Ascension of the Lord: what can and cannot be done on this day. Ascension of the Lord - a great church holiday

The Ascension of the Lord is one of the biggest Orthodox holidays. It is movable, that is, every year it is celebrated at a different time. According to church custom, it must be celebrated on the fortieth day after the Resurrection of Christ, that is, as we say, after Easter. Why exactly on the fortieth day? Believers know that the scripture of Moses said that all parents should come to the temple with their children on the 40th day. That is why it is believed that Jesus Christ, on the fortieth day after his rebirth, came to the temple to his Father and Savior.

At all times, people tried to adhere to all existing regulations regarding the celebration of this holiday. This day among people is also called "commemoration". By Ascension, people tried to cook various pastries at home and eat them with their families. On the Ascension of the Lord, people went to the cemetery in order to honor the memory of deceased loved ones. It was also considered right to visit your friends on this day. Often in the people this holiday is called "the day of petition." It is believed that on this day you need to ask God for everything you need, but you should not mention material wealth. It is allowed to ask for money only if there is a sick person in the family and material benefits are needed only in order to completely heal him and bring him back to life. God will surely give us everything we ask of him. If possible, then it is necessary to give alms or help on this holiday to everyone who needs it. Knowledgeable people said that from the moment the holiday came, the weather ceased to be capricious and had a uniform warm character. This meant that it was possible to fully work in the field.

Church traditions say that on this great holiday you can not do any work around the house or housework, and especially clean up. It is best to attend a service in a church. It was believed that those who work on this day will not know what joy and prosperity are throughout the year.

As folk wisdom says, even the cuckoo did not crow on this day. Nobody worked that day. Even the hen didn't lay an egg. But if it happened that the chicken was laid, then the resulting egg had to be taken from the nest and placed somewhere in a secluded place, for example, in the attic of the house. It played the role of a talisman and possessed very great magical power. This power is so powerful that even in the case when a strong witch wanted to bring evil to the house, she did not succeed.

Of course, most modern people work in various institutions and enterprises. That is why not everyone has the opportunity to observe church customs. But work is work and God will forgive us, but when you come home, you should not start any business. In the case when the matter cannot be postponed, then it must be done at the time when the Church stopped worshiping or early in the morning. Of course, it will be good not to work at all, but to leave all things until the moment when work is not prohibited by the church prescription. Work on the Ascension of the Lord has not yet brought anything good to anyone, for some even physical efforts ended tragically.

On the 40th day after Easter, the Orthodox Church celebrates one of the main 12 holidays of the year (twelfth holidays - UNIAN.) - the Ascension of the Lord.

The full name of the holiday is the Ascension of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ.

history of the holiday

The Ascension of the Lord is the day when Christ ascended into heaven and sat down "to the right of the Father." After his resurrection, he appeared to his disciples, talked to them and taught them, ordered them to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. He ascended with his disciples to the Mount of Olives, where he blessed them for the last time and ascended to heaven.

Ascension date 2018

Traditions, signs and divination:

According to the Slavic folk tradition, from this day spring ends and the transition to summer begins, so you can no longer be afraid of cold snaps.

It is believed that if the weather is good on Ascension, then it will last until November 21, Michaelmas Day. A rainy day, according to signs, portends crop failure and disease in livestock.

If you swim on the Ascension in the river, your health will be strong.

If a chicken laid an egg that day, it must be hung under the roof of the house so that it protects the residents from misfortune.

Hearing the cawing of a crow on this day is a good sign.

On this day, they washed themselves with dew: it was believed that on the Ascension of the Lord it becomes healing.

It is customary to pray for well-being and health: on this day, before ascending to heaven, the Lord, as is commonly believed, listens to all the requests of people and fulfills them.

Also on this holiday, you should ask for forgiveness from everyone with whom you are in a quarrel.

On Ascension, there is a custom to "walk at the crossroads" - to visit relatives and friends and give them "ladders" baked from wheat dough with honey and with sugar patterns, symbolizing the path to heaven.

On Ascension, it is customary to set the table and prepare symbolic pastries - bread in the form of a "ladder" / photo angelvalentina.livejournal.com

To find out the fate of a sick person, birch branches were woven on Ascension, several of which were braided. It is believed that if the branches do not wither 10 days before the Trinity, then the mysterious person will recover. In the same way, the girls guessed at the future marriage.

If for 40 days (from Easter to Ascension) you help the destitute and feed the poor, the year will be successful in every way.

What not to do on Ascension:

swear, swear;

Engage in gluttony and have fun;

Taking out the trash;

Spit on the ground (Jesus on a holiday continues his earthly journey along the roads);

Refuse strangers;

Have sex;

On this day, the dead are not buried;

Do hard work around the house (it is believed that this distracts from thinking about the Lord);

You can not say the words "Christ is Risen", because on this day the shroud is taken out of the temples.

The Ascension of the Lord is one of the most important holidays for every believer. Every year, the Orthodox remember the great event of the gospel history - the ascension of Jesus Christ to Heaven.

The date of the holiday varies from year to year, depending on the day Easter is celebrated. The Ascension of the Lord is celebrated on the fortieth day after the Bright Resurrection of Christ, so in 2017 it falls on May 25.
History and meaning of the holiday
The holiday is dedicated to the events that took place forty days after the Resurrection of Christ. Throughout this period, Christ repeatedly appeared to his disciples, instructing them, preaching about the Kingdom of Heaven and preparing them for the descent of the Holy Spirit.
On the fortieth day after the Great Resurrection, the Savior called the apostles to the Mount of Olives. Having blessed them, He ascended in the flesh into heaven. According to the New Testament, while the apostles looked to the sky, trying to realize the great miracle, two men dressed in snow-white robes appeared to them and said that the Savior, who had ascended to heaven, would appear in the same way when the time came.

The holiday is filled with deep sacred meaning. Having atoned for the sins of mankind, the Savior raised human nature to the Throne of the Lord, preparing people to receive the Holy Spirit. On the tenth day after the Ascension, the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles. This holiday was called Pentecost - because it falls on the fiftieth day after Easter - or the Day of the Holy Trinity.
How is the Ascension of the Lord celebrated in 2017
The Ascension of the Lord is celebrated for 10 days and begins with the pre-feast on May 24, when Easter is also celebrated. On this date, a series of Easter services ends with a solemn festive service.

May 25 is the main day of the celebration of the Ascension. At this time, a special festive liturgy is held in the temples. Prayers before the icon of the Ascension of the Lord are especially powerful on this holiday. Every believer can pray for forgiveness of sins, strengthening of faith, finding the righteous path.
After May 25, there will be a period of afterfeast, which will last another eight days. Prayers from among the festive ones will be read daily in churches.

What to do on the Ascension of the Lord

On Wednesday, on the eve of the holiday, a vigil is served and the rite of Easter is celebrated. On Thursday, a solemn liturgy is held, which ends with the reading of the section of the New Testament, where it is written about the events of the Ascension of the Lord.

On this day, everyone rejoices, they bake rectangular pies with onions, decorate them with crossbars in the form of a symbolic ladder - the path of Christ to heaven. It is also customary to commemorate dead ancestors with pancakes, boiled eggs or scrambled eggs. On the feast of the Ascension of the Lord, special prayers are said - people turn to the Lord with requests for help, believing in his power and strength.

It is believed that after the Ascension of Christ, summer warm weather sets in. In the old days, the holiday “Seeing Spring” was timed to the Ascension: people had fun from the heart, sang songs about spring, went to visit each other, decorated their houses and streets with greenery.

Ascension of the Lord: what not to do

On the Ascension of the Lord, according to church tradition, one cannot do housework, for example, cleaning. Any other labor-intensive, "black" work is also prohibited. On this day, the phrase “Christ is Risen” cannot be pronounced, since on the Ascension Day the Shroud is taken out of the temples.
In the Ascension of the Lord, you can’t think about the bad. Instead, they are advised to remember deceased relatives. This day is also best spent with family. By the Ascension of the Lord, the sowing of grain was also completed - at this time they began to prepare for the Trinity. After the Resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ was on earth for another forty days, appearing to His disciples, talking with them, strengthening their faith in an extraordinary event, an event that exceeds human experience - in victory over death, in His Resurrection from the dead. Jesus is also preparing His disciples for the coming ministry. As the Gospel says, He opens their minds to the understanding of the Scriptures, "telling them about the Kingdom of God."

On the fortieth day after Easter, Christ gathers His disciples, leads them to the Mount of Olives and ascends to heaven. Before the Ascension event itself, a very important dialogue takes place: the Savior speaks about the coming Kingdom of God and that in a few days the Spirit of God will descend on them, His disciples, and they will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. But the disciples of Christ, still hoping that the Kingdom of God is the triumph of some political system in their native land, ask Christ: “At this time, Lord, are You restoring the kingdom to Israel?” And Christ sternly answers: “It is not your business to know the times or dates that the Father has set in His power,” and this is the answer to all of us, people who constantly ask about the times and dates of the end of the world, the Second Coming. After these significant words, the Savior promises His disciples that they will receive power when the Holy Spirit descends on them (we will celebrate this event in ten days, on Trinity). And he says that having received the Holy Spirit, the apostles will begin their preaching in all the earth. "Having said this, He ascended before their eyes, and a cloud took Him out of their sight."

The Ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ is the completion of His earthly ministry. Having conquered death as a terrible consequence of sin, and thus giving every person the opportunity to resurrect, Christ showed that a greater deification of the human body is also possible, because the Savior ascended, being in a human body. And by this he uplifted human nature. As St. Gregory Palamas noted, the Ascension of the Lord belongs to all people - everyone will be resurrected on the day of His Second Coming, however, only those who “crucified sin through repentance and living according to the Gospel” will be lifted up, “caught up in the clouds.”

Of course, there is some slight sadness in this holiday. After all, we are talking about Jesus leaving the earth. But, listening to church hymns on this day, we do not feel abandoned and alone. On the contrary, worship in the temple, prayer, speaks of the presence of the Lord everywhere in our world. Yes, the Easter holiday has ended (and this happened the day before, Easter as a celebration lasts forty days), but even now humanity here on earth is not alone with malice, death, suffering, meanness. No! The permeation of our world with the presence of God is palpable in everything: in the morning spring, joyful chirping of birds, and in the rays of the sun, and in the glow of a candle at the icon, and in church hymns, in prayer, and in that good deed that someone is now does, and in the smile of the person you meet. Ten days later, the Trinity, in front of her - the day of remembrance of the dead, Trinity parental Saturday. After the Trinity - Spirits day.

Forty days will pass after Easter, and Jesus Christ, having finished his work, will rush to heaven. The Ascension of the Lord is a historical event in the New Testament. The holiday does not have a specific day, because it is tied to Easter.

It is on the fortieth day, and it is on Thursday that we celebrate it. The Ascension of the Lord in Orthodox Christianity is one of the twelfth holidays, which in many countries is considered the official state.

Read this article:

Celebration of the Ascension of the Lord

This holiday is dedicated to the Lord. Priests during worship wear white clothes, symbolizing the Divine light.

On the eve, in all churches, the rite of “giving away” Easter is held. And on Thursday, on the day of the Ascension of the Lord, solemn liturgies are performed, where, to the sound of bells, the part of the Gospel dedicated to the Ascension of Christ is read.

All the people on this day rejoice and glorify the Lord. Pies are baked in houses - small rectangles with crossbars on them. They symbolize the ladder - the path of Jesus Christ to heaven. The filling for such pies is made from eggs with green onions. Their dead ancestors - parents are commemorated with boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, pancakes with various fillings.

On a holiday, special prayers are read in which the people turn to the Lord, believing in his strength and power, asking for help.

It is after the Ascension of Christ that the summer season will come with warm and blessed days. Previously, the holiday was still considered the farewell to spring. People decorated their houses with delicate greenery, prepared treats, went to visit, where they had fun from the heart and sang songs, saying goodbye to spring.

folk traditions

The people more perceived the Ascension of the Lord as the growth of all living things, the rise. We went to each other with eggs, Easter cakes and cheese.

bread ladders

According to custom, each housewife baked bread ladders with seven crossbars (7 is the number of heavens of the apocalypse). They were taken to church and consecrated. Then the most nimble climbed the bell tower and dropped the "ladders" down. If it breaks, pray for sins, and if it remains intact, there will be a road to paradise. Later, freshly baked "ladders" were thrown right at the stove on the floor.

Ascension Tradition

They also took bread ladders with them to the garden or in the field. They went there in the afternoon and stood by the garden, tossed up the bread, saying the words "So that my garden grows as high." They caught it and ate it right away. Also, boiled eggs were buried in the garden secretly from everyone and the Our Father was read three times, appeasing the field spirits for a rich harvest.

What you need to know

If a chicken lays an egg that day, then you need to hang it under the roof of the house. This amulet will protect from troubles.

It’s bad when it rains, it will lead to crop failure and the cattle will get sick.

If it is hot on Ascension Day, then after that you can already swim in the reservoirs.

What not to do on the feast of the Ascension of the Lord

On the day of the celebration of the Ascension of Christ, no work can be done. It is better to prepare for it in advance. By tradition, you need to get together with the whole family or go out of town, to the country.

You can not turn to the Lord with requests for wealth.

You can not ask for revenge on offenders.

Make a wedding

On Ascension, girls wove birch twigs into braids. If the leaves on them did not fade before the Trinity, then be in the house of the wedding.

Commemoration of the dead on the Ascension of the Lord

As well as on Radonitsa, and on Ascension, they always remember their dead ancestors. Fried and boiled eggs are prepared on the table, pancakes are baked. They eat memorial food in the early morning in the house, and in the field or garden during land work. Pies were treated to neighbors and beggars.

Jesus Christ said that the soul of everyone living on earth will go to heaven after death. And this happens in forty days. There exists a completely different life, eternal and righteous, which you need to think about today.

Prayer to the Ascension of the Lord

Lord Jesus Christ, our God, who descended from the heavenly heights for our salvation and nourished us with spiritual joy on the holy and bright days of Your Resurrection, and again, after completing Your earthly ministry, ascended from us to heaven with glory and sat at the right hand of God and the Father!

On this “clear and all-bright day of the Divine ascension to heaven” of Thy “the earth celebrates and rejoices, the sky also rejoices in the Ascension of the Creator of creation today”, people praise unceasingly, seeingly erring and fallen nature on Thy frame, Savior, earthly and ascended to heaven, The angels rejoice, saying: Who is this, who came in glory, mighty in battle. This is truly the King of Glory?! Grant us the weak, the earthly still wise and carnal pleasures, create unceasing, Your ascension to heaven is terrible thinking and celebrating, carnal and worldly, lay aside cares and from Your Apostles to heaven now look with all your heart and all your thoughts, remembering that there are in heaven woe is our dwelling place, but here on earth we are exactly strangers and aliens of Esma, who has departed from the house of the Father to the land of sin far away. For this sake, we earnestly ask Thee, by Your glorious Ascension, Lord, revive our conscience, even if there is nothing more necessary in the world, raise us from the captivity of this sinful flesh and world and make us wise on high, and not earthly, as if we would not please anyone and to live, but we will serve and work for You the Lord and Our God, until we have renounced the bonds of the flesh and passed through the air ordeals without restriction, we will reach Your heavenly abodes, where, standing at the right hand of Your Majesty, with the Archangels and Angels and all the saints we will glorify Your All-Holy Name with the Beginningless Thy Father and Most Holy and Consubstantial and Life-Giving Thy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.

Recipe "Voznesenskaya ladder"

Such "ladders" can be made from rye flour, which you need to measure 1 cup. We take the following products for flour:

honey (1 tablespoon);
vegetable oil (3 tablespoons);
sugar (2 cups);
cinnamon, salt and soda (a pinch);
hot water (3 tablespoons).

Dissolve in slightly hot water and add all of the above products except flour. Mix well until sugar dissolves.

Gradually add flour, kneading the dough. It should be elastic. We roll sausages out of it. We form ladders and bake in the oven.

Finished products quickly become stale, so they need to be baked early in the morning in order to be eaten in a day.

The Ascension of the Lord is a great church holiday, which is celebrated 40 days after Easter. It always falls on a Thursday. In 2018 Ascension is celebrated on May 17th. For Orthodox Christians, this holiday is one of the most significant. Many signs, traditions and customs are associated with the Ascension of the Lord.

Within forty days after his resurrection, Jesus Christ appeared to the apostles more than once, taught them the basics of the creation of the Church and gave instructions on the initiation of other people into the faith. The earthly ministry of God the Son ended with the Ascension. He was able to conquer death, and gave people the faith that they, too, would be able to resurrect after their death.

Ascension of the Lord: signs and superstitions

In Rus', many traditions were associated with the holiday. Our ancestors believed that on this day spring comes to an end and summer comes. Ascension symbolized the full disclosure of nature. There was a change from warm spring days to hot summer days. By evening, it was customary to kindle a large fire, symbolizing the flowering of nature and the onset of the span. From that day on, winter crops and rye produce an ear.

People believed that for forty days after Easter, Christ walks the earth and watches over mere mortals. He encourages the pure in soul and thoughts to be righteous, and punishes sinners.

The Ascension of the Lord is one of the Twelfth Feasts. On the night from Wednesday to Thursday, an all-night vigil is served.

In Ascension, they baked a pie with cabbage, potatoes and green onions. The top of the muffin was decorated with crossbars, making it look like a ladder. In general, the staircase is considered a symbol of this holiday. According to it, Christ allegedly ascended to heaven. Therefore, various pastries were made in the form of ladders. It was customary to invite guests, or go to visit yourself. Relatives and friends were given festive pastries.

They baked rye bread-ladders. They were carried to the field or to the garden, where they were crumbled. They did this in order to have a good harvest. Even such pastries were taken to the graves of deceased relatives. It was considered a good sign if the bread was eaten by birds.

Girls and unmarried women baked pancakes and served them to single men to attract attention. And in order to always be healthy and beautiful, they wove wreaths of dandelions and put them on their heads.

Guys in love, in order to attract the love of the girl they liked, on this day they collected a bouquet of field herbs and brought it to the house of their beloved. They put it on the threshold and left. There was a belief that if a girl smells flowers, she will definitely fall in love with the donor.

Fortune telling on birch twigs. The girls wove them into braids. It was believed that if the branches did not wither before the Trinity, then you would get married this year.

If you cut yourself on Ascension, then you need to say “Lord forgive me” three times. Then the blood will stop, and the wound will heal quickly.

Dew was collected in the morning. They believed that it had medicinal properties. Dew was given to drink to the sick, used to treat wounds.

If it rained on Ascension, people went outside with their heads uncovered. It was believed that after such a procedure, the hair would grow well. It was believed that if it rained that day, then it should be expected on Trinity. But if it was dry, then over the next six weeks there will be no precipitation.

On Ascension, a ceremony was performed to attract money. To do this, they took bills or coins and buried them in the ground. They believed that thanks to this ritual, the financial situation would improve significantly.

We looked at the behavior of birds:

if a crow croaks under the window, then expect bad news;
the dove coos - for a love date;
magpie screams - to replenishment in the family.

The mothers of marriageable girls performed a ceremony to attract suitors. They baked bread and crumbled it in different directions so that suitors would come from everywhere, and the daughter could choose the most worthy.

If a married couple could not have children for a long time, then it was necessary to go to church in the morning, defend the service there, and then return home without talking to anyone along the way. At home, I had to try again to conceive a child.

On this day, you can make a cherished wish. To make it come true, write what you want on a piece of paper, put it in your hand-baked bread, which you then take to the church and leave there.

A person born on the Ascension of the Lord will live a long and happy life. He will always be lucky in everything.

Ascension: Do's and Don'ts

On this holiday, it is customary to remember the deceased relatives, to visit their graves. It was believed that for 40 days (starting with Easter and ending with Ascension) the doors of heaven and hell are open. Therefore, the sinners can meet the righteous.

On the Ascension of the Lord, you can not do any housework, and it is also better to give up gardening. It is also not supposed to greet people with the words “Christ is Risen”, since 40 days have already passed since Easter.

It is better not to lend money on this holiday date, as there is a high probability that the money will not be returned to you. If a person is very insistent, then ask him to come another day.

Do not sort things out and start conflicts. It is believed that whoever quarrels at the Ascension will remember the offense that year.