The feast of St. Andrew the First-Called is very revered among the Orthodox, since Andrew is one of the twelve apostles. Peter the Great also instituted the highest award - the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, which only dignitaries could receive. Also, the St. Andrew's flag, as you know, is the official banner of the Russian fleet.
When is Andrew's holiday in December?
There is a celebration of Andrew, or, as it was called - Andreev Day, December 13, according to a new style (30.11 old style). It is one of the first holidays, opening the winter cycle.
History of the church holiday of Andrey
The Holy Apostle was from Bethsaida, who was in Galilee, he lived in Capernaum on the shore of a lake where he and his brother were fishing, which earned him a living. From the youngest years he was very devout, he prayed a lot, he was distinguished by a great aspiration for God.
Andrew did not marry, choosing the path of the disciple of the Holy Prophet John the Baptist. Later, when John the Baptist announced to John the Theologian and Andrew about the Incarnation and baptism of Jesus in the Jordan, immediately followed Christ, becoming one of his first disciples. In the future, he will lead to Christ and his brother Simon, known as the apostle Peter.
The Apostle Andrew was one of the witnesses of the Resurrection and the Ascension of Christ, after which he returned to Jerusalem, traveled several times, delivering the Word of God to Asia Minor, Macedonia, the Black Sea, Kiev, Novgorod, Rome, Thrace. Along the way, he suffered many sufferings from the Gentiles.
His agonizing demise he took at the age of 62 in the city of Patras cruel ruler Egeat. He was crucified on the cross, which in the future was called "St. Andrew's Cross." The relics of the saint are now in Italy in the cathedral of Amalfi, the head is in Rome in the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle.
Customs and signs related to the feast of St. Andrew the First-Called
According to the Slavic traditions, the night before the holiday of Andrey, girls are wondering at the suitors. They try to evoke prophetic dreams, where they would appear to be their betrothed. To do this, you need to place a bowl with water under the bed, and a little bit of kutya, a knife, a mirror and a man's hat or a chip from the fence of the guy who likes it.
To see in the dream narrowed, the girls sowed flax seeds in the pot with the ground, read "Our Father" over it 9 times, standing, kneeling and sitting. After they uttered a conspiracy: "Saint Andrew, I'm flaxen on you, let me know who I'm going to tear up." And the pot was also placed under the bed.
In Ukrainian Polesie, this holiday was considered a holiday of young men. On this day, they were taken to the company of young people in the evening. Young guys jump up to the suspended ritual bread Kalita and bite off a piece of it, after which they treat everyone.
In western Ukraine, the night before the feast of Andrei was considered a moment of evil spirits. According to legends, witches can take away the milk from the cows, so that on this night the Hutsuls burned "Andreevsky bonfires" on the hill this night.
Since that day, there have been prohibitions on any kind of weaving and threading. The ban lasted until Baptism. Also during the period from Andreev's day until the New Year it was forbidden to walk outside the house - "nesnovitsa".
Signs timed to the Andreev Day: on Andrew the First-Called walk at night to the lakes and rivers to listen to water: if the water is quiet, to a smooth and good winter, if noisy - to the cold, well, if stormy - to storms and blizzards.
If on the day of Andrew the weather is cold and clear - it's a good sign, and if the heat - bad. If this day the snow goes and remains (does not melt), then there are still 10 days.