The Annunciation of the Most Holy Mother of God

The Virgin Mary - Mother's IdealApril 7 is the feast of the Annunciation (Dabraveschanne, Zvestavanna). According to the Gospel of Luke on this day, the archangel Gabriel told Mary about the sinless conception. The feast of the Annunciation is especially revered by women who see in the Virgin Mary the ideal of the Mother, a great woman with a difficult, long-suffering, but happy fate.

However, long before the adoption of Christianity, the ancestors of Belarusians celebrated this day as a holiday of the arrival of spring. Earlier, on this April day, people released birds, which were kept in cages for a year: it was believed that this would bring the arrival of spring, finally drive out winter. In Belarus, there is a belief that the Annunciation necessarily arrives from the south stork - a bird that enjoys respect and love among the people.

Often on this day, the ceremony of calling spring was held. The girls of the village went to the hills and sang until dusk song-springs. The villagers believed that from that day on came the working year, which will bring good harvest and happiness in the house.

Although on this day they waited for the arrival of spring, but sometimes it still did not come on time, so it was too early to say goodbye to winter: “Yes, Blagaveshchanniy Zimu do not bark or sanі trymai” (Do not scold winter and keep a sled until the Annunciation). After the holiday, field work was allowed.

In Polesia, there used to be a custom to bake ritual pastries for the Annunciation - "dumb" - with the image of the paw of a stork. It was forbidden for anyone to go to work. Before the Annunciation, it was forbidden to dig the earth, that is, to begin agricultural work. It was forbidden to lend in order to have everything necessary for a year in your household.

If the weather was warm on that day, it meant a frosty autumn. If the snow was still deposited before this day, the autumn was expected to be warm. A rainy day should bring a rich storm, dry weather - drought. It was believed that the same weather as the Annunciation should be repeated on Easter.