Folk calendar - Sorrowful Mother of God, Svetets

The holiday of veneration of the miraculous icon “The Sorrowful Mother of God” dates back to the 17th century, when the sister of the Moscow Patriarch Joachim Euthymius received a message from the Holy Mother of God, who ordered her to go to the Church of the Transfiguration and pray in front of her icon In this miraculous way, the patriarch’s sister was able to completely recover from a serious illness After this, the icon was revered as miraculous; people turned to it in the most difficult life situations, asking for healing from illnesses, help for family happiness and financial well-being This holiday is celebrated every year on November 6, it also has a second name - Svetets, since at this time it was customary to organize girls' get-togethers for needlework Young girls weaved and spun by the light of a torch and entertained themselves with singing and various invented stories It was believed that it was in the light that the splinters and patterns on the woven fabric could tell everything about the future betrothed For this, the girls had to gather in the house of a widow or an elderly lonely woman In order to be let in, the girls brought food to the women or promised to help in the garden and with housework in the summer At the beginning of the gatherings, the girls carried out the tasks of their mothers, and then began to have fun, sing and dance At a predetermined time, young boys came to the hut and chose brides for themselves According to folk superstitions, if you break a mirror on November 6, you will bring big trouble upon yourself To avoid this, it was necessary to sweep away all the fragments and place 7 church candles around them, then turn around three times counterclockwise and blow them all out at once After which, the fragments, candles and even a broom had to be thrown into a deserted place, and the floor should be washed well and sprinkled with a little holy water