Feast of the Protection of the Holy Virgin

The history of the feast of the Protection of the Holy Virgin originates in 910 AD. On Sunday, during the all-night service inVlakerna temple in Constantinople, the foolish Andrew and his disciple Epiphany saw the Blessed Virgin Mary hovering in the air. It was illuminated by heavenly light and surrounded by angels and a host of saints (among whom were John the Baptist and John the Theologian). The Most Holy Theotokos prayed, kneeling and bursting into tears. At the end of the prayer she took off the veil and spread it over the prayers.



The news of the appearance of the Virgin quicklyspread throughout the city. Residents of Constantinople decided that with their prayers she asked God to save them from the invasion of the Saracens. Gathering strength, Christians defeated the Saracens and drove them out of the city.



It is believed that the feast of the Intercession of the BlessedThe Virgin in Russia was borrowed from the Constantinople Orthodox Church, which, however, later left it. Researchers believe that the feast of the Protection of the Holy Virgin was installed Prince Andrew Bogolyubsky, in 1164, defeated the enemies. After the victory, he reread the Life of Andrei the Elder and found there a description of a wonderful vision in the Vlaherna church. The first temples in honor of the Protection of the Holy Virgin were also built by Andrei Bogolyubsky.



With the feast of the Protection of the Holy Virgin many people's people. With the covering of the Mother of God, a wedding veil is tied together. Therefore, the feast of the Protection of the Holy Virgin wedding (girlish) day, and many signs of this day refer specifically to marriage. No wonder they say: "Father-Pokrov will come, she will cover her head". The more fun the girl covers, the better will be her future bridegroom. If a guy on Pokrov takes care of a girl, then in the future they will get married. And before all will marry that girl who first puts a candle in front of the icon of the Blessed Virgin. The weather for Pokrov was also associated with weddings. If a strong wind blows on the Pokrov, then there are many brides. And the more snow falls on the Pokrov, the more weddings will be played next year.



The Feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos separates autumn and winter (not according to the calendar, but according to weather conditions). Therefore, they believe that weather on Pokrov will help you to know what the weather will be in winter. If the cranes fly to the warm lands of the cranes,then winter will be early and cold. And if the first snow had fallen out before the Intercession, then the winter will come back soon. The first frosts will come from the side with which the Wind blows on the Pokrov. If the snow fell on the Pokrov, then Dmitriev's day will be snowy (November 8). And if there is no snow, it will be snowless on December 7, St. Catherine's Day. Winter weather was predicted for the trees: if the oak and birch tree had lost all leaves by the feast of the Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the winter will be warm, and if not, then severe.



Since the feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos signified the imminent arrival of winter, the peasants on this day began to insulate their homes and put order in it. It was believed that If you do not have time to warm the house up to the Intercession, then you will freeze all winter. In order to keep the house warm in winter, women baked onCover the pancakes. The girls on the Cover Were wondering - they baked bread, laid it on the windowsill and looked out the window - it was believed that in the evening the future bridegroom would appear in the window. To protect himself from the evil eye, it was customary for the Pokrov to burn old clothes. And to protect children from diseases, they were taken to the threshold and poured water through a sieve or sieve.



</ p>