In the Orthodox tradition, there is a special women's day, on which believers congratulate their grandmothers, mothers, wives, daughters and all close women. This holiday is called the Day of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women.
Many Orthodox Christians do not refer to the date of March 8 as International Women's Day, which is due to the history of the holiday, which became widespread during the years of Soviet power in Russia. And the very name of the holiday "International Women's Day" is erroneous, because not in all European countries women are honored on March 8th.
For Orthodox believers, there is a special day of the calendar, which implies congratulations to all the fair sex. This celebration was named in honor of the holy women, who are called myrrh-bearers in Christian tradition and culture.
The names of the myrrh-bearing women are as follows: Martha and Mary (sisters of the righteous Lazarus), Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene, Susanna, Salome, John and Maria Cleopova. The Church calls these women myrrh-bearers because they were the ones who wanted to fulfill the ritual duty to the body of the deceased Savior. The holy women were supposed to anoint the body of the Lord Jesus Christ after burial with special fragrant aromas called peace. For this, early on Saturday morning, the women went to the tomb of Christ.
Evangelists name the following names of women who came to the Savior's Tomb. In Matthew it is Mary Magdalene and "the other Mary"; Mark has Mary Magdalene, Mary Jacobleva (mother of the Apostle James from among the 70), Salome (mother of the Apostles James and John from among the 12); Luke - Mary Magdalene, John, Mary (mother of Jacob), as well as "others with them"; John has Mary Magdalene.
As the Holy Scriptures and Christian tradition say, these women were especially close to the Lord, they were the Savior's disciples. Some of the myrrh-bearing women after the death of Christ preached the gospel to the world. These include Saint Mary Magdalene, for her diligent efforts to spread the faith of Christ, she is called the Equal-to-the-Apostles Church. Among other myrrh-bearers were the mothers of the holy apostles. For example, the mother of the Apostle James (the first bishop of Jerusalem) Mary and the mother of John the Theologian and the Apostle James Zavedeev Salome. The holy myrrh-bearers John and Susanna believed in Christ after the preaching of the Savior and followed him. Maria Kleopova was the daughter of the righteous elder Joseph the betrothed from his first marriage.
All these holy women showed in their lives an example of great love for the Lord, both during the Savior's earthly life and after His death. Myrrhbearers can also be cited as outstanding mothers who raised great people, in particular the apostles. Therefore, the Church sees in myrrh-bearing women a symbol of materialism.
Thus, in the holy myrrh-bearing wives, all the necessary qualities were embodied that, according to the recommendations of the Orthodox Church, should be inherent in all women (love, self-sacrifice, the feat of motherhood). That is why, on the Day of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Wives, Orthodox believers congratulate all their close and familiar women, wishing that believers of the fair sex would warm up in themselves, like the Myrrh-Bearing Wives, outstanding moral qualities.
The memory of the holy myrrh-bearing women was established by the Church on the third Sunday after Easter. Celebrations dedicated to women last a week.
