Why, according to church regulations, you can’t wash yourself on holidays

Why you can’t wash on church holidays

According to any religion, not only Christian, religious holidays are intended for people to devote themselves to prayer and communication with God at this time. It is recommended to start these days with prayer, and then you need to go to church for confession, communion or other rituals that Orthodox people should perform on certain holidays.

It is believed that before performing all these actions, a person should not engage in other activities, including bathing. Only after completing them can he get down to current affairs, for example, doing housework or taking a swim.

If earlier such actions as housework or gardening on church holidays were condemned by the church, this was due to the fact that in those days when Rus' only recently adopted Christianity, people often devoted holidays to household chores rather than to communication with God blessing. They simply did not understand why they needed to spend a free day going to church and performing some rituals that were often incomprehensible to them, if during this time they could redo all the work that had accumulated in the house and in the garden over the week.

It was for this reason that the priests did not approve of housework and bathing on holidays: because people did them not after going to church, performing church rituals and studying the Bible, but instead of all this.

Over time, when Orthodoxy became the national religion in Rus' and Christians began to regularly go to church on holidays, there was no longer any need for prohibitions on housework and swimming on holidays and Sundays. But people remembered for a long time that the church supposedly does not approve of washing on holidays, and this prejudice has persisted to this day.

There is currently no church ban on swimming on holidays.

However, believers must understand that these days are intended specifically for performing religious rituals, and only after them can they begin worldly affairs.

Signs for Epiphany

On this day we also followed the following signs:

A strong Epiphany frost means a grain harvest.
Clear and cold weather means the summer will be dry.
Fog is a good harvest in summer.
Snowfall and snow in large flakes - the year will be rich in harvest.
The stars are shining strongly - the frost will intensify, and in the summer berries and peas will be harvested.
At noon, clouds of a bluish tint - for the harvest.
The bullfinches chirped - they felt the warmth.
Strong wind - bees will swarm well and there will be a lot of honey.
Getting married on this day means a long and happy marriage.
On the night of Epiphany, I have prophetic dreams. What they predict can be understood by the nature of the dream. If the dream is bright, joyful, and gives pleasant sensations, then everything that you dreamed foreshadows good events. If the dream is scary, depressing, gloomy, unpleasant, the dream warns of bad events.
Anyone born on this day will be lucky and happy in life. He will be successful in everything. The same fate awaits the one who was baptized at the Epiphany of the Lord.

Is it possible to take a bath on Sunday?

There is also an opinion that you cannot wash on Sundays. According to Christian teaching, Sunday is considered a special day because the Bible states that you should work hard six days a week and rest on the seventh day.

Sunday is considered a day to devote to communicating with God. In addition, it is recommended to perform godly acts at this time, such as caring for your neighbor, charity, and studying Orthodox literature.

However, this does not mean that you cannot wash yourself. It’s just that, as in the case of other church holidays, you first need to visit the church and perform other religious rituals, and only then go about your personal affairs, including bathing.

If a person does not go to church, but limits himself only to refusing to swim on Sundays, then he commits a sin, since in this case his actions can only be regarded as superstition.

What needs to be done on February 15, 2022

Believers always visit temples and churches, where they offer prayers to the Lord and glorify him. During the festive service, believers ask heaven for protection and patronage, and also receive communion.

After the solemn service, believers bring home blessed candles, called gromnitsa. They are used to protect the house and those living in it from any harm. Also from the service, believers bring blessed water, which has unique properties.

At Candlemas, it is customary to invite relatives to dinner, during which they again offer prayers and thank the Lord for his mercy. They offer prayers not only for themselves, but also for everyone living on earth, wishing everyone good and prosperity, forgiving enemies and ill-wishers, leaving their actions to the will of the Lord.

Helping your neighbors is another mandatory point. It is customary to help every day, but on the day of the holiday, every kind and gratuitous deed is especially appreciated if it is not committed for selfish purposes.

On this bright holiday, it would be appropriate and favorable to forgive grievances and meet people who are close to your heart, as well as pray for them and ask the Lord for protection from any adversity.

Presentation of the Lord February 15

Photo: pixabay.com

The best day for a bath

If you adhere to this tradition and do not wash on Sunday, then Saturday can be considered the best day to take a bath or visit the bathhouse. Moreover, this is exactly what the ancestors did: Saturday in Rus' was considered a bath day, when the whole family washed.

People who want to follow folk traditions and those who want to devote Sundays and holidays exclusively to communication with God, without being distracted by worldly things, can do exactly this: wash on the eve of the holiday.

There are church holidays during which washing and cleaning the house is not only not condemned, but is also considered a necessary action.

So, on Maundy Thursday it is recommended not only to bathe yourself and bathe the children, but also to clean the house, completely clearing it of dirt, and also wash all the things that need washing, including bed linen. And at Epiphany, when Orthodox people should swim in an ice hole, those who for some reason cannot do this need to at least take a shower or take a bath.

There is no church prohibition on swimming, as well as on housework and other personal matters on holidays and Sundays. According to the Orthodox tradition, it is believed that Christian believers should devote the days of church celebrations primarily to communicating with God and performing the required religious rituals. And only after that can they engage in worldly affairs. Moreover, refusal to bathe, if a person does not go to church on these days, does not pray and does not perform godly deeds, is a serious offense, since in this case the reluctance to wash on a holiday is nothing more than superstition.

What not to do at Epiphany

You cannot wish evil upon another person, conceive evil, spread evil gossip, condemn - everything will boomerang back to the person himself, magnified a hundredfold.
You can’t give in debt - you can give away luck and prosperity.
You can’t cut your hair and nails - you can cut off your destiny and ruin it.
You can’t sew, knit or do other handicrafts - tie your fate in a knot, everything will go awry.
You can't take out the trash or anything else from the house - you can take out good luck.
You cannot collect water in large volumes, buckets, cans, etc. This can be done if you collect water not only for yourself, but also for your relatives and friends. Collecting water in large quantities is already greed, a desire for profit, which is not encouraged in Christianity.
According to an ancient belief, you cannot place less than 9 dishes on the festive table, and you cannot put an even number of dishes.
If you can’t clean up, it will lead to numerous troubles and problems.
You can't cry or shed tears - unfortunately.
You cannot mention evil spirits and swear - you can attract evil spirits into your home.
You cannot dilute water that was consecrated in the temple, or mix last year's baptism water and new one. Last year's water should be poured into the river or watered on flowers.
You cannot wash things, dirty and trample clean snow, throw dirty objects into the water and perform other actions that pollute and desecrate the water - this will lead to illness.
You cannot enter the house leaving your shoes outside the threshold - this means illness.

How many days can you not wash after baptism?

Baptism is the sacrament of confirmation. At the moment of baptism, a person leaves the seal of the holy spirit on himself and therefore does not need to be washed off during the first three days.

In ancient times, the baptized person washed himself in church on the 8th day, accompanying the entire process with prayers, singing psalms and hymns in fulfillment of God's will.

Today, priests give newly baptized people relief for 3 days, but demand that they respect the reception of the holy sacrament and ask them to read prayer books throughout the week after baptism.

Why can't the first girl be baptized?

Any church sacraments in the popular consciousness are associated with far-fetched and empty ancient thoughts, superstitions and prejudices that have no connection. The word “superstition” is formed by two parts: “vain” - “in vain” and “faith”, which means “vain belief”, “vain faith”, i.e. empty

It is extremely unwise to live by superstitions alone and attach great importance to them, especially when performing church sacraments. One of them is baptism - the beginning of the path of the immortal soul to eternal life, to God.

Why can't the first girl be baptized?

Various superstitions have come down to us regarding the choice of a godmother. For example, it is believed that pregnant women cannot baptize a child, otherwise their child may die without being born or will not live long after birth.

Many have heard such a superstition that unmarried girls and women were not called godparents for girls. Why can't the first girl be baptized by an unmarried girl? People have several answers to this question:

Unmarried women can “give” their happiness to their goddaughter.
To prevent the “crown of celibacy” from going to the goddaughter, only married people were chosen as godparents.

What happens if you wash your hair on Christmas Day?

Often laziness is justified by a divine holiday. According to the clergy, work matters, physical labor, and any urgent work can be done. But on one condition: they should not interfere with visiting the temple and prayer.

If you wash your hair and miss the service, it will be considered a sin. If the procedure did not prevent you from coming to church and praying, then there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. The main thing is not to do anything instead of prayer and worship. In addition, all work can be done in the evening, and worldly affairs can be done during the day.

history of the holiday

After fasting and wanderings in the desert, the prophet John the Baptist came to the Jordan River, in which the Jews traditionally performed religious ablutions. He told the people about the approach of the Savior, about repentance and called on everyone to be baptized for the remission of sins.

The people believed the prophecies of John the Baptist, and many were baptized in the Jordan. And then one day Jesus Christ himself came to the banks of the river, having reached the age of 30. The Savior asked John to baptize Him. The Prophet was amazed and said: “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” But Christ insisted and accepted Baptism from John.

This holiday is also called Epiphany. The second name was given to the holiday in memory of the miracle that occurred during baptism: the Holy Spirit descended from heaven on Christ in the form of a dove. Evangelist Luke writes about it this way: “The Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form like a dove, and there was a voice from heaven, saying: You are My Beloved Son; I am well pleased with you!”

This was the first appearance of Christ to the people of Israel. It was after the Epiphany that the first disciples (apostles) followed the Teacher.

Belief in amulets is a tragedy of faith

– But prayer in itself also does not protect a person from an accident, and priests die in accidents, and prayer books...

– Yes, if we understand that we must surround ourselves with prosperity in this life, then this is a tragedy. And if we understand that we are preparing ourselves for the life of the next century, for eternity, then for us this kind of event is not a tragedy, it is a transition to a world where you are not only an expected guest, but a permanent resident. And if the whole meaning is focused only on this life, then a person is ready to give everything, if only everything would be good.

Superstition is what prevents you from properly setting up your spiritual life. And she must be tuned to salvation and to relationships with God and her neighbors.

The Holy Fathers say that the main thing for a Christian is not the acquisition of some supernatural properties of the body or soul, but the acquisition of sobriety. Many fathers prayed that the Lord would grant them the gift of reasoning.

The Lord called his teaching the source of living water: if you drink from this source, you will never thirst. But superstitions constantly give rise to thirst: no matter how much you drink from this foul-smelling vessel, you will still thirst forever.

What to do after the ceremony

According to tradition, the baby's baptismal items must be stored. Many parents wrap them in cloth, put them in a small box and treasure them like the apple of their eye. This is especially true for the baptismal shirt. Orthodox people believe that it has miraculous properties.

If a small child becomes very ill, you need to put a shirt on him, and God’s blessing will help him recover.
For older children, place it under the pillow or apply it to the forehead.

People often ask a logical question: is it possible to wash a shirt after baptism? Believers treat it reverently and use it in exceptional cases. They believe that it can protect the baby only in its original form. Drops of unction oil, which have healing powers, remain on the shirt, so many people do not wash it.

In fact, the baptismal shirt symbolizes the new clothing of the soul received at baptism. During the sacrament, we make a promise to God to keep our souls from sins, just as we take care of the cleanliness of our shirts. Any priest will say that all signs and beliefs are from the evil one, and washing a baptismal shirt will not affect its properties in any way.

Bathhouse in modern conditions

Modern baths and saunas are very different from those that existed in Rus' before the beginning of modern history, and therefore the attitude that is formed towards them in society turns out to be completely different.

Today, visiting a bathhouse is not only hygienic procedures or an opportunity to have a good rest, but also often medical procedures, an opportunity to get rid of extra pounds or tone up your body.

That is why in modern conditions it is not always advisable to consider the attitude of the church to visiting the bathhouse, since it was formed centuries ago, and today the situation has changed significantly.