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Protection of the Virgin Mary in 2024: what to do to avoid going broke - signs and traditions
The Intercession of the Holy Mother of God is a Christian holiday that is believed to have come to us from Byzantium. It is not included in the list of the main twelve, since it is dedicated to events that did not happen during the life of the Mother of God, but nevertheless it is considered one of the most revered. We tell you how to determine by signs what events it is associated with, when the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God will be in 2024 and what kind of winter it will be.
Then the people of Constantinople prayed day and night for the protection of the Virgin Mary. This happened in the Blachernae Church, where parts of the Virgin Mary's clothing, headdress and belt were kept. During the all-night vigil, a miracle occurred. Andrew the Fool and his spiritual disciple Epiphanius saw the appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos. Walking from the Royal Doors, invisible to others, the Virgin Mary was accompanied by John the Baptist and the Son of Thunder, the Apostle John the Theologian, who carried Her in his arms, who followed Her, and a multitude of saints in white robes.
"When the prayer was over, the Mother of God removed the great and terrible, bright as lightning, veil placed on Her most pure head, and solemnly held it with Her most pure hands and spread it over all those standing. "In the temple," it says in the Lives of the Saints according to the account of Saint Demetrius of Rostov.
At the same time, the first churches in honor of the Intercession of the Mother of God began to be built in Rus'. One of the oldest churches is the Church of the Intercession on the Nera, built by order of Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky. Over time, more and more such churches appeared, and now almost every city has a temple dedicated to the Intercession of the Mother of God.
When is the Protection of the Holy Mother of God in 2024?
The Protection of the Holy Mother of God has a specific date and is celebrated annually on October 14. The national holiday in 2024 falls on Monday. However, the service in honor of the intercession of the Holy Mother of God begins on the evening of October 13. First comes the small vespers, then the great vespers, matins and the liturgy. The liturgy is followed by a sermon, which explains the history of the holiday and its meaning.
Also in the Slavic calendar, Pokrov was considered the main holiday of autumn and meant the end of agricultural work. The first frosts were expected by this day. They greet autumn and winter, insulate huts, transfer cattle to winter feed and finish harvesting. If there was no time to pick apples before the intercession, they were left to dry on the branches. On the holiday itself, such branches had to be burned in the oven so that the house would be warm all winter and the table would not be empty.
On this day, housewives treated the supposedly sleeping brownie with pancakes on the intercession of the Holy Mother of God. After all, only a well-fed brownie will bring prosperity and warmth to your home. And so that children would not get sick in the winter, they were doused with water through a sieve or a sieve right at the entrance.
Also, with the intercession of the Holy Mother of God, a series of wedding ceremonies began. It was believed that a family created at this time would definitely be happy and strong. Moreover, for the belief to work, the newlyweds had to go to bed on an odd number of sheaves of rye. And unmarried girls hurried to the temple early in the morning to light candles, and it was believed that the one who did this first would get married before the rest. Girls also gathered in the hut, and in the evening the boys joined them. This is how the acquaintance and choice of the bride took place.
In Pokrov, they have prepared a weather forecast for the coming winter. According to one of the signs, if a north or east wind blows on this day, the winter will be cold, and if a south wind blows, then it will be snowy and mild. The variable winds of Pokrov predicted a changeable winter. • No The year would easily pass without leaves on the oaks and birches. Otherwise, expect a harsh winter. • No one has ever heard thunder in Pokrov, so you can be sure that the winter will be short and there will be no snow. • A small amount of snow on the Day of Intercessory Prayer does not mean that there will be many weddings next year. • No. If it is muddy outside, everything will be swept away in a month at the latest, and if it is dry, then frosts will come. • A full moon on Pokrov always indicates that the next summer will be dry. • The presence of squirrels that have completed their molt by this time is not an indicator that the winter will be good.
What should not be done through the intercession of the Holy Mother of God
Like other Orthodox holidays, the Protection of the Holy Virgin also has some taboos. For example, you cannot do serious household chores, such as cleaning, washing, sewing, knitting or ironing. I cannot borrow money. Otherwise, you will spend the next year in poverty. You should not swear, curse, drink alcohol, be sad or be in a bad mood. And when some gentleman from the Protection proposes to a girl to marry him, she cannot refuse him. Otherwise, she risks remaining a girl for too long.