Why on September 27 on the third autumn girls in the forest for mushrooms did not go

The elevation of the Holy and Life-giving Cross of the Lord is celebrated by Orthodox believers on September 27. The people are the third autumns. They held ceremonies to protect the house and cattle from all evil, waited for frosts and removed cabbage.

Of all the seasons, autumn is the most productive period in agriculture. Therefore, the holidays associated with this time of year, the peasants had a lot. On the Crusade, in addition to the obligatory visit to the temple, they were engaged in household work, in particular, vegetables were harvested and harvested. “At the Exaltation of the good fellow cabbage at the porch”, “Like, woman, about cabbage – the Exaltation has come”, “Without cabbage, the bellies are empty and not thick”, – said the peasants. Mature cocoons were not only sent to the cellars, but immediately preserved - marinated, salted and fermented, so to speak, without departing from the cash register. The occupation required many hands, so the villagers usually helped each other with cleaning and preparation, moving from yard to yard. And in the evening they arranged gatherings - cabbages, where the hostess tried to please the guests with various "thematic" dishes.

It did not do without a favorite girl's occupation - fortune-telling. The best way to make a good living is to make the best of the children. The random cock had to be cut off with his eyes closed, carried to the house and carefully examined. A small and dense man will be greedy. A large coach with lush leaves promised a beautiful spouse, a dirty one – rich. And if the cabbage leaves easily detached from the pot, they said that a womanizer would be caught. By the way, so that the girls did not cheat and did not notice win-win options in their garden, often guessed on the neighboring cabbage or mined it at night. Since these days were arranged girls' parties, all this activity was accompanied by fun and jokes with the guys. For a long time, people tried not to go to the Forest. It was believed that from this day on, snakes were sent to winter, which crawled everywhere, trying to find safe shelter during the cold weather. Therefore, despite the fact that the active mushroom season continued at the end of September, people preferred not to tempt fate on “snake holidays”, and also carefully ensure that uninvited guests did not sneak into the house or outbuildings. Meeting with the snake did not bode well for the girls either. According to legends, the snake king himself could look at the beauty. However, if you believe folklore, this version of marriage was also good, because the groom was far from poor. But here, as they say, the amateur.

On the Crusade also conducted various ceremonies to aversion from home troubles and diseases. To do this, crosses were painted on windows, ceiling beams and doors, for which they used huge candles, less often ordinary chalk. Often crosses were folded from branches of ash, which was considered a powerful protection from evil spirits. Such amulets were laid out on the windowsills and over the doorways.

TRUTH

It was a good sign to plant trees and bushes in the garden: it was believed that they would take root well.

♦ Unmarried people were not allowed to eat potatoes because they believed they would not get married for another year.

♦ In the Ascension, important things did not begin, since there was a belief that everything started on this day would be unsuccessful and useless.

NOTES

Geese fly high - to a strong flood in the spring.

Frozen in the morning – wait for winter soon.

♦ It's warm and clear outside - winter isn't coming so soon.

bebenina@sb.by