On the last day of Easter week, all Orthodox Christians celebrate Bright Sunday, popularly called Red Hill. The customs of this day allow you to attract good luck into your life and strengthen relationships with loved ones.

The Red Hill holiday is a time of renewal and revision of your plans, desires and actions. On this day, our ancestors traditionally agreed on mutual assistance in agricultural work. Also, the period of weddings began with Krasnaya Gorka: the ban on weddings, which existed throughout Lent, was no longer in force.

How to celebrate Krasnaya Gorka

Since ancient times, noisy youth celebrations have been celebrated on this day: on Krasnaya Gorka people could sing and dance until late. The boys and girls went beyond the outskirts and returned home late at night: all day long they sang songs, danced in circles on the hills and hillocks, and at nightfall lit large fires.

This tradition has changed a little over time, but the main idea has remained the same: on Krasnaya Gorka it is customary to have fun and spend time outside the home.

It is considered great luck to celebrate a wedding on this day. According to legends, those who get married on Krasnaya Gorka will never get divorced and will live a long, happy life. Also on this day, you can gather with relatives and friends at a common table: meat and dairy dishes, in abundance on the table, lure good luck and wealth to the owners of the house.

Many Orthodox Christians visit the cemetery on this day and tidy up the graves and fences. This tradition has not existed for long: initially the church prohibited visiting the cemetery on this holiday. However, in 2017, everyone will be able to visit the graves of their relatives and remember them by leaving Easter gifts: colored eggs, Easter cakes and chocolates.
On Krasnaya Gorka, all churches read the Easter Hours for the last time instead of the usual prayers, make a religious procession after the liturgy, and allow everyone to ring the church bell. On this day we wish you joy, happiness and positive changes. Smile more often!

About beliefs and signs

Over the period of its existence, Krasnaya Gorka has acquired signs and beliefs. On this day, many people try to change their destiny for the better. Whether it “works” or not is up to you to decide. However, in any case, if you try, for example, to attract happiness into your life, you will not harm yourself.

For wealth. Wash yourself with the sacred water that was previously used to wash the icons. At the same time, you cannot tell anyone about this ritual, as it will lose its power.

For good luck and happiness. Throw a coin into a stream, well or other body of water. It is believed that you buy happiness and good luck with it. The denomination doesn't matter.

For health. To forget about illnesses, pray. It is on this day that you can ask the Lord for healing and health. On Red Hill, prayers help bring the souls of deceased relatives to the Almighty.

It should also be remembered that in some regions people go to Krasnaya Gorka to remember their relatives and loved ones who have died. This custom appeared a long time ago and is firmly rooted in our country.

During the Red Hill celebration, you can also check what the whole next year will be like. To do this, the egg was painted red, after which it was lowered into a mound. It was believed that if it did not crack or break during its “journey”, the year would be happy, perhaps you would get married or give birth to a child. If the egg is very bursting, it promises misfortune and illness. It was also possible to check whether the spouses would live together into old age. To do this, two eggs were lowered from the hill together; if they rolled side by side, it was believed that the spouses would live together all their lives, but if not, quarrels were possible. In cases where the eggs diverged in different directions, this indicated a breakdown in the relationship.

What should you know?

Please note that on Krasnaya Gorka, like many centuries ago, there will be celebrations in the church and prosphora will be distributed. It is also important to take into account the fact that many knowledgeable people claim that if you get married on this day in church, the couple will receive God’s blessing and their future family life will be ideal.

It is also customary to tell fortunes about the betrothed on Krasnaya Gorka. Other fortune telling for love is also allowed. However, you cannot guess about your enemies or people who are strangers to you. The only exception is strong feelings. So, for example, if a girl loves a guy and worries about him, she can look into his future. This is acceptable.

Now you know what date Red Hill falls on this year and you can prepare for this significant event by cleansing both your soul and body before the holiday. Don’t be afraid to look into the future and try to somehow influence your destiny, because this is what our ancestors did and they believed that through simple rituals you can achieve your goals, so why not experience the power of magic in practice to see this from your own experience ? It’s so good when dreams come true, and life bursts with positive changes, bringing happiness every day.

Traditions of Radonitsa

This day of the church calendar is full of traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation and have remained unchanged for almost 1,500 years.

In cemeteries, people perform something like a re-celebration of Easter. They bring colored eggs and Easter cakes to eat with those who are no longer around.

The rules say that you need to light a candle and read a prayer. Then have a meal and clean up the burial site, put it in order.

On this day there is not so much a tradition as a rule - do not drink a lot of alcohol. This is allowed, but only in small, moderate quantities.

What is prohibited to do on Radonitsa:

You can't guess on this day. In principle, this is prohibited by the church on any other day.

It is impossible to remember dead people with a bad word on this holiday.

Try to follow the accepted rules so as not to anger Heaven. It is very easy to follow such rules, because they are clear and extremely simple. Let Radonitsa be an important and pleasant day for you, on which the deceased will be able to receive a share of love and attention.

It is no coincidence that Lent teaches us to forgive and ask for forgiveness. On Radonitsa, all your grievances should be left behind. This is an important day on which each of us must understand one thing - we are all mortals, we will all make the transition to another world, so we need to show respect for the afterlife now. Good luck to you!

06.03.2009 11:54:29 Sergey, Moscow
Hello! Sorry, please! I recently learned that on Easter it is not advisable to go to the cemetery, you need to go to Krasnaya Gorka. Is this really true?

Dear Sergey!

Easter is a day of life, a holiday when we rejoice at the resurrection from death. There is no place for mourning the dead here.

There is no ban on visiting a cemetery on any day in the Charter of the Orthodox Church. Another thing is that during the whole of Bright Week the deceased are not remembered in the church, no memorial services are held. Why not go to the cemetery? In former times, there was even a custom in some places - after the service, after celebrating Christ with living loved ones, to go to the cemetery and congratulate your deceased relatives. In ancient years, our Orthodox Tsar, after Easter Matins in the Assumption Cathedral, went to the Archangel Cathedral, and there, bowing to the tombs of his ancestors, he took Christ with his parents, saying out loud “Christ is Risen!”

And the fact that in our country people go to the cemetery on the first day of Easter is due to the fact that in Soviet times many were afraid to go to churches, but religious feelings and needs were alive. During this period, when not everyone dared to openly declare their faith, a practice developed on Easter, instead of a church service, to come to the cemetery, and here, next to their native crosses, congratulate each other on the holiday, reflect on the great event of the Resurrection of Christ. This is how the Soviet custom developed - to visit the cemetery on the first day of Easter.

There is a special church day of remembrance of the dead -Radonitsa, Tuesday in the second week after Easter. Radonitsa - Easter for the dead. On this day, the joy of the Resurrection of the Lord is shared with the departed, in the hope of the resurrection of our departed. The Savior Himself descended into hell to preach victory over death and brought from there the souls of the Old Testament righteous. Because of this great spiritual joy, the day of this commemoration is called “Radonitsa”.

Radonitsa occurs in the second week after Easter, on Tuesday; in 2009 it falls on April 28.

Before visiting the cemetery, one of the relatives should come to the church at the beginning of the service, submit a note with the name of the deceased for commemoration at the altar (it is best if this is commemorated at a proskomedia, when a piece is taken out of a special prosphora for the deceased, and then in a sign of the washing away of his sins will be lowered into the Chalice with the Holy Gifts). After the liturgy, a memorial service must be celebrated. The prayer will be more effective if the one commemorating on this day himself partakes of the Body and Blood of Christ.

And “Red Hill” is the popular name for the first Sunday after Easter. Its church name is St. Thomas Week, because on this day the Church remembers the appearance of the risen Christ to the Apostle Thomas, who demanded irrefutable evidence of this miraculous event. Sunday of the Apostle Thomas (Red Hill) is the first day when the Church, after a long nine-week break (Maslenitsa + Lent + Bright Week), blesses marriages.

Krasnaya Gorka is a cheerful folk holiday in which Orthodox and pagan traditions are closely intertwined. The holiday is tied to the Holy Resurrection of Christ and is celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter.

The Orthodox Church celebrates Antipascha or St. Thomas Sunday on this day.

Sputnik Georgia will tell you about the holiday and its traditions, as well as the meaning of all three of its names.

Red Hill

The word "red" in Slavic dialects means "beautiful, blooming, cheerful." Spring and summer itself are called red because the weather is clear and nature appears in all its glory.

The red slide means beautiful in its location and entertaining in its games. In many places, the hills or hillocks where people gathered in the spring were called red hills.

The holiday symbolizes rebirth, the victory of life over death, spring over the long winter. The essence of the holiday is to meet and greet spring in its full strength and beauty. In the old days, it was believed that by this day nature was already completely in the grip of a bright, blooming spring, and that the summer suffering and harvest lay ahead.

The youth were looking forward to the holiday with great impatience; since ancient times they had met the festive dawn on a beautiful hill. The singer greeted the sunrise with a traditional song, and then everyone sang in chorus. At the end they left an offering to Spring - a round loaf and a painted egg.

Antipascha

The Orthodox Church gave the holiday a new meaning, linking it with Christian events. “Antipascha” is a Greek word, and the prefix “anti” does not mean “against,” but “instead,” that is, the repetition of the holiday on the eighth day after Easter.

This is like an addition to Easter, because it is on this day, after the end of a long fast, that one can get married - the Church, after a long break, begins to perform the sacrament of marriage.

© photo: Sputnik / I. Zenin

A huge number of weddings are traditionally celebrated on Krasnaya Gorka. It is believed that a wedding celebrated on this day will be the key to a long, happy family life.

The first mention of Antipascha is contained in the Antiochian Apostolic Constitutions, which date back to about 380, and the description of the Jerusalem service on this day is in the Pilgrimage of Egeria, about 400.

The service of Antipascha, according to the current Jerusalem Rule, is performed according to the order of the twelve (main) holidays, although formally the day itself is not included in such holidays.

Fomina week

In memory of the miracle of the assurance of the Apostle Thomas, this day is called Thomas Week. In the Church Slavonic language, the word “week” refers to Sunday - the day when you need to rest and devote time to God.

On this day, the service is associated with the remembrance of two appearances of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ to the apostles. The first happened on the evening of Easter, when only ten apostles saw Christ, among whom there was no Thomas.

The second is on the eighth day after Easter, when the Savior appeared to all eleven apostles, including Thomas.

According to Scripture, the Apostle Thomas, who was absent during the first appearance, did not believe that Jesus Christ had risen, so the Savior appeared to him on the eighth day after his miraculous resurrection.

It is human nature to want to be confident after receiving confirmation, so people often demand logical, tangible evidence.

Thomas, seeing Christ, exclaimed: “My Lord and my God!” These words of his meant not only faith in the Resurrection of Christ, but also faith in Him as God. To which Jesus answered him: “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Traditions and customs

Red Hill was considered a day of love, the emergence of feelings and hopes. It has pagan roots and traditions - many of them have been lost over time, but some have survived to this day.

Previously, girls and boys met on Krasnaya Gorka. They chose their betrothed and in a playful, humorous manner announced and showed their affection and sympathy.

They prepared for the holiday in advance, since it was customary to dress up in the most beautiful outfits and clothes on Krasnaya Gorka. Young girls tried their best to attract attention to themselves - they wove bright ribbons into their braids and wore colorful scarves.

Red Hill was considered a girl's holiday.

On this day, mass celebrations, games, round dances, matchmaking, and chants were held. It was considered a bad omen for young people to sit at home on holiday, since it was rumored that those who did not go out to the festivities in Krasnaya Gorka would not be able to find a partner.

On this day, rituals were also held to protect the village from adversity and attract happiness and a good harvest. To carry out the ceremony, all the women gathered in the dark at the edge of the village, harnessed themselves to the plow and made a furrow around the entire village, while reading prayers.

If a cross was formed when closing the circle, this was considered a good omen. The deep furrow symbolized the protection of the settlement from disease, drought, crop failure and other misfortunes. Men did not participate in this ritual.

After the ceremony, festivities began, in which girls and boys from all over the village took an active part. The youth tried to show their skills and talents to the best of their ability - the girls sang and danced, and the boys demonstrated their dexterity and strength in small competitions.

A ritual for good luck was also held on Krasnaya Gorka - people rolled colored eggs from small hillocks. It was believed that if the egg rolled smoothly and did not break, then happiness and good luck awaited its owner.

In 2017, Krasnaya Gorka, unlike in the past, favors traditional weddings - it falls in April. According to popular belief, May is the worst month for marriage. This was confirmed by the saying: “Getting married in May means toiling all your life.”

Signs on Krasnaya Gorka

Red Hill, like many other holidays, is associated with various signs that many people believe in to this day. The most common ones are for wealth, happiness and health.

So, in order not to be short of money, on Krasnaya Gorka you need to wash in front of the icon. At the same time, the eldest in the family must wash those who are younger.

To attract happiness, people on this day made a wish on a coin and threw it into a well or pond. It was believed that this would bring happiness, and the wish would definitely come true.

To gain longevity and good health, it was customary to pray to the Lord on Krasnaya Gorka. People believed that on this holiday their prayers were heard not only by God, but also by deceased relatives who would also help those praying.

For those who follow the signs for Krasnaya Gorka, the year promises material well-being and a happy marriage. But it should be remembered that these superstitions, like any others, are not approved by the church.

The material was prepared based on open sources

The close interweaving of pagan and Orthodox rituals is reflected in the folk holiday Krasnaya Gorka. It symbolizes victory over winter and the arrival of spring. Previously, it was believed that nature was already in the grip of bright blooms. This event was always celebrated a week after Easter. It also has other names: Fomino Sunday or Antipascha.

The ancient Slavs began to celebrate it. They were in a hurry to pay tribute to the sun, so ritual games were held on the hills - songs were sung, funeral feasts were noisy in memory of the dead. Therefore, the custom of visiting cemeteries on holidays and preserving delicacies at tombstones is still preserved.

Visiting a cemetery on a holiday according to church canons

Usually on this day, believers rush to church for a festive service, and then go home or visit. For this holiday, housewives carefully cleaned their homes to a shine and set rich tables. Young girls put on their best outfits, ran for a walk, and had a fun day. That’s why no one is in a hurry to go to Krasnaya Gorka Cemetery. For this purpose, Radonitsa begins in two days, which is popularly called “Easter of the Dead.”

On Krasnaya Gorka, Sunday liturgies are held in all churches in the country in honor of the resurrection. However, the church never prevented people from visiting the moga. If such a need arises, then you can visit the cemetery on a holiday, but this should be done without noisy company and setting the table.

What not to do?

When visiting a cemetery you cannot:

• leave a treat, since this custom came from the pagans;
• arrange a feast next to the grave;
• pour alcohol on the grave or drink it.

It is also prohibited to remove graves. It is believed that in general any actions with the land are prohibited. If you plant a tree or bush, there will be no fruit. The church does not approve of decorating graves.

The main ban on visiting the cemetery occurs on Easter. It is believed that on this day the souls of the departed descend to their loved ones and rejoice at the holiday. When visiting burial sites, a person says goodbye to the deceased. In addition, sad and sorrowful thoughts appear, which are not allowed on this day.

It is also forbidden to quarrel, swear or fight on holiday. People who have entered into conflict will quarrel with everyone throughout the year.

What can you do?

If you want to remember, it is better to set the table at home and sit with your loved ones. The wake must take place without alcohol, since its consumption is prohibited on Krasnaya Gorka. On this day you are allowed to pray for the deceased, and after that go home.

During the entire Easter week, doors to houses are not locked so that souls can safely get home. Signs include:

• hanging towels from windows;
• you cannot sew, because “you will sew up a dead man’s eyes”;
• You can take a break from washing - otherwise, muddy the waters for the deceased.
• It is worth having fun on this day, if you cry and lament, then the souls will not be able to rejoice.

You can bring kutia to the cemetery for remembrance. You don't have to take anything else with you.

Proper commemoration of the dead

Start by visiting the temple. Pray for the soul of the deceased, light a candle for the repose of his soul. Then you should go to the grave. You should not take artificial flowers with you. This is considered a sin. It is best to plant fresh flowers, but it is still recommended to do it before the holiday.

Take a candle with you and light it near the grave. You can make an improvised lamp from a jar. Place a candle or pour oil into it and decorate the wick. It doesn't matter how long it burns. It is not forbidden to invite a priest to grant forgiveness to the deceased soul. If possible, give alms to those in need who gather near cemeteries and temples. It is better on this day “not to feed the dead, but to feed the hungry.” The process of remembrance ends in church during evening prayer to God.

In conclusion, we note that all acts that are performed on Krasnaya Gorka must be with pious intentions. You should prepare for the event in advance. You can, for example, learn prayers. They should be addressed not only to God, but also to deceased relatives. According to legends, they can ask in the next world for their loved ones and relatives.

Do they go to the Krasnaya Gorka cemetery, do they clean the graves, do they leave symbolic gifts in the form of colored eggs and sweets in bright pieces of paper for deceased loved ones? Or does all this refer to some other date, and the famous Hill is not intended at all for sadness and funeral prayers - it’s not for nothing that it is popular among the people as the best time for weddings? The question is not simple, but extremely interesting, rooted in a deep, pre-Christian era. Shall we look into it together?

Krasnaya Gorka is a holiday with a centuries-old history

From the beginning of time

To find out whether it is possible to go to the cemetery during Krasnaya Gorka, it is worth tracing the history of this holiday.

Many significant dates of the Orthodox calendar have come to us from paganism, changing their name and their original meaning, and sometimes simply merging with Christian holidays so that you can no longer tell where one ends and the other begins. This is also true for Krasnaya Gorka. But not completely, since the ancient holiday retained its name. You will not find the words Krasnaya Gorka in the Orthodox calendar; they were inherited from our pagan ancestors. It was on the “red” - that is, “beautiful”, “important”, “sacred” hillocks, where hot ritual bonfires rose to the sky - that the ancient Slavs greeted this day, hastening to pay tribute to the Sun, Spring, which had entered into full force, and their ancestors.

How exactly the ancient Slavs celebrated the holiday is difficult to say today

Ritual games were held on the hills, songs were sung and funeral feasts were noisy in memory of the dead, where there was plenty of all kinds of food and a cup of intoxicants was often passed around in circles. So the current custom of visiting the cemetery on Easter and Krasnaya Gorka, the habit of leaving delicacies at tombstones and remembering the deceased with either a boiled egg or a glass of strong drink - this all comes from the joyful spring days of pre-Christian Rus'.

Some scientists believe that the tradition of guessing about the future, which survived until the revolution, by rolling eggs from hillocks - which ones will reach the foot of the hill side by side, promising the lovers a good life together, which ones will go their separate ways, and which ones will break on the way, threatening the owner with failure - is also an echo of the old pagan rituals.

From Epiphany to Revolution

Many traditions of the Slavs, having changed, were preserved until the revolution

The Baptism of Rus' displaced the ancient gods from our lands, destroyed temples and established new holidays. From now on, Krasnaya Gorka received the official name of Antipascha or St. Thomas Sunday in honor of one of the apostles, known even to atheists under the name of Thomas the Unbeliever. And at the same time, it found a new date, moving along the calendar after Easter: no matter what day Bright Sunday of Christ falls on, exactly a week later it is followed by the old spring holiday in a renewed guise.

Is it possible to visit the cemetery on Krasnaya Gorka according to church tradition? In Orthodox Rus', at least in most regions, they tried not to do this. On Fomino Sunday, the first thing they did was rush to the church for the festive service, and then just as quickly returned home - to wait for guests or to get ready to visit themselves. On this day, housewives cleaned the house to a shine, setting rich tables, and girls of marriageable age put on their best outfits and ran to the festivities: Lent is over, weddings can be celebrated again!

In a word, they spent this day cheerfully and vainly, devoting it to earthly affairs: friendly communication, mischievous flirtations and delicious delicacies. And they went to the graveyard two days later, to Radonitsa, which was popularly called “Easter of the Dead” for a reason.

Krasnaya Gorka was supposed to be a place to have fun and look after your future soul mate

The revolution of 1917 quickly put an end to both large church services and festivities associated with Orthodox holidays, and 70 years of persecution of the faith erased previous customs from the memory of entire generations. They went to church secretly, prayed behind closed curtains, and put order on the graves, in accordance not with the church calendar, but with the most ordinary wall calendar. At this time, few people had questions about whether they could clean up the cemetery on Krasnaya Gorka or not - they went when their work schedule allowed. And since Radonitsa, intended for visiting graves, always fell on a weekday, the closest suitable date for cleaning was Fomino Sunday.

A kind of bitter irony of history: Prince Vladimir, having started the Baptism of Rus', deprived the pagan holiday of remembrance of the dead of its former meaning, and the revolutionary government inadvertently, without counting on it at all, returned it to its former status. True, without funeral feasts and ritual games.

These days

How are things going with the celebration of St. Thomas Sunday today, when both the revolutionary upheavals and the Soviet years that passed under the sign of militant atheism are behind us? Is it possible to clean up the cemetery on Red Hill Day, since many families have become a habit over the past decades?

It is never forbidden to honor the memory of the departed

It is traditionally believed that this sublime but mournful work should not be undertaken until Radonitsa. However, if you know that for some reason you will not be able to visit the cemetery this coming Tuesday, no one will blame you for wanting to clean up expensive graves in advance. Just don’t forget that the Church strictly condemns three common customs that even churchgoers often sin on this day.

What should you not do at graves?

• Leaving treats, like the pagans. Bright memories, sincere prayer, a burning church candle - that’s all that true Christians wear to the cemetery on Krasnaya Gorka, Easter or Radonitsa. And, if you want, distribute Easter cakes and eggs to the poor.
• Arrange a feast next to the grave. It’s better to set the table at home and sit at it with your family and friends, warmly remembering the deceased.
• Pouring alcohol on the grave and drinking alcohol yourself, which is something to do in the cemetery on Krasnaya Gorka - or on any other holiday - is strictly prohibited. Alcohol is not welcome here in any form. If you want to remember the deceased, again, do it at home with a glass of weak red wine or Cahors, and do not get drunk.

Put the grave in order, pray for the deceased and go home

If all three rules are followed, even the most severe champion of antiquity will not see anything wrong in the fact that you decide to visit the final resting place of a loved one on a day not established by the rules. Moreover, the church ban on visiting cemeteries applies only to Easter week, and Fomino Sunday is not included in it, being the beginning of the next week.

Video: Signs to Krasnaya Gorka

Since Fomino Sunday in Rus' was associated more with earthly and everyday affairs - weddings, meetings, holiday festivities - it is not surprising that the signs for Red Hill in the cemetery are in no way connected. All of them are one way or another aimed at attracting as much good as possible to a person: luck, health, wealth. You will find some of these signs below in the video from the Money Love Rituals channel:

In 2019, Fomino Sunday will fall on May 5th. Meet him as it should be - with a prayer in your mind, a sunny mood and a smile. Whether you visit the cemetery on this day or stay to celebrate Krasnaya Gorka with friends and family is not so important.