Folk holiday St. George's Day: meaning and traditions. Yegoryev Day - signs and traditions of the Spring and Autumn holidays

St. George's Day is a church day in memory of St. George the Victorious, who folk tradition often called Yuri or Yegory. This saint in Rus' was perceived as a defender of the fatherland, and many Russian princes considered him their patron. The Slavic name Yuriev day of the year was given to two dates - ) and .

St. George's Day: the meaning of the holiday

Yegor the Brave, George the Victorious, Serpent Fighter - these were the names our ancestors called the Great Martyr George. His image in culture is multi-valued and surrounded by legends; many prayers of believers are addressed to him. Many temples were erected in his honor. dedicated to the saint different genres folklore(poems, fairy tales, apocryphal tales, ritual songs and conspiracies).

The days of memory of St. George the Victorious are important dates in the church and folk calendar. Since the time of Dmitry Donskoy, the saint has been considered the patron saint of Moscow. The image of George on a horse with a spear in his hand can be seen on the coat of arms of the Moscow state, it was also carved on princely seals and was minted on a coin, which since that time has been called a kopeck. In 1769, the military Order of St. George (four degrees) was established, and until 1917 the Cross of St. George was regarded as the highest military award.

May 6 – St. George's Day, Yuri Veshny, Yegoryev Day, Yegor Golodny

In Rus', Saint George was revered as the patron saint of cattle breeding, and was also considered a protector from predatory animals. At the same time, in Slavic folklore the Great Martyr is noted as the lord of snakes and the owner of wild animals.

Saint Yegory grazes the beast.

Saint Yuri has all the animals at his fingertips.

No less developed among our ancestors was the cult of the Great Martyr George as the owner of the land, a farmer, and the inaugurator of spring field work. Note that the name George in Greek means “farmer, tiller,” and it is quite possible that in its origins this character was associated with agricultural mythology.

St. George's Day is the final turn to spring, the threshold beyond which the struggle between spring and winter remains and its gradual transition into summer begins. This day celebrates the victory of warmth and sun over winter frosts.

Of particular importance on May 6 was attributed to the Yegoryevsk dew, the appearance of which foreshadowed the lush growth of grasses, and therefore abundant food for livestock released to pasture. They also believed that St. George's dew helped in the treatment of various ailments, in removing the evil eye and damage. Therefore, they rode in the dew to get good health.

One of the main topics of the day was preparing the land for sowing or carrying out sowing work. In the northern and eastern regions, arable land was plowed in Yegoria, and sowing began in the southern regions.

In Voronezh, they sowed carrots and planted beets from Yegor: Sow seedlings for George, there will be plenty of cabbage soup. In the Vyatka region, before St. George’s Day, they tried to plant cabbage, otherwise the forks wouldn’t grow. Here they sorted the onions so that they would grow better.

The first pasture of cattle in the field was timed to coincide with Yegoriy's day, which was considered a very important matter and was perceived as a big holiday. It was furnished with various ritual actions, sentences, songs and rituals. If it happened early spring, cattle were released into the field before this date, but their ceremonial pasture with all the rituals was performed precisely on Yegoryev’s day.

On the eve and on the day of the holiday, nothing was given from home. Before dawn on May 6, the owner walked around the house, closed all the gates, gates and breaks in the fence, the hostess with an icon and a loaf walked around the cattle in the barn three times, whispering a prayer.

St. George the Victorious was asked to protect and protect cows, goats, sheep and horses from the evil eye, wild animals and other misfortunes. IN old times In our country, forests occupied a vast area and were rich in wild animals, so grazing was fraught with danger. The peasants, trying to prevent trouble, resorted to various amulets.

In the spring, before releasing the cattle into the forest, in the house on the stove screen the housewives crumbled bread and then gave it to the cow to taste, saying at the same time: “ Just as this barrier stands in its place every night, so would our cow stand in our yard every night».

When driving a cow out into the field for the first time in the spring, they forced her to step over a frying pan placed in the gate, then, hitting her with the frying pan, they said: “ Like the frying pan never leaves the stove. So let my cattle not leave the yard».

Some housewives cut off the tip of a cow’s tail and hid it under a ceiling beam, saying: “ Just as the tail holds up at home, so would the cow hold up.».

On the day of spring Yegori there was a ban on work: Whoever works for George will have wolves slaughter his cattle.

There was a belief that on this day Saint George rode through the forests on a white horse and gave orders to the animals. Therefore, hunters turned to him with a request for a successful hunt.

Since the spring Yuri, hires and transactions have been made by ), to ) or to ).

In Kursk, on St. George’s Day, a fair was organized where figurines of cows made of clay and wood were sold. In many places, the round dance season opened on this day: Round dances with Yuri, with ) gatherings.

Signs for May 6:

1. The cuckoo forges before Yegoryev's day - to the failure of the harvest and the loss of livestock.
2. If you hear the cuckoo before the nightingale, you will spend the summer unhappily.
3. If spring Egoriy is with food, then winter will set in.
4. It's frosty in Yegoria - there will be buckwheat, millet and oats.
5. Snow on St. George's Day means a good buckwheat harvest, rain means a lack of harvest.
6. If there is frost on the holiday and a week after it, the autumn is expected to be warm.
7. If on Yuri snowing with rain, then early and late buckwheat will be equally good.

December 9 – Yury’s Day, Winter Egory, Autumn George, Cold Yury

St. George's Day is important date autumn-winter calendar. During this period, many cases were summed up, a certain segment in the cycle was completed natural phenomena, opened new period in human economic and labor activity and in the life of nature.

Many signs and sayings dedicated to this date are based on comparing and contrasting Yegoryev’s Day with other important factors of the calendar cycle.

Egory starts the work, Egory finishes it.

There are two Yuri in Rus': cold and hungry.

Yegory with a nail, and Nikola with a bridge.

The last saying refers to the ice cover on ponds, rivers and lakes, which is established somewhere between St. George's Day and St. Nicholas Day (December 19). There is another explanation for this saying. The fact is that by this date they began to cover doors with matting or felt, and caulk cellars and windows.

On December 9 we went to listen to water in the wells: if it is quiet, the winter will be warm; noise is heard - severe frosts and blizzards should be expected.

If Yegor the spring was considered the patron of livestock, then Yegor the winter, in the understanding of our ancestors, was the patron of wild animals. It was believed that on this day a bear falls asleep soundly in its den, and wolves gather in packs, begin to go after prey and, sometimes, come close to a human dwelling.

Egory is the master of the wolves. What the wolf has in its teeth, Yegory gave. This means that it is impossible to save an animal doomed to be eaten by a wolf, otherwise you might anger St. George. There was a legend that on this day Yegoriy, in the form of a gray-haired old man, walks through the forest, gathers wolves into packs and distributes cows and sheep among them.

If in spiritual poems, in icon painting and in hagiographic literature, St. George the Victorious appears as the winner of the snake, then on the autumn Egor in the southern regions of our homeland, snakes were considered the birthday girls. It is strictly forbidden to go into the forest on December 9, otherwise snakes may attack and sting you to death. According to other beliefs, Yegory is able to turn snakes away from domestic animals and humans.

It was forbidden to work on St. George's Day. They believed that he would bring disaster to everyone who did not honor the saint. Wolves often found themselves in the role of executors of punishment. They could attack the cattle of the guilty person, and even himself.

In Russia, St. George's Day is associated with a sad historical event, which for a long time assigned landless peasants to the boyars. Until the 16th century, a week before and a week after St. George’s Day, peasants transferred from one landowner to another. It was only necessary to settle accounts with the previous owner. These two weeks were established by the Code of Law of 1497. A hundred years later (1580-1590), Boris Godunov abolished the decree on reserved days and weeks. Thus, the institution of serfdom was finally formalized. It lasted for almost 300 years, until the famous reform of 1861.

These events were reflected in many sayings and proverbs, which over the years acquired a general meaning, becoming a figurative definition of disappointed expectations and unfulfilled hopes. The most famous saying – Here's to you, grandma, and St. George's Day!

Video: St. George's Day

On May 6, Orthodox believers honor St. George the Victorious. His image can be seen in the center Russian coat of arms, as well as coins. This great martyr lived at the end of the 2nd century in one of the Christian families. Since childhood, he was distinguished by perseverance and courage. Thanks to these qualities, he became a military man and rose to a high rank.

He was repeatedly forced to change his faith, but George did not stumble and accepted martyrdom in the name of faith. For Orthodox Christians around the world, he became an example of true religion, valor, and strength of character. People call St. George's Day briefly and simply - Yegoryev's Day. In popular beliefs, he is the patron saint of livestock. It is on this day that it is customary to drive livestock out to pasture for the first time after a long winter. Traditionally, this day was celebrated on a grand scale. From this moment on the weather was supposed to be warm.

What traditions exist on Yegoryev Day?

With the advent of this holiday, land work began. Since the adoption of Christianity, a tradition arose of sprinkling fields with holy water. During the liturgy, the clergy always read a prayer service to obtain a rich harvest. A similar ritual still exists today.

After the first drive of livestock to pasture, you should definitely pray to St. George the Victorious and ask for protection and patronage for all domestic animals. This tradition is designed to protect them from illnesses, unclean thoughts and thoughts of envious people.

The ancestors also believed that dew on this day has special magical properties. It was believed that whoever walks through fresh dew before sunrise whole year He will be healthy and no diseases will be scary.

Signs for Yegoryev's Day

No less number of signs are associated with this holiday. For example, if the weather that day is gloomy and raining, you should expect a large replenishment of livestock. If the weather, on the contrary, is warm and sunny, summer is just around the corner, and it will be warm and rainy. There were often frosts on these days. This foreshadowed large harvests of field crops.

On the night of Yegoryev's Day, the housewives wet the towel and hung it outside. If it dried out in the morning with the arrival of the holiday, a large harvest of cucumbers was expected, but if not, the first frosts were predicted already in September. People also noticed that if the first grass appeared on the spring Yegor, on the winter Yegor (December 9) we should expect that winter will already fully come into its own.

A forecast for the yield of various crops could be made based on how the morning of the holiday turned out. If it was quiet, calm, with good weather, all early crops turned out to be fertile. If the weather became favorable only in the evening, a large harvest, on the contrary, was expected from crops that were sown late.

Many will take this Orthodox holiday associated with birds. The behavior of cuckoos was especially carefully observed. If suddenly these birds began to sing, one should expect a mass death of livestock in the near future. But on the contrary, they rejoiced at the singing of swallows - this meant that real spring had come.

Yury's Day - (spring and autumn) the name of church holidays dedicated to the Christian Saint George (Egory, Yuri) the Victorious. St. George's Day - November 26 (old style) church holiday in honor of St. George, with whom in Russia XV-XVI centuries. the possibility of a serf's transition from one feudal lord to another was associated. Corvee labor of 6 and even 7 days a week was common.

In domestic historiography, there are two opposing views on the circumstances and time of the emergence of serfdom - the so-called “decreed” and “undeclared” versions. Both of them arose in mid-19th centuries. The founder of the “decree” version is considered to be the famous 19th-century historiographer S. M. Solovyov. It was he who, for a number of reasons, defended the existence of the 1592 law banning peasant migration, or the abolition of “St. George’s Day,” issued during the reign of Tsar Feodor Ioannovich.

The order stipulates only the conditions for exit, the very right to which is not called into question. Fundamental changes in the position of the peasants came with the accession of the Romanov dynasty. In the Council Code published in 1649, two fundamentally new circumstances appeared.

Yuryev Day is only a Russian holiday

The master now had the right to return the fugitive himself or even his descendants with all the goods acquired while on the run, if he could prove that it was from his estate that the peasant escaped. So, for example, the Code orders a peasant daughter married off while on the run to be returned to her owner along with her husband, and if the husband had children from his first wife, they were ordered to be left with his landowner. One of the main shortcomings of the Code, as noted by V. O. Klyuchevsky, was that legislators did not think about regulating the duties of serfs to landowners.

See what “St. George’s Day” is in other dictionaries:

However, some rights of the serf peasant were still preserved and protected by the Code. In addition, trade in serfs was prohibited. Chapter 11 of the Code stated: “Baptized people are not ordered to be sold to anyone.”

Sergei Vasilyevich Ivanov, “The peasant’s departure from the landowner on St. George’s Day”

It was at this time that the trade in serfs acquired its most cynical and outspoken character. WITH late XVII and especially with early XVIII centuries serfdom in Russia is acquiring a fundamentally different character than the one it had at its inception. This was primarily due to legislation. Russian Empire, uncompromisingly defending exclusively landowner interests.

In 1848, serfs were allowed to purchase real estate - until that time they were prohibited from owning any property. On the one hand, such a permit was supposed to stimulate an increase in the number of “capitalist” peasants who managed to get rich even in captivity, and to revive economic life in the fortress village. On February 19, 1861, with the Manifesto of Emperor Alexander II, serfdom was finally abolished. An objective attitude to the problem of serfdom in Russia has always been hampered by strict censorship control.

However, in Lately There has been a tendency towards a sharper assessment of both the causes of the origin of serfdom and the consequences of its two-hundred-year rule for the country. Then, in 1861, the book “The Serf Population in Russia, According to the 10th National Census” was published. The 1857-1859 census was carried out by the Central Statistical Committee and aimed to establish current lineup population and the share of serfs in it. It should be noted that the share of serfs in the total population of Russia was different in different parts of Russia.

Thus, there were serfs in 52 provinces and regions out of 65... In the Tver patrimony of Prince Simeon Bekbulatovich (according to the scribe book of 1580), out of 60 cases when the time of transition is mentioned, only two cases occur on the southern day. Canceled by Decree on reserved summers in 1580 1590 Antinazi. Yuryev's Day - This term has other meanings, see Yuryev's Day (film).

Day of St. George the Great Martyr, patron saint of farmers (γεωργός, “georgos” in Greek “farmer”). In the Code of Laws of 1550, published under Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible, the right to “exit” was preserved. State "Black Hundred" peasants were attached to the land, paid taxes directly to the tsar and in their own Everyday life, as well as in the organization of their work, were freer. As a result, most peasants were deprived of land and the right to change their place of residence.

Autumn St. George's Day (November 26 according to the old style) was in those days the date that finally summed up the field work. Yuryev Day, Stanislav Khabarov. St. George's Day - English Saint George's day; German Pfingsten. St. George's Day - established in the Russian state in the 15th and 16th centuries. the period within which the transfer of peasants from one landowner to another was allowed. A fragment of a mirror, Sergei Stanislavovich Yuriev. Russian poetry of the end of the 20th century to this day remains a “blank spot” in the history of Russian literature.

the 6th of May Orthodox Church celebrates the day of memory of St. George the Victorious. This holiday acquired special significance in Russia - St. George sitting on horseback is depicted on coins and in the center of the Russian coat of arms.

History of the Day of Remembrance of St. George the Victorious

Why was Saint George so famous? The Great Martyr lived at the end of the 2nd - beginning of the 3rd century in the Roman Empire in a Christian family. Thanks to his tenacity and courage, he entered the military service and earned the title of military leader. Being true Christian, George did not renounce his faith when Emperor Diocletian invited him to renounce Christianity. He died in suffering for his faith and began to be read as shining example valor and steadfastness.

Why is St. George the Victorious depicted with a spear piercing a serpent?

Legends were made about the miracles that St. George the Victorious performed and about his brave deeds. One of them served as the plot of a painting in which the saint is depicted on a horse and with a defeated monster. As the legend says, in Beirut, in the lake, he settled huge snake, which gave no rest local residents. In order to somehow appease the snake, the residents were forced to give him a child every day. Saint George the Victorious was able to hit the serpent with a spear and save people from suffering. It was this story of the victory of the holy warrior that became a symbol of the triumph of good over evil.

Signs on the holy day of St. George the Victorious May 6 or Yegoryev's Day

People call this holiday Yegoryev day. According to legend, on this day Egor Veshny opens the spring earth with his keys and releases dew, causing grass to begin to grow.

In folk tales, Yegory is considered the patron saint of livestock. That is why on this day, May 6, the peasants drove their livestock into the meadow for the first time after winter. This day was celebrated on a special scale, because the warmest time of the year began.

On Yegoryev Day, the first work in the field began. Later, with the adoption of Christianity, the fields were sprinkled with holy water on this day, and the priests read a prayer service for a rich harvest. By signs on Yegoryev's day they judged the weather for the future.

• Dew had special power on this holiday. It is believed that if you walk barefoot through the Egoryevsk dew in the morning, no illnesses will affect you throughout the year.
• It is raining on Yegoria - good offspring of cattle will be born.
• It’s warm on Yegoryev’s day - look forward to summer soon.
• On this day, swallows fly in and nightingales begin to sing. Particular attention was paid to the singing of the cuckoo. It is believed that if this bird crows, the livestock will die.

We wish you good luck and don't forget to press the buttons and

05.05.2015 09:30

Ivan the Long is a holiday celebrated by Christians. In 2018, like every year, the date...

There are many signs and beliefs regarding weddings. By following them, lovers will be able to avoid troubles and live...