Holy Tuesday

The Easter holiday among Orthodox believers lasts a whole week, which is called Bright Week Each year it falls on different dates in April and May, starting immediately after the Resurrection of Christ and ending on Krasnaya Gorka Divine services in churches in honor of the holiday are held with the Royal Doors open, joyful church chants and bells are constantly heard All believers are allowed to call them at any time of the day for seven days Baptisms, weddings and funeral services are not held on Bright Week After the liturgy, a procession of the cross takes place around the temple Bright Week is dedicated to doing good deeds - helping others, which includes giving alms to the poor and needy It was believed that these days the Lord and the apostles wander the earth under the guise of beggars, so donations take on a special meaning Orthodox Christians try to give up hard work, which is not associated with celebration and fun, and, if possible, perform simple household chores Throughout Bright Week, also called Easter, the greeting “Christ is Risen!” is heard The origins of such a long celebration lie in the Bible and religious canons So, according to the Old Testament, God needed 7 days to create the world and man Bright Week passes “as one day,” which symbolizes eternal salvation Each day of Easter week is unique and, according to folk traditions, has a name and rules of celebration In honor of the holiday, our ancestors went on this day to visit relatives and friends with cottage cheese Easter cakes, Easter cakes on dough with candied fruits and raisins, as well as colored eggs This promised the owners of the house good luck and prosperity throughout the year until next Easter On this day, girls gave colored eggs to the boys, and they doused them with water to make their lovers even more beautiful and healthy Each religious procession around the temple after the service ends with the sprinkling of the believers On Wet Monday, young and old alike poured themselves at wells and springs to improve their health and wash away illness In honor of the holiday, latecomers were doused with cold water during morning prayer, as it was believed that absence from church for the liturgy could bring trouble to the family Women went to visit with Easter cakes and eggs, while men and children stayed at home to farm On Tuesday, like other days, it is forbidden to swear, overeat and drink a lot of alcohol Throughout Bright Week, it is customary to read the troparion, kontakion and ipaka of the Hours of Easter Visiting cemeteries and commemorating the dead is not encouraged On this day, various fun activities were arranged, swinging on a swing, which, according to popular belief, was supposed to remove all negativity from a person The girls danced in circles and sang songs Wednesday was also called "Gradova" It was believed that hard work done on this day could cause hail and destroy the harvest On Bright Wednesday, candles were placed in churches to protect crops from this natural phenomenon On this day, the ban on remembering the dead was lifted, but this had to be done without grief, with light sadness To visit the souls of the dead, doors were opened wide and towels hung on the windows According to tradition, they went to cemeteries and left Easter eggs and colored eggs there on the graves The ancient Slavs called Thursday “Navsky” because of the symbolic arrival of the departed from the world of Navi Bridal viewings were held in the villages The girls dressed up in their best clothes, the guys put on beautiful shirts In addition to the shows, spring calls were traditionally held The girls climbed the hills and hills and invited the warm sun, which would give a good harvest On this day, it is customary to make peace and forgive offenders On Bright Friday, the icon of the Mother of God “Life-Giving Spring” is venerated, so the church illuminates the believers with water and sprinkles the gardens and orchards with it Relatives come to the homes of recently married couples The young hostess sets the table and generously treats the guests On Bright Friday, girls wash their faces with ice water to preserve their beauty On this day, after the service, believers are given special bread with the image of a cross - artos Pieces of it are kept at home near the icons until next Easter Artos is given little by little to a sick person for healing On the evening of Bright Saturday, the Royal Doors in the temple are closed On this joyful and festive day, any work is postponed, people take to the streets and take part in noisy festivities The ancient Slavs completed all rituals dedicated to the arrival of spring On the first Sunday after Easter, Thomas met with the resurrected Jesus, hence the name of this day according to Christian traditions