You can often hear that it is forbidden to work and wash on church holidays. And if the ban on labor activity seems to many to be simple and understandable, then why not wash? Do I need to walk dirty during the holidays? In fact, you need to understand this a little differently.
What is the meaning of the prohibition to wash
Religious holidays are the days that a person should devote to God and his fellowship with the church. This view of these days is characteristic of all world religions. It is best to start this day with prayer, visit a temple, confess or receive communion, perform any other religious rituals related to a particular day. This is the most correct thing to do during a church holiday.
After you have attended a divine service, you can wash, clean the house, and do other things. The meaning of the prohibition is not not to bathe at all or not to clean up anything at home on the holiday, but rather not to replace communication with God on these days with anything else. First of all, religious affairs, and secondly - personal, worldly.
Nevertheless, holidays and Sundays are special, because it is not in vain that it is believed that six days must be worked, and the seventh must be given to God. Therefore, it is better to devote them entirely to mercy, caring for others, studying the Word of God and other good deeds. And it would be good to prudently finish cleaning on Saturday, so that Sunday can be met in a clean house.
If a person does not work on a holiday, because he cannot, and still does not go to church, this is already a simple superstition, and this is wrong.
Religious holidays when you need to wash
There are special days when washing and cleaning are part of church rituals. For example, this is the well-known Maundy Thursday, when you should not only wash yourself, but also clean the whole house, wash everything and make sure that the children in the family do not forget to wash too.
Another holiday that involves water procedures is Epiphany. On this special day, people in Russia plunge into an ice-hole, and those who do not have the opportunity to do so should at least take a shower at home.
When it is forbidden to swim
Ilyin's day is the time after which comes the "official" ban on swimming in natural reservoirs. It is celebrated on August 2. People say: "Saint Elijah wrote in the water."
After the second August, changeable weather with cold nights usually sets in, and the water temperature is no longer suitable for swimming.
Superstition
There are many superstitions associated with various Orthodox holidays. For example, it is believed that on the day of St. John cannot use knives, and it is especially dangerous to cut any round objects. They say that you can't sew on Christmas, it's a bad omen. And to the Meeting, trips are prohibited, especially long-distance ones. Under the Annunciation, it is not recommended for girls to braid their braids. The Church does not approve of these superstitions, considering them delusions.
