Today is an important church holiday - the pre-holiday of the Purification of the Lord: prohibitions, sacraments, omens

Every year on February 14, the Orthodox Church celebrates the Pre-Priesthood of the Presentation of the Lord, a special day during which the faithful prepare for the coming feast. In 2025, it falls on Friday. "Izvestia" tells what the meaning of the celebration and what prohibitions are associated with it.

Pre-Priesthood of the Purification of the Lord - what kind of holiday on February 14

Major church holidays, such as Easter, Christmas, Epiphany, etc., take more than one day in the liturgical calendar. As a rule, they have a pre-holiday, a post-holiday, and a return (the last day of the post-holiday). Thanks to this, clergy and believers have the opportunity to prepare for the celebration, to reflect on it and "say goodbye" to it until the next year.

The day or several days before a major or bicentennial feast is called the pre-prazdnost. At this time in churches they begin to read prayers dedicated to the central event of the feast, and believers try to purify their souls from earthly vanity in order to meet it worthily.

Poprazdnost - a period of time when the church continues to remember the past feast. It can also last several days. Parting is the last day of the feast, the end of the celebration. Often it is as lavish as the celebration itself, and the divine service on this day is almost identical to that of the feast.

The Purification of the Lord is celebrated on the 40th day after the Nativity of Christ - February 15. It has one day of pre-holiday (February 14), up to seven days of post-holiday (from February 16 to 21 in 2025) and one day of retreat (February 21 in 2025).

Eventually, the Purification of the Lord is associated with the bringing of the Christ child into the Jerusalem temple. According to ancient Jewish tradition, on the 40th day after the birth of a boy, a woman had to visit the temple and offer a purification sacrifice. If a girl was born, the same ritual had to be performed on the 80th day. Before that, the mother was considered unclean, had no right to participate in religious services and touch sacred objects.

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In addition, parents whose firstborn was a boy had to pay a ransom to the Temple on the 40th day and dedicate the child to God in memory of the exodus of the Jews from Egypt.

The virgin Mary did not need purification, for the birth of Jesus was the result of an immaculate conception. Nevertheless, she showed humility and respect for the ancient law, which was soon to be replaced by a new one. The Son of God himself, who did not need baptism, but humbly received it from John the Baptist, did the same.

After the rite had been performed, the elder Simeon approached the Virgin and her husband. According to the legend, he was one of the scientists who conducted the Holy Scripture into Greek. During his work he doubted the fidelity of the prophecy, which stated that the Savior would be born of a pure virgin. For this he was condemned to live until he saw the Messiah with his own eyes.

After several centuries, Simeon finally witnessed the appearance of the Son of God. Taking the infant in his arms, he said: "Today you release your servant, O Lord." Hence the name of the feast - Purification, which means "meeting". To the Virgin Mary the righteous elder foretold the suffering due to the death of Christ on the cross. "To you the weapon itself will pass your soul," he said.

That day another fateful meeting took place in the Jerusalem temple. Following Simeon, the prophetess Anna came to worship Christ. When she saw the long-awaited Savior, she went to the city to tell all the inhabitants of Israel about his birth.

What should not be done today, on the eve of the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord?

The Orthodox Church does not establish special prohibitions on the day of the pre-holiday of the Purification of the Lord. In 2025, the feast falls on the week of the Publican and Pharisee - the first of the three preparatory weeks before Lent. For this time is established a solid week, that is, seven days, during which the one-day fasts on Wednesday and Friday are canceled, so you do not need to fast on the eve of the Feast of the Purification, which falls on Friday, February 14.

Nevertheless, as on any church holiday, believers should not indulge in discouragement, quarrel with loved ones, swear, use swear words. The pre-holiday of Purification is best devoted to studying or restoring in memory the texts of the solemn divine service, reading the Gospel and prayer. There is no ban on work and household chores on this day, but it is important that everyday chores do not overshadow the spiritual component of the holiday.

Folk omens for February 14

Also on February 14, the Orthodox Church honors the memory of the martyr Tryphon of Apamea, who lived in the III century in Asia Minor. He became famous for exorcising demons from the daughter of the Roman Emperor Gordian, as well as saving the inhabitants of his native village from the invasion of insect pests. The saint has suffered for belief at emperor Decius (years of board 249-251) which has begun the first mass persecutions on Christians.

In Russia, the day of the memory of Tryphon of Apamea was called Tryphon's Day. The martyr was considered the patron saint of married couples and lovers. Spouses prayed to him to strengthen their marriage, and unmarried girls asked him to meet their soulmate.

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Most of the omens of the holiday were associated with romantic relationships. According to the beliefs, if a dog approaches a girl in the street, she will get a faithful life partner. If it will be a cat, there is a risk to connect your life with a windy young man. It was considered a good sign to accidentally break glass on Trifonov's day. People believed that it was good luck.

There were also various prohibitions associated with the celebration. For example, on this day spouses and couples in love tried not to quarrel, so as not to lose warm feelings for each other. Also should not complain about life, so as not to attract more trouble. It was a bad sign to leave money in a prominent place. It was believed that it would bring financial difficulties.

Unmarried girls on Trifonov's Day looked carefully under their feet to avoid tripping. It was believed that those who could not keep the balance, in the future will be unrequited love.

There were also weather omens associated with Trifon's Day. If the holiday was quiet and sunny, they were preparing for an early and warm spring. Snowfall promised prolonged rains at the beginning of spring, and the abundance of stars in the sky said that winter this year will drag on.

Earlier "Izvestia" told about the history and traditions of celebrating Trekhsvyatiye.