Holy week before Easter. What to do in Passion Week. What not to do and signs. What can you eat during the day. Holy Week Do's and Don'ts

Before bright Easter, you will have to meet the Holy Week (we will tell you what you can eat on the days before Easter in the article). But what can you eat every day during this period?

Now we have to deal with this. For believers, this week is very important. During this period and until Easter itself, Christians pray and read the Bible. They remember Christ, who came to our Earth to cure us of various diseases, and left this world for our sins.

The fact is that throughout the week before Easter, not everything is allowed to eat. These 7 days are considered the most severe. Starting from the first day and ending with the seventh, every day is considered Great. On an important week, believers keep the strictest Fast.

Holy Week is a kind of memory of the last time of our Savior's passing and of his terrible torment. During this week, people are rethinking their lives. Someone decides to repent, someone is just thinking, and someone is praying earnestly. For everyone, this holy holiday means something different. This week the soul is cleansed of sinful thoughts. That is, abstinence occurs not only in food, but also morally. On Holy Week, one cannot be angry and swear - this is a great sin, just like eating meat with wine.

What Not to Do on Holy Week

Great Monday. They completed all the repair work around the house, removed construction debris, and took out old, unnecessary things.

Great Tuesday. They finished repairing clothes, sewing, cutting, darning, ironing, and the like. The melt water collected this year was used to wash livestock to protect them from diseases.

Great Wednesday. At night, from Tuesday to Wednesday, they took water from a river or well into a large jug or mug, and made the sign of the cross three times. At two o'clock in the morning they watered themselves with this water, leaving a little at the bottom, signing themselves with a cross three times. Clean clothes were put on a wet body, and the rest of the water was poured under a tree or bush. This meant the birth of a washed body and, according to signs, protected from diseases for the whole year.

Maundy Thursday - or Maundy Thursday. Clean Thursday in 2017 falls on April 13th. Maundy Thursday or Maundy Thursday is the fourth day of Holy Week, the strictest week of Great Lent.

Bathing is of symbolic importance on Maundy Thursday, on this day you need to wake up before sunrise and have time to swim.

It is believed that in this way, as in Epiphany bathing, a person washes away all sins from himself, and all ailments and illnesses will bypass him.

On Clean Thursday, you need to go to church for confession and communion. On this day, according to customs, it is customary to do a general cleaning at home before Easter. It is after going to church on a clean Thursday that you need to clean the house.

You need to clean up very carefully, not superficially - you should wash all the objects in the house, including the ceilings. There is a sign that if it is good to clean the house on a clean Thursday, then the whole next year the house will be clean. Again, cleanliness in the home will reflect the inner purity of the soul of a believing Christian.

In addition, it is necessary to wash all textiles and prepare traditional Easter food: Easter cakes and colored eggs.

Passion Week Notes

It is on this day that you can get rid of many sins and improve your life. Following Easter signs and rituals, you can change your destiny for the better for the next year.

Here's what I know...

“If you want to be healthy all year round, by all means, swim before sunrise.” - Try it yourself and you will see that, indeed, this morning the water acquires wonderful healing properties. This water can wash away everything, the sins that have accumulated over the year.

Do not indulge in laziness, but rather get up early on Maundy Thursday and wash yourself white in the shower, in the bathroom or in the bath before dawn. If you cannot believe in the power of the magical Thursday water, then there will be no harm, purity is for the benefit of everyone - both bodily and spiritual.

There is a true sign - if you do a general cleaning on Clean Thursday, you will get a lot of joy for it.

In addition to the fact that the house will become clean, there is also such a religious moment here that religious people do not clean up for six days after Maundy Thursday.

In addition, there is a popular belief that by starting a general cleaning in the house, you receive a gift from the Lord with the opportunity to find your favorite and necessary items that seemed lost forever.

It has long been believed that if during Maundy Thursday all the money in the house is counted three times, then they will not be transferred to the family during the year. Counting money should be done early in the morning, at noon and at sunset. This should be done in secret not only from strangers, but also from all your household members. Only then will the performance of this ancient rite be useful.

And here is the money conspiracy on Pure Thursday. If you wash the doors and windows with water in which a trifle is placed, then throughout the year your cash income will grow by leaps and bounds!

Conspiracy words to say when throwing a bucket or basin of water with a handful of coins:

“Money, drive - don’t transfer, grow, multiply, don’t get to the enemy!”

and any other prayer that you know well. After all the doors and windows in your house have been washed, remove the change from the water and put it in a far, but previously washed, corner of your house or apartment for a week. Pour water under any tree.

Place any silver item in a container of water overnight. And in the morning, on Good Friday, wash yourself with this water, and during the year no evil spirit will be afraid of you.

If in your house there is a baby under the age of one year, then such a procedure is especially indicated for him, since he cannot yet protect himself with the help of holy prayer. Therefore, we must take care of its protection.

Thursday salt can be prepared in two ways:

The first way: go to three neighbors or friends, and ask them for a handful of salt, then mix it, preferably in earthenware, and use it as needed. It is said that added to the food and drink of a seriously and even terminally ill person, thursday salt can help to heal him.

The second way to prepare Thursday salt is as follows: pour a pack of salt into the pan and fry it, stirring constantly, while reading “Our Father”. You will feel the readiness of the salt yourself.

Immediately after the end of Palm Sunday, the last week before Easter begins, which is called Passion. Each day of this week bears the name of the Great - since it was on these days that events took place that had special significance in Orthodox Christianity: the Last Supper, the betrayal of Judas, the crucifixion of Christ - and then - his Resurrection. Therefore, every day has its own, special, and even mystical meaning.

Let's take a look at what can and cannot be done these days before Easter, and what signs and traditions exist.

Do's and Don'ts during Holy Week

Great Monday. They completed all the repair work around the house, removed construction debris, and took out old, unnecessary things.

Great Tuesday. They finished repairing clothes, sewing, cutting, darning, ironing, and the like. The melt water collected this year was used to wash livestock to protect them from diseases.

Maundy Thursday - or Maundy Thursday. Clean Thursday in 2014 falls on April 17th. Maundy Thursday or Maundy Thursday is the fourth day of Holy Week, the strictest week of Great Lent.

Bathing is of symbolic importance on Maundy Thursday, on this day you need to wake up before sunrise and have time to swim. It is believed that in this way, as in Epiphany bathing, a person washes away all sins from himself, and all ailments and illnesses will bypass him.

The custom for Pure Thursday is the preparation of Thursday salt. Each family member should take a handful of salt with clean hands and pour all the salt into a common pot. Every time the house is cleaned, salt should be added to the water to wash the floors. It is believed that this custom will help improve the atmosphere in the house.

After the grand cleaning carried out on Maundy Thursday, houses are not swept and cleaned according to customs until Easter itself.

Pure Thursday 2014: signs

The most famous sign on Maundy Thursday is to count money three times - in the morning before dawn, at lunchtime and at sunset. It is believed that in this way money will not be transferred in the house.

Another one of the signs of Pure Thursday is associated with Easter baking - if the treat turns out to be heavy and loose, then the believer will have to wait for the same year.

On Maundy Thursday, children's hair and women's hair ends are also cut - it is believed that from this they will grow better and be lush. Women who are unhappy in their personal lives are ordered to go waist-deep into the river on the night of April 17, 2014. It used to be that such a woman would soon meet her betrothed and her personal life would improve.

Clean Thursday 2014: conspiracies

On Clean Thursday, you can plot for a good income. To do this, you need to throw a handful of coins into the water that you are going to wash the apartment while saying: “Money, move - don’t transfer, grow, multiply, don’t get the enemy!”. On this day, they completed the cleaning in the house - they washed everything clean.

Mopping started from the threshold and ended in the farthest corner of the house, the water was taken out into the bushes or flower garden. It was considered obligatory on this day before sunset to wash with silver-plated water - this gave strength and beauty. To do this, they put a silver coin or a spoon, or other silver utensils in a mug or bowl of water, let it stand in the sun, and then washed.

After washing the house, walking with a church candle in the corners and reading “Our Father” three times, they began to prepare the dough for Easter cakes and paint the eggs.

Good Friday - or Good Friday. A day of mourning and silence. Bells were not rung in churches on this day, and in houses it is impossible to rejoice - otherwise there will be grief all year later. it was also not customary to eat and drink before dinner - honoring the crucified Christ and his torment on the cross.

Great Saturday. She also intended to spend the day in final preparations for the celebration of Easter. You can’t have fun, have fun on this day, you need to spend the day in prayer. The one who did not go to bed on the night from Saturday to Sunday, health and wealth awaited.

Signs of Holy Week

Since ancient times, many signs have been associated with Holy Week among the people, especially with Thursday and Friday. So, on Maundy Thursday, salt was prepared in a special way: they took large table salt, crushed it in a clean rag, then calcined it on fire, crushed it again and sieved it. It was believed that according to signs, such salt cleanses the energy of a person and protects against diseases. Painted eggs were eaten with Thursday salt for Easter.

On Maundy Thursday, money was attracted to the house. To do this, they carried out such a ceremony: they put a handful of coins in the water for washing floors and slandered “Money, drive - don’t transfer, grow, multiply, don’t get the enemy!” After that, they washed the floors with this water backwards - from the threshold to the far corner. A handful of coins from a bucket were placed in this far corner, and water was poured under a bush or tree. It was also believed that the more furniture was moved in the room during cleaning, the richer the house would be.

Accept on Good Friday - no less.

A loaf of bread baked on Good Friday heals all diseases and never gets moldy.
On Good Friday, in no case should you pierce the ground with iron; whoever does this will be in trouble.
If washed clothes are hung out to dry on Good Friday, bloodstains will appear on them.
If you transport bees on any day other than Good Friday, they will certainly die.
If you endure your thirst on Good Friday, then no amount of drinking will harm you for a whole year.
Rings consecrated on Good Friday protect the one who wears them from all diseases.
Easter muffin saved from one Good Friday to the next prevents whooping cough.
Only parsley sown on Good Friday gives a double harvest.
Weaning babies from the breast on Good Friday - the sign says that the child will be strong, healthy and will live happily.
If it is cloudy on Good Friday, then the bread will be with weeds.
If it is dawn on Good Friday, then the wheat will be grainy.

And on Good Friday, twelve candles were brought into the house from the church and allowed to burn out completely: it was believed that this would bring prosperity and happiness to the house.

Easter is considered the most important Christian holiday and they begin to prepare for it immediately after Forgiveness Sunday, that is, seeing off. The strictest weeks of a month and a half fast are considered the first and last. It is the seven days before Easter that are called Holy Week, and what cannot be done and what signs are associated with it will be described in this article.

What can not be done during Holy Week and what can be done according to church canons?

On Palm Sunday, Christians still rejoice and rejoice, glorifying the name of Christ, but already on Monday they begin to grieve, feeling the approach of inevitable betrayal and death. On this day, it is customary to remember the day when the Savior arrived in Jerusalem, whom he managed to meet and what he tried to convey to ordinary laity. The Holy Week before Easter calls on all Christians to observe fasting of the second degree - dry eating. As before, it is unacceptable to eat animal products, but now vegetable oil is also not allowed, and it is recommended to cook food without any heat treatment. On the first day of the strictest week, there is an order not to eat at all before sunset.

Those who are interested in what cannot be done on Holy Week Tuesday should answer that it is recommended to continue to fast and, if possible, finish working with fabrics and threads. Until Thursday, it is necessary to put things in order at home, set tables and furniture with festive tablecloths and capes, and prepare new outfits for yourself and the children. On Wednesday, you can buy all the necessary products for cooking Easter cakes. On Thursday, they remember the Last Supper and read a passage about this event from the Bible. Finish general cleaning and be sure to wash themselves. According to a sign, it is believed that a holiday does not come to a dirty house.

On Friday and Saturday, it is prescribed to completely abstain from food, but such a strict order is typical for the monastery, and ordinary laity can fast according to their strength and health. This is especially true for the sick, the elderly, children, pregnant women. It was on Friday that Christ was sentenced to death and crucified, so it is recommended to defend the service in the temple and do nothing around the house. On Saturday, from the very morning, you need to have time to bake Easter cakes, paint the eggs and take them to the temple for consecration. Those who are interested in what should not be done on the Saturday of Holy Week can be answered that non-lean food should not be consumed.

What can not be done in Holy Week?

I must say that fasting concerns not only food, but also the spirit. Refusal of certain products means little without cleansing the soul, and therefore, not only the entire last seven days, but the entire month and a half fast, it is recommended to pray, and also try to appease all false and unkind thoughts in yourself. Avoid quarrels and idle talk, slander, flattery and condemnation. It is necessary to hasten to do good deeds and help your neighbor. Only through spiritual purification can one approach God and truly rejoice in the resurrection of Christ.

Those who ask what cannot be done on Holy Week before Easter should say that the prohibitions apply to sexual life, as well as any other pleasures. You can kiss with your husband only at night, and refuse any festive and entertainment events. And this is especially true on Good Friday. Now it is clear what can and cannot be done during Holy Week, but such prohibitions seem gloomy only to those who have never adhered to them. Having embarked on the path of fasting, one can understand and feel that this was not done in vain, and only by compassion for Christ can one be cleansed, become better and understand how bright and great the Easter holiday is.

Consider Holy Week: what can and cannot be done, as well as other aspects of this important period. This week is called "Passion" or "Great". The first name, of course, is the period to receive in honor of what is remembered in these days of the suffering of Jesus Christ, which he endured on earth in order to atone for the sins of mankind.

Also, every day of this period is called "great", because it falls on a short period before the Great Feast of Easter. These days, from Monday to Saturday (inclusive), believers observe a particularly strict fast. But here it is important to remember that fasting is not just giving up meat and eating once a day. It includes repentance, prayers, awareness of the sinfulness of man.

Important about Easter

What should you definitely know about the period about which so much is said in this material? Of course, first of all, what is Holy Week: what can and cannot be done every day. Especially many traditions and beliefs among the people exist on: someone counts money three times so that they are sure to be carried. Someone for health is doused with water at dawn. As for church traditions, they do not single out any day of the Great Week: each day is important and special in its own way.

It can be said that Friday stands apart precisely within the framework of the church rules of Holy Week. Following the biblical scriptures, the church believes that it was on this day of the week that Jesus Christ was crucified, and then, on the third day, that is, on Sunday, he was resurrected. On Good Friday, any work is prohibited (of course, a modern person will have to go to a regular job, but it is imperative to refuse work around the house, in the kitchen). On Good Friday, fasting is as strict as possible and it is recommended not to eat anything until the shroud is taken out.

Great Monday

On this day, cleaning begins in the house and on the site in preparation for the Easter holiday. Fasting for a person is a way to cleanse himself physically, prayers and repentance are a way to cleanse himself spiritually. But not only a person should be ready for a big holiday, but also his home.

Maundy Tuesday

This day of Great Lent is intended to continue cleaning around the house and continue your spiritual preparation for the Easter holiday. Since on the eve of the Resurrection of Christ, a general cleaning needs to be done at home, the sooner it starts, the more time will be on Clean Thursday - the last day when you can clean at home to do a variety of rituals.

Note! After the end of Maundy Thursday, it is no longer possible to clean the house until Easter, and then throughout the entire holiday week. It is for this reason that it is recommended to start cleaning the house at the beginning of Holy Week, and not leave everything to do during the Clean Week.
Thursday.

Great Wednesday

Again, the preparation of yourself and at home for the holiday continues. It will be necessary to adhere to the same strict rules on this day, Holy Week: what can and cannot be done. As for nutrition, it is possible to eat during the first three days of the Great Week only and exclusively vegetable food and only in cold form. That is, cooking, vegetable oil is prohibited.

It is important during this period to attend church and pray. In principle, if there is no time at all to go to the temple for service, then you can pray at home. It is important to do all this with awareness, sincerity and love.

Clean Thursday

Well, many people know about this day of Holy Week and many are looking forward to it with great impatience. Because, according to the rules, Holy Week: what can and cannot be done on Maundy Thursday, there are many, and there are more conspiracies and rituals, prayers than any prohibitions (as it will be, for example, the very next day on Good Friday) .

On Maundy Thursday, it is customary to finish cleaning the house, to complete all the laundry. Do not ignore cleaning on this day, because it is believed that if today there is dirt in the house, then throughout the year there will be constant quarrels and squabbles in this house. A great .

Other beliefs on Maundy Thursday:
For the first time in Russia, it was customary to cut small children's hair on Maundy Thursday. Also, a little wool is cut off on this day from cattle to ensure their health and well-being for the whole year.
In the morning, everything in the house must be washed - this will save the home from illness and quarrels.
On this day, nothing can be borrowed from home, and the rule is preserved until Easter itself.
In order for money to be carried throughout the year, it will be necessary to count them three times on Good Thursday: at dawn, at noon, and also at midnight.
You can cook Thursday salt. Each family member should take a handful of salt and pour it into a rag bag. This salt is calcined in a frying pan, and then stored for a year in a red corner. If someone gets sick, then add this particular salt to the food.
On Thursday, you can remove damage from yourself. To do this, wash before dawn, saying: “I wash off what they let on me. May both body and soul be pure. Amen".
Already on this day, you can replace the dough for cakes and Easter cakes, which will be cooked in
Great Saturday.

Good Friday

Nothing can be done, and it is recommended to abstain from food until the moment when, during the evening service, the shroud of Jesus Christ is brought to the center of the temple. Holy Week: what can and cannot be done applies specifically to Good Friday. This applies directly to prohibitions.

If a secular person will definitely have to go to work that day, then work around the house: sewing, washing, knitting, cooking, must be postponed. Working on this day is a great sin. Good Friday is the day when Jesus Christ was crucified, this is the most mournful day of the year.

Holy Saturday

On this day of Holy Week, fasting is observed according to the same rules as the first four days. It is no longer possible to clean the house, sew and wash, but you can completely devote yourself to preparing a variety of dishes for the Easter table. On this day, the consecration of food in temples also takes place.

These are the prohibitions, recommendations that must be done, and other important aspects of Holy Week must always be remembered. This is not only a time of strict fasting and prayers, this is a time of active preparation for the festive Easter day.

associated with many traditions and beliefs. Each day of the week has recommended and prohibited activities.

The week before Easter is called by Christians Holy Week, White Week, but the most common name is Holy Week. Each of her six days is special.

On this day, Christians remember the gospel story about how Jesus cursed the fig (fig) tree, covered with green leaves, but completely barren, which immediately withered in front of His companions.

This miracle has an important moral significance for every person: at every moment a person must be ready to meet God, so as not to be spiritually empty and fruitless.

On this day, it is customary to clean the house: paint, wash, clean.

According to church rules, all kinds of contention, foul language and unclean thoughts are prohibited on Great Monday. From food allowed bread, vegetables and fruits. But according to an unwritten rule, many Orthodox spend this day in strict fasting, without food and water.

You can’t sing and dance on Maundy Monday - this is a sin.

On this day, Christians remember the parables of the Second Coming of Christ, the ten virgins, and the talents.

On Tuesday, it is customary to finish darning, washing and ironing clothes. Preparations for the holiday continue: they prepare not only clothes, but also choose a tablecloth, which will cover the festive table, and a towel, with which they will go to the Easter service.

On this day, it is allowed to eat hot food without vegetable oil. They also buy food for Easter.

In addition, Tuesday is a day of teaching.

On this day, Christians remember the betrayal of Judas. It is on this day that Judas betrays the Savior for 30 pieces of silver, thereby choosing spiritual death.

On Wednesday, they finish the home improvement work and start buying eggs to dye for Easter. According to legend, eggs bought on this day will not spoil for a long time and will be perfectly colored.

On this day, it is customary to eat food without oil.

This day is popularly known as Maundy Thursday.

This day usually starts very early. Thursday is bathing day. It is believed that water on this day has healing powers, and bathing and prayer itself help to preserve the health of the whole family for a whole year.

On Thursday, they begin to cook paska (cakes). It is believed that before kneading the dough, it is necessary to pray and cleanse the soul, otherwise the pasta will not work.

Also on this day, it is customary to take communion, as well as put bread and consecrated salt on the table.

Traditionally, on Thursday it is customary to buy new clothes for children. However, it is advisable not to give money, as it reminds of the betrayal of Judas.

This day is popularly known as Good Friday.

Friday is the strictest pre-Easter day, on which you can not do anything around the house, sing, dance and listen to music.

In memory of the sufferings of Christ, food is forbidden.

It is believed that "he who laughs on Friday will cry for a whole year."

An integral part of the divine services on this day is the Shroud - a large-sized cloth depicting the body of Jesus Christ in the coffin. It is forbidden to eat until it is taken out at the evening service.

According to legend, Joseph of Arimathea wrapped the body of Jesus Christ after His suffering and death on the Cross in the Shroud of Turin.

This day is considered a day of rest.

On Saturday, they remember the burial of Jesus, as well as His victory over death in Hell and entry into Paradise.

On this day, they finish painting eggs and collect the Easter basket.

In the evening, the Holy Liturgy is held, after which the good news of the Resurrection of Christ is announced.

Great Lent ends on Saturday.

Recall that earlier "Apostrophe" talked about, which is celebrated a week before Easter.