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Short stories about the trinity. Holy Trinity Day: meaning, history and traditions of the holiday

The Christian holiday of Trinity is one of the twelve, and it is celebrated on the 50th day after Easter (it also has another name - Pentecost). The Church of Western orientation celebrates on this day the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, Pentecost, and Trinity only a week later, on next Sunday.

history of the holiday

Twenty centuries have passed since the apostles gathered in an ordinary house on Mount Zion. History is silent about who lived in this house, but it was to him that she awarded the right to be called the first Christian church, since it was here in the upper room (room at the top) that Christ appeared twice after his Resurrection, here he filled the cup with wine, breaking bread, thus performing the first Liturgy. In this place and on this day, according to the Bible, grace descended on the apostles and the Virgin Mary. And this event happened on the 50th day of the Resurrection of Christ and on the 10th day after the Ascension.

By this time, the apostles no longer grieved as much as after the crucifixion of Christ. They realized that after his departure the messiah left not just a handful of like-minded followers, but an entire Church. Most of the apostles were from other cities, but they did not go home, but had already been in Jerusalem for fifty days, in the house of Zion, where Christ asked them not to disperse while awaiting the baptism of the Holy Spirit in order to receive the strength of mind for preaching and building a new Church.

This event introduced people to the third person of God, introducing them to the sacrament, the essence of which is that the unity of God is in three persons - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. And from this day on, the good news is preached throughout all Christian lands. God does not reveal himself to us immediately, but gradually. In modern understanding, the Trinity means that God, who created life on Earth, sent the Son to people to save people, and then the Holy Spirit, who descended on the apostles, and therefore on all of us.

The predictions of the apostles came true, and the people who believed their words joyfully accepted baptism. There were up to 3,000 such people that day. And the Kingdom of God, called the Church of Christ, was established on earth. Having received the gift of prophecy and healing, and, most importantly, the opportunity to preach the Truth, the apostles scattered throughout all countries, preaching in different parts of the world. Of course, they were executed (only one of the twelve, John, managed to die a natural death), but what can the authorities do with those in whom the Holy Spirit was present? Rulers and states disappear from the face of the earth, but the Church has lived and grown stronger for 2,000 years, having its beginnings with that small handful of people on Mount Zion.

The holiday of Trinity was established by the apostles. They were the first to celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit and bequeathed to all who believed in Christ to honor this day. For Christians, the celebration of the Holy Trinity comes down to honoring God in various manifestations. The community of people with the Holy Spirit in their souls is the Church of Christ. Every Orthodox Christian says the words of the prayer “In the name of the father, and the son, and the holy spirit...”. From that day on, God gave the apostles the gift of speaking in different languages. With the end of Christ's earthly life, the life of Christ's Church began, and the apostles had to wander around the world, telling all people about the great Truth that God conveyed to them in such different ways.

Trinity Traditions

The history of the holiday goes back thousands of years, but it is still celebrated quite widely today, since it is very close in spirit to the Russian people. This day, first of all, was considered a holiday of the earth - it could not be dug up or disturbed in any way. People call Trinity a “green”, “summer”, “emerald” day, the beginning of summer. By this time, nature has finally woken up, giving rise to a new full-fledged life. Saturday on the eve of the holiday was an important memorial day among the Slavs. In churches they lit candles for the repose of loved ones, in cemeteries they commemorated deceased relatives, leaving funeral food on the graves. They especially prayed for everyone who died a premature death, considering them victims of treacherous mermaids. People celebrate Trinity for 3 days.

The first day - Green Sunday - tells people to be especially careful because of the activity and treachery of mermaids, moths and other mythical evil spirits. In villages, signs, rituals and traditions are associated with the Trinity holiday. The floors of houses and churches were covered with a real carpet of freshly cut green grass; gates and icons were covered with branches of birch, lilac, maple, apple, and willow.

And yet, the symbol of the holiday is the birch tree, which has the active power of growth, and it must certainly be used on this day, because a young birch tree, filled with the forces of the awakening earth, will preserve the new harvest and reward people and animals with health.

Trinity without a birch is like Christmas without a tree. A lot of greenery, a lot of fun is contained in these Christmastides. Even the color of the clothes of church ministers on this holiday is green - a symbol of the new life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, the beginning of our Church. In some Orthodox churches, gold and white colors have the same power.

Girls' holiday

Trinity has always been considered a girl's holiday. The girls dressed up in their best sundresses, often specially made for this occasion. They baked a loaf of bread and distributed it to unmarried girls in the forest. These pieces were dried and preserved until the wedding, then kneading these crackers into the dough for the wedding loaf and believing that they would bring prosperity and love to their new family. On green Christmastide, girls stop singing stoneflies and weave wreaths, lowering them into the river for fortune telling. If the wreaths floating on the water converge, it means that the girl will be wooed this year, she will return to the shore and spend another year as a girl, but if she completely drowns, then the girl will not soon wait for her betrothed. On Trinity Day, girls tell fortunes with a cuckoo, asking how long they can continue to cuckoo in their parents' house. And the cuckoo said to wait so many years for matchmakers. The image of the cuckoo - bird things - is associated with the image of blooming nature and the veneration of vegetation. Having decorated their homes, the girls went to curl the birch tree. They chose a young curly tree in the forest, decorated it with ribbons, and danced in circles with songs. Then they organized a picnic under the birch tree - a festive meal. In the evening, the people were entertained by mummers and buffoons.

With the onset of Clergy Monday, after the service, the priests went to the fields to read prayers asking God for blessings on the future harvest. The children were playing interesting games at this time. On the third, God's Day, the boys chose their brides, the girl half of the youth “led the poplar”, in the role of which was an unmarried girl - the first beauty in the village. She was dressed up beyond recognition, decorated with wreaths, ribbons, branches and taken around the courtyards, where the owners generously treated her. Water in wells was sanctified, thus ridding it of evil spirits.

According to popular beliefs, after the green Christmastide there was a mermaid week, during which mermaids emerged from lakes and rivers and wandered through the forests, choosing old oak trees as shelter, where they swung on the trees, unwinding the yarn of careless housewives who fall asleep without prayer.

The house was protected from this evil spirit by mint, thyme and garlic, placed in the huts and placed on the windows. At the final stage of the celebration, there was a special ritual of throwing out the Trinity greenery, as well as floating it on the water.

Western Christian traditions

Lutherans and Catholics share the celebration of Trinity and Pentecost. The cycle of summer holidays for them opens with Pentecost, after 7 days it passes the baton to the Trinity, on the eleventh day - the feast of the Blood and Body of Christ, on the nineteenth - the Most Holy Heart of Christ, on the twentieth - the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary. In Russian churches for Catholics, as well as in Poland, Ukraine and Belarus, these days they decorate churches with birch branches, collect herbs and flowers and bring them to the church for blessing. Such herbs are believed to cure many diseases. During the service, you need to shed a few tears on the flowers (as in the classic: “Tenderly they shed three tears on the tuft of dawn”). Trinity is celebrated as a public holiday in Germany, Austria, Belgium, Spain, Denmark, Latvia, Luxembourg, Romania, Switzerland, Norway, France, Iceland.

Trinity and modernity

The features of the Trinity celebration are best preserved in rural areas. On the eve of the first summer holiday, housewives put the entire household in perfect order, prepare festive dishes with green eggs painted in birch leaves, pies, pancakes, meat delicacies and wine, trying to pamper themselves and their relatives before Peter's Lent. With wildflowers, fragrant herbs and branches of birch, willow and other trees collected early in the morning, they decorate gates, icons, doors and windows, and cover the floors with a carpet of freshly cut grass, believing that it will not allow an unclean spirit into the house. Blooming branches remind us that with the grace of God the souls bloom with the flowers of virtues. In the morning, festive services are held in the Temples. At this service, kneeling prayers are read again, which have not happened for 50 days after Easter. In the evening, amateur art concerts, fairs, and folk festivals with entertainment and fun competitions are held. Unfortunately, many traditions have been lost without a trace, and yet Trinity is one of the main Christian holidays, a symbol of faith, the unity of Christianity and paganism, filling our hearts with the love and mercy of loved ones, and good deeds every day. The pictures show the holiday of Trinity - from paganism to the present day.

Interesting traditions and fascinating rituals on. We'll tell you all about the generous Maslenitsa in.

The Feast of the Holy Trinity is one of the most interesting and, perhaps, the most unusual church celebrations. It, like Easter, is also always celebrated on Sunday - namely, 50 days after this day (the Holy Trinity is also called Pentecost).

At the same time, for the most part, we know much more about Bright Resurrection or Christmas than about the day of the Most Holy Trinity. That’s why it will be interesting to figure out what kind of holiday this is, why it has several names, and what the sacred meaning of this date is. And most importantly, how to properly celebrate the Great Trinity?

Holiday of Trinity in Orthodoxy: meaning and names

First of all, let's look at the names. There are simple cases when everything is clear: Christmas is Christmas, and Easter is Easter (or the Holy Resurrection of Christ). But with Trinity, things are a little different - the holiday has several names:

  1. Trinity Day (Holy or Most Holy Trinity Day, Trinity Day) – i.e. a holiday in honor of the triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
  2. Pentecost - this word has exactly the same meaning. It simply reminds us that the descent of the Spirit took place on the 50th day after Easter. Therefore, the celebration always falls on a Sunday: May 27, 2018, June 16, 2019, etc.
  3. Spirits Day, or the Day of the Holy Spirit - this name emphasizes the key event in honor of which the holiday is celebrated.

All these names for the holiday of Trinity can be found in various sources - for example, in Wikipedia, Orthodox magazines and others. By the way, Spiritual Day falls on Monday, and Pentecost itself falls on Sunday. But what do the three days of Trinity mean? They symbolize the same holiday, it is simply celebrated for three days.

Holy Trinity: what a holiday

So, what is the meaning of this interesting holiday? Why is it considered one of the great Christian celebrations along with Easter, Christmas, Epiphany and other significant dates? Answers to these questions can be obtained if you learn something about those events two thousand years ago, which laid the foundation for the good tradition of celebrating this date.

The history of the Trinity Day dates back to the last days of Jesus' life on earth. Shortly before his death, he promised that exactly 50 days after this, God would send a Comforter who would invisibly help all his followers.

And indeed, after 40 days, the Savior ascended to heaven, and a decade later, the disciples of Christ gathered together in one of the houses of Jerusalem. And at that moment a very loud noise was heard in the sky, as if a hurricane wind was sweeping over the city.

It turned out that these were not streams of air, but a miraculous event: at the same moment, flames lit up above the heads of the disciple-apostles. People began to speak all the languages ​​and dialects that were used by local peoples at that time. Then the holy apostles-followers of Christ began to teach people, preaching to them salvation and God's love.


However, what does the holiday of Trinity mean for us - people living in modern times, 2000 years later? It turns out that the relevance of those events has been preserved in its original form, because the descent of the Holy Spirit has a direct bearing on all inhabitants of the planet.

His coming to earth means the coming of a time of grace when we have a direct connection with heavenly powers. Every person today can simply pray, ask for forgiveness and receive it.

And in the old days, complex rituals were performed for this, sacrifices were made, and fires were lit. In a word, forgiveness was purchased at a very high price. Now the connection with the Almighty has been established in such a way that any of us can turn to Him.

It turns out that the Holy Spirit is a kind of communication channel between man and God. Moreover, he is God himself, his third person. Therefore, the Orthodox holiday of the Trinity symbolizes the Triune Lord, who revealed himself in all his fullness.


WHY IS THE HOLY SPIRIT A COMFORTER?

Let's rewind the events 20 centuries ago and imagine this picture. The Lord died, but rose again. The joy of believers knows no bounds - after all, even today the echoes of this event reverberate with a joyful wave in the hearts of billions of believers when they say: “Christ is risen! Truly risen!” And what happened after?

The Savior went to heaven, as expected, on the 40th day. Probably, many people have a feeling in their hearts that they have become orphans or have lost their right wing. But now, only 10 days have passed, and the Holy Spirit descended to earth.

It turns out that from then until today, God himself has been invisibly next to us, and at any moment we can turn to him for help. It was for this purpose that the Comforter was sent to our planet.

How Orthodox Christians Celebrate the Holy Trinity

Among church holidays, Trinity Day is perhaps the most beautiful event of the year. The priests dress in green clothes, churches and icons of the Holy Trinity are decorated with birch branches, wildflowers, and leaves. The floor of the temples is covered with fresh grass.

The green tone serves as a symbol of life-giving faith, the revival of nature after a long winter, but most importantly, the liberation of the human soul from sin.

That is why on this day it is customary to consecrate birch branches (the birch tree is a real symbol of Russia) and bring them into the house. Legend has it that this unique bouquet will bring good luck for the whole year if it is preserved until the next Trinity Sunday.

Green branches of other plants - oak, linden, maple and rowan - are also used to decorate the home on Trinity. They are called upon to protect the house from evil spirits. From meadow herbs they take cornflowers, lovage, thyme, fern, mint, lemon balm, burdock, weave wreaths from them and hang them on the door, make bouquets that are placed on the table or near icons.


On the eve of Holy Trinity Saturday, an all-night vigil is served. On the day of the Feast of the Holy Trinity, the Gospel of John is read and the festive liturgy is celebrated.

The third day of Trinity is called the day of the Holy Spirit. On this day, it is customary for churches to bless water. People take the grass and branches that were used to decorate the temples and bring them home. They are dried and stored all year - they protect the house from diseases and troubles. Healers recommend collecting herbs on this day - it is believed that nature endows them with special miraculous properties.

During these holidays, priests do not recommend engaging in heavy physical work, visiting a cemetery, or planning any global affairs (for example, cleaning the house, working in the country, making large purchases, etc.). It is best to find time for festive services - go to church for a service, attend the liturgy in honor of the Most Holy Trinity, get imbued with the spirit of the Holy Ones, and tune in to the festive wave.

And you can spend the rest of the day with your loved ones, help your family, and visit old friends. There is no fasting on the Feast of Holy Pentecost, so the festive table is supposed to be rich and plentiful, with a variety of meat dishes, pies, and fresh herbs.

Also, after the festive dinner, traditional folk festivities are held - people head out into nature, where they perform ritual dances, sing songs, and light bonfires. And on such a holiday you can make your most cherished wish - if you tune in to making your dream come true, it will certainly come true.

So, what is this - the holiday of the Great Trinity? This is the day of the descent of the Holy Spirit, when God manifested himself in all three persons and revealed himself as the triune Almighty.

This is also the day of rebirth of the human soul, when it can receive the priceless gift of salvation by simply repenting of its sins and entrusting all experiences to the Lord. This is what it is – the bright Holy Trinity.

The Orthodox holiday of Trinity (three holy faces) is a special day for believers. Its second name is Pentecost. It is explained by the fact that Trinity is celebrated on the fiftieth day after Easter Sunday. In terms of importance, the Trinity is surpassed only by Holy Easter. Even Christmas is given less significant significance. Trinity is one of the dozen most important Orthodox holidays. Therefore, it is very important to know what the holiday of Trinity means in Orthodoxy and for believers.

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The history of the Orthodox holiday Trinity

Trinity has a very interesting history. According to the Gospel, Jesus Christ ascended to heaven on the fortieth day after his Resurrection. And it was then that he prophesied to the apostles that God’s Spirit would descend on them. It came true exactly ten days later. That is, on the fiftieth day after the Resurrection of Christ.

All twelve apostles, as well as the Mother of God Mary, were at that moment in the same upper room on Mount Zion, where they prayed. And then, suddenly, thunder roared, as if the heavens had opened up, it became noisy, as if strong winds were raging, and the room was filled with tongues of flame, which for some reason did not burn anyone.

The disciples of Jesus Christ heard the voice of God, who told them to go around the world preaching Christianity. In addition, each of the apostles suddenly realized that they could speak many languages ​​that they did not previously know. This was necessary in order to bring faith to different peoples of the world; the Lord endowed them with such an opportunity.

The people used to have so-called “forbidden” customs on Trinity. For example, a week before Peter's Fast it was forbidden to swim or go to the forest, since rivers and forests at that time “passed” into the possession of mermaids and kikimoras. And these “ladies” tried to drag people into the thicket or drown them.

The apostles, amazed by what had happened, left the upper room and began to tell everyone about the Grace that had descended on them. Their words sank into the souls of many. As a result, three thousand people immediately converted to Christianity. The first temple was built right there on Mount Zion. Therefore, Trinity is also considered the birthday of the Church of God on earth.

Important! There are several versions of the story of the grace of God descending on the apostles. The above is the basic one and is supported by most Christians.

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Church holiday Trinity among the Slavs before and now

What does the Trinity holiday mean among the Slavs? The Slavs had a holiday called Trinity a little later than many other Christians. This is due to the fact that they became Orthodox only after the Baptism of Rus' in 988. Before that, our ancestors were pagans and had not heard of Christ. The Slavs had a holiday similar to Trinity. And it was celebrated by our ancestors around the same days.

The Slavs believed in three main gods - Svarog, Svyatovit and Perun. Each of them had a special purpose. And our ancestors were convinced that as long as this great trinity fulfilled its functions, the world would exist. This unity of the three deities was celebrated in early June.

Many traditions associated with the celebration of the pagan Trinity automatically transferred to the Orthodox Pentecost. For example, collecting herbs and decorating your home with them, weaving wreaths, refusing to swim in ponds (people used to believe that on these days mermaids showed their evil spells, and, in general, all evil spirits became active), conducting matchmaking rituals and much more.

The more Orthodoxy took root in Slavic land, the more parishioners there were in churches on Trinity Sunday. Solemn services were held. And after some time, going to church on this day became obligatory for everyone.

Interesting! After Trinity, the twentieth of June comes the Slavic holiday of Spirits Day. According to popular beliefs, it is believed that at this time all evil spirits come to light: devils, goblin, mermaids and the like. Men should be wary of mermaids (girls who drowned due to unrequited love). Their goal is to seduce a man and drown him.

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Video “What does the holiday of Trinity mean in Orthodoxy”

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Modern people, despite the fact that they believe in God with all their souls, rarely observe all the traditions and commandments. But there are Great holidays and days that are never forgotten and honored in every Christian family. One of these holidays is the Day of the Holy Trinity.

What date is Trinity celebrated?

Trinity is one of the most important holidays of the Christian church. It follows: exactly 7 Sundays later, on the 50th day, closely intertwining folk customs and church traditions.

Considering that Easter is a moving holiday - it does not have a specific date, the Feast of the Holy Trinity is also celebrated on different days every year.

Great Easter is preceded by the strictest fast of the year - 7 weeks, which begins after Maslenitsa and even covers the day of the spring equinox. Therefore, the easiest way, and then the date of the Holy Trinity, is to use a tear-off calendar, where the phases of the moon are usually indicated.

  1. Find the day of the vernal equinox.
  2. Determine the date of the full moon immediately after the spring equinox.
  3. Mark the Sunday closest to the full moon - this will be the day of Great Easter.
  4. Count down 49 days after Easter.
  5. On the 50th day, Sunday, Trinity is celebrated.

Trinity Day 2016

This year it was celebrated on May 1, right on the day of spring and labor. Having counted down the required 7 weeks, it will not be difficult to find out that Trinity in 2016 will occur on Sunday, June 19.

history of the holiday

The Trinity is also often called Pentecost. And not at all because it is celebrated 49 days after Great Easter. In fact, Pentecost was celebrated long before Christianity arose. It was on the fiftieth day after Pesach (Jewish Passover) that Moses received the Ten Commandments from the Lord, which later became the basis for the Old Testament.

And many years later, also on the fiftieth day after the Resurrection of Christ, the incorporeal, living Holy Spirit descended on the Mother of God and the 12 apostles - this is how God appeared to them in his third appearance (before that, God had already appeared to them twice in the form of God the Father (Divine Uma) and God the son (Divine Word)). So this day was also celebrated as the day of the Holy Trinity.

The Zion Upper Room in Jerusalem, where this action took place, according to the Bible, became the world's first Christian church, and the day of the Holy Trinity went down in history as the appearance of the New Testament Church on Earth.

This is the main version of the origin of the Trinity holiday, although, admittedly, it is not the only one. There are many legends, according to one of which Trinity is the day on which the Lord created the earth and greenery, according to another - on this day Jesus walked with Peter and Paul in the shade of green trees and Christ blessed this day and called it Trinity. Of course, these speculations have a right to exist, but still they are not as widespread as the events described in the Bible.

Now the Feast of the Holy Trinity is celebrated in all Christian churches, but for Catholics and Protestants it is a little later: on the 50th day after Easter they celebrate Pentecost, and the Trinity is celebrated the following Sunday.

The essence of the Trinity holiday

From ancient times to the present day, people celebrate the Trinity holiday with the hope of a new beginning, a fruitful and favorable year for all living things and, first of all, for their family.

If, by welcoming winter at Maslenitsa, we welcome spring, then Trinity is the full-fledged beginning of summer. Usually, by Trinity, all the trees in the forest have already blossomed, the grass has grown, and truly warm days have begun.

Maybe this is why it has been established since ancient times that Trinity is a moving holiday and does not have exact dates.

Traditions and customs of the Trinity holiday

By the feast of the Holy Trinity, spring finally comes into its own: everything around is filled with new life and light, blossoms and comes to life. As a sign of the renewal of all living things, temples and churches on this day are also buried in fresh greenery: the floor is covered with soft grass, the walls are decorated with young birch shoots, and the priests themselves wear green clothes.

But it’s not only in churches that light and spring are allowed to penetrate! On the eve of Trinity, housewives put their home in perfect order, decorate the rooms with fresh flowers, symbolizing how the soul of a person who has let God into his heart blossoms and blossoms.

From the very morning, Christians rush to church to thank God for always being with them and protecting them from troubles and misfortunes. Every believer always returns home from the temple with a thin branch of a young birch tree, which symbolizes the beginning of everything living, bright, and a new good life.

All relatives and friends are invited to the house, the table is set, and a good meal is prepared. According to tradition, there must be a freshly baked loaf and that same twig from the temple on the table, as a sign of prosperity and a happy life for all those present.

Symbols of the holiday of Trinity

It’s not for nothing that churches use Russian birch branches for decoration. Birch is one of the first to be covered with young leaves and stands the most “elegant” in the forest. All over the world it is believed that the Russian birch tree has a special growth power, so people have known since ancient times that in the forest they must hug the birch tree and ask it for strength and health.

In ancient times, on the evening of Trinity, young girls put on their most beautiful dresses, wreaths of birch branches with wild flowers and always went to “curl” the birch tree: the youngest of them cut down a young tree and the girls together decorated it with ribbons and flowers, danced in circles and danced around him. After this, the birch tree had to be drowned in the river so that the land would be rich and fertile.

Fortune telling for Trinity

It is interesting that Trinity and Pentecost coincide with another great pagan holiday, which our ancestors have not forgotten since ancient times: honoring the arrival of summer - Green Weeks (Green Christmastide, Rusal Week). The end of such a week - Sunday - was especially awaited by very young girls, because... Older girls took them with them to festivities, where they often told fortunes about their betrothed.

Of course, the official church does not approve of this to this day, but, nevertheless, the traditions of this holiday come to us from ancient times.

They believed that on these days mermaids come ashore, play, swing on branches and watch people, and on Trinity Sunday, they are especially active. Therefore, during Mermaid Week you cannot walk through the forest or near the water alone - it is believed that mermaids can easily drag a person to them for fun. Of course, nowadays no one washes in ponds, but still our ancestors are not always wrong.

They always remembered the dead, especially those who died prematurely: according to legend, on Green Week they return to earth in the form of mythological creatures. Wells and fields were blessed.

And for those who liked to tell fortunes about their future on Trinity, there was plenty of room to roam, but the most common fortune-telling were those where birch was used.

  • They picked a random young birch twig and examined it carefully: if the branch is straight, without flaws, then the year will be smooth and quiet. And if it was a curve, then they expected changes, good or bad - they judged by the bark of this branch: whether it was beautiful or sick.
  • Several young branches of different trees were lowered into the water, they made a wish and, with their eyes closed, pulled out whichever one came their way: birch - it will come true, aspen - you can’t wait this year, oak - you need to work hard to make the wish come true, and pine - it all depends from you.

On the 50th day after Easter, Orthodox believers celebrate the Day of the Holy Trinity, or Pentecost. This is one of the 12 main Christian holidays. We talk about the history of Trinity, the meaning and traditions of this day.

Holiday date

Trinity Day is celebrated on the 50th day after the Feast of the Resurrection of Christ. Therefore, Pentecost is the second name of this day. Since the date of Easter is floating, Trinity also falls on different dates. In 2018, Trinity Day falls on May 27th.

Meaning and history

The holiday has been celebrated by believers since 381. It was then that at the second ecumenical church council of Constantinople the doctrine of the three hypostases of God was approved: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. On this same day the fullness of the Holy Trinity was also revealed.

According to the New Testament, before entering the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus Christ promised his disciples, the apostles, that he would send them from his Father, the Holy Spirit, as a consolation. After the Ascension of Christ, the apostles gathered daily in the Zion Upper Room in Jerusalem to pray and read the Holy Scriptures. On the tenth day after the Ascension of Christ (50th after the Resurrection), while in the upper room, at the third hour of the day, the apostles heard a noise. Tongues of fire appeared and rested on each of them. Thus, the disciples of Jesus were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different languages, preaching to representatives of different nations.

The day of the descent of the Holy Spirit is considered the day of the creation of the Christian church, which, through the efforts of the apostles, began to spread throughout the world.

Who's celebrating

Since the 14th century, for Catholics, the holiday of Trinity does not coincide with Pentecost, the day of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles. In the Catholic Church it is celebrated a week later and is associated with the glorification of the Holy Trinity. However, this year the Catholic Trinity coincides with the Orthodox and will be celebrated on May 27.

Orthodox celebration traditions

On the eve of Holy Trinity Day, an all-night vigil is held in churches. On the holiday of the Trinity itself, one of the most solemn and beautiful services of the year is performed in Orthodox churches. After the liturgy, Great Vespers is served, glorifying the descent of the Holy Spirit, and three prayers are read with the genuflection of the clergy and parishioners. This ends the post-Easter period, during which no kneeling or prostration is performed in churches.

On Trinity, there is a custom to decorate churches with branches and grass, which symbolize the renewal of people thanks to the Holy Spirit. Priests wear green robes. Green symbolizes the life-giving and renewing power of the Holy Spirit.

The day after Trinity is Spiritual Day, which is dedicated to the glorification of the Holy Spirit.

Trinity and folk rituals

Before the adoption of Christianity, the Slavic calendar celebrated Semik, or Green Christmastide, at the end of May - the transition from spring to summer. The holiday of Trinity adopted many of the rituals of this holiday. The main components were rituals associated with the cult of vegetation, girls' parties, and commemoration of the dead. During Trinity (Semitic) week, girls aged 7-12 broke birch branches and decorated the house outside and inside with them, children dressed up the birch tree, danced around it, sang songs, and had a festive meal.

On the Saturday before Trinity Day, it was customary to remember the departed. This day is called "stuffy Saturday", or parent's day.