Apple Feast of the Saviour
Apple Feast of the Saviour | |
---|---|
Apples | |
Date | August 19 |
Next time | 19 August 2019 |
Frequency | annual |
The Apple Feast of the Saviour[1] (sometimes the Feast of the Saviour on the Hill)[2] is an Eastern Slavic folk name for the Feast of the Transfiguration, which is observed on August 19.
It is the second of the three Feasts of the Saviour. The others are the Honey Feast of the Saviour, which is celebrated on August 14 (or August 1, Julian Calendar) and the Nut Feast of the Saviour, which is celebrated on August 29 (or August 16, Julian Calendar).
The holiday has a pre-Christian origin and is associated with harvesting of ripe fruits, especially apples. In the Byzantine Empire there was tradition to bless harvested grapes during the Feast of Transfiguration. In Russia, apples are more common than grapes, hence the name of the feast. There are processions and blessings of harvests. Usually, on that day, people from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus eat apples, apple pies, or other dishes containing apples, even if they are not Orthodox Christians.
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Savior of the Apple Feast Day. |
- ↑ http://mcdiocese.com/en/619-avgusta-%E2%80%93-svyatoe-preobrazhenie-gospoda-boga-i-spasa-nashego-iisusa-xrista%E2%80%A6-vtoroj-yablochnyj-spas/
- ↑ Ivanits, Linda (1992). Russian folk belief. M.E. Sharpe. p. 24. ISBN 0873328892.