12 great Russian Orthodox feasts (other than Easter)
-
Loading... - Morgan Web
- 25 Apr 2022
- 319 Views
- 0 Like
- 0 Comment
The main religious holiday in the Orthodox calendar is Easter, which marks the Resurrection of Christ. In Russia, it’s celebrated much more than even Christmas. Note that the dates of Orthodox and Catholic Easter hardly ever fall on the same day.
Russians love Easter because of many other reasons than just Jesus Christ - also, the end of the hard and long Lent and the beginning of real spring (which are usually the first warm days of the year), to name a few. The holiday also has strong ritual traditions - people paint eggs and decorate them in many creative ways, bake kulich Easter cakes and cook cottage cheese desserts called paskha (a translation of the word ‘Easter’ in Russian). On Easter Saturday, people line up outside churches to bless their eggs and cakes - and then, on Sunday morning, they eat them.
Besides Easter, there are twelve other important holidays that the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates.
1. Nativity of Mary
The Birth of the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ is usually celebrated on September 21. At the same time, nine months before this day, on December 9, the Conception of Righteous Anna is celebrated (and the Orthodox faith has an icon devoted to both days). For a long time, Saint Anna and Saint Joachim were childless and the Conception happened when visiting the holy land of Jerusalem.
2. Presentation of Mary
Another pre-Christ holiday devoted to his mother Mary’s life, which celebrates the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple. Mary’s parents brought her to the Temple in Jerusalem to thank God for giving them a child.
3. Christmas
Unlike Catholics, Orthodox Christians celebrate the holiday on January 7. Such a difference is connected with the calendar switch that happened in Russia after the 1917 Revolution. And, for many years after that, Christmas was only celebrated secretly, as the Soviet authorities banned religion and all religious-related holidays. Instead, they tried to make up for it with massive, nationwide New Year celebrations.
In modern Russia, Christmas is still celebrated quietly, usually in a close circle of family and friends and usually even without presents (which are given on New Year’s Eve). Being a part of the long New Year holidays, it’s a day off - however, usually soon after Christmas, the working days begin, so people tired of celebrations try to get a final rest. Read more about Christmas celebrations in modern Russia and in tsarist times, when it had much more meaning for people.
4. Epiphany
On January 19, the Baptism of Jesus is widely celebrated across Russia. The weather during this time of the year is usually very harsh and there’s even an aphorism - ‘Epiphany frosts’. According to tradition, the night before the Epiphany and during the entire day, people dive into an ice hole called ‘Jordan’ that is made in the form of the Holy Cross. This act symbolizes the Baptism of Christ and it looks bizarre, considering that Jesus lived in a very warm part of the world! Check out photos from the Epiphany celebration in Russia.
5. Candlemas
The Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ celebrated on February 15 is usually marked with a big service in Orthodox churches and a nice bell ringing. Now, this holiday isn’t celebrated very widely across Russia. Believers either go to church or just recall this day (and try not to do any hard work). But, in Old Russia, this was a big day and people used to attribute some events appealing to this winter holiday “this happened on Candlemas” or “a week before Candlemas”, you still can hear from old people in Russia.
6. The Annunciation
This holiday celebrates the annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, when angel Gabriel told her that she would have a baby through the virgin birth and that this would be a Christian Messiah and Son of God. One of Russians’ most favorite holidays is celebrated on April 7, according to the Orthodox tradition. There are lots of icons and churches devoted to this holy day in Russia. Read More…
