Every day the church honors the memory of a saint or celebrates some event. Any church celebration carries a deep meaning - this is how such celebrations differ from secular ones: they are always instructive, educate people, encourage them to good deeds and set them in the right way.
To better understand what the twelfth holidays are, you should look for similar ones in the secular calendar. For example, can City Day be a similar analogue? Of course not - this is fun, albeit with a reason, but without a reason. Or New Years? This is a celebration loved by everyone, but empty - to sit at the set table, make some noise at night, and in the morning to collect fragments of dishes broken by guests from the floor - that's the whole point! The only event, perhaps, that is somewhat reminiscent of the twelfth holiday is Victory Day. This celebration inspires, gives life guidelines, instructs. The same thing happens in the soul of a believer during church festivities.
Orientation of folk traditions
Twelfth Orthodox holidays are special days dedicated to the main events of worldly lifeChrist and his mother, the Most Holy Theotokos. There are twelve such celebrations in total, which is why they are called the twelve. A thousand years ago, the tradition of celebrating them arose, and now they are celebrated all over the world not only by Orthodox Christians, but also by staunch atheists. Such interest is not accidental - it is church holidays (the twelfth) expressively and excellently reflect the customs and national culture of society. On the Slavic land, they were established step by step, sweeping aside demonic rituals and dark prejudices and being filled with elements of ancient Slavic traditions. Their development was long and difficult. It is only thanks to the Orthodox Church that most of these celebrations have been preserved. It was she who, reviled, banned and persecuted for more than 8 decades of the 20th century, took the Christian faith under protection and preserved the folk Orthodox heritage.
What do the twelfth holidays mean for people
These days for believers are the peaks of rejoicing in the year, the days of approaching Jesus, the days of salvation. They rejoice that the Lord turned His attention to people, that the Mother of God, being a person, the same as all of us, became in the Kingdom of Heaven, and everyone can turn to her with the words: “Save us.” Believers celebrate the fact that already here, on earth, a person can unite with God. Such celebrations give people hope, strengthen faith, awaken love in their hearts.
General concepts
Twelfth holidays are delimited depending on:
- contents - Master's (Lord's),Mother of God, saints' days;
- church service solemnities: small, medium, great;
- celebration times: fixed, moving
Eight days are set for the glorification of Jesus Christ, four days for the veneration of the Virgin Mary, which is why some are called the Lord's, and others the Mother of God. Easter does not belong to such celebrations - this is the most important and beautiful celebration. If the Twelfth Days are like stars that delight people with their twinkling, then Holy Pascha is like the sun, without which life on Earth is impossible, and before the brilliance of which any stars fade.
Next, we will briefly talk about each twelfth holiday.
September 21 - Nativity of the Virgin
This date is the birthday of the mother of Jesus, the Virgin Mary. Little is known about the worldly life of the woman who gave salvation to the whole world. According to legend, the pious Anna and Joachim did not have children for a long time. Once, during prayer, they made a vow that if a child was born, they would designate him to serve God. After that, both dreamed of an angel at the same time, he announced that an extraordinary child would soon appear, and the glory of him would sound throughout the great earth. As the subsequent events known to everyone testify, this prophecy came true.
September 14 - Ex altation of the Holy Cross
This twelfth holiday is dedicated to the worship of the Cross, on which the Savior accepted torment and death. This Cross, as well as the burial place of Christ, were found on the holy land by Queen Elena three hundred years later.
November 21 - Entry into the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary
When the Virgin Mary was three years old, the righteous parents decided that the time had come to fulfill the vow made to the Lord. For dedication to God, they left their only daughter in the temple, where she, immaculate and sinless, began to intensively prepare for the Motherhood.
January 7 - Christmas Day
This is one of the most important Christian holidays. It is officially declared the birthday of Jesus. The Gospel tells that Mary and Joseph, the parents of Christ, were forced to spend the whole night in a cave, where the baby was born. After his birth, the cave was lit up with light, and the brightest star suddenly shone in the sky.
January 19 – Epiphany, or Baptism of the Lord
In the year 30 of the new era in the city of Bethabara, on the banks of the Jordan, on this very day, the baptism of the sinless thirty-year-old Jesus took place. He did not need to repent, he came in order to bless the water with himself and give it to us for holy Baptism. Then the Savior went to the desert for 40 days in search of divine enlightenment.
February 15 – Meeting of the Lord
This twelfth holiday is dedicated to the meeting, that is, the meeting of the God-receiver Simeon, who was looking forward to the Savior of the world, with Jesus, a 40-day-old baby, whom his parents first brought to the temple for dedication to God.
April 7 – Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Holy Mother of God)
Apparently, in the history of the human race, there are two primaryevents: this is the birth and resurrection of Christ. From the Archangel Gabriel on March 25 (according to the old style) the Virgin Mary received the good news that the birth of the Savior of the world was destined for her. Hence the name - the Annunciation.
On the eve of Easter, on Sunday - Palm Sunday
After spending forty days in the wilderness, Jesus entered Jerusalem. On this date, believers are sad, realizing what kind of torment and suffering awaited Christ in the following days. The strict fast of Holy Week begins.
40 days after Easter, on Thursday - the Ascension of the Lord
The twelfth feast in honor of the day when Jesus ascended to heaven but promised to return. Note that the number 40 is not accidental. In sacred history, this is the period when all feats end. In the case of Jesus, this is the completion of his earthly ministry: on the 40th day after the Resurrection, he was supposed to enter the Temple of his Father.
On the 50th day after Easter, on Sunday - the Holy Trinity
Sometimes the Trinity is called Pentecost. It was on this day that the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles and made them prophets. In this phenomenon, the mystery of the Holy Trinity was revealed.
August 19 - Transfiguration of the Lord (Savior)
Christ, a short time before the Crucifixion, together with his disciples John, Peter and Jacob ascended Mount Tabor to pray. While Jesus was praying, the disciples fell asleep, and when they woke up, they saw that He was talking with God the Father. At that moment, Christ was completely transformed: His face shone like the sun, and his clothes becamewhite.
August 28 – Assumption of the Mother of God (Holy Mother of God)
This is a symbolic day (it is not indicated in the canonical texts) of the death of the Virgin Mary. The Mother of God lived a rather long life - seventy-two years by the standards of the first century of the new era.
Iconography
All twelfth holidays have their symbolic images. The icon of any celebration, in honor of which the temple was consecrated, can be placed on the iconostasis in the second row from the bottom or in the local row. In churches where there is a complete iconostasis, icons of the Twelve Feasts are usually placed between the deesis and local rows.
