Believers celebrate Krasnaya Gorka on the first Sunday following one of the most important church holidays - the Resurrection of Christ. The calendar date changes annually, as it depends on the date on which the celebration of Bright Easter falls.
Krasnaya Gorka is a national Christian holiday, since in a certain way it combined rituals from ancient pagan beliefs with Christian traditions.
First Sunday after the Great Day
The church holiday, called Krasnaya Gorka, has other names - Antipascha (Easter for the dead) and Fomin's Sunday (Fomin's day, Fomin's week).
The first comes from the Greek word for "instead of" and is translated as "like Easter." This is the first day after a long fast. It follows a series of major church holidays (Maslenitsa, Great Lent, Holy Week and Bright Week). Antipascha not only repeats, but makes up for the bright Sunday of Christ. It is customary to celebrate it widely, on a grand scale and as joyfully as the Great Day itself. In churches, the texts of services cover the event of the Resurrection of the Savior, and are also dedicated to one of the followers of Jesus - the Apostle Thomas.
The appeal to this name refers us to the gospel story about how one of the youngest apostles did not believe in a miracle, because he was not there at the moment when the resurrected Jesus appeared before his disciples. However, a week later, “Unbeliever Thomas” was able to see with his own eyes that Christ was Risen. He touched the wounds of the Teacher who appeared to him and exclaimed in amazement: "My Lord and my God!" The Bible says that after this Thomas took the path of zealous service to Christian teaching. He informed believers in every possible way, as the Savior, who died for our sins, is Risen. Wandering around the world preaching the Gospel, he reached India. Christian churches were founded in countries such as Palestine, Mesopotamia, Ethiopia. So the first Sunday after Easter was named in honor of the Apostle Thomas.
Churched people often say "Fomin Week", because when a new reckoning of time (with the counting of weeks) was introduced in Orthodoxy, the so-called "week" became the starting point in the week - a day when they do not work, but only rest. On weekends, it was prescribed to pray more and more diligently than on weekdays. It cannot be done only in idleness. Over time, the "week" was renamed Sunday and the name of the holiday changed accordingly.
A celebration of renewed life
Among the ancestors of the Slavs, who worshiped the forces of Mother Nature, the names of the deities were associated with the bright sun, the first warmth, fertility, fun and love. The veneration of the pagan gods became the source of the holiday, which symbolized the awakening of all the forces of nature, the beginning of a new life, the triumph of spring over the winter cold.
Here are some evidences that in ancient times the Red Hill had a different name - Klikushnoe Sunday.
- In anticipation of the blessed season, rejoicing at the first warmth and bright sun, people went out to honor their Gods - Yaril and Lada. One of the customs in Russia is the "invocation" of spring: it was praised and invoked with the help of "spring songs". Fun reigned around, everyone danced and danced in round dances, played various games and amusements.
- Traditionally, matchmaking and marriages were appointed on Krasnaya Gorka. In the houses where the wedding was started or the newlyweds lived, they came in order to "shout" or "call out" them with kind words. Songs, ditties and even teasers sounded. In these peculiar shouts, which were called "klikushki", wishes of harmony and harmony, the earliest possible replenishment of the family, long years and a blessed life were pronounced. The owners of the hospitable house presented the "whoopers" with treats - colored eggs, pies and other food.
- The holiday of renewal, which has long been celebrated in Russia along with the arrival of fine spring days, is recognized in the pagan faith as nothing more than a symbol of the beginning of a new life and the awakening of the departed. On this day, they were supposed to be remembered, but at the same time not to grieve and grieve, but to rule the funeral with a light on his forehead and a smile on his lips. Our ancestors believed that the joyful memory of the dead is the personification of procreation. No wonder in the Russian language the words "joy" and "kind" are the same root. One of the rituals of Krasnaya Gorka was to tell those who had gone into another world about themselves, their affairs and concerns, thoughts and aspirations with the help of special tunes, which were called "cries".
Beautiful slide
The most common name for the holiday, which has survived to this day and has become generally accepted, is Krasnaya Gorka. There are two versions of the origin of such an unpretentious name.
In pre-Christian times, people believed that whoever is on a mountain or some other natural elevation approaches the Gods. The best places under the heavens were considered to be prominent and beautiful natural heights - "red hills". That is why, from time immemorial, Russian churchyards were located on picturesque hillocks and hills. People came here on commemoration days to honor the memory of the dead. The ancient Slavs attached two meanings to the word "red": beautiful and illuminated by sunlight or a fire. The people said that the sun rises over the "red hills". Indeed, at sunrise and sunset, a bright glow blazed above them
The symbolism of the triumph of life and the general renewal of nature and man, originally laid down in the holiday of Krasnaya Gorka, is associated with the fact that spring finally conquers winter and comes into its own. The generalized concept of a hill warmed by the first rays of the warm spring sun is a hill. Such places were first freed from the snow, became beautiful (in Russian "red"). On these merry hills, with chants and games, amusements and dances, people greeted spring. Gradually, the festivities moved to the village streets. Everyone, young and old, took part in them
Historically, the word "red" in Russia was used in the meaning of "beautiful / beautiful". Suffice it to recall such folk-poetic comparisons as "red sun", "spring-red", "red square", "red maiden". Other synonyms: festive, solemn, joyful, pleasant, cheerful, etc. In addition to the designation of the actual color in the word, there was also an indication of a certain quality. So, for celebrations and holidays they tried to dress up in red clothes: remember the Russian folk song "Don't you tell me, mother, a red sundress." The proverb says that the house is good not for the decoration, but for the hospitality of the owners: "The hut is not red with corners, but red with pies." The poems about the homeland contain the following lines: "The red sun washes its warm hands in dew, and Russia, like Alyonushka, appears in all its glory."
Holiday date
Celebrating the popular Christian holiday Krasnaya Gorka, it is important to understand: in order for everything to go decorously and well on this day, you just need to observe the order and traditions of the celebration, as well as believe in the rituals performed and in success.
Nowadays, in some areas of Russia, this spring holiday is celebrated in the same way as in antiquity, on Yegoriy. The behavior of the celebration is acceptable either on the eve or immediately after St. George's Day.
Believers, following the canons of Christianity, celebrate Krasnaya Gorka strictly according to the church calendar - on the eighth day after one of the most important holidays - the Resurrection of Christ. In 2020, Red Hill on April 26th. In subsequent periods it is celebrated: May day on the 9th of the month of the 21st year; then May 1, 2022, and so on. Determining the exact calendar date of a holiday is easy. It all depends on what date Easter falls on in a particular year. Seven days should be counted from him. The red hill is always celebrated on the first Sunday after the Great Day.
