Recently, the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross has become increasingly popular, because it is considered one of the most important among the twelve major holidays of the Orthodox Church. Celebrate it on September 27th. Ancient traditions are revered by the younger generation more and more, therefore this article will consider not only the main signs of such a holiday, but also its history and significance. In any case, before you celebrate anything, it’s worthwhile to figure out where it came to us from and how it was treated in ancient times.
The first memory of the holiday
According to legend, the Day of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord arose precisely when the Cross was found by Queen Elizabeth. It was on him that Jesus Christ was crucified. All this happened at the request of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Tsar Constantine, who planned to build the temples of God in various sacred Christian places in Palestine. The place was not chosen by chance at all, because it was here that the Lord Jesus Christ was born, suffered and rose again.
Searches for the Cross of Christ
Finding the Cross to Queen Elena (and she was the mother of King Constantine) was not as easy as it might seem. To begin with, she went to Jerusalem. Since the enemies of Christ buried the Cross in the earth, she put in a lot of work to find a man who could tell her where he was buried. Only the old Jew Judah did this.
It turned out that the Cross was thrown into the cave, littered with various debris, and a pagan temple was built in that place. Therefore, Elena ordered that this temple be destroyed and that she should have access to the cave.
After her order was carried out, it turned out that in the cave itself there are three crosses, and it is not known which one is exactly what is needed.
How was the real Cross revealed?
The Orthodox feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross would now be impossible if Queen Elena were not a wise woman and did not take the advice of the patriarch of Jerusalem, Macarius, of Jerusalem.
To determine which cross is the Cross of the Savior, each of them was brought in turn to a terminally ill woman. When the first two crosses were laid, then no miracle happened, but after the third she became completely healthy.
Around the same time, a funeral procession walked past the place where these events unfolded. In order to finally be convinced of the correctness of the choice, Tsarina Elena ordered to place the crosses in turn on the deceased. The miracle repeated - after the third cross, the dead came to life.
In this way, everyone found out about which particular cross is the Cross of the Lord, and it was again found in 326.
The reaction of people to the Cross of the Lord
After everyone was convinced of the life-giving power of the true Cross of the Lord, Tsarina Elena, as well as Patriarch Makarii bowed to him and kissed him, immediately after them the people around them did it.
It is in this place that the history of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross originates. Many Christians arrived at the scene, and each of them wanted to adhere to the shrine, but physically it was impossible, since it would take too much time. That is why the Jerusalem patriarch stood on a small hill and raised the Cross several times, that is, he erected it. When the people saw the Cross of the Savior, then immediately everyone bowed and exclaimed: "Lord, have mercy!"
Thanks to a peculiar ingenuity, Tsarina Elena nevertheless delivered part of the real Cross to Tsar Constantine, and it was decided to leave the other part in Jerusalem.
In the future, it was on the site of these events that a very vast cathedral of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross was built, where until today the second part of the precious Cross is stored. Temples were also built in Bethlehem, on the Mount of Olives, in Fevron at the Mamrian Oak.
Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross - features
Its main feature is that it is significantly different in its nature of the celebration from all other similar Orthodox celebrations. Usually saints and great holidays are days of crying over the Divine Sufferer, and this is considered a day of joy. It is the joy of all the consequences of His suffering and the fruits of redemption.
It is in honor of the atonement, which is manifested in the person of the main instrument, guide, and sign, that the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is celebrated. What date does this happen, everyone should remember - September 27th.
It is believed that the Cross of the Lord constitutes the glory of Jesus Christ. Therefore, Christ himself is not exalted in order for the Cross to be glorified, but the Cross in order for Christ to be glorified.
The Significance of the Cross for Christians
Many claim that through the Cross we received many different benefits. We were able to learn piety and comprehend the whole virtue of chastity. We also knew the power of the nature of the Lord and his truth, through the same Cross we learn the power of love, and also do not refuse to die for each other. Thanks to the same Cross, we were able to despise all the blessings of the world, while waiting for them in the future, accepting everything imaginary as visible. This is exactly what the “Word on Exaltation” insists, the author of which is Vasily Selevsky or John Chrysostom.
From the very beginning, after the Cross was discovered, it showed its miraculous power, helping to heal serious illnesses, bites of deadly poisonous animals and neutralize the effects of poisons.
If you do not take into account the mysterious and mystical significance of the Cross for a true Christian, then it also has a purely moral significance. When we look at the suffering of our Savior, our cross-bearing does not seem so difficult. That is, the Cross serves as support in difficult life situations, helping to show your courage and not be afraid of close proximity to death.
This Orthodox holiday (Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord) is of great importance for Christians in view of the fact that their souls had long been prepared ground for this. This triumph only multiplied the love of people for the Cross many times, becoming gradually more and more solemn. It is the Cross that becomes the symbol that allows you to fight various invisible enemies and thus save your immortal soul.
Importance will take on Exaltation
As you probably already guessed, there are a lot of all sorts of interesting facts that are directly related to the Exaltation of the Holy Cross holiday. Signs in the celebration itself play a crucial role. There are so many of them that some of them have not reached today, and they have been forgotten forever. But there are also customs that even now continue to be followed and devote a lot of time to this, as well as attention.
September 27 is considered the third Osenins, so in ancient times on this day everyone painted crosses on the doors of their houses, on the matrices or on the lintels. Matica is a thick beam in the form of a log, which was cut across the building itself. Crosses were drawn with garlic, charcoal, and chalk was used for these purposes. More surprisingly, sometimes the crosses painted the blood of animals that were sacrificed. Some simply carved a cross with a knife on a suitable surface.
Pet Safety First
Many also tried to protect their cows or horses from various machinations of evil spirits. To do this, they made special small wooden crosses and put them in a manger. Those who did not have such an opportunity, they acted somewhat differently. Crossed branches of mountain ash and put them also in a manger. From the earliest times, mountain ash was considered a symbol of bright light, which is able to scare away all evil spirits.
Such an Orthodox holiday (Exaltation of the Holy Cross) is itself considered the final day of Indian summer. This is the third and last meeting of the fall.
Winter is coming
It was on the day of this celebration that winter reminded everyone of itself. Autumn became a full-fledged mistress, and therefore, rural residents increasingly thought about the approaching cold, snowstorms and frosts that await them. That is why proverbs of this type were so popular: “The Fur Coat stretches for a caftan!” Or “The Caftan fades an exaltation, puts on a fur coat!”
It should also be remembered that the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is fasting, so it was important to observe all the necessary restrictions on food. Those who have done everything properly will be forgiven of all seven sins.
It is amazing that even animals were paying for their wrongdoings on this day. For example, it was believed that if a snake bites someone, then she will not be able to survive the winter. This belief was based on the fact that everyone was sure of the existence of a mysterious place of Iry, where not only birds, but also snakes survived the winter. That is, the delinquent snake will not be able to crawl there and will simply freeze soon.
Cabbage cat - what is it?
The exaltation of the Holy Cross of the Lord used to be called even “cabbage women”. This is evidenced by the many different quite popular sayings that were not forgotten to this day. In particular, this applies to such proverbs as “Exaltation - cabbage, it’s time to chop cabbage!” Or no less eloquent “A man will not be full without bread, cabbage - we don’t live!” Such expressions testify that the cabbage was used enough very popular in terms of cooking various dishes from it.
Kapitnitsy were also called funny parties, which were held not only in villages, but also in big cities. On this day, everyone dressed up in festive clothes and went to visit each other. Then it was called "chop cabbage."
Features of the cabbage
This series of large autumn parties was especially loved by young people, because they were expected no less than Shrovetide, and this celebration was delayed for about a week or two. When guests came to the house, they were necessarily served beer, as well as sweet honey and all kinds of treats. What kind of snacks were offered to guests was decided only in accordance with the prosperity of the owners.
That is how the Exaltation of the Holy Cross was celebrated. Signs also insisted that during this celebration young guys picked up brides for themselves. By the way, parties at single guys were called “Cabbage evenings” and all the girls tried to get there, because they knew that there would be grooms waiting for them. It was the brides who were also called “cabbage women”. Late in the evening, general celebrations were held, which then often led to weddings on Pokrov. That is how the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross for some young people became the beginning of family life.
How to like the groom and much more - signs on the Exaltation
The most important sign, which was used by absolutely all the girls, is that they must always cast a special spell seven times before the evenings. It is such a spell that will make the girl as attractive as possible in the eyes of the guy she likes. Only if such a sign is fulfilled can she succeed at the celebration.
On the day of the celebration, you can’t go to the forest, because then the bear should set up a lair for himself, but the legendary goblin necessarily inspects his kingdom, and they should not be disturbed in this. Due to the fact that the goblin considers animals, a person who accidentally catches his eye can also be counted. But after that, she will never be able to leave the forest and return home.
It is on September 27th that the birds fly south, and whoever sees them will be able to make any wish, which then will come true. Among other things, true hostesses always cleaned the house for a holiday, because in this way they drove out all evil and spoilage.
An interesting fact is that no new things can be started on the Exaltation, because they are already doomed to failure.
By the way, about the cabbage also a few signs have arisen. For example, this concerns the fact that before sowing it, the seeds should be held in your hands for a bit so that rutabaga does not spawn instead of cabbage. At the same time, it was believed that if you plant cabbage on Thursday, then the worms will feed it all, and it will be unusable.
Exaltation Weather Signs
The flight of geese testifies to small or high floods. That is, if they fly low, then a small flood awaits us, and if high - high.
The signs of such a holiday as the Exaltation of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord testify to the fact that if you saw cranes, then pay attention to their flight. If they fly slowly, and high enough and grunt, then we will have a warm autumn.
If the north wind blows on the day of the celebration, then next year will be a warm summer. Western indicates bad weather.
If you notice a peculiar circle near the moon, which has a red color, then this is a sign of dry, as well as clear weather.
As you have already noticed, the history of the holiday and its most important signs are quite interesting. Some of them can be observed even today, especially with regard to weather forecasts. In connection with the restoration of many ancient traditions of our ancestors in many cities, you can notice such a structure as the Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Omsk, Moscow, Moscow Region, Nizhny Novgorod and many others).