St Annas Day by Ann Wood
December 9 - Conception of St. Anna. Motherhood DayHappy holiday to all dear girls bearing Anna's holy name, and may God protect motherhood and our mothers!
On December 9, the Orthodox Church celebrates St. Anna's conception, the mother of the Mother of God. The saint's Christian cult spread in the Byzantine Empire as early as the 6th century, when the first church bearing her name was built. On the same day, the prophet Samuel's mother, who bears the same name - Anna, is honored.
She is the patron saint of women, marriage, family, and motherhood. She is a protector of girls, pregnant women, and widows. She is revered by the women who do not work on her day so that their children do not get sick and do not paint, because according to the belief, the birth pangs of the Mother of God begin on this day. The girls put wheat grains in a new pot of water. If the beans germinate by New Year, it is a sign of a recent marriage.
The night before the holiday is a time for spells, prophecies, and magic. Magicians, witches, and fortune-tellers most easily establish a connection with the devil, the dead, and demons through it. In the hours of a disturbed balance between earthly and divine forces, they go to the cemetery. There they undress naked and dance and whisper and "takedown" the moon in a sieve. They turn her into a colorful cow and milk her milk. Having gained the lunar abundance, they become strong and rule over human life and work. They enchant evil women, foreign fields, and herds by throwing rotten eggs, casting spells for separation of spouses, for disease, hatred, and death. To prevent this, the farmers light a fire with manure in front of each door, sprinkle ashes and millet around the farm buildings, and the women smear the cows' udders with a mixture of fat, garlic, and charcoal.
Turned into flies, the wizards enter other people's homes, circling the hearth. As soon as a fly is spotted, it must be caught and burned to burn the evil force.
Short story by Ann Wood
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Written on 2020-12-10 at 22:24
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