Holy Week - this is how the last week of Great Lent is called in Orthodoxy. Every day is endowed with a special meaning in it. So, on Thursday, according to tradition, Christians do a general cleaning of the house. That is why he is called the Pure (Great).
Do's and don'ts on Maundy Thursday
From that day on, Christians begin to prepare directly for Easter. In Russia, believers on this day from the very morning went to the river in order to plunge at least once. In addition, everyone took a steam bath in a well-heated bath, and did this before sunrise. This ritual has survived to this day. True, now you don't have to go to the river. It will be enough just to take a shower or bath in the early morning. It is believed that together with water, all the worst is washed off a person, and not only from the body, but also from the soul. Water on this day not only cleans in a special way, but also heals, protects from troubles.
Also on Maundy Thursday from time immemorial it has been established to carry out a general cleaning of the home. The floors on this day should be washed from the farthest corners of the house to the threshold, and it is advisable to pour dirty water somewhere further from the home. After that, the house is not cleaned until Easter. This cannot be done, otherwise you can “clog the eyes of Jesus lying in the tomb”.
It is noteworthy that on Maundy Thursday, during cleaning, you can find long-lost things. In addition, from this day until Easter, nothing can be borrowed and given away from home.
According to custom, on Maundy Thursday you should bake cakes, make cottage cheese Easter and paint eggs. However, this should be done only after cleaning the house, that is, in the evening.
Rituals
Maundy Thursday is replete with rituals like no other day on the eve of Easter. On this day, it is customary to prepare the so-called Thursday salt. To do this, you need to take completely ordinary salt, wrap it in a cloth and reheat it in the oven. Then heat and sift, but you don't have to. Quaternary salt is believed to have special properties. Our ancestors used it to heal and protect the home from negativity. Quite often, this salt is used in various magical rituals today.
On Maundy Thursday, you can hold a ceremony to protect the house. To do this, you need to go to the morning service in the church, take a candle there and burn crosses for it on the doorway and above the window frames.
On this day, you can bring heather or juniper twigs to the house. They should be attached at the front door. It is believed that they will help protect the house from any misfortunes. You can fumigate the house with juniper branches and go around with them all the rooms with a prayer and an icon. If you live in a private house, you should go around not only all the rooms, but also the house outside in a circle.
If you want money in the house, perform the following ceremony. In the water with which you washed the house, throw a handful of coins and read the conspiracy at the same time: "Money, run around - do not translate, grow and multiply, but do not get the enemy!" After cleaning, put the charmed coins in a clean corner of the house. Leave them there for a whole week, and pour the water under any living tree.
