The Ascension is one of the most important Christian holidays and takes place 40 days after the Resurrection of the Lord. This year, Ascension will be celebrated on May 25. Find out in the following lines when the Ascension eggs are dyed and what traditions and customs Christians observe on the occasion of this holy holiday.
When are Ascension eggs dyed?
The Ascension of the Lord is a great holiday, being marked with a red cross in the Orthodox Christian calendar. According to tradition, it takes place 40 days after the Resurrection, on a Thursday, and this year it will be celebrated on May 25.
In the people, the Ascension of the Lord is also called Ispas or Easter of Horses. It is a celebration full of traditions, customs and superstitions. Also, Ascension Day is the last day housewives can dye eggs this year. According to traditions, the remaining paint should be placed at the root of a tree, for prosperity.
Just like on Easter Sunday, on the Ascension of the Lord, eggs are dyed and beaten, and all believers greet each other with “Christ is Ascended” and “True is Ascended”. In popular tradition, this holiday commemorates the moment when Jesus Christ ascended to heaven.
Traditions and customs of the Ascension of the Lord
The Ascension of the Lord is the last holiday in which believers can dye eggs. On this day, people go with different dishes to the church, where they are sanctified and give alms afterwards.
Those who have relatives in the family who have passed away give the poor different foods, such as warm bread, green onions, cheese or schnapps for their souls.
Read also: Ascension traditions and customs. What to do for health, luck and growth
Also, on the same day as this Christian holiday, Heroes’ Day is also celebrated. After the Liturgy, memorial services for the heroes of the Romanian nation are held in all the cathedrals, churches, monasteries, cemeteries, chapels and monuments dedicated to them in the country and abroad.
On the Ascension of the Lord, no work is done in the fields or in the household, no sewing, no washing and no sweeping. According to traditions, on this day people wear walnut and linden leaves around their waists, because that’s what Jesus had when he ascended to heaven.
In some areas of the country, Christians use to decorate the house with sprigs of paltin. By Ascension, it is said that it is good to beat cattle with larch leaves to make them fat and they were healthy the rest of the year.
What you are not allowed to do on Ascension Day
On the Ascension Day it is not good to quarrel with your fellows or to bear hatred towards your family. It is said that as your relationship will be this day with those close to you, so will the rest of the year. Also, one does not borrow money, does not wash, does not heat, and does not do work in the household or in the fields.
Read also: The prayer to say for the Ascension of the Lord. It is very strong, brings health and luck
On this day no object from the house is alienated and no fire is set in the house in order not to have an evil heart in the household. The salt in the house is not given, because the cows will have no more milk, and the crops are not sown, because they will not bear fruit.
