Every year on July 8, Orthodox Christians celebrate the Day of Saints Peter and Fevronia. This holiday was originally religious, but since 2008 it has officially received the status of the All-Russian Day of Family, Love and Fidelity.
Peter and Fevronia are Orthodox patrons of the main family values, whose marital union serves as a model for Christian marriage. According to an ancient legend, they became spouses after the daughter of a simple bee Fevronia cured the Murom prince Peter from a terrible disease. The lovers were canonized by the church in 1547 for genuine Christian piety, true mutual love and fidelity. The Day of Peter and Fevronia was widely celebrated until 1917. On this holiday, it was customary to visit churches, where young people prayed and asked the Lord for love, and the older generation - for family well-being.
The initiative to revive the holiday in post-Soviet Russia belongs to the residents of Murom (Vladimir region), it is there that the relics of Saints Peter and Fevronia are buried. The idea was supported by the deputies of the State Duma and the government of the Russian Federation, as well as approved by the majority of religious organizations in the country. The wife of the then President of Russia Svetlana Medvedeva took an active part in the revival of the holiday and proposed to make a chamomile flower a symbol of this day.
From year to year, the geography of celebrating the Day of Family, Love and Fidelity is steadily expanding. The holiday is celebrated in almost every corner of Russia. Spouses and lovers, children and grandchildren, present field daisies to each other on this day, trying to show concern for their relatives. In all the churches of the country, solemn services are held dedicated to the memory of the holy Murom miracle workers - Prince Peter and Princess Fevronia.
In most cities of Russia on this day there is a real "wedding boom". Many couples are sure that marriage on the Day of Family, Love and Fidelity is a guarantee of a long and happy life together. The number of marriages registered on July 8 is growing every year. Registry offices and wedding palaces on this day extend their work as much as possible in order to accept all willing couples. Many regions of the Russian Federation are holding a special campaign "July 8 - Day without divorce."
