The folk holiday Yegoriy Veshniy, aka St. George's Day, is celebrated on May 6, 2019 (according to the old style - April 23). In the Orthodox Church calendar, this is the date of commemoration of the righteous and great martyr George the Victorious - one of the most revered saints among the Slavs. The name Georgy is not Russian, so the people used its derivatives - Egoriy and Yuri.

History

Saint George was born in the city of Belite, near the Lebanese mountains. His parents were wealthy Orthodox Christians. They raised their son in love for God and respecting the laws of God. Thanks to the mental and physical development and courage George chose military service. Soon he became the chief chief and favorite of the ruler Diocletian. The latter went down in history as a cruel persecutor of the Christian faith.

During the next trial of a Christian, George heard the death penalty. He confessed to his master that he does not recognize idols in temples, and that he considers only Jesus Christ to be the true God. He gave away everything that he had, dismissed the servants and slaves, and after that he appeared before Diocletian. The emperor was upset and repeatedly suggested that George change his mind. All his efforts were in vain. Then he ordered to subject George to torture.

For many days, the executioners tried to please the emperor and knock out even a word of repentance and regret from the martyr, but they did not succeed. George endured the torture steadfastly and courageously, offering prayers to God. The emperor realized that he could not cope with the spirit and faith of George. He gave orders to behead the martyr. In 303, the sentence was carried out in Nicomedia.

Traditions and rituals

This day is dedicated to land and pets. The main field work begins with Yegor Veshny. On the sown fields, prayers are held, sprinkling of the earth with holy water. The owners pay a lot of attention to livestock: they clean, wash, feed them tasty and satisfying.

It is also a feast of the shepherds. They are greeted on this day, given gifts, fed with scrambled eggs.

In that folk holiday you can not deal with wool. Some women who spin or knit prefer not to even look her way that day. Otherwise, the wolves will drag off many sheep.

Signs

If frost hits that day, it means millet and oats will be born.

The day turned out to be warm - the summer will be early.

If there is a downpour on Yegor Veshny, there will be a lot of grass and, accordingly, hay.

The wind from the north foreshadows early frosts in autumn.

The leaves on the birch are large, which means that the harvest will be good and abundant.

You cannot quarrel or loudly, emotionally argue about something - it can kill you with a thunderstorm.

Egoriev day- Popular name of the holiday Orthodox Church in honor of the great martyr George. Memorial Day is celebrated twice a year: and on November 26 / December 9. Russian peasants said: "There are two Yegoryas in Russia: one cold, the other hungry."

In Russian folk calendar George the Victorious was considered one of the main saints. The celebration of Yegoryev's Day fell on the early spring period of the national calendar. St. George was the personification of the creative forces of nature; Russian peasants said that spring came to the earth with Yegor: “Yegor dragged spring to the threshold”, “There should be no spring in Holy Russia without Yegor”. St. George revived the earth by releasing dew, St. George, if asked, gives the fields the first rain.

The first day of the celebration of St. George was installed in the era of early Christianity in memory of his martyrdom, according to legend, through the beheading. The second day of remembrance, autumn, is the establishment of the Russian Orthodox Church. In the popular representation of St. Yegoriy is perceived as the initiator of spring. V spring day St. For the first time, Yegorii drove cattle into the field and lashed it with willow. The willow is a plant that first comes to life with the onset of spring, and its touch was supposed to increase the fertility of livestock. Everywhere this day was considered a shepherd's holiday. In the Central Russian region, agricultural rituals were timed to this day: processions of the cross to sown fields, prayer services with an appeal to St. Egoriy, rolling on the ground and Egoryevskaya dew early in the morning. In Ukraine, they used to say: "Saint Yuri walks around the field, robs the grain, lowers the dew." The peasants believed that, buried in the boundaries, the remnants of Easter meals, together with a prayer to St. George about sending down the harvest, they will protect the crops from hail.
The peasants believed that the water consecrated on St. George's Day had a beneficial effect on the growth of field crops. During the procession, this water was sprinkled on crops, grass on which livestock should graze.
In a number of Russian provinces, only from the feast of St. George began to sow spring bread, oats, barley and garden crops.

As with other folk Orthodox holidays, many signs, observations, sayings are associated with this day, which testify to folk wisdom and predict the fate of the future harvest. "" The cuckoo cuckoo to Yegoriy - to a bad harvest "," On Yegorya there will be frost - there will be millet and oats "," Yegoriy with water, and Nikola with grass "," "On Yegoria, there is frost - under a bush of oats." "Frost on Yegoria - buckwheat is good", "On Yurya dew - there will be good millet", "On Yurya dew - no need for oats for horses", "Do not boast of sowing on St. George's day, be proud of Nikolin's grass", "This early pea before George , late - after George "," With George they begin to plant beets, sow carrots and seedlings "," This seedlings on George - there will be plenty of cabbage soup. "

Egoriy Zimny ​​was completing household chores and terms of employment. Egoriy Zimny ​​- the beliefs associated with the day of Egoriy Zimny ​​are in contact with the beliefs of Yegor Veshny. It was believed that on this day the snakes defeated by St. George, become very angry, and Yegoriy Zimny ​​tries to protect people and animals from them. One of the legends tells of how snakes tried to bite St. Paraskeva Friday, who was walking through the forest on the day of Yegoriy Zimny, but Yegoriy drove away the snakes. St. George was also considered the patron saint of wolves: in the fall, when the wolves are hungry, it was St. George gives them food.

Egoriy and Yuri are names whose differences our ancestors did not recognize. In Russia, two Yegory were celebrated: one cold - on December 9, and the other hungry - on May 6. Indeed, at this time the belts had to be tightened tighter. Winter supplies were running out, and in early spring there was nothing to replenish them. But since Yegoriy was considered the patron saint of livestock, the first pasture of cattle in the field, on the spring grass, was timed to this day. He was perceived as big holiday and he was furnished with various rituals, sentences and songs.

At first, according to the old custom, on May 6, they made "juicy milk" - to find out if the cattle were healthy. To do this, they swept away hemp and flax-seed, mixed, pounded in a mortar and diluted with water. Animals that drank this "milk" were considered sick and were not taken to the general herd. The rest, who were hungry during the winter, but quite healthy, were herded by the helpers from all yards into a huge herd and sent with him to the pasture. They escorted them all over the village, and whipped the cattle with the willow left from the willow week, and shouted: “Willow from across the sea, give a willow, health! Willow, whip - beat to tears! Take a twig, drive out the cattle! "

On May 6, the pasture took place, as a rule, in the morning dawn. After all, St. George's dew, according to the assurances of knowledgeable people, helped the animals become surprisingly obese and healthy. In some regions of Russia, a green branch was tied to the tail of the first cow in a herd: sweeping away the night dew from the grass, it seemed to provide rich milk yield to those following it.

According to an old custom, the shepherds were doused with well water, "so that they would not sleep all summer," and then they were treated to worldly scrambled eggs. In the evenings in the villages for the "cow guides" real holiday: tables were laid, round dances were played, ritual songs were sung, which always ended with choruses about the preservation of the herds.

But no matter how important the first herding of cattle to pasture is, most of the signs associated with May 6 are still addressed to the upcoming summer and the future harvest: "If the spring Egoriy is with fodder, then the autumn Nikola (December 19) will be with a bridge" there will be winter, there will be a good toboggan run; "If on Yegoriev day there is a half leaf, on Ilyin's day put bread in a tub", "These seedlings on Yegory, there will be plenty of cabbage soup", "Snow on Yurya - a harvest for buckwheat, rain on Yurya - crop failures on Yurya", "On Yurya dew - there will be good millet. "

However, St. George's dew was also appreciated for other qualities. Earlier, for example, on Yegoriev Day, peasants went out to the sown fields to serve a prayer service with consecration of water, sprinkling the fields with holy water. After that, men and women rolled across the field to become strong and healthy, like "St. George's Dew": "St. George's Dew - from the evil eye, from seven ailments."

And one more curious legend is associated in the national calendar with St. George's Day. In time immemorial, peasants began to make commercial transactions and, according to the old custom, were hired as workers "from spring Yuri to Semyon Day or to Pokrov." Why, you ask, did you choose this particular time period? And the fact is that there was a legend among the people that there are people in Lukomorye who die on December 9 and come to life on May 6. Before they die, they take their goods to a certain place, where in the winter neighbors could take them for a certain price and without any deception. Deceivers and shameless buyers were settled in the spring, cracking down on them mercilessly. These amazing people were called trading people, and how they kept accurate records of purchases - no one knows.

On this day, the tradition of organizing festivities in the streets was widespread. They said that spring comes on this day. It was May 6 that was considered the day when the shepherds finally drove the flock of sheep into the field. They said that the morning dew has healing power on Yegoriy. If you collect it, you can use the healing moisture to treat diseases and remove the evil eye. However, this dew can only be collected before sunrise.

On this day, they were expecting the arrival of swallows, because they were returning from warm regions at this very time. May beetles also appeared on this day.

On May 6, the Orthodox Church honored the memory of St. Yegor and considered him the patron saint of the fields. That is why, on this day, a large number of ceremonies for a good harvest in the future. The priests also blessed the fields with water and said prayers. They said: "These seedlings on Yegoriy - there will be enough vegetables."

Cattle herding May 6 was a great holiday for the peasants. The animals were driven on with willow twigs, which were specially prepared for this on Palm Sunday. They also put a table in the field, on it - an icon. After that, a prayer service was performed. It was customary to feed the shepherds with scrambled eggs, give them canvas, money, so that they would not sleep and guard the flock.

Egoriy is also known as George the Victorious. He was considered the patron saint of fields and earthly fruits, and therefore the tradition to consecrate fields was widespread. It was believed that George protects livestock, and the peasants tried on the day of May 6 to pray to the saint in order to ask him to save horses, cows, sheep from disease and pestilence. There was even a special prayer called the herdsman.

The people said that the care of the livestock should be entrusted to Yegoriy, who entered into an agreement with the devil, and the latter did not touch the pets. But there were special conditions of this agreement - for example, it was necessary to bring the goblin milk. The tradition was also widespread, according to which the shepherd uttered a special conspiracy and threw a lock, locked with a key, into the forest. Leshy needed to lift and unlock this lock or leave it the same - so he confirmed or denied the extension of the contract.

Saint George was often perceived as the master of all forest animals. They believed that it was Georgy who rode around the villages on a white horse and gave orders to forest animals. In addition, George was considered the patron saint of brides, and the girls prayed to him for the message of good grooms. There were round dances, but gatherings at that time were no longer held. In some villages, they could conduct rituals related to horses, notice signs. The horses were washed, bathed, and fed with special cross-shaped cookies baked for Epiphany.

Folk omens on May 6

1. Warm weather on Yegoriya - summer will come soon
2. You can't knit anything on May 6 and even just hold wool products in your hands - the wolves will gnaw all the sheep in the herd
3. You can't shout and swear on this day - it can kill with a thunderstorm
4. Heavy rain on Yegoriy - a lot of grass will grow
5. The growing moon, strong wind that drives clouds in the cloudy sky - this weather will persist for a long time.
6. Mosquitoes in flocks on May 6 - expect warming in the near future
7. Dew appeared on Yegoriy - there will be a good harvest of millet. If it snows or hails, frost is visible on the trees - buckwheat will be born. Rain foreshadows, on the contrary, buckwheat crop failure, but excellent bread growth
8. The rivers overflowed heavily on Yegoria - a sign that the grass will be on Nikolin's day (May 22)
9. A clear, windless morning - early crops will be successful and a rich harvest can be reaped. If the weather was initially bad, but improved during the day, late sowing will be successful.
10. The night from 6 to 7 May is very warm - the bread will have time to ripen before the first frost
11. The south wind blows - there will be a rich harvest. The north wind on May 6 foreshadows early frosts in the fall
12. Large leaf on a birch - the year will be fruitful
13. A damp towel was hung out at night. If it dries up in the morning, the harvest of cucumbers will be rich.

Egoriy the Great

This is one of the most popular agricultural holidays. A lot of proverbs and sayings are associated with this day: "Only a lazy plow does not go to the field on Yegoriy Veshniy"; "Yuri starts work, Yuri (winter) and finishes"; "Brave you are our Yegoriy, you graze our cattle in the field, and beyond the field, in the forest and beyond the forest, from a predatory wolf, from a fierce bear, from a crafty beast."

Since Yegory was considered the patron saint and protector of cattle, on this day a solemn herding of cattle was performed on the pasture, on the so-called "Yegoryev's dew". They drove out the cattle with willow twigs, preserved from Palm Sunday... For this important event, symbolic images of cows, horses and other domestic animals were prepared from bread dough; the same images were made for this day and from clay. The people believed that on May 6 (April 23, O.S.) Saint George himself invisibly riding his squirrel horse into the fields to protect the cattle from predatory animals and any other misfortune.

Patronizing livestock, George closely follows the work of shepherds, those on whom the welfare of livestock depends. Hence the ancient custom arose: when the shepherds are released to the pasture on this day, they are doused with cold water so that they are more alert and do not sleep. Often the shepherds themselves, who also pinned great hopes on the help of St. George, said: "Though you can see through all your eyes, you cannot keep track of the cattle without Yegor."

The feast of St. George in the popular perception is the spring festival of the earth (it is not for nothing that the name "George" in Greek means "farmer"). Hence, there are many sayings about the joyful "Motivation of the earth:" Yegory unlocks the earth "; "Yegory lets out spring from under the bank, green grass kicks out ";" Yegory the brave - a fierce thief in winter ";" Yegory has come, and the spring will not leave. "

In the Orthodox calendar, this tribute is also very important date... With the name of St. George, according to legend, brutally tortured under the Emperor Diocletian, there are many vivid legends that have amazed the imagination of Orthodox Christians for many centuries.

The most famous on them, the one that created the visible image of the saint, glorified by numerous monks, is the legend of how Saint George defeated the snake, which had been biting the inhabitants of Beirut for a long time. This snake lived in a lake, not far from the city, and, leaving its lair, abducted many people, then devouring them in the depths of the lake, and the air of the city and its surroundings contaminated with its fetid breath, which caused the inhabitants in this country to die from painful diseases.

Many times brave warriors went out to battle with the serpent, but each time they were defeated by it, and their torn corpses were absorbed by the waves of a terrible lake. And so the citizens of Beirut gathered and arranged advice on how to get rid of the bloodthirsty monster. But they couldn't find the answer. And then a certain magician and wizard prompted them that the lake reptile would only calm down and stop rotting the land of Beirut when the inhabitants of the city agree to give him their sons and daughters every day by lot.

The unfortunate inhabitants of Beirut believed the magician and vowed to follow his advice. The king of Beirut, in order to seal this oath with his word, told his subjects that when it came to him, then he would give his only lovely daughter insatiable monster. On that and decided. Every day, the inhabitants of the city sent a young man or a girl to the shore, lake, and every day the snake devoured its new victim, leaving her parents in inconsolable grief and tears. Now it was the turn of the royal house. And the king could not break his royal oath.

Bitterly mourning his only daughter, he dressed her up in beautiful clothes, decorated the most precious stones and took him to the shore of the lake in a stowed place. He himself, with a large retinue and crowds of grieved people, withdrew to a safe distance from the accursed lake. And at that moment, when from the waters foaming with black shafts, a new victim of snakes appeared ready to devour a new victim, a miracle happened - from nowhere a young man galloped on a white horse with a golden spear in his hand. Turning to the princess, who had already prepared for death, he said: “Do not be afraid, princess, because in the name of true God I will save you from the serpent.

Having dressed himself with the banner of the cross, the young warrior rushed at the monster, hit him in the throat with a spear, pierced him and pressed him to the ground, while the horse trampled the monster with his feet. This brave warrior was Saint George the Victorious. Having struck the snake, he ordered the princess to tie the snake with her belt and take it to the city as an obedient dog, which she did.

The inhabitants of Beirut, seeing this procession, began to scatter in horror, but the snake was already deprived of its witchcraft power and could no longer cause people any harm. After this, Saint George killed the snake with a sword in the middle of the city, and the inhabitants burned the corpse of the monster outside the city walls. Many of them converted to Christianity, and since then this city has not been attacked by evil monsters.

St. George's Day - (spring and autumn) the name of the church holidays dedicated to the Christian Saint George (Yegor, Yuri) the Victorious. YURIEV DAY - November 26 (old style) religious holiday in honor of St. George, with whom in Russia in the XVI XVI centuries. connected the possibility of the transition of the serf peasant from one feudal lord to another. Corvee at 6 and even 7 days a week was ordinary.

In Russian historiography, there are two opposite views on the circumstances and time of the emergence of serfdom - the so-called “specified” and “non-specified” versions. Both of them appeared in the middle of the 19th century. The famous historiographer of the 19th century S. M. Soloviev is considered to be the founder of the "decree" version. It was he, for a number of reasons, who defended the existence of the law of 1592 banning peasant passage, or the abolition of St. George's Day, published during the reign of Tsar Feodor Ioannovich.

In the ordinances, only the conditions of exit are stipulated, the very right to which is not questioned. Fundamental changes in the position of the peasants came with the accession of the Romanov dynasty. In the Cathedral Code, published in 1649, two fundamentally new circumstances appeared.

St. George's Day - only Russian holiday

The lord now had the right to return the fugitive himself or even his descendants with all the good he had gained on the run, if he could prove that it was from his estate that the peasant had escaped. So, for example, the Code orders a peasant daughter who was married off on the run to return her to the owner together with her husband, and if the husband had children from his first wife, they were ordered to be left with his landowner. One of the main shortcomings of the Code, according to V.O. Klyuchevsky, was that the legislators did not think about regulating the obligations of serfs to the landlords.

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However, some of the rights of the serf peasant were still preserved and protected by the Code. In addition, trade in serfs was also prohibited. Chapter 11 of the Code said: "Baptized people are not ordered to sell to anyone."

Sergei Vasilievich Ivanov, "Departure of the peasant from the landowner on St. George's Day"

It was at this time that the serf trade acquired the most cynical and frank character. From the end of the 17th century, and especially from the beginning of the 18th century, serfdom in Russia acquired a fundamentally different character from the one it had at its inception. First of all, this was facilitated by the legislation of the Russian Empire, which uncompromisingly stood up to protect exclusively landlord interests.

In 1848, serfs were allowed to acquire real estate - until that time they were forbidden to own any property. On the one hand, such permission was supposed to stimulate an increase in the number of "capitalist" peasants who managed to get rich even in captivity, to revive economic life in the serf village. On February 19, 1861, serfdom was finally abolished by the Manifesto of Emperor Alexander II. An objective attitude to the problem of serfdom in Russia has always been hampered by the strict control of censorship.

Recently, however, there has been a tendency towards a sharper assessment of both the reasons for the origin of serfdom and the consequences of its two-hundred-year domination for the country. Then, in 1861, the book "The Serf Population in Russia, Based on the 10th People's Census" was published. The census of 1857-1859 was carried out by the Central Statistical Committee and was aimed at establishing the current composition of the population and the proportion of serfs in it. It should be noted that the share of serfs in the total population of Russia was different in different parts of it.

Thus, serfs were in 52 provinces and regions out of 65. .. In the Tver patrimony of Prince Simeon Bekbulatovich (according to the scribe book of 1580), out of 60 cases when the time of transition is mentioned, only two cases fall on the south. Canceled by the Decree on reserved years in 1580-1590. Antinazi. St. George's Day - This term has other meanings, see St. George's Day (film).

Day of St. George the Great Martyr, patron saint of farmers (γεωργός, "georgos" in Greek "farmer"). In the Code of Law 1550, published during the reign of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible, the right to "exit" was preserved. State "black" peasants were attached to the land, taxes were paid directly to the king and in their Everyday life, as in the organization of their work, were more free. As a result, most of the peasants were deprived of their land and the right to change their place of residence.

Autumn St. George's Day (according to the old style November 26) was in those days the date that finally summed up the field work. St. George's Day, Stanislav Khabarov. YURIEV DAY - eng. Saint George s day; German Pfingsten. St. George's Day - established in the Russian state of the 16th century. the period within which the transfer of peasants from one landowner to another was allowed. Shard of a Mirror, Sergei Stanislavovich Yuriev. Russian poetry of the late 20th century remains to this day a "blank spot" in the history of Russian literature.