Great Good Friday history, customs, signs and superstitions. Good Friday: what not to do (signs)

Many people are guided by different folk beliefs and traditions that have reached us since ancient times, so the signs about Good Friday are worth learning if you want to understand what you can do on this day and what you should not do.

Signs and superstitions about Good Friday

This day is considered a day of mourning, because according to the Bible it was on this day that the Son of God was sent to Golgotha ​​and crucified. Therefore, you should not have fun on this day, but it is necessary to defend the service in church, this is the main sign of Good Friday among Orthodox people. It is believed that in this way you can not only show respect and gratitude to God for all the good things, but also not bring trouble to yourself and your home. Another sign of Friday during Holy Week is the obligatory lighting of candles. Orthodox people put church candles in memory of Jesus Christ, but there is another explanation for this tradition; it was believed that in this way one could cleanse the house of evil spirits.

People still believe that bread baked on this day can heal from any ailment, but you should not stick any iron object into the ground; on the contrary, it will attract illness and failure. In a good way To protect yourself from troubles and failures, it is considered to consecrate the ring on this day and wear it on yourself all the time, it will become reliable. These are the signs for Good Friday that have survived to this day; they are used by many people who want to live happily and prosperously.

By the way, it will be useful for young parents to know that our grandmothers said that on this day you should under no circumstances wean your child. Mother's milk will protect him from evil forces and evil spirits, which are most active on Good Friday. It is recommended to wean your baby only after the Easter service.

Paying off debt on Good Friday is also considered bad omen. People say that on this day you can give away not only money, but also your health and well-being, so it’s better not to risk it and return what you have occupied either before this Friday or after it ends.

But it is possible and even necessary to sow parsley on this day; if you do this, then the harvest of this greenery will be very large, and the person who planted it will not know illnesses and troubles all year. You can even plant parsley at home, in a small flower pot, if the weather outside does not allow this.

Orthodox Christians celebrate Good or Good Friday. This day is the most mournful of all those that occur during Holy Week and the penultimate day of Lent. On Good Friday, Christians again and again remember the last earthly day of the life of Jesus Christ. In particular, in their memories they rely on the sufferings of the cross and death.

On Good Friday it is prescribed to observe very strict fast, up to complete abstinence from eating food. This is precisely the concept that church ministers adhere to exactly until the end of the service, which on Friday is of a special nature. IN Orthodox traditions preserved large number accepts and customs, as well as prohibitions that are relevant for Good Friday.

When is Good Friday in 2017?

In 2017, Good Friday falls on April 14th. This is the day when the Passion of Christ is remembered. If we rely on the Gospel, then it was on this day that Jesus was put on trial, made the way of the cross to Golgotha, where he was crucified. On Good Friday, the earthly life of the Savior of mankind ended.

Worship on Good Friday

Special services begin as early as Maundy Thursday, which is also called Pure. On this day in all Orthodox churches ends the service, which is called the Sequence of the 12 Gospels. During this process, believers stand in the temple with lit candles. During the service, twelve passages from the Gospel are read, which are dedicated to the suffering, torment of the cross and death of Christ.

In total, three services are held on Good Friday. In the morning the Hours are served, then, as on Maundy Thursday, the Gospel of the Passion of Christ is read. In the afternoon they serve vespers with the rite of removing the shroud. Then follows the evening service, which is called Matins of Great Saturday with the rite of burial of the Shroud.

Good Friday 2017: what to do

Good Friday is the most strict day Holy Week Great Lent. According to ancient legends, on this day it is better to completely give up food, allowing yourself some bread with cold water. This should happen in the evening - after the ceremony of removing the Shroud takes place.

Good Friday has always been especially revered in the folk Christian tradition. A large number of traditions and customs have been preserved to this day and are observed by true Christian believers.

For example, in villages in Rus' throughout Holy Week peasants burned bonfires on high hillocks, which paid tribute to the memory of the god of fire Perun to protect the fields from evil spirits and all kinds evil spirits. People tried to drive away evil spirits with loud screams and noises. They also specially drove horses around the village in order to scare away evil spirits with horse stomping. Brooms and whips were used to protect against the “evil one,” which were taken into the hands of a variety of segments of the population. In the other hand they held lit candles or a torch.

If we rely on the later Christian tradition, then after reading the 12 Gospels in churches, believers preferred to carry lit candles home to save their home from evil spirits. They placed splinters next to the icons.

On Good Friday there are a large number of prohibitions that apply to all Orthodox Christians. The following prohibitions have survived to this day:

• On this day it is not customary to do anything around the house. According to legend, a good housewife should finish all her chores in Maundy Thursday, and before Easter there should be no housework.
• In memory of the incredible torment of Christ that he endured, it was believed that on Good Friday one should not pierce the ground with iron, since this is a great sin that leads to troubles. Simply put, on Friday it was impossible to harrow, plow, and the like.
• On Good Friday, any fun is prohibited. In particular, it was forbidden to laugh loudly, talk, walk or sing. Those who decide to break this tradition, according to ancient legend, will be tearful all year.
• Also on Friday, women were not allowed to sew, cut and wash, while men were prohibited from chopping wood, as well as all work with an ax and any other metal equipment.

Good Friday 2017: signs and customs

On Good Friday, it was customary to observe a large number of customs, while people built their future on the basis of signs. The following have survived to this day:

• According to an ancient superstition, on Good Friday you can find out if there are “charmed” things in the house. To do this, go around all the rooms with lit candles. And if it starts to crack, it means there is a “charmed” object nearby that you need to get rid of as quickly as possible.
• It is believed that the ring, which is consecrated on Good Friday, protects against various diseases.
• The folk calendar indicates that if on Good Friday the night is starry and the morning is clear, then a good harvest can be expected from wheat, while if the morning is cloudy, then the field will be overgrown with weeds.
• Despite the fact that it was not customary to work on Good Friday, there is a belief that parsley or cabbage sown on this day gives a double harvest.
• It was believed that bread or Easter cake baked on Good Friday never becomes moldy and generally has healing properties. Such a cake was stored for a whole year, and sometimes even used as a remedy for illnesses.
• Good Friday, according to ancient belief, is considered a great day to wean babies. In this case, children grow up healthy, strong and happy.

Good Friday in Orthodox faith considered the most mournful day throughout church year. According to scriptures, it was on this day that Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross in agony. Every year the date of Good Friday is different. After all, this day directly depends on when exactly Easter comes.

Good Friday 2018, what date the Orthodox will have, depends on the date of Easter. Easter will be quite early this year, falling on April 8th. Accordingly, if you look at the calendar, it is not difficult to understand that Good Friday will be on April 6th. On this day you need to abstain from any work and be sure to go to temple. Let us once again emphasize the fact that this is the most mournful day of the year.

Also, Good Friday is the penultimate day of Lent. On this day, in churches, during services, and in prayers at home, the passion of Christ and his painful death on the cross are remembered. Also on this day, the body was taken down from the cross and buried in a cave. April 6th is exact date When is Good Friday in 2018?

Preparing for Good Friday

On Maundy Thursday, the day that precedes the described Friday, you need to finish at home general cleaning. It is important to do this on Thursday, because on Good Friday all business activities will be strictly prohibited. Moreover, it is no longer possible to clean up from Good Friday until the second week after Easter.

Also on Good Friday you need to stop preparing the festive Easter table. If on Thursday housewives can calmly paint eggs, put dough on Easter cakes, put cottage cheese Easter, jellied meat and aspic, then on Friday you need to refuse any kitchen work.

• Do any homework. It has already been noted that you cannot clean or cook on this day, you also cannot sew or do laundry. The Church considers all these actions on the holiday to be a great sin.
• You cannot work with the soil on Good Friday: dripping, planting, or even watering. It is believed that everything sown on this day will yield absolutely no harvest.
• Stop drinking alcohol completely. Actually, it's going Lent when alcohol has long been banned. But even if a person does not fast, then on Good Friday one must definitely refuse to consume alcoholic drinks to avoid becoming an alcoholic.
• Any carnal pleasures are prohibited. If children were conceived on this day, people said they would be born sick and could become criminals in their future.
• You should also avoid cutting and coloring your hair. In general, on Good Friday you should not go to a beauty salon for any reason.
• Of course, you need to refrain from entertainment activities: even watching TV.

What do you do on Good Friday?

We have already noted exactly what should not be done on this important and mournful day before Easter. Now, of course, we need to note those things that are welcomed on this day.

You should try to spend this day in peace and quiet, pray a lot, remember the torment of Jesus Christ, which he accepted in the name of all mankind. You should definitely go to church on this day, ideally for morning and evening services. The evening service is important, during which the Shroud is brought to the center of the temple. This is a piece of fabric that depicts Jesus Christ in full height. The shroud is located in the center of the temple on a hill, decorated with flowers, and the Gospel is placed on top of it. The evening service ends before the Shroud.

Important! During the church service in front of the Shroud, it is important to stand with your head bowed and bow low during the substitution of the cross. You should also venerate the Shroud at the end of the service.

What to eat on Good Friday?

April 6th is the date of Good Friday 2018. It should also be noted that this is one of the most strict days Great Lent. On this day, church canons prescribe complete abstinence from food throughout the day. With the appearance of the first star in the sky, you can eat some bread and drink some water.

Important! Such strict regulations on nutrition are mandatory for clergy. As for the laity, the usual strict fast can be observed. For example, eat twice a day, not three.

Signs and customs of Good Friday:

• People believed that if for three years in a row on Good Friday one adheres strictly to fasting and abstains from food and drink, then a person will be able to see his death hour three days before death. Many wanted this in order to properly prepare for their death
• People also said that if you completely abstain from food on Good Friday, then God will forgive all sins (starting from the last confession).
• After the service in the temple, you need to buy and light a light. Do not put out the candle and go home with it, put it in the red corner. Now, spending time in prayer, wait until the candle burns out completely. It is believed that such a ritual provides happiness and prosperity to the home for the whole year.
• You can walk around the house with a lit candle that you brought from the temple. If somewhere a candle starts to smoke or crackle, there is something with bad energy there: it is recommended to get rid of it.
• Despite the fact that church tradition only has a negative attitude towards magical actions and rituals, it is believed that conspiracies that are read on Good Friday have strong effect and are protected for a whole year.

If you know exactly how the calculations are carried out and what kind of day it is, then in subsequent years it will not be difficult to independently determine the date of this day. You just need to count back two days from the date of Easter; this year it falls on April 6, provided that Orthodox believers celebrate Easter on April 8.

About the symbols of Good Friday

If we talk about figurative symbols, then, of course, first of all we are talking about the transition from earthly life to eternal life, which exists outside the body. The material symbol of this day is the Shroud. We have already discussed how much attention is paid to it in the framework of this material. It is believed that in Turin they bring into the temple exactly the Shroud that was wrapped around the body of Christ after it was taken down from the cross. Therefore, many pilgrims go on Good Friday precisely.

In conclusion of this material, I would like to remind you that Good Friday is the most mournful day of the year. This is the last day of the life of the Son of God, the Savior of mankind Jesus Christ on earth. The laity know what happened next, what exactly is celebrated in Svetloe Easter Sunday. But on Good Friday, attention is paid precisely to those events that historically took place on this day.

Good Friday (also Great Friday, Good Friday, lat. Dies Passionis Domini) day of very strict fasting. Believers should not eat anything until the end of the rite of removing the Shroud, i.e. until three o'clock in the afternoon. Then you are allowed to eat bread and drink water.

On Friday morning, Jesus was handed over to the pagan authorities. Pontius Pilate could have freed Jesus, but out of fear for his career, he agreed to execute the innocent man. Christ accomplished his religious procession to Golgotha ​​and was crucified along with two thieves.

Those who come to the temple on this day think about the main thing: are we not like those who betrayed Christ to be crucified? Are we not looking for enemies everywhere, are we not eager to condemn heretics and the “unreliable”?

Are we not acting against conscience and mercy by seeking successful career or other benefits?

Church services take place almost all day. IN Good Friday In the Orthodox Church there are three services. In the morning, the Hours are served, during which the Gospel of the Passion of Christ is read again, in the middle of the day they perform vespers with the rite of the Removal of the Shroud, and in the evening - Matins of Great Saturday (the day according to the church calendar begins in the evening) with the rite of burial of the Shroud.

In the afternoon, when it is believed that Jesus died on the Cross, the shroud is taken out of the altar, depicting the removal of the Lord's body from the Cross. She is taken to the middle of the temple, where the Gospel is read over her and the believers perform reverent worship. In the center of the temple, the shroud is kept for less than three days, symbolizing the three-day stay of Jesus Christ in the tomb. A few minutes before the Easter procession, she is brought back to the altar.

What is possible on Good Friday - what is not allowed on Good Friday?

On Good Friday, believers observe the strictest fast of the year. According to church regulations, today it is not allowed to eat anything except bread and water. But this can only be eaten after the shroud has been taken out.

It is forbidden to sing and have fun on Good Friday. They say that he who laughs on Friday will cry all year round.

Customs

Good Friday was especially revered by the people. She anticipated 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.

There was a custom in Rus', which still persists in some places, not to extinguish the candles with which they stood during the 12 Gospels, but to try to bring them home and place them burning in front of household icons.

Signs of Good Friday

A loaf of bread baked on Good Friday cures all diseases (Everywhere) and will never get moldy. (Suffolk).

On Good Friday, under no circumstances should you pierce the ground with iron; whoever does this will be in trouble. (Highlanders).

If washed clothes are hung out to dry on Good Friday, blood stains will appear on them. (Mainly in Cleveland and Yorkshire).

If you are thirsty on Good Friday, no drink will harm you for a whole year. (Wales).

Weaning babies on Good Friday is a sign that the baby will be strong, healthy and will live a happy life.

Rings blessed on Good Friday protect the wearer from all illnesses. (Everywhere).

Easter baked goods, saved from one Good Friday to the next, prevent whooping cough. (Lancashire).

Only parsley sown on Good Friday gives a double harvest. (Suffolk).

Using an iron fork or shovel is a sign of bad luck; plants planted on Good Friday will die.

If it is cloudy on Good Friday, then the bread will be covered with weeds. If it is dawn on Good Friday, then the wheat will be grainy.

A simple way to identify “spoken” things in an apartment: on Good Friday, go to church and take with you a half-burnt candle that was in your hands during the service. In the apartment you light it and go through the rooms. Where it crackles, there is a damaged item.

In the old days, none of the Durham blacksmiths were allowed to forge nails on Good Friday - in memory of what nails and hammer were used for on this day many centuries ago.

If you transport bees on any day other than Good Friday, they will certainly die. (Cornwall).

Omens: GOOD FRIDAY

Since the Scottish Highlanders believed that on Good Friday one should not touch the earth with iron, they did not dig graves on this day, and did not plow the fields, and did not undertake any activities in their homes and outbuildings. repair work associated with the use of iron. In some northern counties of England, especially in the North Riding (Yorkshire), there was also a ban on disturbing the land with anything on this sacred day. To enlighten the disobedient youth, they told her about the disasters that happen to those who dig the earth on this day, and cited the example of the story of Charlie Marston. He outraged all the neighbors by going out to plant potatoes on Good Friday - and not a single potato sprouted!

On the other hand, in the south of England there was no such superstition. In Devonshire, Good Friday was considered a very good day for sowing grain, legumes and peas, so that they sprout together and abundantly. This day was also considered favorable for grafting trees.

The people of Tenby (Yorkshire) were once so strongly convinced that iron should not touch the ground on this day that they went to church barefoot, so that the nails on the soles of their shoes would not leave marks on the ground. This custom continued until early XIX V. But in our time, this ancient superstition has long been forgotten, and throughout England Good Friday is considered the most favorable day for starting work in the garden.

A few words should be said about the breads and pies that were baked on Good Friday. During Easter week 1946 We have received many letters from all over the country from people who have stored bread or rolls baked on Good Friday and confirmed that they have indeed not molded over the years. One of these correspondents wrote that he had bread that was baked by his mother twenty-five years ago. Only one person wrote about the reasons for storing these breads for such a long time, suggesting that they bring good luck - or at least ward off bad luck. British fishermen's wives believed that a cake baked on Good Friday would save their husbands from shipwreck. Therefore, the baked goods were baked for future use, and the husbands took one bun for each fishing trip as long as they had enough.

The following legend is associated with bloody stains that supposedly appear on linen on Good Friday. When Christ was being led to Calvary, a washerwoman came out to him and hit him in the face with wet linen. After which Christ allegedly said: “Cursed be everyone who does laundry on this day.”

The blessing of rings on Good Friday was the custom of English kings. The first to be consecrated was a ring that had been kept for a long time in Westminster Abbey and was allegedly given to Edward the Confessor by some pilgrims from Jerusalem. These consecrated rings, as mentioned above, were considered a means of preventing all diseases.

Good Friday was the best day to wean a baby. It was believed that all children who were weaned on this day would be in good health.

Here is another belief associated with Good Friday; it exists only in Devonshire (or at least was only discovered by us in these places). Here it is believed that each piece of glassware broken on Good Friday pierces the body of Judas Iscariot.

And finally, a funny belief that still exists in one of the pubs in the East End of London. There is a clause in the tenancy agreement for this establishment that obliges the tenants to bake Easter buns on Good Friday and add them to the collection of buns stored in the house in a basket. Legend says that the former owner of the licenses for this pub (a certain widow) bought baked goods for her sailor son every Good Friday. After her death, the heirs started the custom of collecting buns from sailors on Good Friday, for each bun the sailor received a free mug of beer and a fresh bun. In 1947, the 178th loaf was obtained in this way. We have already mentioned above the belief that rolls baked on Good Friday never become moldy - and indeed, all the rolls in the basket are still in excellent condition.