February 15, and according to the old calendar February 2, Orthodox Christians celebrate one of the twelve main church holidays - the Presentation of the Lord. Until now, people do not know what cannot be done at the Presentation of the Lord, and what can be done. There are various signs associated with this day.
In February, the Church celebrates the events that were presented by Luke in the gospel. This day marks the meeting of baby Jesus with Simeon and Anna. The holiday itself is enduring, so it is always celebrated on February 15th.
What does holiday mean?
In the church language, “meeting” means meeting. In his scripture, Luke spoke of a meeting that occurred on the fortieth day from the birth of Jesus. On that day, Joseph and St. Virgin Mary brought the baby to the temple to make a sacrifice for the first-born given by God. In those days, the woman who gave birth to her first child, a son, was not supposed to attend the temple for forty days. After this period, she is obliged to sacrifice a one-year-old lamb to the Lord. For the poor, it was allowed to replace the lamb with a dove.
If the first child in the family was a boy, then he had to be brought to the church on the fortieth day for the ceremony of consecration to the Lord.
St. Mary did not need to be cleansed, since the baby was born from the Immaculate Conception. On the fortieth day, parents came to the holy place for the ceremony of dedication to the Lord, but, according to tradition, the Virgin brought a sacrifice - two doves.
When Mary crossed the threshold of the holy place with the baby in her arms, they were met by the ancient Elder Simeon. According to legend, he lived for more than three hundred years. It is believed that the Holy Spirit prophesied a long life for him - until Simeon sees the Savior.
In the Meeting in the church, another meeting took place. Anna the prophetess approached Mary. She bowed to the baby and left the temple, bringing people the news of the coming of the Messiah.
Simeon
Simeon the God-Receiver was one of the scholars who was commissioned to translate the Holy Scriptures from Hebrew to Greek. In the process of his work, Simeon wanted to change the word “maiden” to “wife”. At that moment, the Holy Spirit appeared before him and forbade making changes to the scripture. The scientist doubted the veracity of the Bible, because the virgin could not give birth. So that he could be convinced of the truth of the scripture, the Angel gave Simeon the opportunity to personally meet with Jesus.
The old man was more than three hundred years old when he personally saw the Virgin and Jesus. When Mary and Joseph came to the temple with the baby, the prophecy came true, and Simeon picked up the child born of a virgin.
After this meeting, the old man went to his chambers and fell asleep forever, after which he was equated with the saints.
Icon of "Softening Evil Hearts"
An icon called the “Softening of Evil Hearts” is associated with the events of the Meeting. It depicts the Virgin with seven swords piercing the heart: three swords are located on the left and three on the right, and one sword in the center. The explanation for the icon says that the number seven denotes grief, heartaches, sorrows, which the Virgin Mary experienced during earthly life.
The indicated image is sometimes still supplemented by an image on the lap of Our Lady of the dead Christ.
This icon symbolizes the feast of the Meeting of the Lord. What believers cannot do on this day is work. On a holy holiday, people should rejoice, because they have the Messiah.
Tradition of celebration
Previously, no one thought what should not be done at the Presentation of the Lord. This holiday began to be celebrated since 528. In those distant times, Antioch under Justinian suffered various disasters. There were severe earthquakes, diseases. The cataclysms claimed many lives. And then one Christian had a vision that it was necessary to celebrate the Meeting solemnly. After a vision on the day of the meeting, the first festive service was performed - the cataclysms ceased.
In 544, the Church made a solemn celebration of the Mother of God holiday. On this day, priests put on blue robes, symbolizing the cleansing period of the Virgin and the consecration of the newborn in the service of God. Later it was determined what should not be done at the Presentation of the Lord.
On this day, in all churches, candles, water are lit. Candles symbolize purity, enlightenment, warmth. Water is comfort and rejoicing, divine grace. With the end of Christmas celebrations (Christmas time).
Bans
There are a number of rules that have established what cannot be done at the Presentation of the Lord. On this day, the Orthodox should not swear. The church forbids to tidy up the house, wash, work on the ground, needlework. All these prohibitions were established in ancient times, when Christianity was just beginning in Russia. At that time, religion was not imposed voluntarily, but by force, and in order to gather people for services, it was necessary to ban all activities. Other prohibitions were also established, saying that it is impossible to do in the Meeting of the Lord. These include a ban on washing. In the old days there were no such amenities as today. To wash, a person had to bring water, chop wood, melt the bath. All this took a lot of time, which means that the banner would not be in the service. In order for every Orthodox to attend the festive service, a ban was also imposed on washing.
One cannot go on a long journey to the Meeting, as it will end badly.
Being interested in the question of what cannot be done in the Presentation of the Lord, many people ask about needlework. On church holidays, you can do any work that gives pleasure, while you should not forget about visiting the temple.
Generally speaking, what cannot be done on the day of the Presentation of the Lord, then on this day, as in any of the twelve great holidays, it is undesirable to work, with the exception of work performed for the benefit of another person.
Water and candles
On this holiday, the Orthodox went to the temple, where the ministry stood. After the service, blessed candles were brought home. During the year they are carefully stored and used only in emergency cases, when a difficult life situation arises or someone close is seriously ill. Also Sretensky candles are used in the following cases:
- with cataclysms;
- in case of bad weather;
- with complex births;
- if a person dies (it is believed that a person will be able to leave this world faster);
- with serious illnesses for prayer for a speedy recovery.
In addition to candles, water is blessed at the Meeting. She is valued on a par with Epiphany. Water from the holiday was kept for such cases as:
- wound treatment;
- treatment of internal diseases;
- for sprinkling beehives by beekeepers;
- for watering livestock before a spring pasture on a pasture.
At the Meeting it is customary to pray to Jesus Christ and the Virgin.
Omens
People have always been interested in what should not be done on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord and what signs are there. There was a time when this day was considered the time of the first spring. Frosts on the Meeting were considered the last. After them, people did not risk riding long distances in a sleigh. Hundreds of years ago, on the fortieth day from the birth of Christ, they held the great festival of spring.
On this day, it is customary to carry candles to the church for consecration. Then they were brought home, but rarely used, only in the most dangerous situations.
It was believed that in order to get rid of a headache, it was necessary to set fire to hair on the church holiday Presentation of the Lord, which should not be done on another day. On this day, special care was given to poultry. Chicken was fed with oats and watched, if she doesn’t eat, then in summer there will be serious trouble, trouble awaits the owners of the bird. If the hens ate, then the whole summer will be successful.
According to the weather at the Meeting, they determined what the summer and spring would be, and judged about the future harvest. It was believed that what the weather will be like at the Meeting, the same will be the weather in spring. If snow fell on this day, then the spring will be lingering, rainy. If you carry snow across the road, then spring will be late, cold.
If it snowed in the morning, early bread was expected; snow in the evening - bread will ripen late. Drops speak of a high yield of wheat. The abundance of fruit will be, if the Meeting is a breeze.
Knowing what cannot be done at the Meeting of the Lord (the signs on this day are also worth considering), you can be protected all year. Signs will help to be with the harvest, and consecrated candles and water will give well-being and health.