Holy week before Easter. Rituals. Conspiracies. Prohibitions. Holy Week before Easter: rituals
Holy Week, what not to do and signs
Holy Week has begun for the Orthodox; we will describe what can and cannot be done in this article. The most important thing is that this week it is customary to keep a particularly strict fast.
To prepare for Easter, you should pray during Holy Week. Through prayer we give thanks to the Savior. It is advisable to set aside at least one day this week to go to church. And of course, these days you should definitely spread goodness to all the people around you.
Holy Week, what not to do
In the week before Easter, strict fasting cannot be ignored. Worth giving up meat products, fish, dairy and eggs. During Holy Week, you should never spend time in entertainment places, so avoid singing and dancing. It is prohibited to lead a dissolute lifestyle, sin, insult, gluttony, or lie. You can’t be in the hustle and bustle; it’s better to renounce some things that prevent you from concentrating on the upcoming holiday.
During Holy Week, you should get rid of envy, callousness and anxiety in your heart. The Friday before Easter is considered the strictest day of fasting: you cannot eat food until the evening and clean the house. Also at this time it is not advisable to laugh, rejoice and have fun - this is a day of great sorrow. You cannot sleep until Saturday morning, otherwise misfortune will overtake you.
Holy Week 2018: signs before Easter
On Maundy Thursday they clean, wash, and wash everything in the house. Starting from Thursday, nothing is given or taken out of the house until Easter. On Friday they will sweep the corners with a rag. According to signs, this rag helped to get rid of lower back pain if you tied it around yourself. They used the same rag to wipe their feet in the bathhouse after washing so that their feet would not hurt. Ash, taken from the oven on Friday before Easter, helped to recover from alcoholism, black shaking, the evil eye and mortal melancholy.
On Friday they look out the window, noting who they will see first: if a man, then to prosperity for three months. If a person gets sick at this time, he will quickly recover. Any problem will be easily resolved.
If you see an old woman, then there will be a succession of three months of failure and illness. And if you see a young woman first, you will live without problems for these three months. If you are lucky and your family appears first before your eyes, this means peace in your family, reconciliation of those who are at odds.
According to signs, a dog means longing, a cat means profit, birds mean a new acquaintance and good news, a disabled person means the death of a loved one.
Of course, everything preparatory work: cooking, painting eggs, must be completed before Easter Sunday. On Easter morning they wash themselves with water left over from Maundy Thursday. It’s good to put a silver thing or a spoon in it, or maybe a coin. This type of washing will bring beauty and wealth.
If a girl cannot get married, then she needs to give the towel with which she dried herself on Maundy Thursday, along with dyes and Easter cake, to those who ask for alms. Then the desired marriage should take place quickly.
What you can do during Holy Week
During Holy Week, it is advisable to renounce human vanity and immerse yourself in the anticipation of the great holiday. These days the strictest fast is in force, which is usually observed. It is necessary to put the house and soul in order, to finish all the things started. If you have repairs, try to get it done before Thursday.
Cleaning, painting and saying prayers are activities that are best done on Monday.
On Tuesday it is best to put things in order: wash, iron, take apart.
In the middle of the week, it is advisable to visit church and prepare everything for the festive table.
Preparations for Easter begin on Thursday. Water on this day brings cleansing from sins, so you should wash yourself. That's why this Thursday is called “Clean”. You can light a candle brought from the temple: it will protect the house from troubles and misfortune.
On Friday you need to devote the day to remembering the passion of Christ and praying intensely.
On Saturday, it is advisable to get up early and prepare Easter treats.
Sunday is the day of service, which begins at midnight. Orthodox believers go to church for worship.
Many people know that Easter is a great and sacred holiday. That is why the last week before its onset is devoted to cleansing oneself and the house from any filth as best as possible. The last week of Lent is the strictest, and Thursday is dedicated to cleaning the house. These rituals are known to everyone and they always try to adhere to them.
However, there are also conspiracies that will bring good luck and health to the house if performed before Easter. These include:
- to make a profit;
- for good luck;
- for beauty and health;
- for love;
- from the evil eye and damage, etc.
Casting spells on different days of the week
Rituals can be performed on any day during Holy Week.
We treat diseases
For example, if you suffer from aching bones, you can perform the following ritual, and then the illness will go away. To do this, you need to go to the store on Monday and buy a bar of soap there (under no circumstances should you take the change and do not say “thank you”). Before the first use, it is advisable to give the soap into the hands of an “innocent” person - a child. If there is no one at home, then a guy or girl who has not been married can replace him. After they hold the piece, you need to go and wash their hands, saying the following words:
“As the Water of God washes away soap from my hands, so let all illness disappear from my body. Key, lock, tongue. Amen. Amen. Amen".
There are also conspiracies for diseases associated with joints. On the second day of Holy Week, stand on the threshold of your home and repeat the following words three times:
“Lord God, help! Holy Mother of God, bless! I speak out my pain from all joints, I drive away my illness with holy prayer. Get the disease out of my hands and my feet. Cross my pain, my threshold. May you, my words, be strong and molding, tenacious to my body. Key, lock, tongue. Amen. Amen. Amen".
Previous conspiracies were for specific diseases, but there are also those that are suitable for treating any disease.
For one of them you will need a blessed egg and a willow branch. Make sure that during the consecration not a single bud falls from the willow, otherwise it will not only not help, but will also aggravate the situation. Next, you need to touch the sore spots with a twig and say:
“Saint Paul waved the willow, drove away the pain from me (name). And just as it is true that people honor Palm Sunday, just as sacred is the word that my pains will go away. Amen. Amen. Amen".
To maintain health and renew your body, you need to go outside on the Wednesday before Easter and draw water from any body of water. To do this, you need to use a mug that you have never drunk from before. At home, you should put the water in a secluded place, cross yourself three times and cover it with a clean towel. Then, when it’s 2 a.m., douse yourself with this water (don’t forget to cross yourself 3 times again), but not all of it. There is no need to dry yourself after this procedure; immediately put on your clothes and pour the remaining water under a tree or into flowers. This ritual will help keep your body in shape and rejuvenate your skin.
If you feel weak and sore, but the doctors say that everything is fine with you, then on the third day of Easter week, drink some holy water, before saying it:
“God created the sky. God created the earth. Grant, O Lord, health to the servant of God (name). Like Jesus Christ on the third day eternal life resurrected, so that the servant of God (name) will also be resurrected to health. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen".
If you have back pain, you can take a rag on Friday, the day before Easter, and sweep it into all corners of the house or use it as a towel for your feet to keep them young and healthy.
Let's talk about beauty and love
In order to improve your appearance You can use various spells. One of them is pronounced as follows:
“Lord, Almighty God, who created everything out of nothing! Bless and cleanse my body, may your work be holy and strong. Just as the heavenly body doesn’t hurt, doesn’t ache, doesn’t tingle or burn with fire, so my bones wouldn’t hurt, ache, bruise or burn. The water of God descends from heaven, my body is cleansed of illness. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen".
Before saying this, you need to go outside or lean out of the window so that you can see the sky without any interference while saying the words.
If a girl is unlucky in love, you can perform the following ritual. You need to take some grains of wheat and go to the Easter service. Keep the seeds close to your chest the entire time you are on it. Upon returning home, scatter them at the doorstep with the words:
“As many candle lights in the church there were, there were as many suitors for me. There are as many suitors for me as there are in a handful of grains. Key. Lock. Language. Amen".
And this ritual will help with acne problems. On Good Friday, light a candle and when less than half remains, extinguish it. Later, perhaps even after Easter, you need to measure the diameter of the candle with a coarse thread, cut it to its size, and then speak as follows:
“As a harsh thread burns, it will free my face from pimples. Key, lock, tongue. Amen. Amen. Amen".
When the words are spoken, both the thread and the candle must be burned.
Conspiracy for money
The eternal problem of people is the lack of money. Therefore, they try to attract them in a variety of ways, including conspiracies. Like other rituals, it has special power to attract wealth if performed before Easter.
In order to always have money at home, you need to go to church on Wednesday of Holy Week and light a candle there, saying:
“As people go to this cross, let big money come to me. Now, forever and endlessly."
In order for the conspiracy to work, you must be the very first among the parishioners in the church.
Another money conspiracy is carried out on Saturday the day before happy holiday. You need to take a five-ruble coin and say:
“In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, money to money, penny to penny. As people wait for Easter, as they go to the temple of God, so would money flow to me, God’s servant (name), like a river, all the saints, all with me. Amen".
After which the coin must be placed in the wallet and the entire next year carry it with you without using it.
Also on Saturday you can put an Easter egg and a coin in each corner of the apartment and say:
“Like an Easter egg with a ruble will not come out of this corner, so that money will never leave my house. Christ is Risen, and to my words Amen.”
The next day you can eat the egg. But the coins should not be spent until another week has passed after Easter.
Ceremonies on Maundy Thursday
It is known that Thursday on the eve of the holiday is itself a sacred day. When it occurs, people clean and wash the house, and also wash themselves. They say that anyone who is too lazy to clean up on this day will then live in the dirt all year, constantly quarreling.
Rituals held on Maundy Thursday are especially powerful. This is probably why they differ in such diversity.
For prosperity in the house
Basically, it is during Easter week (Thursday) that conspiracies are read to attract money.
On this day, before dawn, sit down and count all the money in the house 3 times. Each time you finish counting, say:
“A thousand, half a thousand, six hundred, my master hand will take everything everywhere. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen".
Early in the morning, while everyone is still sleeping, put some change in a sieve and go outside with it. Make sure no one sees you. Before reading the plot itself, say:
“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Now, while “sifting” the money, say the magic words: “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Mother earth, sister earth, accept the seeds. Give me and my family good times, good shoots. Amen".
Conspiracy for Easter week to bring prosperity
Like many other things, conspiracies differ in their complexity. Therefore, in order to read the next one, you will need to prepare for it. On Easter week, save up some change, and on Thursday itself, make sure that no one is at home. While reading the plot, no one should distract you. After everything is ready, pour water into a basin and pour the collected money into it. Now, with your little fingers clasped together, read the words:
“You are water, water, everyone drinks you, everyone loves you. Everyone sanctifies you in Epiphany, I ask you, water, forgiveness: Mother pure water, forgive me, Mother water, help. Just as there is a lot of you in a lake, a river, a stream, an ocean, in every human glass, so I would have a lot of money: on Monday, and on Tuesday, and on Wednesday, and on Thursday, and on Friday, and on Saturday and Sunday. There is so much water, so that I, God’s servant (name), have a lot of goodness, gold and silver. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen".
The most difficult thing is that you need to repeat this thirty-three times, but then everything will pay off with interest. After reading, do not immediately pour out the water, first use it to clean the house - the floors should be washed last and start from the threshold, moving deeper into the house.
Other prayers for Thursday
There are also conspiracies to get rid of the evil eye or damage. To do this, you should say in the morning while washing your face:
“I wash away what they let on me, what toils my Soul and body, everything is washed away on Maundy Thursday.” And to consolidate the result, you should also say in the evening, while bathing: “As confession cleanses, as water washes away dirt, so you, THURSDAY, be clean. Cleanse me from all evil, from insults from people, from disobedience, from intemperance, devilish blasphemy, from bad rumors, evil conversations, demonic disputes. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen".
Bathing can also be used to read beauty spells. One of them is this:
“As Maundy Thursday is bright and red, so I, slave (name), will be beautiful to everyone. Amen".
Another conspiracy should be pronounced after waking up. To do this, pour water into a container and place any silver object there and say the words:
“I will wash myself with silver water, I will cover myself with a golden robe. Just as people love money, so let the whole world love and love me,”
after which you should dry yourself with a clean towel (it’s better if it’s a new one).
However, conspiracies are not the only thing that can be done on Maundy Thursday. To small child was not sick and grew well, he should be cut on this day, especially favorably if this is his first haircut in his life. Also on Thursday of Easter week they make “Thursday salt” - each family member takes a handful of salt, after which they pour it into one bag. After which this salt can be used for severe illnesses or failures and quarrels, adding to food.
The beginning of Holy Week is associated with very strict food restrictions. Those who are fasting even try to drink as little water as possible. If the fast is not observed, a hunger strike can harm the body, and there is no particular point in it. But respecting and recognizing the demands of the church, it still won’t hurt to make adjustments to the diet. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables, drink clean water. Of course, alcohol is out of the question.
On this day, you can start cleaning your pets’ homes, as well as inspect the refrigerator (there are recommendations to completely remove all food from it, wash it thoroughly and put in fresh food). You definitely need to buy feed for livestock and poultry so that there is enough for all the holidays.
Tuesday
On this day, house cleaning begins, but before sunrise it was necessary to feed all the living creatures with milk from ground flax and hemp. If this is not possible, you can use clean water. This tradition helps preserve the health of livestock and poultry. If household no, you shouldn't relax. The house will need to be cleaned on Tuesday and Wednesday perfect order, wash the windows, go through things, throw away everything unnecessary, wash, iron the linen. If you have been planning to buy a rug or new curtains for a long time, this day is ideal for such purchases.
Wednesday
On this day it is customary to remember the dead. The family gathers at the table, the housewives set the table with 12 dishes according to the number of apostles. Food should be lean. Traditionally, a bar of soap and salt were placed under the roof at night. It was believed that if you take a bath with it on Maundy Thursday, you can protect yourself from illnesses and misfortunes for the whole year. Salt was carried to the service and blessed. 
Thursday
This day begins long before sunrise. Obligatory ablution with prayer will only bring health. Water cannot be drained. It is advisable to give it to animals or simply pour it out onto the street. Salt is blessed in the temple, and then it is used to clean the home. By this time, the room should already be cleaned. Scatter the salt in the corners, read a prayer, and then sweep it away with an old broom and throw it away along with it. To protect against the evil eye, salt is sewn into a canvas bag and hung in the right corner near front door. Easter cakes are baked on Maundy Thursday and eggs are painted for Easter.
Friday
Good Friday should be spent in humility. On this day you cannot swear, raise your voice, it is advisable to limit yourself in food. You can't clean the house either. But boys and girls are allowed to tell their fortunes before Easter.
Saturday
On this day, all pre-holiday preparations are completed. Food is being prepared, and in abundance, because after Easter for three days you won’t even be able to go near the stove. Believers go to the evening service, which flows into the all-night vigil. Those who sleep at night can bring misfortune upon themselves. Of course, this is if the reason is disrespectful. 
Sunday
After consecration in the temple, you need to clean one egg and divide it among all your loved ones. When everyone has gathered at the table, the meal should begin with Easter cake and colored eggs. This will need to be done throughout the weeks after Easter. You shouldn’t behave provocatively at the table, you shouldn’t talk or laugh loudly, and even more so you shouldn’t start conflicts.
We are sure that the information will be useful to you. For Easter to become a moment of spiritual cleansing, remember that celebrating the holiday not according to the rules is a great sin, the punishment for which can be very severe.
Signs and traditions of the last week before EasterThe Holy Week preceding Palm Sunday - the last week of Lent - was marked by the observance of special rituals. From Monday on Holy - or, as people said, Scary - week, everyone began to put themselves and their home in order, preparing for Easter.
Herself week before Easter- the week of the Week is dedicated to last days life of Jesus Christ. So, for example, Palm Sunday commemorated the entry of Christ on a donkey into Jerusalem. The people greet him by laying out their clothes and palm branches. Nowadays, it is necessary to bring willow branches into the house; it has become an obligatory tradition to whip each other with them in order to drive illness, failure, bad thoughts out of the body and to charge the spirit with health, driving away thinness and troubles for the next year.
Monday.
From this day begins the diligent preparation for Easter. Each family member is supposed to decorate their willow bouquets with ribbons, beads, bright threads, and flowers. It was also customary on this day to clean the house, wash, and do laundry. Yes, exactly on this day, and not as we are used to, believing that Maundy Thursday is named so that it is on this supposed day that one must clean up.
Tuesday.
This is the last day when it was allowed to finish seven new clothes for Easter, and on this day it was also supposed to make peace with everyone with whom you were in a quarrel. Today you can simply put all your clothes in order for the great holiday of Easter.
Wednesday.
The busiest day is the middle of Holy Week; it was on Wednesday that the main symbol of Easter was created, the “spoon” from hollow branches of straw and thread, which was supposed to personify the fragility of the world. We hung this decoration in the middle of the main room and started general cleaning. It was necessary to wash before midnight. On this day, a parallel was drawn between the repentant and forgiven sinner and the traitor Judas. According to other sources, on Great Wednesday it was necessary, on the contrary, to finish all the cleaning around the house and be prepared for the next great day.
Thursday.
There is a misconception that in Maundy Thursday
It is necessary to clean the house and put things in order. On this day, it was strictly forbidden to do anything around the house, so as not to bring trouble to your home. In the morning, women collected dew, which they used to wash all their relatives, rewarding them with good health; those who washed themselves from silver dishes invited wealth into the house. It was on Thursday that people cleansed their souls: they took communion, stood at the service, during which the Thursday fire was lit. It was supposed to be brought into your home to protect everyone from illness and fill the house with happiness. The most important Gospel events (the Last Supper, the Lord’s washing of the feet of his disciples, the Savior’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane and the betrayal of Judas) belong to this day. Also on this day it is necessary to knead the dough for Easter cakes, but not bake.
Friday.
The strictest day of fasting, on which it was forbidden to eat. This is the day of Christ's crucifixion, death and subsequent burial. To distract themselves from temptation, which is why the day is called Holy Day, people decorated their houses with willow, heather, embroidered towels and other decorations.
Saturday.
From the very morning on this day, housewives baked Easter cakes and painted eggs in order to bless the holiday delicacies at the evening service. All believers on this day tried to attend the all-night service, after which they congratulated each other with the joyful news “Christ is Risen” and received in response a threefold kiss with the words of joy “Truly He is Risen.” After three o'clock in the morning it was possible to break the fast.
Sunday.
On this day, all believers celebrate Easter, exchange eggs, treat each other for festive table, go to visit, sing solemn prayers and rejoice at the new day, listening to the bells ringing.
If you follow long-standing traditions, then this is exactly how you should conduct last week before Easter every believing family.
More signs
On Holy Wednesday and Maundy Thursday It was customary to wash all domestic animals with water melted from snow - from cows to chickens - and burn the salt in the oven, which, according to popular beliefs, gained from this healing properties. In some villages, at midnight on Maundy Thursday, women were also ordered to douse themselves with water to protect themselves from illness. It was believed that at this midnight even “the raven bathes his children.”
There was even a custom at midnight on Holy Thursday for girls to go waist-deep into the river (if the ice had already melted) and, standing in a tight circle, call on spring. If the ice had not yet broken, the girls washed themselves from the ice hole and rolled “to the east and west sides” on the ground.
If you wash your face before dawn on Maundy (Clean) Thursday, you need to say at the same time: “I wash away what they put on me, what toils my soul and body, everything is removed on Maundy Thursday.”
And so that young people would pay attention, the girls, while washing themselves, would say: “As Maundy Thursday is bright and red, so I will be beautiful for everyone. Amen".
Wednesday of Holy Week they remembered a special ritual against any bodily illness. It was necessary to scoop up water with a mug from a well or from a barrel on the street, or draw water from a river. After crossing ourselves three times, we covered the mug with a clean or new towel, and at 2 a.m., after crossing ourselves three times again, we doused ourselves with this water, leaving a little in the mug. Afterwards, clothes were put on the wet body without drying, and the water that remained in the mug was poured onto a bush or flowers for up to 3 hours. They say that a body washed in this way is reborn.
On Maundy Thursday It was advised to cut the hair of a one-year-old child for the first time (cutting it before one was considered a sin), and for girls to cut the ends of their braids so that they would grow longer and thicker. All livestock were also advised to have their hair clipped for health and well-being.
There was also a custom of burning crosses on doors and ceilings with a candle to protect the house from the invasion of evil spirits. Passion candles were given to those who were seriously ill or suffering from difficult childbirth: they were believed to have healing powers. From Maundy Thursday it was forbidden to sweep the floor in the house until Easter. Weather signs were also associated with it: if it rained, spring would be late and wet.
Good Friday- the day of the strictest fasting - was especially revered by the people. It preceded Holy Saturday, when it was customary to conjure matinees (morning frosts).
Throughout Holy Week, according to pagan tradition, bonfires were burned on high hills in honor of the god of fire Perun. Another pagan tradition was to protect fields from evil spirits. Guys and girls with lighted splinters in their hands, and some with brooms and whips, began to gallop on horseback through the village from one end to the other with wild screams: it was believed that this should scare away evil spirits.
So, the last, seventh day of Holy Week came - Bright Resurrection of Christ. According to custom, on this day, in the morning, bonfires were lit in front of the churches and along the hills, which is also associated with the pagan tradition of celebrating the victory of light over darkness and spring warmth- over the winter cold. In villages, on the Holy Night before Easter Sunday, tar barrels are burned, and the coals from them are collected and then these coals are placed under the roof: it is believed that this protects the house from lightning strikes.
As soon as Easter Sunday The bells began to ring, people crossed themselves and said three times: “Christ has risen, and my family has health, my house has wealth, my field has a harvest. Amen".
After singing in churches: “Christ is Risen,” it was customary to shoot blank charges from guns into the air, which also symbolized victory over darkness and death.
If on Easter night you scoop up water from a spring or river, then popular belief, she will have special power.
If someone in the house was dying, then in church on Easter Sunday they had to try to take the Easter egg from the hands of the priest. When leaving the church, you need to go up to the icon of the Mother of God and call her with you: “Mother Mother of God, come with me to my home. Spend the night with us, heal the slave (name of the patient). At home, it was necessary to feed at least part of the egg brought to the patient. Then, according to popular belief, he will not die this year.
There is another, no less interesting belief: if at the morning service on Easter Sunday you stand in the corner of the church, holding a silver coin in your left hand, and at the first greeting of the priest, “Christ is Risen,” instead of “Truly He is Risen,” say: “Antmoz mago,” the coin will receive miraculous power and not only return to the owner, but will also bring him a lot of money.
More signs and conspiracies
On this day, you should count your money three times so that you can keep the money throughout the 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. Maundy Thursday. You can use it to treat yourself, as well as your family and friends. This salt is used to make amulets for the family, livestock, garden, home, etc.
On Maundy Thursday clean, wash. Starting from Thursday, nothing is given away from home until Easter.
IN Friday sweep the corners with a rag; this rag will help get rid of lower back pain if you tie it around yourself. The same rag is used to wipe your feet in the bathhouse after washing so that your feet don’t hurt. Ash taken on the Friday before Easter will help cure alcoholism, black shaking, the evil eye and mortal melancholy.
IN Friday they look out the window, noting who they will see first: if a man, then to prosperity for three months. If a person gets sick at this time, he will quickly recover. Any problem will be easily resolved. If you see an old woman, you will have a succession of three months of failure and illness, and if you see a young woman, you will live these three months without problems. If you see a family, it means peace in the family, reconciliation of those who are at odds. A dog means sadness, a cat means profit, birds mean a new acquaintance and good news, a disabled person means the death of a loved one.
Of course, all prepared work: cooking, painting eggs must be completed before Easter.
Easter morning wash with water left over from Maundy Thursday. It’s good to put a silver thing or a spoon in it, or maybe 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 on Easter, to those who ask for alms, along with dyes and Easter cake. After this, they soon get married.
The Holy Week preceding Palm Sunday - the last week of Lent - was marked by the observance of special rituals. From Monday on Holy - or, as people said, Scary - week, everyone began to put themselves and their home in order, preparing for Easter.
Herself week before Easter- the week of Week is dedicated to the last days of the life of Jesus Christ. So, for example, Palm Sunday commemorated the entry of Christ on a donkey into Jerusalem. The people greet him by laying out their clothes and palm branches. Nowadays, it is necessary to bring willow branches into the house; it has become an obligatory tradition to whip each other with them in order to drive illness, failure, bad thoughts out of the body and to charge the spirit with health, driving away thinness and troubles for the next year.
Monday.
From this day begins the diligent preparation for Easter. Each family member is supposed to decorate their willow bouquets with ribbons, beads, bright threads, and flowers. It was also customary on this day to clean the house, wash, and do laundry. Yes, exactly on this day, and not as we are used to, believing that Maundy Thursday is named so that it is on this supposed day that one must clean up.
Tuesday.
This is the last day when it was allowed to finish seven new clothes for Easter, and on this day it was also supposed to make peace with everyone with whom you were in a quarrel. Today you can simply put all your clothes in order for the great holiday of Easter.
Wednesday.
The busiest day is the middle of Holy Week; it was on Wednesday that the main symbol of Easter was created, the “spoon” from hollow branches of straw and thread, which was supposed to personify the fragility of the world. We hung this decoration in the middle of the main room and began general cleaning. It was necessary to wash before midnight. On this day, a parallel was drawn between the repentant and forgiven sinner and the traitor Judas. According to other sources, on Great Wednesday it was necessary, on the contrary, to finish all the cleaning around the house and be prepared for the next great day.
Thursday.
There is a misconception that in Maundy Thursday It is necessary to clean the house and put things in order. On this day, it was strictly forbidden to do anything around the house, so as not to bring trouble to your home. In the morning, women collected dew, which they used to wash all their relatives, rewarding them with good health; those who washed themselves from silver dishes invited wealth into the house. It was on Thursday that people cleansed their souls: they took communion, stood at the service, during which the Thursday fire was lit. It was supposed to be brought into your home to protect everyone from illness and fill the house with happiness. The most important Gospel events (the Last Supper, the Lord’s washing of the feet of his disciples, the Savior’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane and the betrayal of Judas) belong to this day. Also on this day it is necessary to knead the dough for Easter cakes, but not bake.
Friday.
The strictest day of fasting, on which it was forbidden to eat. This is the day of Christ's crucifixion, death and subsequent burial. To distract themselves from temptation, which is why the day is called Holy Day, people decorated their houses with willow, heather, embroidered towels and other decorations.
Saturday.
From the very morning on this day, housewives baked Easter cakes and painted eggs in order to bless the holiday delicacies at the evening service. All believers on this day tried to attend the all-night service, after which they congratulated each other with the joyful news “Christ is Risen” and received in response a threefold kiss with the words of joy “Truly He is Risen.” After three o'clock in the morning it was possible to break the fast.
Sunday.
On this day, all believers celebrate Easter, exchange eggs, treat each other at the festive table, go to visit, sing solemn prayers and rejoice at the new day, listening to the bells ringing.
If you follow long-standing traditions, then this is exactly how you should conduct last week before Easter every believing family.
More signs
On Holy Wednesday and Maundy Thursday It was customary to wash all domestic animals with water melted from snow - from cows to chickens - and burn the salt in the oven, which, according to popular belief, acquired healing properties from this. In some villages, at midnight on Maundy Thursday, women were also ordered to douse themselves with water to protect themselves from illness. It was believed that at this midnight even “the raven bathes his children.”
There was even a custom at midnight on Holy Thursday for girls to go waist-deep into the river (if the ice had already melted) and, standing in a tight circle, call on spring. If the ice had not yet broken, the girls washed themselves from the ice hole and rolled “to the east and west sides” on the ground.
If you wash your face before dawn on Maundy (Clean) Thursday, you need to say at the same time: “I wash away what they put on me, what toils my soul and body, everything is removed on Maundy Thursday.”
And so that young people would pay attention, the girls, while washing themselves, would say: “As Maundy Thursday is bright and red, so I will be beautiful for everyone. Amen".
Wednesday of Holy Week they remembered a special ritual against any bodily illness. It was necessary to scoop up water with a mug from a well or from a barrel on the street, or draw water from a river. After crossing ourselves three times, we covered the mug with a clean or new towel, and at 2 a.m., after crossing ourselves three times again, we doused ourselves with this water, leaving a little in the mug. Afterwards, clothes were put on the wet body without drying, and the water that remained in the mug was poured onto a bush or flowers for up to 3 hours. They say that a body washed in this way is reborn.
On Maundy Thursday It was advised to cut the hair of a one-year-old child for the first time (cutting it before one was considered a sin), and for girls to cut the ends of their braids so that they would grow longer and thicker. All livestock were also advised to have their hair clipped for health and well-being.
There was also a custom of burning crosses on doors and ceilings with a candle to protect the house from the invasion of evil spirits. Passion candles were given to those who were seriously ill or suffering from difficult childbirth: they were believed to have healing powers. From Maundy Thursday it was forbidden to sweep the floor in the house until Easter. Weather signs were also associated with it: if it rained, spring would be late and wet.
Good Friday- the day of the strictest fasting - was especially revered by the people. It preceded Holy Saturday, when it was customary to conjure matinees (morning frosts).
Throughout Holy Week, according to pagan tradition, bonfires were burned on high hills in honor of the god of fire Perun. Another pagan tradition was to protect fields from evil spirits. Guys and girls with lighted splinters in their hands, and some with brooms and whips, began to gallop on horseback through the village from one end to the other with wild screams: it was believed that this should scare away evil spirits.
So, the last, seventh day of Holy Week came - Bright Resurrection of Christ. According to custom, on this day, in the morning, bonfires were lit in front of churches and along the hills, which is also associated with the pagan tradition of celebrating the victory of light over darkness and spring warmth over winter cold. In villages, on the Holy Night before Easter Sunday, tar barrels are burned, and the coals from them are collected and then these coals are placed under the roof: it is believed that this protects the house from lightning strikes.
As soon as Easter Sunday The bells began to ring, people crossed themselves and said three times: “Christ has risen, and my family has health, my house has wealth, my field has a harvest. Amen".
After singing in churches: “Christ is Risen,” it was customary to shoot blank charges from guns into the air, which also symbolized victory over darkness and death.
If you scoop up water from a spring or river on Easter night, then, according to popular belief, it will have special power.
If someone in the house was dying, then in church on Easter Sunday they had to try to take the Easter egg from the hands of the priest. When leaving the church, you need to go up to the icon of the Mother of God and call her with you: “Mother Mother of God, come with me to my home. Spend the night with us, heal the slave (name of the patient). At home, it was necessary to feed at least part of the egg brought to the patient. Then, according to popular belief, he will not die this year.
There is another, no less interesting belief: if at the morning service on Easter Sunday you stand in the corner of the church, holding a silver coin in your left hand, and at the first greeting of the priest, “Christ is Risen,” instead of “Truly He is Risen,” say: “Antmoz mago,” the coin will receive miraculous power and not only return to the owner, but will also bring him a lot of money.
More signs and conspiracies
On this day, you should count your money three times so that you can keep the money throughout the 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. Maundy Thursday. You can use it to treat yourself, as well as your family and friends. This salt is used to make amulets for the family, livestock, garden, home, etc.
On Maundy Thursday clean, wash. Starting from Thursday, nothing is given away from home until Easter.
IN Friday sweep the corners with a rag; this rag will help get rid of lower back pain if you tie it around yourself. The same rag is used to wipe your feet in the bathhouse after washing so that your feet don’t hurt. Ash taken on the Friday before Easter will help cure alcoholism, black shaking, the evil eye and mortal melancholy.
IN Friday they look out the window, noting who they will see first: if a man, then to prosperity for three months. If a person gets sick at this time, he will quickly recover. Any problem will be easily resolved. If you see an old woman, you will have a succession of three months of failure and illness, and if you see a young woman, you will live these three months without problems. If you see a family, it means peace in the family, reconciliation of those who are at odds. A dog means sadness, a cat means profit, birds mean a new acquaintance and good news, a disabled person means the death of a loved one.
Of course, all prepared work: cooking, painting eggs must be completed before Easter.
Easter morning wash with water left over from Maundy Thursday. It’s good to put a silver thing or a spoon in it, or maybe 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 on Easter, to those who ask for alms, along with dyes and Easter cake. After this, they soon get married.
