Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. Signs on the holiday and their meaning

Recently, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is becoming more and more popular, because it is considered one of the most important among the twelve major holidays of the Orthodox Church. Celebrate it on September 27. Ancient traditions are regarded by the younger generation as 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 anything is celebrated, it is worthwhile to figure out where it came from and how this was treated in antiquity.

The first memory of the holiday

The Day of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord according to tradition appeared precisely when the Equal Apostles Queen Elena was found the Cross. It was on him that Jesus Christ was crucified. All this happened at the will of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine, who planned to build the temples of God in various sacred Christian places in Palestine. The place was chosen by the Soviets not by chance, for it was here that the Lord Jesus Christ was born, suffered and resurrected.

The Quest for the Cross of Christ

Find the Cross of Queen Helena (and she was Tsar Constantine's mother) was not so easy as it might seem. First she went to Jerusalem. Since the enemies of Christ dug the Cross into the ground, she made a lot of work to find a man who could tell her where he was buried. This was done only by the old Jew Judas.

It turned out that the Cross was thrown into a cave, littered with various garbage, and a pagan temple was built there. Therefore, Elena ordered that this temple was destroyed and that she was allowed access to the cave.

After her order was executed, it turned out that there are three crosses in the cave, and it is not known which of them is exactly what is needed.

How did you find the real Cross?

The Orthodox holiday of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord would now be impossible if Queen Elena were not a wise woman and did not take advantage of the advice of the Jerusalem Patriarch Macarius.

To determine which cross is the Savior's Cross, each of them was brought in turn to an incurably sick woman. When the first two crosses were laid, there was no miracle, but after the third, she became completely healthy.

Approximately at the same time, a funeral procession was passing by the place where these events unfolded. In order to finally make sure of the correctness of the choice, the queen Elena ordered to place the crosses on the deceased one by one. The miracle was repeated - after the third cross the dead came to life.

It was in this way that everyone learned about which cross is the Cross of the Lord, and it was found again in 326 AD.

The reaction of people to the Cross of the Lord

After all were convinced of the life-giving power of the real Cross of the Lord, Queen Helen, as well as the patriarch Macarius, bowed to him and kissed him, immediately after them it was done by the people around them.

It is in this place that the history of the holiday of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord begins. Many Christians arrived at the scene of the events, each of them wanted to join the shrine, but it was physically impossible, because it would take too much time. That is why the Jerusalem Patriarch stood on a small hill and several times raised the Cross, that is, erected it. When the people saw the Cross of the Savior, then immediately everyone bowed and exclaimed: "Lord, have mercy!"

It was thanks to a kind of ingenuity that the queen of Elena gave the part of the present Cross to the Tsar Constantine, and the other part was decided to be left in Jerusalem.

In the future it was on the site of these events that a very large Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross was built, where up to now the second part of the precious Cross is kept. Also temples were built in Bethlehem, on the Mount of Olives, in Fevron at Oak of Mamri.

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross - features

Its main feature is that it differs significantly in its character of celebration from all other similar Orthodox festivities. Usually saints and great feasts are the days of weeping 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 redemption, which manifests itself in the face of the main instrument, the conductor, and also the sign, that the Elevation of the Cross of the Lord is celebrated. What a date this happens, everyone must remember - September 27th.

It is believed that the Cross of the Lord is the glory of Jesus Christ. Therefore, Christ himself does not exalt himself so that the Cross may be glorified, but the Cross in order that Christ may be glorified.

The Importance of the Cross for Christians

Many argue that through the Cross we have received many different benefits. We were able to learn piety and comprehend the whole virtue of chastity. We also know the power of God's nature and his truth, through this same Cross we know the power of love, and we 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, taking everything imaginary, as seen. This is what the "Word of the Exaltation" reiterates, the author of which is Vasily Seleuky or John Chrysostom.

From the very beginning, after the Cross was discovered, he showed his miraculous power, helping to heal serious illnesses, bites of deadly poisonous animals and neutralize the action of poisons.

If you do not take into account the mysterious and mystical meaning of the Cross for a real Christian, then it also has a purely moral significance. When we look at the sufferings of our Savior, our crippling seems not so heavy. That is, the Cross serves as a support in difficult life situations, helping to show its courage and not be afraid of a close neighborhood with death.

This Orthodox holiday (Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord) is of great importance for Christians, because in their souls there was already a long-prepared soil for this. This triumph only multiplied the love of people to the Cross, gradually becoming more and more solemn. It is the Cross that becomes a symbol that allows you to fight with various invisible enemies and thus save your immortal soul.

Importance will take on the Exaltation

As you probably already guess, there are many interesting facts that are directly related to the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord. Signs in the very celebration play a crucial role. There are so many of them that some of them have not reached the present day, and they have been forgotten forever. But there are some customs that even now continue to fulfill and give it a lot of time, as well as attention.

September 27 is considered the third Osenin, therefore in ancient times on this day all crosses were painted on the doors of their houses, on mats or on lintels. Matica is a thick beam in the form of a log that has been cut across the building itself. The crosses were painted with garlic, charcoal, chalk used for this purpose. More surprisingly, sometimes crosses painted the blood of animals, which were sacrificed. Some simply cut out the cross with a knife on a suitable surface.

Safety of pets first of all

Many also tried to protect their cows or horses from various intrigues of evil spirits. To do this, they made special wooden crosses of small size and put them in a nursery. Whoever did not have such an opportunity, they acted somewhat differently. Crossed the branches of rowan and laid them also in a nursery. Rowan from ancient times was considered a symbol of bright light, which can scare away all evil spirits.

Such an Orthodox holiday (Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord) in itself is considered the final day of Indian summer. This is the third and most recent meeting of the autumn.

The approaching winter

It was on the day of this celebration that winter reminded everyone of themselves. Autumn became a full-fledged mistress, and therefore the villagers were increasingly thinking about the approaching colds, the snowstorms and frosts that await them. That is why there were so many popular sayings of this type: "On Vozdvizhenie a fur coat for a caftan stretches!" Or "Vozdvizhene kaftan symet, put on a fur coat!"

It should also be remembered that the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord is lean, so it was important to observe all the necessary restrictions in food. Those who have done everything right will be forgiven for all seven sins.

It's amazing that even animals were paying for their faults on this day. For example, it was believed that if a snake bites someone, then it can not survive the winter. This belief was based on the fact that everyone was sure of the existence of the mysterious place of Iri, where not only birds survived the winter, but also snakes. That is, the guilty snake will not be able to crawl there and will soon freeze.

A cabbage-maker - what is this?

Exaltation of the Holy Cross of the Lord used to be called even "cabbage". This is evidenced by many different popular enough once the sayings that have not forgotten to this day. In particular, it concerns such proverbs as "Vozdvizhenie - kapustnitsa, cabbage to cut down time!" Or no less eloquent "Without bread, the man will not be full, without cabbage - they do not live!" These expressions indicate that the cabbage used enough In terms of making various dishes from it.

Cabbages were also called gay parties, which were held not only in the villages, but also in large 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 big autumn parties was especially loved by young people, because they were expected not less than Maslenitsa, and all this celebration lasted about a week or two. When guests came to the house, they were sure to serve beer, as well as sweet honey and all kinds of treats. What kind of snacks were offered to the guests, it was decided only in accordance with the prosperity of the owners.

This is how the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord was celebrated. Signs also said that during this celebration, the young guys picked their brides. By the way, parties for unmarried guys were called "kapustenskie evening" and all the girls tried to get there, because they knew that they would already be waiting for the grooms. It was brides who were also called "cabbages". It was late at night that general festivities were held, which were then often led to weddings at Pokrov. This is how the holiday of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord for some young people became the beginning of family life.

How to please the groom and much more - signs on the Vozdvizhenie

The most important sign, which was used by absolutely all the girls, is that it is necessary to read a special spell seven times before the evening. It is this spell that will make a girl as attractive as possible in the eyes of the guy she likes. It is only in case of fulfilling such a sign that she can succeed at the celebration.

On the day of the celebration, one should not go to the forest, after all, the bear has to equip himself with a den, but the legendary goblin is obligatorily inspecting his kingdom, and it is impossible to interfere with them. Due to the fact that the leshy considers animals, a person who accidentally caught his eye can also be counted. But after that he will never be able to leave the forest and return home.

It is on September 27 that birds fly south, and anyone who sees them will be able to make up any desire that will come true later. Among other things, the true mistresses were always cleaned in the house for the holiday, because in this way they drove out all evil spoiling and spoilage.

An interesting fact is also that on Vozdvizhenie you can not start any new business, because they are already doomed to failure in advance.

By the way, a few omens have also arisen about cabbage. For example, this refers to the fact that before sowing, the seeds should be held in their hands a little, so that instead of cabbage the rutabaga does not appear. At the same time it was believed that if you plant cabbage on Thursday, then all of it will be worms, and it will be unfit for consumption.

Weather in the Exaltation

The flight of geese indicates a small or high flood. That is, if they fly low, then we are waiting for a small flood, and if high - high.

The signs of such a holiday as the Exaltation of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord, also indicate that if you saw the cranes, then pay attention to their flight. If they fly slowly, while they are high enough and strike, then we will wait for a warm autumn.

If the north wind blows on the day of celebration, next year it will be a warm summer. The Western is evidence of 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 in regard to weather forecasting. In connection with the restoration of many ancient traditions of our ancestors in many cities, you can see such a structure as the Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord (Omsk, Moscow, Moscow region, Nizhny Novgorod and many others).