In the Orthodox, as well as in the Catholic,Christian culture has many festivals that are of great importance for believers. One of them is the Presentation of the Lord. On this day, a biblical event known to many people is recalled. Therefore the question: "The Lord's birth - what a feast?" - definitely deserves attention.
In the Russian-speaking Orthodox culture, manythe years are celebrated on February 15, the Presentation of the Lord. This holiday is rooted in the traditions of Western and Eastern countries (IV-V c). It was then that the Presentation of the Lord became one of the twelve key dates that were included in the Orthodox calendar. On this special day, all those who have faith in Christ remember with reverence those events that the evangelist Luke once described. It is a special meeting between the baby Jesus and the righteous Simeon.
In fact, the very word "acquisition" can be translatedas a "meeting". As for the story, which was the reason for the holiday, it began almost 2,000 years ago, when the Virgin Mary came to the Temple of Jerusalem with a little Jesus. The future Savior of the world at that time was only forty days old. According to the law of Moses, a woman who gave birth to a male child had to come to the Temple and bring a purifying and grateful sacrifice there. This is exactly what Maria did. Although the fact that she conceived a child from the Holy Spirit, relieved her of the need to make a sacrifice of purification.
It so happened that in Jerusalem at the time livedthe elder Simeon, who received from God the following revelation: he will not leave this mortal land until he sees the Savior of the world. Inspired by the Heavenly Father, Simeon came to the Temple exactly when Mary was there with the baby Jesus. Seeing the little Christ, the righteous elder took Him to his hands and proclaimed that his eyes saw salvation from God.
Поэтому, отвечая на вопрос:"The meeting of the Lord - what is this?" - it is worth talking about the meeting of the God-child and righteous Simeon in the temple of Jerusalem. Another meaning of the word "meeting" is "joy", the cause of which is the salvation brought to our world by Christ.
Those who are not tempted in Christianity canit seems a little strange that the meeting of Simeon and the baby Jesus is so important. In fact, so much attention paid by believers to the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord is more than logical.
The bottom line is that almost all the Old Testament prophetswere waiting for the coming of the Messiah - God's Anointed One, who would liberate his people. And therefore the meeting of Simeon with the born Christ is nothing but the fulfillment of a prophecy in which many of the men and wives of God who lived in the Old Testament believed.
Trying to figure out the question of whetherLord - what a feast and what is its value, it is worth paying more attention to one of the key figures of biblical history associated with this date (February 15). If you turn to the legend, you can find out that the elder met Simeon, who met Mary in the Temple, was 360 years old. His name means nothing but "hearing." Moreover, he is considered one of the 72 scribes who received from the Egyptian king Ptolemy II the command to translate the scriptures from Hebrew into Greek.
It was during the work on the translation of Simeon andread a prophecy in which it was said that the virgin will have a son - the Savior of the world. The Israeli prophet wanted to change the word "virgin" (virgin) to "wife" (woman), but the angel who appeared to him did not allow it. After listening to the heavenly messenger, Simeon received from him a promise that he himself would be able to see the prophecy fulfilled.
The Day of the Meeting of the Lord became for the prophet the embodiment of the promised angel.
In the Bible, there is another character who hasattitude to the famous holiday. It's about Anna the prophetess. Finding out what the holiday of the Lord is meant for, it is also important to pay attention. On the day when the baby Jesus was brought to the Temple, a widow came to his mother - the Virgin Mary - who at that time was already 84 years old.
She often spoke to the townspeople with wise speechesabout God, for which she was called Anna the prophetess. It was this woman, coming to the little Christ, bowed to him and, leaving the temple, began to tell the inhabitants of the city that the Messiah came, who will deliver Israel.
If you study the manuscripts left over from pastgenerations, you can find an interesting fact. Its essence boils down to the fact that in the 4th century the western pilgrimage of Esteria wrote the work "Pilgrimage to holy places". This is in fact the oldest historically reliable evidence that the Lord's Savior had a church-liturgical celebration in the Christian East. However, the Esterian manuscript does not give the holiday its own liturgical title, defining it as the fortieth day from the Epiphany. But the very process of celebration, held in honor of the Meeting, is described more than emotionally.
А вот второй памятник, который придает празднику a special liturgical character, is rooted in Jerusalem. It's about the Armenian lectionary. It was in it that the fact of liturgical and statutory practice of the beginning of the fifth century was witnessed. On the basis of this information, one can draw an obvious conclusion: in the 4th-5th centuries the Lord's Creation was defined in the Jerusalem church as a holiday revered precisely in this locality.
If we consider the question:"The meeting of the Lord - what is this?" - exclusively in the national format, it will be possible to notice an interesting fact: this holiday is a symbol of the meeting of winter and spring. In connection with this, many signs have appeared.
The first thing that can be attributed to the signs on whichpay attention on February 15 - this is the weather. According to the beliefs, if this day is warm and sunny, then it is worth waiting for early spring. Even on such a holiday as the Savior of the Lord, signs relating to the weather can indicate persistent frosts, if on the night of February 15 there will be a clear sky on which stars can not be seen. But in the case of the starry sky, there is every reason to expect a quick spring.
As for health, here it is necessary to drawattention to the candle lit during the holiday: if the fire is smooth and almost does not move, then problems with the physical state are not expected, but when the flame turns blue and wavers, it makes sense to prepare for the fight against the disease.
In such a holiday as the Presentation of the Lord, signstouch and road. It is believed that if a man set off on that day, he would not return home soon. This statement is explained by the fact that on February 15, the weather is unpredictable, it can be everything - from heavy rains to heavy snowfall. Such precipitation, of course, significantly complicates movement.
Принято считать, что если в этот праздник от души feed the animals, then it will grow rapidly and give good offspring. The Lord's Meeting, also celebrated on February 15, helps to predict the abundance of the harvest: morning snowfall on this day is a sign of the abundant harvest of early bread, and daytime snow spells successful sowing of medium ones.
On this day, the seeds were usually prepared for sowing,drove the animals from the barn into the pen and examined the harness. Also among the people there was a common tradition to use water from the snow that fell on the day of the Presentation, because it was believed that it could heal from various diseases.
Water flowing from the roofs during the holiday, also had great importance. It was used to bake cakes, which afterwards were given to those who suffered from any ailment.
To fully answer the question:“The Presentation of the Lord — what is it?” - it is also necessary to study the peculiarity of holding this holiday. An interesting fact is that most of the services in the church are focused on the personality of the Virgin. From the ancient religious traditions, several Orthodox rituals have reached the present, which have not lost their relevance.
First of all, the consecration of water and candlesdirectly in the church itself. Another belief is connected with this: if you put a consecrated candle in front of an icon during a thunderstorm, then it will protect the house from lightning. Understanding what the Presentation of the Lord means, one cannot ignore the vivid traditions of celebration, during which very beautiful liturgical texts are heard. They reveal the essence of the speech of the prophet Simeon, as well as the honor rendered to him to see the baby Jesus glorified. Regarding the duration of the celebration, the Meeting of the Lord lasts 8 days: from 14 (pre-celebration) to February 22 (giving a celebration).
Analyzing the question: “The Presentation of the Lord - what is it?"- in the format of the Catholic tradition, it is worth noting a thorough approach to the celebration. On this day, in the temples, the priests are clothed in white clothes and, before beginning the solemn mass, they carry out a bright procession with candles and also perform a blessing ceremony. All those who came to the temple sing songs in which the words of Simeon, spoken to the Infant God, are transmitted, and the priests, while conducting the ceremony, sprinkle holy water on the singing.
For many believers, this holiday is significant enough to prepare a greeting. The Presentation of the Lord is in fact honoring the coming of the Savior, so many poems and sketches on this day speak of a new life, joy, and spring, which revives everything around.
A significant holiday for Christians is a meeting daySimeon and little Jesus - inspired artists to create many icons and frescoes. All of them describe the moment when the Virgin Mary delivers her son to the elder.
The icon "The Presentation of the Lord" depicts JosephA handcuff who is behind the back of the Mother of God and carries either in a cage or in the hands of two, and sometimes three pigeons. Anna the Prophetess is also depicted on the icon behind Simeon.
An interesting fact is that the iconThe Lord either has the base of the temple as a background, or represents the meeting of an old man and a God-child near the throne. And in the images written at a later time, sometimes hell’s flour and the coming salvation are depicted (located in the lower part).
There is another icon that hasdirectly related to the feast of the Presentation of the Lord. It is called "Simeon Proverb" or "Softener of Evil Hearts." This icon depicts the moment when an Israeli husband prophesies to the Virgin Mary that she herself will pass the weapon to the soul. The Virgin Mary is standing on a cloud with seven swords that pierced her heart: three on the left side, three on the right and one on the bottom. The number of swords is explained by the fact that the number 7 characterizes fullness, in this case - suffering, heartache and sadness.
In general, if we consider what holiday meansThe Presentation of the Lord, we can conclude that it has a significant impact on Orthodox and Catholic Christian culture. This day also carries a tangible spiritual meaning, as it symbolizes the meeting of two covenants: the Old, which Simeon serves as a prototype, and the New, brought by the Savior.
