What activities are prohibited during church holidays? Is it possible to go to the bathhouse on church holidays

During church holidays, one should not believe superstitions that give us the wrong idea about holding a holiday. Church holidays should be celebrated in a Christian way. Go to church in the morning and pray. Spend the evening with your family, be sensitive and caring.

The church does not make special prohibitions on various types of activities, the main thing is that this does not harm the peace of mind of the Orthodox. Work cannot defile the soul if a person remembers in God.

If you want to increase your faith, follow the Bible. Don't listen to superstition.

Why not clean up?

There have always been a lot of superstitions around this topic. Our ancestors honored the old signs and always obediently followed them. As we said, the church does not make special prohibitions. The main thing is to remember God. Some superstitions have come to us from antiquity.

This is how our ancestors spent the holidays: in the morning they washed, dressed and went to the local church to pray. On the way back we visited relatives and parents. To do small work began in the evening. On the eve of the holiday, general cleaning was not done. It was a sin. It was believed that a person can attract bad things to himself, sweeping good things out of the house. Garbage left uncollected the day before became holy. You can't remove it on a holy day. This meant throwing the most beloved and dear from the house.

The Orthodox believed that a person who cleans up on a holiday is doomed to various diseases. Fearing God and disease, Christians clearly followed the sign.

Modern clergy believe that it is not worth completely following the example of their ancestors.

Tips for cleaning

In Rus', there were many signs against cleaning.

The Orthodox did not clean up at night and after sunset. So you can wash away the well-being of the family.
While loved ones are on the way, you can’t clean the house. It was believed that in this way we expel the guests, we want them not to come again.
You must leave the house with the windows closed. Otherwise, there will be a quarrel in the family.
Very convenient to clean and cook food at the same time. But, unfortunately, this cannot be done. As you know, food will be lost in the family. Although according to the priests, there is nothing wrong with combining household chores.

It is not worth following these signs. These are all superstitions. The Bible does not focus on such things. The only thing the Bible forbids is cleaning on Sundays.

What exactly can not be done on church holidays?

Do not swear. Even on weekdays, cursing, people defile their souls. The right to speak is given to us for communication with God and relatives, but definitely not for scolding. Foul language is equated with a mortal sin. Christianity forbids swearing not only on Holy days, but on any other.
Can't be erased. Washing by hand has always been hard work. Especially if you have to carry water from their river or well. If the family has a newborn, then they washed it after the service. Priests advise to spend this time in prayer
It is forbidden to wash. It was believed that you can get into the next world. After all, in order to wash, you need to chop wood, flood the bathhouse. All this is hard physical labor. The church does not recommend washing. And he considers replacing the holiday with a “beach vacation” a huge disrespect for God.
Needlework is not allowed. There were no clothing stores at that time. The women sewed their own clothes. Needlework was not considered a pleasant pastime. It was considered work. And needles and knitting needles were considered by the church as nails that were driven into the Body of Christ. Do needlework? According to the priest, it is possible if you were asked about it. Do good deeds every day.
Orthodox people do not work in the garden. This is a forbidden activity on holidays, as it took a lot of strength. It was possible to cancel the sowing of potatoes. But I had to milk the cow and feed the cattle. Working in the garden during the holiday is perceived by priests as disrespect for themselves and God.

What holidays are best not to plan things?

The main holidays on which you should refrain from work are Easter and Christmas.

Archpriest Alexander Ilyashenko said:

“The meaning of all the prohibitions on Orthodox holidays is not that it is impossible. On Orthodox holidays, it is worth devoting a day to God. Start the day not with prayer, but with a visit to the temple. Do merciful deeds, take care of loved ones. Do the cleaning the day before to celebrate the holiday in a clean house.

For our ancestors, hair was a source of accumulated energy, and it is not surprising at all, because thoughts accumulate and materialize in the head area, sending certain signals into space.

Therefore, such a huge number of folk signs and superstitions have come down to our days. Today I want to understand with you the usual procedure - hair washing.

We live in a crazy rhythm of life and many of us do not think "I will wash my hair today, because tomorrow it is impossible!". Agree that few people are puzzled by such a question, because as long as there is time for ourselves, we immediately start bathing procedures.

And all because no one knows about folk signs, maybe you have developed your own prejudices, but I will "acquaint" you with the habits of our ancestors.

Don't wash your hair on Monday

As people say, starting business on Monday is a bad thing! And hair washing is no exception. According to popular wisdom, a washed head on the first day of the working week will bring bad luck to all other working days. I decided to test this "prohibition" or rather a warning on myself.

I will tell you, dear readers, that this did not affect my luck in any way, but the employee, who had not yet read my blog, admitted that on Mondays she better not wash her hair - the whole week then goes awry, and at work there are only “misses”.

Happy Tuesday

With this day of the week, things are better - European peoples have always started great things from Tuesday. As you may have guessed, this day is favorable for "spa treatments".

Interestingly, and Tuesday with its magical powers will help to make a stunning styling?

clear environment

Wednesday is the equator of the working week. It seems that the forces have already been spent, but there is still a charge of energy to complete the working days. Our ancestors were sure that on this day a person has a clear head and thoughts, which means that he is ready for a reboot and the accumulation of new forces.

This day is one of the most favorable for washing hair.

Concerning Thursday, then there are no special "zaboboniv". But still, it is better to wash your hair before sunrise - this way you will be enriched with energy and accumulate positive thoughts. To this day, the proverb fits: "he who gets up early, God gives him!"

Special Friday

This day of the week, like Monday, is difficult and it is better not to start new things.

Again, everything is interconnected with Christianity, because it was on Friday that Jesus Christ was crucified and subjected to terrible torture. Therefore, in the first half of the day you can’t have fun, do household chores and induce a “marafet”.

If you believe the ancestors, washing your hair on such a day, expect profuse hair loss. It sounds terrifying, but I did not tempt fate and refrain from such procedures on Friday.

Of course, there are exceptions when there is no way to do without washing your hair on Friday.

Bath Saturday

The first day off after a hard day is a great time to not only clean the house, but also put your body in order. Saturday is an excellent day for bathing procedures according to all religious canons, of course, on this day you can not only wash your hair, but you also need to!

After all, already in Sunday there will be no such possibility. Even in the distant past, people put aside their affairs and devoted the day to rest, prayers and family leisure. You should not take care of your appearance and body on this day, the resurrection, according to religion, is given to us for spiritual enrichment.

And finally, I will share with you one more omen, it is no longer tied to the days of the week.

If you are prone to superstition, it is better not to wash your hair before the exam, they say that water washes away all knowledge! This is how you taught tickets all evening, and then you decided to take a bath or shower and "washed away" the necessary information. Also, before important negotiations or interviews, you should not wash your hair, in this case you can "lose" your luck.

Of course, it's inconvenient to go to meet people with a dirty head, but it's better not to risk it. However, the choice is always yours.

To believe or not to believe, that is the question...

Deeply religious people are very zealous in observing all the canons and throughout the year, unlike most of us, they strictly adhere to them. For them, all divine services are equally important, but still, special importance is attached to church holidays.

Many of us consider ourselves Orthodox people, but to be honest, they don’t go to church very often. In the depths of our souls, we understand that this is not right and that we should go to church services more often, but every time far-fetched reasons and real problems prevent us from doing this. And in order to somehow make up for this, we try not to miss the celebrations that are especially important for the church and take part in them.

For the Orthodox Church and all believers, they are a sacred event and are preceded by pre-holiday services. They are called Vespers and Matins. This is nothing more than preparation for a bright day. But it consists not only in attending the “fore-festivities” (“eve”) and “after-feasts” (“nautria”), but also in observing certain rules.
A believer should prepare before the holiday, and on the day of celebration he is dedicated to communion with God, saints and between loved ones. So that nothing interferes with this, you need to free yourself from all worldly works and worries.

Many are interested in - how does the Church feel about visiting on the day of the bright celebration? After all, it is not considered a charitable building (only it is not illuminated from all village buildings).

There are the following guidelines for this.

As mentioned above, on the eve of the holidays, an all-night vigil is held in the temples, so if the holiday falls on Saturday and you go to church, you need to go to wash in advance (usually this day is considered a bath day for most people). Because there is anointing, and after it washing is undesirable.

Nicholas Church, p. Belyaevo

Below is a list of church holidays from the Nativity of Christ, before which it is necessary to observe all the rules in a special way, including planning trips to the bathhouse in advance.

You need to make a reservation right away that many festivities are not tied to a specific date, so you need to follow the church calendar for the current year.

Easter

The most significant and bright holiday always falls on Sunday. Every year the celebration takes place on different days. This day is appointed according to a special lunisolar calendar, which is no longer used for any other purposes. Following it, one can only say that Easter happens on the first Sunday after the spring full moon, not earlier than March 22 (April 4) and not later than April 25 (May 8).

You need to go to the bath before Easter on Friday.

Twelfth passing

To make it clear, let's give an example: so in 2013 Pentecost (Trinity) was June 23 (according to the new style, Christ's Easter was May 5), i.e. in Sunday. On Saturday there was a vigil, it turns out that it was necessary to go to the bathhouse on Friday.

Twelfth not passing(numbers in parentheses are in the new style)

As you can see, holidays happen on certain dates, but every year they fall on different days of the week. So in 2013, Epiphany fell on a Saturday, so on this day, January 19 (according to the new style), it was impossible to go to the bathhouse, you had to go on January 18, and those who were going to go to the Divine service the day before on Friday had to do this in advance - on Thursday .

In general, there is nothing complicated in this matter, for most it will be right to just go to the bathhouse before the holiday - Christmas on Wednesday, then we go to bathe on Tuesday.

Sometimes, listening to people of the older generation, we learn such signs and such prescriptions that we did not even know about. For example, the regulation of behavior on church holidays is quite severe: you can’t work, do needlework, slander, you can’t wash. Everything is clear about the first three positions, but the last one surprises many: what sinful washing can contain? Is it so bad that it is forbidden by the church?

Moreover, folk wisdom commands: if you swim on a church holiday, you will drink water in the next world (I wonder what: they don’t drink water at all in the next world?). In general, we agree that it is not worth working on big holidays, just as it is not worth doing needlework. Although one can argue about the latter, because this needlework was previously perceived as one of the varieties of hard work, and now it is mostly a hobby. And one cannot but agree that it is impossible to swear, and not only on holidays, but always. Swearing is definitely not included in the list of virtues of an Orthodox Christian.

But the question of washing still requires a separate discussion.

So: why you can't bathe on church holidays?

Actually, who said you can't? Is that what the priests say? So, they just don't say anything like that. More precisely, they say that behind the vain worldly affairs one should not forget that every church holiday is an occasion to think about your soul.

Therefore, it is much better to put yourself in order in advance, and on the day of the holiday just come to church and pray. But this is a recommendation, not a ban. So do not listen to superstitions and - even more so - follow them.

Interesting, where did this order come from?

After all, someone came up with it and was the first to say: why you can't bathe on Orthodox holidays?

It seems that the explanation here is quite simple. In order to wash in the old days, it was necessary to prepare: chop and drag firewood, heat the bath, and only then proceed to the washing procedure. What happened? It was hard physical work. That is, instead of going to church, a person was engaged in physical labor. And this, of course, did not correspond to church rules.

Today we do not need to chop wood and heat the stove for washing. It is quite enough for us to open two taps and get a bath of water. Or even take a shower. That is why the old rule does not work in our time.

And there is no sin in purity

In general, in Rus', unlike many European countries, they loved to wash a lot and often. And what is the sin of cleanliness? None.

By the way, it was the Catholic priests in the Middle Ages who said that washing means nothing more than fun for the body, and to amuse the body is to fall into sin. So people walked around dirty and in unwashed clothes. Some even came into contact with water three times in their lives: at baptism, before the wedding, and after death, during ablution.

What was the result? Epidemics of plague, cholera and other terrible diseases. The most interesting thing is that even medieval healers sincerely believed that when bathing, a person opens his body to microbes. Even if doctors, then what can we talk about?

As a result, the conclusion suggests itself: it is already better to wash yourself on a church holiday than not to do it at all.

Signs and opinions of priests regarding bathing on Orthodox holidays.

Now there are a huge number of beliefs regarding church holidays. The opinion has come down to our times that on major church holidays, such as the Trinity, the Annunciation, even "a bird does not nest." In the article we will figure out whether it is possible to swim on holidays.

Is it possible for adults to wash, bathe on major Orthodox church holidays?

Many justify their laziness and cover themselves with divine holidays. In fact, this is wrong, since the opinion of the clergy on this issue is quite definite. The clergy believe that all work, physical labor, some urgent work can be done on church holidays. But doing these things should not be in place of going to the temple. That is, a believer must visit the temple.

After prayer and worship, you can come home and go about your business. That is, you can sew, knit, wash, wash, bathe.

In Rus', Christianity was imposed on the people, so one of the ways to force people to come to the temple was to implement the ban. Say that if you do not attend the temple, God will punish you.

Is it possible to wash your hair, go to the bath in Orthodoxy: signs, opinion of the priest

In those days, bathhouses and hairdressers did not work on Forgiveness, Palm Day and, in general, any Sunday. This was done so that instead of some kind of physical work, rest, people would come to the temple. Similarly, things were not only with Sundays, but also with Orthodox holidays. Such as the Trinity, the Annunciation, Easter.

Priest's opinion:

Now faith is not imposed on anyone, so believers go to church on their own on Orthodox holidays. They spend their time praying and worshiping. Accordingly, this day is completely devoted to prayers and service to God.
Well, if there are some urgent matters on this day, you visited the temple, prayed, then all household chores, such as washing, cooking, cleaning, and bathing, can be done. That is, you can wash, bathe, wash your hair on Orthodox holidays. The clergy welcome the arrival of a pure person in the temple.
In no case should you justify your laziness and put off some kind of physical work, work in the garden because of the Orthodox holiday. It is forbidden to do this.

That is, all the traditions regarding the ban on physical labor, cleaning the house, cooking, embroidery, sewing, are nothing more than signs and traditions that have come to us since the time of Rus', when Christianity was imposed.

Is it possible to bathe children on major Orthodox church holidays?

Unfortunately, you can’t explain to children that on an Orthodox holiday, such as Christmas, Christmas Eve and Radonitsa, you can’t get dirty, you shouldn’t dig in the mud either. Especially children 1-3 years old can be naughty, dirty. It is not worth putting off washing or bathing the child for the next day.

Before visiting the temple on Intercession Day, before Christmas, the child needs to be washed, put in order, combed and come with him to worship. After that, if the child gets dirty, he can be washed and bathed no matter what day it is. On Orthodox holidays, hygiene procedures must be carried out.

As you can see, the clergy allow you to do household chores, cleaning, cooking, bathing, washing your hair on Orthodox holidays. This can be done if these activities are not carried out in lieu of going to the temple. After visiting the church, you can do whatever you want.