed that this is a reliable tool.
Ancestral Spirits
The Trinity memorial Saturday, established by the Orthodox Church and universally celebrated nowadays, also had a pagan coloring among our ancestors. This day was considered the day of meeting with the spirits of their ancestors, who should have been treated well, and having shown them their love and gratitude, get their support in all field and household work. Success in them promised prosperity, and abundance in the house. That is why it is safe to say that the current wealth conspiracy on the Trinity was born in those ancient times. Their strengths were not always enough, and so they turned to the otherworldly.
Ancient conspiracies on the Trinity these days were adjacent to the customs adopted in our time. For example, the decoration of churches and dwellings with green branches of birch, and in those areas where it does not grow - branches of mountain ash, maple or ash. But, unlike us, the ancestors burned them in ritual “kupala” lights or used them as a remedy for a fire and a hurricane, sticking a crib or barn under the roof.
Nature-related customs
It is known that there was a custom that was completely incomprehensible to us, consisting in the fact that an old hive that had served its term had stolen from some owner in advance, and then it was burned on the edge of the field on Trinity Day. Round dances led round dances and at the same time sang: "Good fire - a bee swarm will be good."
Conspiracies and ceremonies on the Trinity were often associated with a birch, this integral part of the holiday. According to established tradition, young girls that day went to the groves to curl a birch. Having connected the branches, they braided them in braids, after which, connecting the two nearest trees with the tops, in pairs passed under the formed green arch. This was called “cumming,” since it was believed that after the rite, couples became friends for life. Everything was accompanied by songs and round dances.
Beliefs related to rivers and lakes
Fortune-telling is also associated with the Trinity. Young girls weaved wreaths of spring herbs, and walked with them to the river. The wreath fell into the water, and by the way he behaved, a further girlish fate was predicted. If the wreath safely stayed on the water, and even better, swam against the stream, then this would mean an early wedding with your beloved and desired, and if he was drowning, then goodbye to the dream of a narrowed one until next year.
However, near rivers and lakes it was necessary to be wary. No wonder this holiday week was called Rusalnaya. It has been noted more than once that these days mermaids leave their beloved whirlpools and go ashore.
Hiding in the branches of coastal bushes, they playfully laugh and aukani lure passing young people, and then carry them to the river bottom. However, it was better for girls to stay away from water. For this reason, during the celebration of the Trinity, no one bathed - they were wary of river evil. They also didn’t go to the forest one by one. Although there are no mermaids, it’s a goblin. Another question is which is worse.
Conspiracies to love
As you know, the Trinity Day was followed by the Week of All Saints. According to the ancient Slavic calendar, it coincided with the holidays of Kostroma and Yarila. Yarila among the Eastern Slavs, in addition to representing the sun, was also a kind of analogue of the Greek Eros - the god of love, and in some areas Bacchus - the god of wine and fun. They depicted him as a young handsome man with a wreath on his head. In general, a charming lover turned out, and even warmed up with wine.
The conspiracy to love for the Trinity that has reached us - in the present Christian time, is completely inappropriate, is undoubtedly an echo of those rites and magic rituals that our ancestors universally arranged for this handsome Yarila. In honor of him, games were organized, which lasted throughout the night. One element was the so-called kidnapping of brides. It consisted in the fact that at a certain moment the young man had to get ahead of the others to catch the one that was to his heart. Often such “snitches” ended with weddings, which were played in the fall at the end of field work.
Enchantment in the name of Christ
To illustrate the conspiracy of love for the Trinity, we give just one example. Those who wanted to bewitch someone to themselves took in the church a bunch of grass, which was laid on the floor, and which thus became sanctified. This grass was laid under a pillow for the night. After that we went to bed without praying to God. Already in bed a conspiracy was uttered, in which, having previously requested forgiveness from Christ, in the folklore - poetic form they asked Him to bewitch (just like that!) A loved one. From the position of Orthodoxy, this, like all conspiracies to the Holy Trinity, is unacceptable sacrilege and grave sin.
Paganism and Christianity are incompatible
Summing up, it should be noted that magical conspiracies and prayers for the Trinity, included in the festive order established by the Russian Orthodox Church, are incompatible things. The former may be of interest only as elements of folklore and poetry. Any appeals to otherworldly forces that are not sanctified by the Grace of Jesus Christ, such as conspiracies to the Trinity, are destructive to the human soul. In addition, they are fraught with unpredictable consequences that can cause irreparable harm.