Gordeev day: what to expect from him?

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

In January, in the midst of Christmas time, a special holiday is celebrated, which is considered folk. It is not included in the register of holidays and memorable dates of the Russian Federation and therefore is not a day off. This is the day of memory of such a great martyr as Gordey and the prophet Malachi.

People also called this holiday Witch's Day, as they believed that all evil spirits are very evil because the day begins to conquer the night, it's time for their revelry.

In honor of what saint is the holiday named after

The name of this day was given by the martyr and centurion Gordius of Cappadocia, who suffered for the faith of Christ in the 4th century. The Great Martyr Gordius was born at the end of the 3rd century into a Christian family living in the town of Caesarea in Cappadocia. Having entered the military service at a mature age, he managed to rise to the rank of centurion, as he showed outstanding military art and courage.

When widespread persecution of Christians began to occur at the beginning of the 4th century, he retired to the desert, leaving the world in order to prepare himself spiritually for confessing to people the name of Christ the Savior. In defense of Christians, Gordey spoke openly in 320, for which the prefect of the city ordered him to be seized and tortured. After the most terrible tortures and tortures, they cut off Gordey's head.

Folk beliefs of this day

BThe Gordeev people have always considered the Witch's Day, because it fell on the rampant Christmas festivities, when all the evil spirits got out of control. The witches, due to the fact that they did not agree with the victory of day over night, were very angry and flew out to hunt in order to harm people as much as possible. Therefore, on January 16, not only did they not leave the yard, but they tried not to even open the bolts, being careful not to let evil spirits enter the house even through a small crack.

It is impossible on the day of the great martyr Gordias to either lie or boast. Yes, and to be proud of the achievements of both their own and those close to them, they were wary. Firstly, in Russia pride has always been a terrible sin, and secondly, it was believed that a witch would surely send a curse out of anger into the soul of such a person and deprive him of what he rejoices so much. There was even a saying: “What you boasted about on Gordeev’s day, you lost it!”

What protection can we expect from the forces of light on this day?

Cattle were also protected from the evil eye, because according to popular beliefs, tired of the wild nights of the holy week and starving witches, they could completely suck out milk from a cow and kill it. This was the most feared. Therefore, in order to avoid the dirty tricks of evil spirits, they turned to the brownie for help on Gordeev's Day.

The ceremony went like this: in the evening they lit a candle over the gate, which had been stored since Christmas, and under the gate they put a bowl with the freshest, freshly cooked cottage cheese put into it and asked the intercessor and helper of the family to look after the cattle, household and home.

Accepted inthis national holiday was also to cook oatmeal for cows in milk. The owners themselves did not disdain her either. With redoubled efforts, they looked after, in addition to cows, and horses. After all, both of them were breadwinners in peasant families. Therefore, on Gordeev Day, January 16, they were shown the greatest respect. And for removing any damage, this holiday was ideal. Only on this day, healers could cure a "spoiled" person or even a seizure patient.

Signs of Gordeev's Day

According to folk beliefs, on Gordeev's day they looked at what weather to expect from March. In addition, if there were large clouds in the sky, white and fluffy, this foreshadowed a strong blizzard. There were also several special signs for this day:

• Hares came close to the village - to be colder.
• A large number of hares in the fields - expect a snowstorm or a blizzard.
• Snow doesn't stop all day - expect a particularly frosty night.
• The month is very cool - it will be cold, the moon has an earring - expect a blizzard.

There was also a special sign for the fishermen: on the Gordeev day, when they are going to go fishing, all household chores should be done. And the beekeepers were waiting for a snowstorm, because on this day, January 16, it foreshadowed good swarming.