Orthodox holidays - Ascension of the Lord 2024

The bright Orthodox holiday of the Ascension of the Lord is usually celebrated on the 40th day after Easter This date falls on the same day of the week every year - Thursday The great Christian holiday is associated with a significant event in New Testament history - the Ascension of the Savior Jesus Christ, his ascension to heaven as a miraculous proof of victory over death This is a huge holiday that simultaneously marks the joy of meetings and the joy of separation The church holiday has several semantic interpretations The day when the Son of God ascended to his father is a symbol of the Second Coming and the Supreme Judgment, where the path to heaven will be opened for those who led a righteous life The holiday is associated with a touching moment of returning home This is the last day of the life of Christ and his ministry on earth, when the physical state was forever “transformed” into the spiritual The Gospel texts say that after the Resurrection, Jesus spent time with his disciples, had conversations with them about the Kingdom of God and the further preaching of biblical tenets On the 40th day, Jesus, together with his apostles, entered the Great Mount of Olives He gave the last instructions, blessed the disciples, raised his hands and began to slowly lift off the ground and rise to the sky, gradually disappearing behind a cloud Two angels appeared before the astonished congregation and proclaimed the ascension of Jesus Scripture says that the son of God became the right hand of the Lord, and his spiritual presence remained on earth forever The disciples returned to Jerusalem with the joyful news of their ascension into the Kingdom The first celebrations took place in the 4th century, as evidenced by the records of Gregory of Nyssa and John the Baptist At the same time, Queen Helen built a temple on Mount Maslyanitsa, where the imprint of Jesus’ foot was preserved on one of the stones The day before the Feast of the Ascension, churches hold Easter “givings” On Bright Thursday, the clergy put on snow-white robes, which symbolize the Divine Light, and perform the liturgy Then, under the ringing of bells, the Gospel readings dedicated to this wonderful event take place The eighth day ends with “giving away” - a divine service with chants and prayers of the first day During this time, it is prohibited to do any business, including cleaning It is considered best to spend the holiday with your family On this day, the Slavs celebrated the end of spring and the transition to summer - the flyover In the evening, they lit bonfires, danced in circles, feasted and sang songs Youth rituals began, symbolizing initiation It was customary to bake baked goods with green onions and “ladders” with 7 rungs (according to the number of 7 heavens) The pies were blessed in the church, then thrown to the ground from the bell tower It was believed that if the bread remained intact, the path to heaven was prepared; if not, sins would not allow it The notorious “ladders” were taken into the field and thrown up next to the land so that the rye would start heading They took eggs and pancakes with them and prayed for the harvest On Ascension, the “cuckoo rite” was popular among girls, when they wove a “humanized cuckoo” from grass, baptized it near a birch tree, carried out a funeral ceremony, and then buried it in a place hidden from view The girls were still telling fortunes on birch branches for marriage If the branch does not wither before Trinity, it means she will get married quickly Early in the morning, healers collected grass with drops of heavenly dew, then brewed herbal infusions that relieved any illness If it was hot that day, they started swimming; if it was raining, they were very worried that there would be a crop failure and the livestock would get sick Another sign is to hang a fresh chicken egg under the roof of your house It will serve as a strong talisman against misfortunes and troubles