Debunking stereotypes: Do's and don'ts for Easter. Funeral nuances: are eggs painted for Radonitsa?

In magical rituals, such an object as an egg in a grave is very often found. It should be noted that an egg buried in a grave is used quite often in a wide variety of rituals and can mean opposite things.

The egg can be lightly buried at the head of the grave, or simply lie next to the grave. In order to properly bury an egg in a cemetery, you need to know and observe many subtleties, since being in a graveyard is in itself a ritual, and if an egg is buried there, then such an action must be doubly careful and careful.

We must remember that the cemetery is a very special place and respect the peace of the dead, especially the graves chosen for burying the egg.

There are several rituals associated with the need to bury eggs on graves.

Removing damage. Most often, the egg is used precisely for this ritual. First, this damage is “removed” from the person who is supposedly damaged - they are rolled out with the help of an egg. After the ritual, this egg should be buried on the grave of the namesake or peer of the person from whom the damage was removed, so that the evil does not return and remains in the cemetery.

If such an egg is suddenly discovered by another person, it is strictly not recommended to touch it - part of the evil eye may pass to the person who finds the egg. You should just leave the egg where it was.

Damaging a person. An egg on a grave can also mean the diametrically opposite - it can be used to cast spells on a specific person. To do this, hair and a twisted photograph of the victim are put into the egg, and then they are taken to the cemetery and this egg is buried on the grave of a person with the same name and age as the one who is being damaged. It is also categorically not recommended to touch such an egg, so as not to take on unnecessary negativity.

Getting rid of failures. A ritual with an egg on the grave to get rid of failures in life is also very common. To do this, boil an egg from a black chicken, read a certain conspiracy and take it to the cemetery to bury it at the grave of a person whose name coincides with the name of the person carrying out the conspiracy.

There is also another version of this ritual - according to it, three eggs must be taken to three different unmarked graves. It is also clear here that you should not touch such an egg, so as not to attract other people’s failures into your life.

Also, an egg is often buried on graves so that it lies there for three days and “acquires” the knowledge of the dead, and after that the egg is used to treat madness with the help of certain magical rituals.

So, if we take into account all of the above and the fact that magic goes back thousands of years and one cannot completely deny its real existence, we can say that if an egg is suddenly found buried in a grave, then it is strongly recommended not to touch it, pick it up, carry it, throwing away. This egg may contain other people's illnesses and misfortunes; there is a possibility that some of these troubles will be transferred to the person who found the egg.

The egg on the grave, after various ceremonies and rituals, performs a kind of “lightning rod” function - it turns out that all the negativity is concentrated in it and remains in the cemetery, where it can no longer harm anyone.

In the case of casting a spell on a person, the egg, as it were, takes away illness and death from the graves in the graveyard and transfers it to the person whom they wanted to put the evil eye on.

Another egg may lie on the grave directly in order to absorb the certain energy necessary for a practicing magician, which is subsequently required to treat a person.

Everyone knows that after the festive service, returning home from church for the first time after a forty-day fast, believers sit down at the festive table and break their fast, that is, they eat fasting food, which is previously blessed in the church. Usually these are Easter cakes, Easter cottage cheese and painted Easter eggs.

“Spells and rituals for Easter”

Easter cakes shine on Saturday evening. I am convinced that to sanctify You ONLY need Easter, eggs and Easter cake. We always add a beautiful small artificial flower, which we then use to decorate the icons. My grandmother also put one unpainted egg, which was eaten when breaking the fast along with the painted ones. But not everyone does this; it is an old custom from the area where she was born.

Easter cake, Easter and eggs are placed on a large dish, the dish is placed on a new clean white towel or piece of cloth (linen or cotton, not artificial!) and tied in a knot. In church, the knot is placed on a bench and carefully untied. After consecration, they tie it back. The towel is stored until next Easter - this is famous Easter towel (towel), which relieves many diseases. The towel is washed only on the next Maundy Thursday and used again to bless the Easter cake.

I believe that there is no need to bring the entire festive table to church - 5 types of sausage, lard, ham, pies, fish, wine... You can see everything... I even saw vodka in some of them. It’s hard to imagine greater blasphemy... But if you like to get drunk on blessed vodka on Easter - the church is loyal to this - bring it... Father will wince, but he will illuminate everything that you brought... I think that it is better to put more dyes in this place - they will be useful later in the treatment sick, removing damage, etc. You cannot give away consecrated paints - only unconsecrated ones.

Breaking the fast on Sunday morning, or immediately after All-night vigil - who went to it. You can’t sleep during the all-night vigil - health and good luck sleep. If you couldn’t go to church, light a candle and read your prayers – you can turn on the live broadcast of the service.

They break their fast like this: Everyone washes, dresses, sits down at a festively set table, on which stands the blessed Easter, Easter cake and eggs. Lighting an Easter candle(it glows together with the Easter cake, then goes out and lights up in the morning when breaking the fast and reading a prayer; if it burns out, light another one.), they read prayers if there is time - morning, Easter, if not - “Our Father” and “Theotokos” (usually This is done by the eldest man in the family - the Master, if there are no men - the eldest woman. If the eldest is on her critical days, then the next one). Please note - at the Passover meal Only family members gather, friends and acquaintances are not invited to the Easter feast!

“Spells and rituals for Easter”

The elder divides the blessed egg, Easter cake and Easter into the number of people present at the table. This piece of egg symbolizes happiness, health and good luck for everyone for the whole year, so even if you don’t like such food, these pieces MUST be eaten. The owner pours everyone some holy water (they drink in three sips). There is an opinion that Easter cake and eggs should not be cut with a knife, but only broken - I do not share it, but if you find it unpleasant to cut Easter cake with a knife and you think that something will follow, break it with your hands, gnaw it, saw it with a spoon :))) ...),

Having tried everything and washed it down with holy water, I begin to eat the rest of the fast food. Breakfast smoothly flows into lunch. There is no dinner on Easter Sunday.

AND every morning of Holy Week they begin the same way - by reading prayers and breaking their fast. For every day - one sacred egg or half, a piece, a small piece of sacred Easter cake and Easter.

Important - sanctified Easter cakes and eggs cannot be carried to the cemetery. AND when they exchange testicles- also unsacred (I paint a lot, then I consecrate a few, I always leave a few consecrated ones and put them on the shelf with icons - it does not deteriorate at all and just dries out). Out of curiosity, as a child, I remember breaking such eggs - I couldn’t believe that an egg could sit for many months and not go rotten. Really - if there is “grace” in the house– the inside of the egg is not spoiled, but dried without any unpleasant odor.

Interesting fact - if a bad person or someone with bad intentions has been in the house, as they say “with the evil eye” - even old, already dried Easter eggs immediately begin to emit a strong rotten smell. Tested more than once. The fact is that they absorb negativity directed against you and your home. Unfortunately, after this they have to be thrown away. I also broke these out of curiosity - there was blackness, mold, and some kind of slime inside. This is despite the fact that before such a “visit” the eggs lay quietly for several months, or even years.

In general, there is such a sign - if a blessed Easter egg in your house has spoiled or the Epiphany water has gone rotten- We urgently need to consecrate the house - something is wrong there. It is advisable to invite a priest.

Blessed eggs, Easter cake and Easter It is forbidden to throw it in the trash can, toilet bowl or in the trash in general. Burn it too. They need to be fed to the birds if they have spoiled (did not have time to eat). Dogs are not allowed. Shells from blessed eggs It is also not advisable to throw it away. It is dried and used for treatment (water is infused, ground in a coffee grinder and added at the tip of a knife to the patient’s food). This is a very valuable healing agent. If you can’t wait to destroy it, throw it into a river or stream.

Many argue over the issue of whether or not to go to the cemetery on Easter. The priests say that this is a joyful day and it is inappropriate to darken it by communicating with the deceased. If you are shedding tears and grieving at the cemetery, it is undoubtedly better to postpone the trip until a special day (Radunitsa - Tuesday after Easter).

During Easter week you need to say hello “Christ is Risen”, and answer “Truly He is Risen”(The priests speak Old Slavonic “resurrection”) You can go to visit with colored eggs.

They exchange eggs and knock. If an egg broke, the one whose egg remained intact took it. But with practice, you can learn to keep your egg intact. To do this, it is held “pinchwise” in a certain way.

Elena asks:
Is it possible to carry illuminated foods (Easter cake, eggs, cottage cheese) to the cemetery?

Archpriest Andrey Korneev answers:
Hello, Elena.
Carrying blessed foods - Easter cake, eggs, cottage cheese - is prohibited in the cemetery. This is done out of ignorance, like many other superstitions. We can say that this is a kind of “belching” of paganism - the dense faith of our distant ancestors, even worse. And what’s worse is that back then they simply carried food for their dead, but now they also carry it for the blessed, it’s just some kind of blasphemy.
Christ is Risen!

Alexander asks:
Hello, please tell me why the Easter holiday is not tied to the church calendar? According to my thoughts, if the date of the birth of Christ is known, then the date of the resurrection should also be known?

Archpriest Andrey Korneev answers:
WHY IS EASTER A MOVEABLE HOLIDAY?

The holiday of Easter or the Holy Resurrection of Christ is a moving holiday on the church calendar. This feature of the holiday is determined by the fact that it is tied to the extremely complex solar-lunar calendar adopted by the Jews. The Resurrection of Christ occurred on the days when the Jews celebrated their Jewish Passover, which for them was a memory of the exodus from Egypt. The Jewish holiday of Passover is not a moving holiday in the Jewish calendar. It was always celebrated from the 14th to the 21st day of the month of Nisan. The 14th of Nisan in the Jewish solar-lunar calendar, by the very meaning of this calendar, was the first full moon after the vernal equinox. During the era of the earthly life of Jesus Christ, the vernal equinox fell on March 21 according to the Julian calendar (named after Julius Caesar). Therefore, the Jewish holiday of Passover in the Julian calendar system became movable; it fell on the first full moon after March 21, and Christian Easter was celebrated on the first Sunday after this day. (If March 21 coincided with the full moon and Sunday, then Christian Easter was celebrated a week later, on March 28.)
The first full moon after the spring equinox may occur between March 21 and April 18. If the full moon on April 18 falls on a Sunday, then Christian Easter is celebrated a week later on Sunday April 25, since the sequence of events in biblical history requires that the Resurrection of Christ be celebrated later than the first day of the Jewish Passover.
Thus, the Orthodox holiday of Easter can be celebrated on any day from April 4 to May 8 inclusive according to the new style.
However, the alternation of dates on which Orthodox Easter is celebrated within this interval is subject to complex rules related to the difficulty of coordinating the solar and lunar years. The minimum period of time in which the dates of the Easter holiday occupy all possible positions is 532 years. This huge period of time is called the Great Indiction. After the Great Indiction, the dates of Easter begin to alternate in the same order. Therefore, it is enough to have one calculated Easter for a period of 532 years, after which everything will be repeated.
The period of time from April 4 to May 8 defines the holiday of Easter in the Orthodox Church. The Roman Catholic Church and most Protestant denominations calculate Easter based on the date of the vernal equinox on March 21 according to the Gregorian calendar (new style). This starting point in the Easter calculations gives completely different dates for the Easter holiday. Therefore, Easter for Roman Catholics and Western Protestants occurs between March 22 and April 25 according to the Gregorian calendar. In rare cases, it coincides with Orthodox Easter. Since the Jews, unlike Western Christians, did not change their historical calendar, their 14th Nisan is still counted from the vernal equinox on March 21 in the Julian (April 3 in the Gregorian) calendar. Thus, Catholic Easter in some years may coincide with Jewish Easter and even precede it, which contradicts the sequence of events in the earthly life of Jesus Christ.
Editing and selection of material by Anna Ushatskaya
based on materials from www.pravoslavie.ru
On my own behalf, I would add a sincere wish - to think less on your own, and to seek out and read more information on this or that topic from competent sources. The most important source is our Church, its teaching about salvation, the patristic heritage and, of course, our Lord Jesus Christ himself, our Divine Teacher. That’s what his students called him - Rabbi, which translated from Aramaic means Teacher. If we take on faith the teaching taught to us in secondary school, when we are told that 2x2 will be 4 and not 5 and a half, we believe, and we believe in other theories that are communicated to us and have no doubt that this is exactly so and not otherwise. But for some reason, in the “School of Salvation” of our souls - the Church of Christ, we are quite often overcome by doubts and manifestations of skepticism, why, or more precisely from whom is it? All these are brothers from the evil one. The problem is that, due to our lack of spirituality, we are no longer able to distinguish between spirits, we are not able to reason where this or that thought came from. It seems to us that this is mine, it was born in my head, which means this idea or thought is worthy of existence, because I am not a “pound of raisins”, but a very worthy person. This is where we sometimes make mistakes and accept thoughts from the evil one as our own, our own. This is how doubts, lack of faith and unbelief are born, this is how all kinds of heresies and false teachings are born, Lord protect us from this.
God bless you, Christ is Risen!

Tatiana asks:
Christ is Risen, Father Andrey. And a blessed egg is placed on the icons. God bless you.

Archpriest Andrey Korneev answers:
Hello Tatiana.
Blessed eggs are not placed either on icons, or on graves, or anywhere else. The only thing you can do with a blessed egg is to peel it from its beautiful skin, put it in your mouth and eat it with pleasure.
God bless you. Truly Christ is Risen!

Elena asks:
Hello Father! Please tell me what to do with worn out gaitans? At the temple they told me that I should burn it?

Archpriest Andrey Korneev answers:
Hello, Elena.
Yes, indeed, you can burn it, or you can just throw it in a trash can, the little object is not sacred, it’s just a string.
God bless you.

Tatiana asks:
Hello Father Andrey. I read a lot of literature about going to the cemetery on Easter. But nowhere did I find the answer to whether going there on this day is a sin. God bless you.

Archpriest Andrey Korneev answers:
Hello Tatiana.
Sin is what is harmful to a person, to his soul and body. Going to a cemetery on the day of Holy Pascha is not a sin; it is rather the ignorance or ignorance of our modern people, who, due to some misunderstanding, were baptized in childhood, but do not know Christ, and do not want to know His Church. I can assume that this tradition was founded by quite pious people, our great-grandparents who sincerely believed and loved the Lord. At a time when almost all the churches were destroyed and the rest were used for other purposes, where else could people pray on Easter? Of course, in the cemetery, near the Orthodox grave crosses. These pious prayer books left earthly life for Eternity, and piety went with them, prayer also left, and only tradition remained. And now lines of well-rested “Orthodox Christians” go early in the morning to their native graveyards to meet, communicate, “remember,” have a drink and a snack, someone will not forget to splash on the grave. But this Saving and Life-affirming Holiday should be held not at the grave ashes, but in an Orthodox church; we should not bow to the earth, but ascend to the Mountain, that is, to Heaven and glorify the risen Lord. The Church sings in the Easter Hymn; “Now everything is filled with Light, Heaven and earth and the underworld, the whole World rejoices,” this means that on this day everyone rejoices, even those who never met Christ in their earthly life and had nothing to do with His Church. And if now there, in the next world, on this day they experience joy about the risen Savior of the World, then relatives who come to visit their graves are unlikely to be able to tear them away from this happiness and attract their attention to themselves. It turns out that people go to the cemetery, and no one is waiting there at all. Of course, all this is some kind of allegory, and what is actually there cannot be comprehended in its entirety by our feeble-mindedness. Nevertheless, we can speculate on the basis of the teachings of the Holy Fathers. According to the charter of the Church, the first visit to the cemetery can only be made on Radonitsa, on Tuesday of St. Thomas Week, then they “wait” for us there and hear our prayers and share our joy about the risen Savior of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ.
God bless you.

Tatiana asks:
Hello Father Andrey. Swimming before dawn on Maundy Thursday is a superstition. Do they carry willow and eggs to the cemetery. My grandmothers teach me everything here. God bless you.

Archpriest Andrey Korneev answers:
Hello Tatiana.
You are absolutely right, swimming before dawn on Maundy Thursday is a superstition and nothing more. Willow branches, Easter cakes, and eggs cannot be taken to the cemetery, but actually for what and for whom? It’s quite strange for a person who has free access to the World Wide Web to learn everything from “grandmothers.” Discover here the teachings of the holy fathers of our Church. You know that here you can find any answer and any question. A special abundance of teachings on modern life issues can be “dug up” on the website of Father Dimitry Smirnov, as well as from MDA professor Alexei Ilyich Osipov.
God bless you.

Zoya asks:
Hello, Father Andrey. What should be done with the cathedral oil of the deceased? And is it even possible to give it to another person, I don’t mean from the deceased.

Archpriest Andrey Korneev answers:
Hello Zoya.
The oil from the Sacrament of Anointing should be used as food by the person for whom it was consecrated; you can also anoint sore spots of the body with it. If the person who has received the Sacrament has died, then the consecrated oil is placed in the coffin with the deceased, and, more correctly, it is poured into the coffin in the cemetery before burial. Due to the negligence or ignorance of relatives who did not worry about this during the funeral, questions of this kind now arise. Now this oil must be burned in a clean place, soaking paper or a rag with it. It is not worth giving it to anyone else, but this person should receive unction himself.
God bless you.

Lyudmila asks:
Hello Father. Please tell me, is the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian read after Palm Sunday?

Archpriest Andrey Korneev answers:
Hello Lyudmila.
The prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian is read for the last time at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts on Great Wednesday of Holy Week.
God bless you.

Lyudmila asks:
Hello Father. My youngest daughter asks me why girls are not allowed to enter the Altar. I cannot answer her clearly, please help me.

Archpriest Andrey Korneev answers:
Hello Lyudmila.
Please tell your youngest daughter that not only girls, but also boys cannot enter the Holy Altar. Only the PRIEST and those who take part in the service who have been chosen and blessed by the priest can enter the Altar. The altar is a holy place - the Holy of Holies, in which the most important service is performed - the Divine Liturgy, at which a bloodless sacrifice is offered - the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Then with these Holy Gifts - Communion, the priest administers communion to all those standing and praying in the temple. But it happens that some girls, when they grow up and become nuns in a monastery, then one of them is awarded such obedience - an altar girl, and accordingly, entry into the Altar for her, with the blessing of the PRIEST, becomes possible.
God bless you.

Lyudmila asks:
Hello Father. The feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is approaching, is it possible to eat fish? On my calendar, Annunciation is on Monday, there is no fish there, you can have wine, but why? I just fast strictly according to the calendar, Oil on Saturdays and Sundays. They say this is only for monasteries. Why then are such calendars sold to the laity? I roughly know that your answer is not what you eat, but your actions during Lent. But for each person individually it means something. I want something more correct. Happy Lent to you! And all the best to you!

Archpriest Andrey Korneev answers:
Hello Lyudmila.
If you already know in advance what I will answer, then all I have to do is add. Don't fast according to the calendar; there is a simple and error-free option. During the first and passionate week of fasting, dry eating; on the remaining days, fast food with vegetable oil. On the feasts of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (on any day of the week) and Palm Sunday, fish is allowed, and in conclusion, my advice to you is to no longer buy these calendars for the laity, especially those printed from someone unknown where or by whom. The letter kills, the spirit gives life.
God bless you.

Easter is the most important holiday of the Christian church, because the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the basis of all Christianity. The Apostle Paul said: “If Christ were not resurrected, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is also in vain.” This holiday is celebrated by all Christians - Orthodox, Catholics, and Protestants.

The days before Easter, starting with Lazarus Saturday (Saturday before Palm Sunday) are special. Everyday affairs - cleaning, cooking Easter cakes and others - are better to finish before Thursday, and spend the remaining days in the temple, and not in the pre-holiday bustle. It is prayer that will give understanding of this holiday.

This year the Annunciation falls on Holy Saturday (April 7). When this holiday is celebrated during Lent, it is permitted to eat fish. But Holy Saturday is the day when Christians observe the strictest fast, so this year you cannot eat fish for the Annunciation.

What needs to be sanctified

The blessing of food on Easter is permission to eat food after Lent. It does not give food supernatural powers. Products that need to be blessed on Easter: meat, cheese, cottage cheese and eggs are mentioned in two prayers read at the consecration of Easter food. These prayers say nothing about bread, salt, vegetables and other foods. And it would be illogical to consecrate them, since there is no ban on eating them during Lent.

Why are eggs painted?

The main attributes of Easter are colored eggs and Easter cakes. Easter cakes and cottage cheese symbolize the tomb of Christ, from which life shone. And the eggs, which symbolize life, are connected with a story from church tradition: Mary Magdalene reached Rome preaching about Christ and was received by Emperor Tiberius. Mary brought him a chicken egg and said, “Christ is Risen.” Tiberius replied: “I would rather believe that a chicken egg turns red before my eyes than believe your words.” And then the egg in Mary Magdalene’s hand turned red. In memory of this miracle, which confirmed the events of the Resurrection, Christians paint eggs.

Nowadays people paint eggs different colors. More appropriate, of course, is red, but other colors are allowed. By the way, there is no need to peel eggs during consecration: God’s grace is omnipresent and can pass through the shell.

What cannot be sanctified

It is inappropriate to bless money in church, because this will not increase wealth. There is no need to put crosses and icons in the food basket. You should not bless honey, apples and water on Easter, because the church has separate days for this.

Is it worth going to the cemetery on Easter?

Easter joy must be brought to the dead when Bright Week ends - on Radonitsa. It is inappropriate to visit the departed on Easter, since these days should be spent in church and praying. You should not bring colored eggs and Easter cakes to the dead; feasts in the cemetery are a relic of paganism. The last funeral services before Easter are performed on Maundy Thursday. Throughout Holy Week (until Sunday after Easter), no funeral services are held. But it is possible and necessary to submit notes for the repose of the deceased, because it would be dishonest not to pray for them these days. Notes can be submitted throughout Holy Week, except for Good Friday, when the liturgy is not held.