A special national holiday on April 9 is Matryona Nastovitsa: history, traditions, omens

Every year on April 9, Orthodox believers honor the memory of St. Matrona of Thessalonica and St. John the Serendipitous. In the national calendar, the holiday is called Matryona Nastovitsa. In 2026, it falls on a Thursday. Read about the history of the celebration, its traditions, signs and strict prohibitions in the Izvestia article.

Matryona Nastovitsa — 2026: the history of the holiday

Matrona of Thessalonica lived in Thessalonica and was a servant of the noble Jewess Pantilla, the wife of a military commander. The mistress went to the synagogue and demanded the same from her slave. However, she professed Christianity, so she accompanied her mistress only to the door, and she secretly went to church to pray to Jesus. On her way back, she waited at the exit, trying not to give herself away.

The deception was revealed during the Jewish Passover. Matrona wanted to attend the divine services preceding the Resurrection of Christ, and did not manage to return to the synagogue in time. One of the servants reported this to Pantilla. She was furious and decided that if the maid was hiding her faith, she could also be negligent in performing other duties. On her orders, the girl was beaten with rods.

To the lady's reproaches, Matrona confessed to being a Christian, but stated that she remained obedient in everything except what concerned faith. The martyr did not argue about the power of her mistress over the body, but firmly said that the soul belongs to God and she cannot give up Christ. After the beating, she was locked in a room for several days. When the door was opened, Pantilla, according to legend, saw the maid free from bonds, without traces of wounds and with an enlightened face. This did not soften, but only increased her anger.

Matrona was again severely punished, but she endured suffering with extraordinary fortitude. In the end, the torment was too much. Before her death, as the life tells us, she managed to turn to Christ with a last prayer and commit her soul to God. Fearing accusations of murder, Pantilla ordered the maid's body to be thrown from a high wall, as if she had died accidentally. But the Christians found the remains and buried the martyr with honor.

Later, the memory of Matrona was glorified in Thessalonica. According to legend, Bishop Alexander ordered her relics to be moved to the city and a temple built in honor of the saint. Pantilla was soon overtaken by retribution. She died, having fallen from the same place from where the body of the martyr had been thrown before.

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Traditions of the national holiday celebrated in Russia on April 9th

After the adoption of Christianity in Russia, the memory of Matrona of Thessalonica gradually entered the national calendar. By April 9, spring was finally coming into its own, so the holiday represented the final change of season in the minds of the ancestors. A hard crust formed on the melted, settled snow, and lapwings appeared in the sky and near the fields, returning from wintering. In some regions, these birds were also called nasties. Hence the name of the holiday — Matryona Nastovitsa.

Over time, the holiday received a second name — Matryona Polurepitsa. Turnips were one of the main vegetables in Russian cuisine, and by the beginning of April, their stocks were carefully inspected and divided in two. One part was left for seeds, the other was used for cooking.

The ancestors started the morning with a visit to the church. Believers placed candles at the image of Matrona, asked her for prudence in household and family matters. In the old days, the saint was considered the patroness and patroness of weavers and women's needlework. Before they sat down at the loom, the housewives asked for her blessing.

Another tradition of the holiday is bleaching fabrics on nastya. Its surface was used for the last canvas work of the season. For peasant life, such work was part of a big spring transition, when winter household chores were coming to an end, and there were already completely different concerns ahead — a vegetable garden, a yard, supplies and preparations for field work.

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What not to do on Matryona Nastovitsa holiday

On the Matryona Nastovitsa holiday in Russia, there were a number of prohibitions, the violation of which, according to beliefs, could lead to illnesses, quarrels and protracted troubles. First of all, the ancestors watched over the cleanliness of the house, clothes, words and even thoughts, as neglect of this rule destroyed the peace in the house.

What else is forbidden on April 9th:

• changing the bedclothes, shaking the bed — there is a risk, along with pillows and blankets, to "turn over" fate, to bring about negative changes.;
• Laziness leads to failures and lack of income during the year.;
• to conflict with loved ones, to be jealous — after a quarrel, it will be difficult to regain trust and harmony in the family.;
• cooking in a hurry — haste in cooking leads to a mess in the house and business failures;
• offending birds, especially lapwings, promises family disagreements and domestic troubles.

Folk signs for April 9th

In Russia, on Matryona Nastovitsa, peasants observed nature in order to determine by signs what the coming months would be like, whether to expect a rich harvest. The birds' behavior was especially closely monitored.

• The roosters are silent in the morning — it's going to rain or snow soon;
• The seagulls have arrived — the ice break is near;
• fog or frost on the morning of April 9th — for a rich harvest;
• mold appeared in place of the melted snow — the mushroom season will be successful;
• Lapwings fly low — to drought;
• a nightingale sang on the bare trees — fruit crops are badly damaged.

In addition, according to the behavior of lapwings on this day, unmarried girls wondered about their personal lives. If it was possible to hear them singing on April 9, it was perceived as a good sign of an imminent matchmaking. But to see a bird sitting on a fence was a bad omen, in the old days it was associated with the threat of adultery.

Earlier, Izvestia was told that it is strictly forbidden to do on the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos.