With a Cover, like with many religious feasts, linked to many national signs and customs that supersede the true meaning of this day. “Snow white field covers, me, girl, marriage dress up”, “Come Cover the girl head cover”, “Cover girls a little light fled to the Church to light a candle. According to legend, what before anyone will put a candle, that before anyone gets married”.
Photo: vokrugsveta.ua
- Grace Cover
- Russian holiday Cover
- The Protection Cover
- Intercession of the Theotokos (QUIZ)
In the Russian North with Cover farmers started to prepare their homes for winter: cut grooves in the walls of the huts with moss, saying, “the Priest Cover, cut our hut warm, and the owner with good.” Many signs have been forgotten, however – until now instead to learn the history and spiritual meaning of this holiday, modern people associate the feast of the Intercession of the blessed virgin Mary with the first snow, the coming of winter and a good marriage. That is really important in this celebration, we talked with the priests.
“On the Cover, just a needle in hand to take, is a sin. And the fact that this missed the Sunday service because I was in the garden instead of the Church, it’s okay”
Archpriest Andrei Efanov, Secretary of the diocesan Council, head of Department for relations between Church and society and the media Kineshma Ivanovo diocese of the Archdiocese:
Archpriest Andrei Efanov
– It seems to me that the common man, who, though a believer, but still far from a full Christian life requires some physical signs of his faith. For example, at Epiphany, we dedicate water – it can be touched, it can be poured, it is possible to swim. And, accordingly, around this holiday is set in a special kind of worship, together with popular signs and semi-pagan rituals. Or take the carnival is just a week of preparation for lent. But again, it’s food-related, and post is mostly food, and only then is abstinence a special time of spiritual life. The Transfiguration is apples, which is impossible, it turns out there.
With a Cover seems to be not connected nothing physical – nothing that could be hooked to this pagan worldview. Cover for many people if it is divorced from the Church, where we are talking about the phenomenon of the blessed virgin Mary, which is spread out over the believers His omophorion, it is primarily snow. On this day the snow falls. Unmarried women used to go bareheaded, and married, respectively, to wear headscarves. The cover is in the understanding of many is the handkerchief, and so everything is very due to the fact that in this day you should Woo, to look for the groom, well, everything else – to wonder, to conjure. Pagan consciousness needs to be able to touch, feel. All forms of witchcraft are associated with some actions, objects, zaovalennymi calling on some forces. Of course, we understand some forces, and from impurity.
In the fall, in addition to Cover, we have other holidays for which it would be possible to hold on to the pagan mind. Autumn ends and winter comes, in our climate it is particularly noticeable. By the way, the feast of the Intercession of the blessed virgin Mary the most revered in Russia, because he is not twelve, and even according to the Church Constitution is not considered “big”. On the one hand it is good because people worship the Holy mother of God and Her care for us, but, as always, increases the formation of folk superstitions and rituals.
Russia is famous for its large open spaces. There are a lot of land, villages from each other are located far away. Churches, though many were in Russia, but still only in the villages, i.e. not in every village. All this, of course, affected the fact that people went to Church only on major holidays, and, of course, mostly engaged in agriculture. I now live in the village, and we have until now, many people live like that: working from dusk to dawn, working on the ground. I have a big family, and we are also now processed daily harvest, collect mushrooms, dry them, moisten the apples. Then comes winter – a time when you can read books, to talk, to devote more time to prayer. And now everything is working. And so lived in Russia all but a small number of cities, where there were some crafts, trade. All the others worked seasonally in the summer – one work, in the autumn and another in spring – third. Winter was a time of peace.
Indeed, the Feast of the Holy virgin often it snows – sometimes the day before or the day after. And then completely end all. But the trouble is that people living in such calendar life, often forgets that always, at any time, we must not forget about God. Working on his farm, doing some household chores – always in the soul of man must be the prayer. No need to leave morning prayer, evening. Even if you are very tired, you need to find the time to communicate with God, to go to the feast in the temple. I notice that now in rural areas, the temples sees a lot less people go to the temple, until the snow fell. The snow fell – and immediately people go to the temple because they had free time. Forget that in the first place they should always be God. And then we have how is it? On the Cover, just a needle in hand to take it, you see, a sin. And the fact that several weeks or months in a row people missed the Sunday service because all Sundays were in the garden instead of the Church, it’s okay. Better before lunch to be in the temple and then to work hard, even if it is a holiday or Sunday afternoon.
“You suitors, faithful men who gave part of his salary and please you not only with flowers on March 8”
Archpriest Artemy Vladimirov, writer, preacher, teacher, senior priest and Confessor alekseevskogo Stavropegial female monastery of Moscow, member of the Union of writers of Russia:
Archpriest Artemy Vladimirov
– I think, the people of metropolis do not know all these signs. Girls, excuse me, from Mytischi, probably, have no thought nor beast, nor the candles. I think that the perception of religious holidays in the 19th – early 20th century was closely intertwined with the Patriarchal peasant way of life, when people worked on the land when they are very attentive to climatic phenomena, when the entire cycle natural combined with constructive, peaceful work. And we, the inhabitants of large cities, not even understandable other Russian Proverbs. “Introduction imposes on the water ladenge…”
Think we need to distinguish a thousand-year experience of the Russian people, who established the relationship between religious holidays and the phenomena of nature, from such superstitions, such as fortune-telling at Christmas, or on Christmas, which could not be reconciled with the integrity of the Christian worldview, and if included in the life of the Russian peasantry as relics or the remains of some pagan customs.
The feast of the Intercession of the blessed virgin Mary – very bright Russian autumn festival, which ends with a Golden autumn. And when through the yellow leaves, against the background of falling maple leaves, we look at the fragments of blue sky, our Russian soul, full of lyricism, poetic senses, rises the idea to Radiant omophorion of blessed virgin, which once spread over the heads of believers.
I’m not very knowledgeable about some of the pagan superstitions associated with this holiday, but they are already, my dear friends, you see, have sunk into oblivion. However, I remember that the Cover is in Russian villages always soaked apples, and there is no ritual of injection. This suggests that the whole life of the Russian people was regulated, there was stability, order, which helped the peasant or city dweller something to predumat, to look forward to. Today can only dream about these “ancient legends”, when, in times of globalization, people don’t know when rise, I fall. On the Cover of ever fallen the first snow, it was the time of the first frost. Today we see that Moscow is still hoping to snatch the remnants of Indian summer…
With regard to all kinds of superstitions about suitors and marriage, I would like a cute girl to Express confidence that the groom has not translated on Russian soil. I believe that if you put a candle before the icon of the virgin Mary, and most importantly – a heart to pray: “Lord, show me my destiny. Where’s my Prince, let me meet a knight, not sick, not suffering from computer addiction, not opuses non-alcoholic beer. Want it was a boy, athletic, clear mind, faithful and reliable”, the mother of God, as in the seventeenth, eighteenth century and in the twenty-first, be sure to respond to your request. Grooms you, the faithful men who gave part of his salary and would have pleased you not only with flowers on March 8, the day of the raging French whores, but on the feast of the Holy virgin.
I congratulate you, my dear friends, this joyous celebration in honor of the Queen of Heaven.
Prepared By Olga Lunina