Trifon Zarezan by Ann Wood

Today, in the old style and custom, Trifon Zarezan is welcomed, revered as a saint-healer, patron of vineyards and wine.

The holiday is perceived as a transition from winter to spring and summer. The custom of this day dictates that the vineyards be abandoned and that the mistress of the house knead a special dough with which to prepare the ritual breads. At the table, the tradition requires a stuffed chicken and rotten red wine.

In some parts of the country, the bride put in a new bag part of the ritual food for lunch to the growers. The pruning of the vineyards is accompanied by a magical ritual - in the morning at sunrise, the owner faces east and before pruning he must cross himself three times. After that, he can already cut the first three vine sticks and pour them with red wine, holy water and ashes, which he keeps from the table on Christmas Eve. This stimulates the vine to bear good fruit so that the owner can make good and good wine from the grapes.

Felling is accompanied by blessings for a bountiful harvest, and ritual sprinkling with holy water is aimed at protecting the vineyards from disease. Wreaths are made from the cut vine sticks, which the vine growers hang on their caps and take home to place in front of the home icon. Then they gather at a common table and elect a "king" of the vineyards. This is usually a hard-working, wealthy landlord who heads the party, hands everyone a cup of wine and blesses for fertility and a controversial year.

After the winter solar cycle, Trifononovden is the first holiday whose ritual has an initial economic character, ie. carries the magical effect of the first economic action in nature, and the cut vine sticks are the first vegetation, ritually imported into the village and the home.




Short story by Ann Wood The PoetBay support member heart!
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Written on 2021-02-14 at 15:57

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josephus The PoetBay support member heart!
Ann, you write of a gentle but intimate cycle of God, earth, village and prayer that is sadly lacking in our disconnected egocentric society today. The simple faith, trust and commitment you describe has value if we can but see it. This essay recalls my time in a small Polish village back in the 90s. I spent about 10 year’s amongst those people and watched them change from who you describe to the disconnected one we in North America are. Regrettable...
2021-02-14