On March 22, Christians of the Eastern Rite celebrate a holiday dedicated to the 40 Martyrs of Sebaste. In the people it is also called Forty Saints or Magpies. This is one of the important religious holidays, on this day the restrictions of Great Lent, which lasts until Easter, are relaxed..

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history of the holiday.

According to legend, 40 warriors were the best squad in the army of Emperor Licinius, a pagan and persecutor of Christians.. Warriors preached love for Christ and refused to make sacrifices to pagan gods.

Licinius ordered them to be stripped naked and placed in an icy lake, which froze over at night.. To increase the torment of the soldiers, a bathhouse was melted on the shore.

One of the soldiers could not stand the torture and left the lake, but fell dead on its shore.. One of the guards, struck by the courage of the soldiers, exclaimed, “And I am a Christian! and entered the lake. So the martyrs again became 40.

What is customary to do on this day.

The holiday is not only religious, but also folk.. It is associated with many signs, traditions and prohibitions that our ancestors followed for a long time.. Memories of them have been preserved in the people's memory to this day..

On a holiday, it is customary to go to church, it is believed that it is necessary to light 40 candles. Believers thank God, ask for protection from adversity and beat 40 prostrations.

It is also customary to bake 40 bird-shaped buns.. They were often strung on twigs, hung in the garden and given to neighborhood children to keep the poultry healthy..

The people also believed that on this day the magpie collects 40 twigs to make a nest. You can’t disturb the bird, it is believed that it will become a talisman for the house near which it will settle.

It was customary to invite friends and relatives home on the holiday.. The more they gather, the better.. The people believed that the more noisy it was that day in the house, the better..

To drive away winter, a girl on a holiday must break 40 threads and break 40 wooden dies.

If it was warm, they sowed peas, believing that forty pods would grow on each stem, and forty peas in each of them..

The holiday was considered a harbinger of spring, however, the people believed that frosts were still possible.. There is a saying: "

What not to do on Forty Saints.

In the folk tradition, the prohibitions that our ancestors tried to observe were also associated with the holiday..

It is believed that on this day you can not swear, quarrel, conflict and wish others harm.

The people also believed that on a holiday you can’t sew, knit, embroider, and also do housework.. It is believed that who will work in the Forty Saints, he will receive 40 sores. However, you can bake to attract spring.

Don't borrow money on holidays.

Holiday signs.

If the birds arrive, it will soon be very warm.

On March 22, the tit sang - it prophesies warmly.

Snow fell - to the cold on Easter.

Cloudy and frosty - soon it will be warm and ready to sow.

Good weather - for the harvest of buckwheat.

Snow melts together - to active flooding and lush grasses.

Precipitation and little sun - there will be no flooding, no heavy rains are expected in summer, and autumn will be dry.