On Palm Sunday you can clean your apartment. Is it possible to work on Palm Sunday?
The background and symbols of this day are known: Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem, and the Orthodox, in memory of this, strive to purchase willows and consecrate them in the church.
Where did Palm Sunday come from?
The tradition of consecrating willows and decorating a house with them goes back centuries. It all began almost 2000 years ago, when Christ, exactly a week before his resurrection, rode into the holy city of Jerusalem on a donkey. People gathered in huge numbers at the city gates and along the entire route. They sincerely believed that before them was the Son of God.
The crowd tore off palm branches and covered the road with them in front of the Savior. In our northern latitudes, it is, of course, difficult to get a palm tree. But we love to bring fresh willow branches into the house. By the way, they are the first to give buds, and no matter what time Palm Sunday falls on, willows will still be on our table.
An interesting tradition has long existed in Rus'. Blessed willows are used to lightly hit a loved one so that he is healthy all year round. You can also eat the kidneys or bake them in buns so the kids can have fun while searching.
What not to do on Palm Sunday
First of all, fasting people are prohibited from any excesses in food, alcohol consumption, or meat dishes. But at the same time, on a holiday you can eat fish dishes, sweets, pastries and drink some good wine.
Popular beliefs say that you should not comb your hair on this day, because this can lead to unpleasant surprises. Of course, today such reasoning will seem unconvincing to many. On the other hand, they can be interpreted this way: on a bright holiday, when we remember the Savior, we probably shouldn’t pay too much attention to our beauty. There are many other wonderful days for this.
The question of what you should not do around the house on Palm Sunday deserves special attention. It is believed that you need to postpone all important matters until later. And the cleaning and dishes are done in advance, so that on a holiday you can just sit down at the table and enjoy communication with loved ones. This is a correct, but non-rigorous approach. Indeed, a week before Easter we remember the entry of Christ into Jerusalem. And, if possible, it is better not to bother about the house, but to spend time in prayer and communication. But if some urgent matters arise, they, of course, should be completed.
Is it possible to go to cemeteries on this day, clean graves, and restore order? This is not forbidden. Moreover, it is better to take blessed willow branches with you and place them on the gravestone instead of traditional flowers. There is a belief that the deceased ancestors especially await our attention on such days. But if the loss of a loved one is recent and still hurts the person, it is better for him to postpone the visit. After all, at the grave, feelings will still prevail, and then there will be no trace of the festive mood left. And yet life goes on. And while we are here on earth, it is our earthly duty that needs to be fulfilled - in due time, everyone will leave this place.
Complex matters, the solution of important issues, as already mentioned, are better postponed for another day. But what if the question is urgent? For example, did you need to go to work, move, remember a person who died 9, 40 days ago? Of course, life sometimes dictates its own conditions and creates its own plans. The Church recognizes that in some cases we really need to deal with pressing issues even on Palm Sunday. You can still feel joy on this day - try to be positive. Eventually, any difficulties will end. And if there is a dark streak, it means only one thing: a bright streak has been awaiting us for a long time.
Thus, we can say that only those things that are bad to do on ordinary days are strictly prohibited:
But as for intimacy, spouses can have personal communication on this day. If possible, of course, it is better to abstain, but on the other hand, there is no sin in it.
From the horse's mouth: answer from Priest Vladimir Shlykov
“Of course, believers and representatives on the eve of the holiday often wonder what can and cannot be done on Palm Sunday. The position of the clergy in general is this: there are no specific, categorical prohibitions. Of course, we must exclude obvious misconduct - alcohol abuse, conflicts, intemperance. As for the rest, you can act exactly as your conscience allows.”
So, it is clear that on Palm Sunday it is best to devote time to your family and loved ones, and, as a rule, to postpone global issues and postpone them to another time. However, if you suddenly have to work and need to do something on that very day, there are no strict prohibitions on this matter in Orthodoxy. A person must fulfill his home and work responsibilities. Try to listen to your conscience - after all, this inner advisor and judge will always let you know if something goes wrong.
Based on materials from the Zavedeno website
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Palm Sunday is one of the main Christian holidays, dedicated to the memory of the Lord's entry into Jerusalem. To spend this day correctly, you need to know what activities will contribute to spiritual self-improvement, and what it is better to abstain from.
Palm Sunday celebrations in 2017 will take place on April 9. At this time, all Orthodox Christians stock up on palm branches, a symbol of the rebirth of life, and go to services to consecrate them. During Lent, there are some prohibitions and relaxations established by the church. This day is also closely connected with folk traditions and beliefs.
What you can do on Palm Sunday
The main action is visiting church and praying to the glory of the Lord. On this holiday, a liturgy is celebrated in which clergy illuminate willow branches. Orthodox Christians take them home and place them next to the icons. Bouquets protect the house and those living in it from negativity, poverty and adversity. After the festive liturgy, many go to the cemetery to honor the memory of their ancestors, paint the fences and clean the graveyard. Several branches of willow are also left there. According to legend, on this day you need to lightly beat each other with willow branches in order to drive out illness and negativity from the body.
It is believed that if you eat a few willow buds, you can cure a sore throat and improve your immunity. Our ancestors baked bread with the addition of kidneys and fed it to domestic animals and cattle so that they would be healthy and bear rich offspring. After visiting church, families gathered for a festive dinner and devoted time to prayers and leisurely conversation.
What not to do on holiday
The Church reminds that Palm Sunday is the time of Lent, so you should refrain from active entertainment, alcohol abuse and entertainment.
During a church holiday, you should also not get carried away with work, but pay more attention to prayers and reflections on your own life. The food on the table should be modest, without frills and foods forbidden during Lent. The exception is fish, vegetable oil and some red wine. You cannot prepare hot dishes on Palm Sunday, so housewives make all meals in advance. On the eve of the holiday, they prepare porridge, buckwheat pancakes, bake Lenten bread and cookies for treats at the festive table.
According to legends, you should not comb your hair on this day, so as not to reduce your health and cause trouble. Each church holiday is accompanied by signs and traditions that our ancestors followed. The church disapproves of some customs: for example, fortune telling and rituals are also included in the list of forbidden matters. We wish you all the best.
What not to do on Palm Sunday
The main prohibition, as already mentioned at the very beginning of this material, concerns specifically labor activity. On this day, all work is prohibited, primarily work around the house, in the yard or on your site.
It is forbidden to clean the house or wash dishes (even if too many dishes have accumulated, you need to postpone the process of washing them to another day). Don't take out the trash or wipe off the dust. An exception to household chores that are prohibited on the holiday in question may be feeding domestic animals and livestock (at the same time, it is impossible to clean up animal droppings on the day of the holiday).
On the day of Palm Sunday, Lent is still in progress, despite this, you can eat, and on this holiday an exception is even made for a strict menu and you can put fish-based dishes on the table. What else you need to give up on Palm Sunday is various procedures for caring for your body, going to the bathhouse, getting haircuts, coloring.
Briefly about what is prohibited on the day of the Lord’s Entry into Jerusalem:
- Work in any direction;
- Prepare hot dishes (on this day of Lent you can eat fish and fish dishes, but they should be prepared in advance);
- One must be moderate in fun and in food;
- Comb your hair and perform other rituals related to health (except for those that are historically performed on the day or night of this holiday);
- Quarrel, scold;
- Use foul language, show aggression towards any living manifestation;
What to do
Let us emphasize once again that this day is a church holiday, which means you definitely need to go to church.
Traditionally, on the day of this holiday, all Christians collect young branches of willow, willow and birch in bouquets. With these festive bouquets, on the morning of the holiday they go to church service, after which the ceremony of blessing the willow takes place. This consecrated symbol of the great holiday should be placed at home next to the icons and kept there for a year. As for the rituals in the temple itself, you should pray, take communion, and confess. It is believed that if this is not done on the day of the holiday, then throughout the year the soul will be unprotected and vulnerable to various bad weather and troubles.
To maintain health, as well as increase it, people in Rus' always beat each other a little with willow bouquets. In no case should you quarrel or even entertain bad thoughts towards other people and yourself on Palm Sunday.
Signs for the holiday
Most of the folk signs on this holiday are, of course, associated with willow branches consecrated in the church. These bouquets were always placed near the icons so that they would protect the house from fires and floods throughout the year, and all the inhabitants of the house from diseases and other misfortunes.
Traditions that relate to Palm Sunday:
- There is a custom to place consecrated willow branches in the hands of the deceased so that in heaven they will meet the Messiah;
- Willow branches are placed in a vase without filling it with water, and the vase is placed near the icons and the willows are stored until the next Palm Sunday; as a rule, such willows do not fade;
- To ensure that children who are not yet one year old grow up healthy, it is customary to bathe them in willow decoction.
Holy Week: what needs to be done and what is prohibited
The last week of Lent begins immediately after such a holiday as Palm Sunday (April 10-15. April 10 is Great Monday, and April 16 is the bright holiday of Easter). But, with the onset of Monday, you need to forget about fun, you should even refuse to watch TV, not to mention singing, dancing, or attending holidays. You should also refrain from intimacy.
Important! During Holy Week, it is forbidden to refuse anything to people who ask for help. Of course, if their requests are harmless and are exclusively peaceful in nature.
What you need to do during Holy Week:
- Monday. The beginning of general cleaning, which should be completed on Thursday. You can get rid of old broken things and stale bulky garbage.
- Tuesday. Finish all work related to clothing. Hem, wash and iron. Once you’ve created your Easter table menu, you can start shopping for groceries.
- Wednesday. Continue general cleaning. Wash the floors, clean the cabinets, take out the remaining trash. You can now start coloring the eggs.
- Thursday. This day, in addition to those names that have already been indicated above for all days of Holy Week, has one more name. Thursday is called “clean”, which means you should finish the general cleaning, wash the doors and windows, and wash the curtains. It is also recommended to visit a bathhouse or sauna yourself; you can prepare dough for Easter cakes and products for other holiday dishes.
- Friday. Refrain from any household chores. Dedicate a day to spiritual solitude and go to a service.
- Saturday. Color the eggs, prepare all the dishes for the festive table, finish with the Easter cakes. Collect an Easter basket and go to church to bless the food. Go to work late in the evening.
- Sunday. Easter has arrived! Christ is risen! The day begins with prayer and breaking the fast with blessed foods. Next you need to go to friends and acquaintances with the good news. You cannot go to the cemetery on Easter Day; this must be done on the second Tuesday after the day of the Resurrection of Christ.
This is one of the main Christian holidays, which occurs immediately after the Annunciation and before Good Friday. On this holiday, believers remember the entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem.
What not to do on Palm Sunday
- On Palm Sunday, you cannot cut branches from trees that grow near the cemetery or that have hollows.
- On this day you cannot have fun, drink a lot of alcohol, or quarrel.
- You shouldn’t work, it’s better to devote this day to prayers.
- Food should be lean. Only a little fish, red wine and vegetable oil are allowed.
- You cannot cook hot food on Palm Sunday.
- On this day, it is not customary for people to comb or dye their hair, as you can incur illness and misfortune (confuse your fate).
- Also, do not sew, knit, embroider, chop wood, or do laundry.
- It is better not to watch TV or surf the Internet.
- On Palm Sunday, it is advisable not to do any gardening or gardening work.
- There is a popular belief that a funeral dinner should not be held on Palm Sunday.
- Visiting cemeteries brings sad emotions that can overshadow this holiday. Therefore, if you have decided to visit the cemetery, it is better to go to the church in advance and pray for the repose of the soul of the person whose grave you are going to. You can also lay blessed willow branches.
- These cattle were left at home because they were afraid that they would be attacked by evil spirits.
- Also on Palm Sunday it is not customary to refuse someone who asks.
Women who could not have a child used willow bundles to prepare medicinal decoctions. They were also used to treat not only infertility, but also other serious diseases.
Lent is in full swing, which means that the consumption of certain foods is still prohibited. Palm Sunday is the precursor to the strictest Holy Week, so on April 1, the dishes on the festive table should be exclusively lean. However, in honor of the holiday, fish dishes and the consumption of red wine in small quantities are allowed.
It is customary to prepare for Palm Sunday in advance. Even in Rus', housewives began preparations the day before the holiday. An important part of the preparation was cleaning, preparing holiday dishes and decorating the house with willow branches. Guests also began to be invited in the evening.
If there were uneaten dishes left from the festive table, they were fed to livestock. It was believed that by throwing away food on this day, happiness could be thrown out of the house along with it. If there was a person in the house suffering from a serious illness, food was fed to the homeless with a request to pray for the healing of the sick person.
What not to do on Palm Sunday
Since Palm Sunday is a religious holiday, heavy housework is prohibited on this day. In this regard, cleaning and cooking were completed even before the celebration.
Despite the fact that Palm Sunday is a festive event, on this day it is forbidden to have noisy feasts, have fun and abuse alcohol. Do not forget that the holiday falls in the midst of Lent, which means it is preferable to celebrate it with your family.
It is believed that you cannot cook hot food on Palm Sunday. However, currently the church allows believers to slightly diversify their diet and pamper themselves. Meat, eggs and dairy products are still prohibited.
Entertainment has long been a part of our lives. However, on religious holidays the church does not encourage such pastime. It is advisable to devote your free time to prayer or going to church.
On Palm Sunday, a person should be in a good mood and experience only positive emotions. Therefore, on this day you cannot be sad, remember the deceased with longing and visit the cemetery.
Based on popular belief, you should not have a funeral dinner on Palm Sunday. The Orthodox Church does not prohibit this event, but still recommends moving it to a more suitable day.