For many parishioners, great church holidays are associated with rest and prayer. Some try by any means possible to take a day off and not go to work. In the same way, all housework is reduced to a minimum. The editors of FTimes found out why Christians cannot work or clean during church holidays, and whether it is true that this is a sin.
What Orthodox holidays are considered the main ones?
Christians live by rules called commandments. There are 10 of them in total. Commandment No. 4 says that people should work 6 days a week and rest on the 7th. Christians, according to the Gospel, put aside all matters and devoted time to prayer. In the Old Testament, Saturday was considered the 7th day, and in the New Testament it was Sunday.
Believers should also rest on major church holidays. There are 12 of them in total, and they are called twelve. Holidays are divided into non-transitionable and transferable:
- Nativity of Jesus Christ ㅡ January 7;
- Epiphany of the Lord ㅡ January 19;
- Meeting ㅡ February 15;
- Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary ㅡ April 7;
- Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter, the holiday is dedicated to the day of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem;
- Easter ㅡ is set annually on the first Sunday after the vernal equinox (from April 4 to May 8);
- Ascension ㅡ this holiday is celebrated on the 40th day after the end of Easter;
- Trinity ㅡ is celebrated on the 50th day after Great Easter;
- Transfiguration of the Lord ㅡ August 19;
- Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary ㅡ August 28;
- Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary ㅡ September 21;
- Presentation of the Virgin Mary into the Temple ㅡ December 4th.
The last date is associated with the vow to dedicate a child to God, which Mary’s parents made when she was only 3 years old. She spent the entire time in the Jerusalem Temple until she was reunited with Joseph. He was considered her husband, but was more of a mentor. After the immaculate conception, Mary gave birth to the Savior.
Fourth Commandment
The fourth commandment of the Old Testament teaches us to work six days a week and rest on the Sabbath.
As the Lord taught Moses on Mount Sinai, a person must work all his life and enjoy his creation, and on the seventh day rest body and soul, think about the Creator and be cleansed in prayer from sins and involuntary vices.
When the world was created, the Creator worked tirelessly for six days, and devoted the seventh day to rest from work. Man, like the Lord, must work as he does. And rest like a creator. Any work should be aimed at creation, and not at destruction, because all people are the creation of the Creator.
If work is a burden for you, pay attention to the ordinary phenomena around you. The sun warms us with its warmth, water circulates in the earth's space and gives life to all living beings, plants and animals adapt to the world around them and give life to their offspring. The whole world exists only thanks to the endless cycle of small and large actions. Idleness will make a person look like a withered plant and lead to death.
Your body also works day and night. The heart beats and works, sending blood through the veins, the lungs saturate the body with oxygen, the kidneys and liver work around the clock. Why not let your hands do some work?
You must be able to work tirelessly and learn to work in a way that is satisfying. Any job that does not bring joy to a person will sooner or later fail. Business should be run with love and not just for profit. There will be love for your work and there will be a good income.
Man is a child of God, his creation. Just as children follow the example of their parents, so each of us should make our lives like God. Work for six days, enjoy your work, enjoy your creation. And then work will not be a burden, and efforts will bring satisfaction and peace.
Saturday, the seventh day, forget about your actions and rest your soul and body. Remember the Lord your God, pray for your loved ones, read Orthodox books. And everything in life will return to peace and harmony, and there will be harmony and tranquility in the family.
Myths about working on church holidays
To this day, many Orthodox Christians believe that cleaning and performing professional duties are sins. Therefore, they put off even urgent matters.
This order was established in ancient times, before the adoption of Christianity. Then people were pagans and were afraid of angering the gods. They believed that the harvest, and therefore life, depended on higher powers. People regularly held holidays in honor of the beginning of sowing, harvesting, and saw off and celebrated different seasons.
They devoted all their time to certain traditions. Work these days was postponed. It was believed that if you do routine things, you can anger the gods. The consequences could be different: deterioration of health, troubles, poor harvest.
What do church ministers say?
Church ministers say that if on holidays or Sundays a person does not pray, does not attend church or temple, does not read the Bible, but is simply idle, then this is very bad. Days off from work are given precisely in order to devote them to serving the Lord, knowing oneself, attending services and peace.
Is it a sin to work on church holidays? You will hear from the priest that if according to your schedule you have to go to work or start a shift, or there is no way to postpone household chores, then this will not be a sin. After all, you can devote your thoughts to God not only at home or in church, but anywhere at any time. It all depends on the situation. The same applies to the question of whether you can work in the garden on church holidays or not. If there is an urgent need, it is better to carry out your plan and ask God for forgiveness in prayer.
Signs in Rus' regarding cleaning the house
The ancient Slavs had a lot of rules that seem strange to modern people. So, they had a whole series of signs about cleaning:
- if you do not open the window slightly while putting things in order, you can cause a major quarrel between family members;
- cleaning and parallel cooking means hunger;
- sweeping the rooms when one of the household members was on the move threatened disaster for the traveler;
- cleaning late in the evening or at night means quarrels with loved ones, loss of well-being.
The date for household chores was chosen very strictly. Housewives did not clean on major holidays. From generation to generation, they passed on knowledge about high-quality and safe cleaning that will not harm the well-being of the family.
How are weekends handled?
Government Decree No. 1564 dated September 16, 2021 determines whether people will work on March 5 for March 8 - no, March 8, 2022 falls on a Tuesday and will not be moved anywhere. But workers on the five-day work week will face another postponement: from Saturday 03/05/2022 to Monday 03/07/2022.
Here are all the transfers for 2022 according to RF PP No. 1564:
- from Saturday 01.01 to Tuesday 03.05;
- from Sunday 02.01 to Tuesday 10.05;
- from Saturday 03/05 to Monday 03/07.
The official holiday falls on Monday (Article 112 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). The production calendar shows which days off will be before March 8 for different categories of workers:
- for a five-day period - three days, from 06.03 to 08.03;
- for a six-day period - two days, 06.03 and 08.03.
There are also pre-holiday cuts. Let us turn to Article 95. It states that the day immediately preceding a holiday is shortened by an hour. This year, International Women's Day falls on Tuesday, and the pre-holiday holiday falls on Monday, 03/07/2022.
Since five-day workers work for Monday on Saturday, 03/05/2022 for them is a working day shortened by 1 hour. For six-day workers, 03/07/2022 is a working day, but an hour shorter.
The company's management has the right to change the schedule on 03/07/2022 in honor of March 8 and let employees go even earlier.
The base is chosen at your own discretion, for example, in preparation for International Women's Day. But keep in mind: if you let only the female part of the team go, the male part will be offended, considering the decision discriminatory. And this day is subject to payment in full .
Comments from Orthodox clergy
The official church does not prohibit parishioners from working on major holidays. There are no such prohibitions in the Bible, the clergy note. Therefore, working on Orthodox holidays is not a sin. Another thing is belief in superstitions. These are the signs and various pagan traditions. You should not take them on faith, because this will place a heavy burden on the soul of a Christian.
The clergy only recommend postponing work on Sundays and major holidays, if possible. It is better to spend this time communicating with God through prayers and reading religious literature. However, work is not prohibited. The main thing is that it does not harm peace of mind.
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Signs
Depending on the degree of importance of the holiday, there are a number of signs associated with the performance of this or that work.
- For a long time in Russia, hunting and fishing, as well as any type of entertainment activity, were under a special ban on Christmas. The risk of an accident was considered high.
- At Christmas, you cannot do embroidery related to weaving with threads: sewing, knitting, embroidery. The thread is believed to be a symbol of life, so weaving it and tying knots means changes in your life. And it’s not a fact that they will be good.
- House cleaning and laundry are prohibited on Christmas Day. You can postpone this until January 14, when all the garbage will be swept out of the hut and burned in the yard. Therefore, evil spirits are driven out all year round.
- On Palm Sunday and the Annunciation, it is best to postpone housework until the evening. You cannot work with the earth; according to ancient belief, snakes crawl out on this day.
- During Easter week you can do only the most necessary things. On Easter, everything needs to be put aside and the day dedicated to prayer and communication with God.
- The Church does not recommend working for the Ascension. According to the saying about the Ascension, people do not work, but after the holidays they begin to work in the fields.
- There is a sign that if you take a bath on a church holiday, you will drink water in the other world.
Agafya Korovnitsa. Martyr Agathia of Panorma (Palermo)
Agathia was born into a Christian family in the city of Panorm (Palermo). When the persecution of Christians began under Emperor Decius (249-251), the girl decided to accept the crown of martyrdom. Her beauty charmed the local ruler Quintian. He tried to convince the girl of her faith, to seduce her with luxury and caresses. His attempts were unsuccessful. He became furious and subjected Agathia to cruel torture. She did not lose heart and patiently endured all the suffering. She died in prison on February 5, 251. Christians built a church at her resting place.
Saint Agathia is considered the protector from fire. In 252, Mount Etna began to erupt in Sicily, where she was from. Residents prayed to the saint and covered themselves with clothes from her tomb, like a shield from fire. The lava eruption stopped and did not harm people. They learned about the miracle that had happened on the island of Malta. Since then, Agathia has been revered as his patroness.
What holidays are celebrated in Russia and other countries of the world on February 18
In Russia, on February 18, transport police officers receive congratulations. In addition, the country celebrates Armed Forces Clothing and Food Service Day.
The calendar of holiday events also includes:
- Battery Day;
- Pluto Day;
- Dumpling Day;
- A holiday for all frivolous people.
Women's Heart Day, as well as Wine Drinking Day, is celebrated in America on February 18th. Gambians celebrate Independence Day, while Japan celebrates Island Languages Day.
