Great Saturday: what can and cannot be done before Easter. Holy Saturday: what not to do in any case

The last day of Lent before Easter - Great Saturday - falls on April 15 in 2017. This is the day when Christians remember the presence of Christ in the tomb after the crucifixion, when His soul descended into hell to bring the righteous out of it.

The fast lasted for 48 days, and during this time, believers had time to think about their lives, remember the deeds of Jesus Christ when he was on earth, and prepare for Easter.

If the preparations are not over yet, then Good Saturday is the time to complete all the preparatory work.

For believers, Great Saturday before Easter is both a mournful and a joyful day: Christ still lies in the tomb, the Resurrection has not yet come, but everything is already filled with pre-Easter joy.

Great Saturday is popularly called Silent Saturday, since on this day it is not customary to have fun and have fun, it is worth refraining from various quarrels. On this day, foul language and swearing are considered a great sin, so you need to watch your language. Another name for Holy Saturday - Dyeing Saturday - indicates that it is time to start preparing dyes for Easter.

But the products that are prepared for the festive table are still not to be eaten. Those who observe Great Lent eat raw vegetables and fruits, bread and drink water. Housewives prepare Easter cakes if they have not baked them in advance.

Traditions

On Saturday evening, the faithful, leaving "small" treats on the tables at home, gather in churches and cathedrals for the evening service, at 12 midnight the procession begins, after which the service continues. Arriving home, believers eat paska and go to bed. And only late Sunday morning the true holiday begins.

It is customary to collect the Easter basket not on the day of Resurrection, but on Holy Saturday. Each family in its own way selects the products that it considers necessary to consecrate, be sure to fill the basket with krashenka and Easter cakes. Housewives often cover their Easter baskets with embroidered towels. On Holy Saturday, women also decorate the house with branches of young trees and fresh flowers, which symbolizes a new beginning and the rebirth of life.

Every year on the Saturday before Easter, the Holy Fire descends in Jerusalem. Many thousands of pilgrims gather on this day in the Church of the Resurrection of Christ to observe one of the main miracles of the Orthodox Church. Tradition claims that the year when the Holy Fire does not descend to earth will be the last before the Last Judgment.

What not to do on Great Saturday:

* You can not break the fast from three o'clock on Saturday night until Sunday morning;

* Do not eat cooked food;

* Do not drink alcohol (those who observed a strict fast on Good Friday and were only on bread and water can drink some red wine to maintain their strength);

* You can not dance and sing;

* You must refrain from intimacy with your spouse;

* Do not go fishing or hunting;

* It is also forbidden to do house cleaning, ironing and washing things;

* You can not wash;

* It is forbidden to work in the garden and garden;

* There is also a ban on needlework;

* It is worth refraining from construction work and other physical work.

On this day, you can not refuse people's requests. Also, on Great Saturday, the dead are not commemorated, which means that they do not go to the cemetery. Every believer on the eve of a big holiday should try to behave righteously, not quarrel with anyone, not swear, and refrain from sorting things out.

Great Saturday is a day of kindness, reconciliation and forgiveness. Today, be sure to ask for forgiveness from everyone you may have offended. Make peace with everyone with whom you are at odds - do not overshadow tomorrow's holiday with negative feelings and emotions.

Also, on the Saturday before Easter, be sure to distribute alms to all the needy whom you meet on your way. Well, relatives and people close to you should not be left without Easter gifts.

Signs on Holy Saturday

On this day, it is considered a great sin to laugh and have fun. People say that whoever laughs on Holy Saturday will cry all next year.

As on the previous two days, on the Saturday before Easter, nothing should be given away from home, no matter who asks you for something. Thus, you can give away your health, well-being, good luck.

On this day, you can clean the graves in the cemetery, but you can’t commemorate on Saturday.

If the weather on Great Saturday is warm and clear, then the summer will be hot and dry. And if that day is cold and rainy, then the summer will be cool.

Also, according to the sign, staying awake on Easter night contributes to good health, a good harvest, it will help girls to be happy in marriage, and it promises a successful hunt for young men.

Holy Saturday is the last day before Easter Sunday. It is also the last day of Holy Week, the busiest and most difficult for all those who fast.

Great Saturday is dedicated to the stay of Jesus Christ in hell, where he delivered the souls of the dead from suffering. Do not forget that a true believer does not just keep a fast or set aside one or another day for certain activities, he repeats the path of Jesus Christ, spiritually sharing with him the events of his life.

For most believers, this day passes in a big fuss - you need to consecrate cooked Easter cakes and Easter eggs.

Services

In Orthodox churches, special services are held on this day, which begin on Friday evening. The divine service is both mourning and festive, because Saturday ends Passion Week and is the beginning of Easter, preparations for which are inevitable on this day.

On Saturday morning (or Friday evening) the Liturgy of Basil the Great is served in Orthodox churches. From the middle of the day, they begin to consecrate dishes for Easter. From five or six in the evening the clergymen confess the believers. At the end of the Liturgy, the services in the churches end, and the readings of the Acts of the Holy Apostles begin. Shortly before midnight, Midnight Office is held - a special service during which the shroud is transferred to the throne, where it will stay exactly 40 days, until the Ascension of Christ.

In Jerusalem, on Great Saturday, a divine service is performed, at which the Holy Fire is brought out, which is a symbol of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Great Saturday for Orthodox fasting is the strictest day of Holy Week.

For those believers who do not fast, this day is also significant. It should be devoted to prayers, visiting the temple, preparing for the Easter day, it is necessary to refrain from vain worldly affairs.

What can be consecrated in the church?

It can be not only Easter cakes and colored eggs. It is quite acceptable to bring red wine, a few sips of which on the Bright Holiday no one will condemn. Usually believers bring Cahors. You can also consecrate pastries: buns, cookies, cottage cheese dishes. As for meat dishes, it is impossible to say unequivocally, if there is a desire to consecrate them, it is better to check with the church if this is possible.

You can’t carry strong alcoholic drinks (vodka, cognac), money and other material assets (keys to a car or apartment) for consecration. The Church does not recognize blood sausage. as acceptable food for eating, so you don't have to bring it.

Overeating on Easter is frowned upon by the church, so a large basket of food for consecration would be considered bad manners. You need to bring a little food, it is better to put it in a beautifully decorated basket, after consecration, cover the food with embroidered towels or napkins.

What can you eat on Great Saturday:

On this day, until the appearance of the first star, a strict fast is observed.

Many believers prefer to abstain from food altogether. Probably before the festive exuberance, this is wise. If a believer does not fast to such a strict degree, you can eat vegetable food, even hot food (for example, vegetable soup), but vegetable oil is prohibited, it can only be an exception.

According to the church charter, which, as a rule, not all believers observe, dry food is prescribed on this day, food should even be without vegetable oil.

But the church does not require the laity to strictly fast on Holy Saturday. The decision must be made on your own.

Definitely, you can’t eat fast food, until 3 a.m. next Sunday you can’t break the fast, drink alcohol.

How to spend your free time on Great Saturday:

This day should be devoted exclusively to preparing for the holiday, and preparation does not mean household chores, which are prohibited on this day, but the preparation of the soul. Prayer, rest (after all, you will have to spend the night in church), attending church - this is how Orthodox believers spend Great Saturday.

What can not be done on Great Saturday?

You can not sing, even if these are songs dedicated to God. This is a day of silence.
You can not celebrate birthdays and celebrate weddings. You have to abstain from sex. You should also not hunt or fish.
Household chores are prohibited: washing, cleaning, ironing, gardening and construction and repair work. You should not devote time to needlework. It is also better to take a bath in advance.
You can’t commemorate the dead, although you can visit your parents at the cemetery. You should be attentive and merciful, not deny others their requests. You can’t waste time on quarrels, disputes, fights, you can’t swear.

According to signs, one should not eat and drink while preparing food for the upcoming holiday. As soon as it is time to take the Easter cakes out of the oven, there should be no one in the kitchen except for the hostess. Otherwise, Easter cakes will be unsuccessful.
If the weather is sunny on Good Saturday, then wait for a warm summer, if it is cloudy, the summer will be cold and gloomy. Girls who stay up all night on Holy Saturday can expect a happy marriage. Good luck in work awaits men, farmers - an excellent harvest, all people - joy, good luck, health.
If a consecrated egg is lowered into the water, then the water acquires healing properties, washing with such water will bring health and happiness.

Saturday, which comes in Holy Week before Easter, is a special day. Therefore, they are often interested in the question of what can and cannot be done during these hours. A detailed response and first-hand comments from the clergy are presented below.

What does Great Saturday of Holy Week mean?

You can start the discussion with what kind of Saturday comes before Bright Sunday. Interestingly, this day has several names at once:

Great.
Passionate.
Dyeing.
Quiet.

The main name is due to the fact that Saturday is the last day of Holy Week. These days were the last in the earthly life of Jesus Christ.

On Good Friday, the Savior was crucified, and all Saturday his body lay in the tomb. And the grief of loved ones at the tomb of Christ was very heavy, because hardly anyone hoped that he would rise again.

That is why Great (Holy) Saturday is a very dramatic day. And therefore it is undesirable:

make any fun
go to parties,
sing dance,
organization of some celebrations (wedding, birthday, etc.)
indulge in carnal pleasures.

In this regard, the Sabbath day is also called quiet - it is really better for believers to refrain from worldly noise.

It is also better to give up work in the garden, hunting and fishing.

What not to do on Great Saturday before Easter

It is good to feel the atmosphere of Great Saturday, to learn a brief history of what lies in the traditions of this day, and what it means. Then it will become clear what exactly should not be done in such dramatic hours.

First of all, this is a day in which you need to try to restrain all earthly passions. It is unacceptable to swear, all the more to swear and get annoyed in general .. After all, Easter is coming, and it's time to tune in to the bright waves of the holiday.

If possible, it is better not to devote time to fun parties, to postpone the celebration of any dates. It is undesirable to do housework, hard work. It is better to plan your time in such a way in order to fulfill routine duties before the mournful hour.

Of course, there is no need to laugh, unrestrainedly have fun on Saturday before Easter. After all, we certainly would not do this in the days of memory of our loved ones. And if we are talking about the fact that a good half of humanity remembers the suffering and death of Jesus Christ, it is clear that this only increases our responsibility.

What to do on the Saturday after Good Friday

Since we are talking about the fact that on this day believers especially commemorate Christ, it is important to pay sufficient attention to their spiritual life. It would be right to attend a church service that starts early in the morning and continues throughout the day. Moreover, in the evening it turns into an all-night service, and then Bright Sunday comes.

And among the people, Saturday is also called Dyeing (or Red), since the hostesses are completing the last preparations for Easter. Eggs are dyed in the house, Easter cakes are baked, boiled pork is baked. Although it is traditionally customary to finish all homework on Maundy Thursday (clean the house, wash), the church does not prohibit doing business on Saturday.

Of course, on such a day you can read the Bible, pray, do good deeds, help those in need. Here you can focus on your inner voice. Perhaps someone has long needed your attention - then you should visit the person and help him as much as possible.

It would be useful to ask for forgiveness and forgive other people yourself. After all, by doing even the smallest things, we really change the world for the better and fill it with joy.

What can you eat on Good Saturday in Lent

And you can also take care of tomorrow's celebrations - traditionally, housewives begin to collect Easter baskets in order to consecrate festive food in the church. In this regard, the question arises: what do they eat on the Saturday before Easter?

In fact, this is the last day of Lent, so it is better to try to withstand the restrictions. In addition, there is not long to endure - tomorrow you can eat any dish.

And on Saturday itself, you can be content with only this menu:

bread (not rich);
fruits and vegetables in any form;
water.

Great Saturday is the last day of Great Lent, and it is very strict (bread and water). And if we talk about when the Sabbath meal is allowed before Easter, then only after the end of the vigil in the temple. In fact, Great Lent ends on Sunday: after the service, believers solemnly say: “Christ is risen! He has truly risen!"

And then you can already taste pastas, eggs and other food. After that, the parishioners go home, rest and go to bed. But the real Easter holiday comes a few hours after Easter night - and it lasts at least a week.

Folk signs and beliefs on Holy Saturday

As we know, this is a particularly dramatic day: the body of the Savior has already been removed from the cross and placed in a coffin. Of course, on such a day you should refrain from any quarrels, and even irritation is better left for later. And you also need to pay attention to such folk signs and beliefs:

On Good Saturday, it is better not to plan any noisy parties. Even if a birthday falls, it should be celebrated as modestly as possible. And if you arrange a feast for the whole world, then this is an unkind sign: the year may not turn out as well as you planned.
It is also popularly believed that it is not necessary to take out the garbage on Saturday and nothing (any item) from the house at all, including loans. Wait until Sunday - because if you disobey, it can give rise to minor troubles, failures and harm you.
If Easter cakes turned out well on Great Saturday, this is a very good symbol: the year will turn out and delight loved ones with pleasant events.
If you wake up precisely during the Easter dawn and see it, a new bright streak will come in business.
If a deceased relative dreamed on Easter night, this is a very good sign. There is a belief that then in the next year all family members will be healthy, and no misfortunes will touch them.
It is better to try not to oversleep the morning service and generally get up early. Being late for church is not a good sign.
Interestingly, even hunters have a peculiar system of Easter symbols and signs. If you describe all their signs, you need a whole book. But the most important rule is that on such a day it is strictly forbidden to shed the blood of animals, this is considered a great sin. Therefore, with hunting (and fishing) you need to wait a little.
If it was clear and warm on Saturday before Easter, then the whole summer will be clear and sunny. And if cloudy weather turned out - to be a cold and rainy summer.

In fact, Friday smoothly passes into Saturday, and both of these days on the eve of Bright Sunday have a very similar atmosphere. Late in the evening on Friday, the body of Jesus Christ was removed from the cross, and throughout the entire Saturday it lay in the tomb. Therefore, this day is also called quiet: of course, it is strictly forbidden to make noise, have fun, and even more so conflict.

And most importantly, a tradition has developed among the people, which is in many ways similar to Forgiveness Sunday (the last day before the onset of Lent). It is customary to simply ask for forgiveness and reconcile with those people with whom there may have been disagreements.

Let this be a temporary and even quite modest compromise. But after all, any business begins with the first decision, just as the road of a thousand miles begins with the first step.

What not to do on Good Friday and Saturday

Of course, signs before Easter, as well as popular beliefs, call us to some kind of action, or at least to observations of nature. And on the other hand, it is useful for a believer to know about what cannot be done during this period in order to form a clear picture of the rules.

Here's what you should pay attention to first:

Obviously, on Good Friday, Good Saturday and Bright Sunday itself, you should not get annoyed, swear, which means you don’t need to start a showdown. There are other days for this - why then darken the memory of Christ and the feast of Easter?
You should not drink alcohol, take part in feasts, parties.
Spouses are advised to refrain from mutual pleasures. There is no strict ban on intimacy, but it is intuitively clear that the remembrance of Jesus Christ, participation in his suffering does not involve carnal pleasures and lovemaking.
Of course, it is worth excluding any idle talk, gossip, empty news, gossip, lengthy reasoning, jokes.

Folk omens and beliefs

As for the folk signs of this period, they have survived even to this day:

If you bake a loaf of bread on this very day (including Easter cake), it will not grow moldy for many days. And besides, it can still charge a person with healing energy, saving from various diseases.
If you go to church on Good Friday or Holy Saturday and bless a silver ring, it will serve as an amulet against accidents and help protect your health.
These days, one should not pierce the earth with iron (shovel, pitchfork, etc.) - it is believed that this is a great sin and a bad sign. Those who take such risks can incur adverse consequences (up to wounds and blood).
It is better for women these days to postpone some household chores. So, you do not need to sew, knit, clean the house, do laundry. It is also better to refrain from cutting hair and beautifying.
If the baby is already approaching the age when it is customary to wean, it is necessary to do this on Good Friday or Saturday. Then the child will grow up strong and healthy.
And there is also an interesting observation: if on Saturday night it is so clear that you can see the entire starry sky, then this year's harvest will be good, and the wheat will be granular.

Of course, whether to trust these folk ideas or not is a personal matter for everyone. In any case, if a sign helps a person sincerely believe in a miracle and tune in to a new bright wave of change, this is much better than not believing in anything and not expecting anything.

Saturday, which comes in Holy Week before Easter, is a special day. Therefore, they are often interested in the question: what can and cannot be done on the Saturday before Easter?

A detailed response and first-hand comments from the clergy are presented below.

You can start the discussion with what kind of Saturday comes before Bright Sunday. Interestingly, this day has several names at once:

Great.
Passionate.
Dyeing.
Quiet.

The main name is due to the fact that Saturday is the last day of Holy Week. These days were the last in the earthly life of Jesus Christ.

That is why Great (Holy) Saturday is a very dramatic day. And therefore it is undesirable:

make any fun
go to parties,
sing dance,
organization of some celebrations (wedding, birthday, etc.)
indulge in carnal pleasures.

In this regard, the Sabbath day is also called quiet - it is really better for believers to refrain from worldly noise.

It is also better to give up work in the garden, hunting and fishing.

What not to do on Great Saturday before Easter

First of all, this is a day in which you need to try to restrain all earthly passions. It is unacceptable to swear, especially to swear and get annoyed in general.

So, it is better to leave all the clarification of the relationship for later. After all, Easter is coming, and it's time to tune in to the bright waves of the holiday.

What to do on Holy Saturday before Easter

And among the people, Saturday is also called Dyeing (or Red), since the hostesses are completing the last preparations for Easter. Eggs are dyed in the house, Easter cakes are baked, boiled pork is baked. Although it is traditionally customary to finish all household work on (cleaning the house, washing), the church does not prohibit doing business on the Sabbath.

It would be useful to ask for forgiveness and forgive other people yourself. After all, by doing even the smallest things, we really change the world for the better and fill it with joy.

What can you eat on Good Saturday in Lent

In fact, this is the last day of Lent, so it is better to try to withstand the restrictions. In addition, there is not long to endure - tomorrow you can eat any dish.

And on Saturday itself, you can be content with only this menu:

bread (not rich);
fruits and vegetables in any form;
water.

Folk signs and beliefs on Holy Saturday

On Good Saturday, it is better not to plan any noisy parties. Even if a birthday falls, it should be celebrated as modestly as possible. And if you arrange a feast for the whole world, then this is an unkind sign: the year may not turn out as well as you planned.
It is also popularly believed that it is not necessary to take out the garbage on Saturday and nothing (any item) from the house at all, including loans. Wait until Sunday - because if you disobey, it can give rise to minor troubles, failures and harm you.
If Easter cakes turned out well on Great Saturday, this is a very good symbol: the year will turn out and delight loved ones with pleasant events.
If you wake up precisely during the Easter dawn and see it, a new bright streak will come in business.
If a deceased relative dreamed on Easter night, this is a very good sign. There is a belief that then in the next year all family members will be healthy, and no misfortunes will touch them.
It is better to try not to oversleep the morning service and generally get up early. Being late for church is not a good sign.
Interestingly, even hunters have a peculiar system of Easter symbols and signs. If you describe all their signs, you need a whole book. But the most important rule is that on such a day it is strictly forbidden to shed the blood of animals, this is considered a great sin. Therefore, with hunting (and fishing) you need to wait a little.
If it was clear and warm on Saturday before Easter, then the whole summer will be clear and sunny. And if cloudy weather turned out - to be a cold and rainy summer.