December 13 - St. Andrew's Day: history and traditions, folk omens
Every year on December 13, the Orthodox Church honors the memory of Apostle Andrew the First-Called, one of the 12 closest disciples of Christ and the first preacher of Christianity in the Russian lands. In 2024 the celebration falls on Friday. On the life and miracles of the apostle, as well as folk traditions associated with his holiday, read in the material "Izvestia".
Memorial Day of St. Andrew in 2024: the history of the holiday
According to legend, the Apostle Andrew was born in Galilee in the family of a simple fisherman. Together with his brother Simon, the future apostle Peter, he was supposed to inherit his father's business. However, this was not enough for the young man. His heart sought God in search of truth.
When John the Baptist began his sermon on the bank of the Jordan River, Andrew listened to his words and, becoming a disciple of the prophet, was baptized by him. Later Jesus himself came to the sacred river. Andrew was one of the first to meet the Son of God and believe in Him. On the same day the future apostle came to his brother and told him that the Savior, for whom all the Jewish people had been waiting, had finally appeared.
However, Andrew and Simon did not immediately follow Christ, for they continued to attend to family business. One day, when the brothers were fishing, Jesus came to them and called them to follow him, offering to be "fishers of men". Then the young men left their gear on the shore and became disciples of the Son of God.
Since then Andrew and Simon, who was called Peter by the Savior, became faithful followers of Christ. On the 50th day after the Resurrection of the Lord, the Holy Spirit came upon all the apostles, and they received the gift of healing, and began to speak in other languages. They needed all this for one purpose: to spread the word of God throughout the whole earth.
To determine which countries to go to, the apostles cast lots. Andrew was assigned the coast of the Black Sea, as well as the areas along the Dnieper and Danube rivers.
During his travels, the apostle was able to convert many pagans to Christianity. According to legend, one day he stopped at the green hills and, pointing to them to his disciples, said that here God would build a great city with many churches. Subsequently, this place became the center of Kievan Rus. It is believed that the apostle also reached the future Novgorod lands, preaching to the local Slavic tribes. However, there is no reliable data that St. Andrew really visited the Russian lands.
The earthly way of the apostle has come to the end in the Greek city of Patras. The local governor Egeat ordered to crucify the saint on the cross for the fact that he preached Christianity. Andrew gladly accepted the news of his martyrdom and asked only that his cross be placed differently from the cross of Christ, because he believed that he was not worthy to die like his Master.
In order to prolong the saint's agony, Egeat ordered that he not be nailed to the cross, but simply tied. For two days Andrew continued to preach in spite of the pain. During this time many people in the city believed in Christ and demanded pardon for the apostle. Fearing a popular uprising, the governor ordered the execution to stop. However, Andrew did not want to be saved, but prayed fervently to God, asking for martyrdom. No matter how hard the Greek soldiers tried, they could not remove the saint from the cross.
The apostle's body was taken away and buried with honors by the ruler's wife Maximilla. Several centuries later, under Emperor Constantine the Great, his relics were solemnly transferred to Constantinople and placed in the Church of the Holy Apostles.
St. Andrew's Day in 2024: traditions of the holiday on December 13
On the Memorial Day of St. Andrew, solemn services are held in churches throughout Russia. Believers pray to the apostle for recovery, protection from enemies and natural disasters. Sailors, fishermen and other professionals whose work is connected with the sea, ask the saint for safe navigation, because he has long been honored as the patron saint of sailors.
Often the celebration is celebrated with feasts in the circle of relatives, especially if there are Andrei and Andreevich in the family. It is important to remember that the holiday falls on the Christmas fast, so dishes should not contain meat, eggs and dairy products.
In Russia, December 13 was called Andrey's day. It was especially awaited by village youth, because for many of them the holiday opened a new stage of life.
For young men on St. Andrew's Day held a rite of passage, after which they were recognized as men. In the morning, girls baked special bread and hung it on a rope. The participant of the ritual had to take a bite from it while standing on a poker. It was not easy to get to the treat - it was guarded by older guys armed with soot-soaked rags. The one who managed to pass the test was recognized as mature enough to take adult work, participate in parties with girls and choose a bride.
Unmarried girls on St. Andrew's Day guessed for their soulmate. For this purpose they baked balabushki - small rolls of white bread. Water for them was to be carried from a well in the mouth secretly from guys. If a girl was noticed, she was ransomed in the form of a treat.
Ready balabushki girls laid out on the floor and launched a hungry dog into the hut. It was believed that the one whose bun the animal would grab first would get married the fastest. The rest would have to wait for their fate for at least another year.
In the evening, girls put a knife, a man's hat, kutya and a chip from the fence of the guy they liked under their pillows. So they hoped to call a prophetic dream and see what will be the groom.
Folk omens on St. Andrew's Day
With Andrew's Day in Russia also associated various weather omens. If the snow fell on the holiday and did not melt by evening, they expected that the snow cover would last for 110 days. If there was no snow, they prepared for a warm winter. A bright red flame in the stove meant frost, and a white flame meant a thaw. Low floating clouds also indicated frost.
Earlier "Izvestia" told about the history and traditions of St. George's Day.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
