“Summer Nicholas 2023: History, Traditions, and Prayers to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker”

May 22, 2023, on Monday, believers honor an important event in the church calendar – the transfer of the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker to Bar from the World of Lycia. The event of 1087 took place.

“Summer” Nicholas 2023: the history of the holiday

Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker died on December 19, 345. And he was buried in the Cathedral Church, which was located in the city of Lycian Worlds. Subsequently, his body began to secrete the world – a special oil that heals diseases.

Once Muslims attacked the city, so it was decided to secretly take away the relics of the saint. Interestingly, according to legend, miracles related to the relics of Nicholas took place along the way. The disabled rose to their feet, the sick recovered, the blind began to see.

Since that time, St. Nicholas began to be honored in the church calendar twice – on December 19 and May 22.

And among the people there was another name for this day – “summer” or “spring” Nicholas.

The holiday was first established by Pope Ubran II in the 11th century. And Metropolitan Ephraim (end of the 11th century) introduced the “elderly Nicholas” into the Ukrainian church calendar.

Traditions and rituals of the holiday in Ukraine

What can be done on the “summer” Nikolai? In ancient times, on May 22, the owners took the horses out into the fields to the first pasture. In the middle of the village, the priests served prayers, sprinkling the horses before grazing with blessed water. There was also a tradition to ride a horse in the field, so that “horses would not be tormented by evil spirits.” People even made up several leashes for the occasion:

Yuri with warmth, and Nikolai with food.

Nikolai came – pass the horses.

St. Yuri grazes cows, and Nikolai – horses.

And from that day on, he began to shear sheep. Gardeners necessarily sowed buckwheat. There is also a popular belief about this:Don’t sow buckwheat and don’t shear sheep before Nicholas!“.

In Podolia and the Kiev region, there was a curious tradition of holding “healthy dinners” (for the health of all family members). They were called by the people “nikolshchina”. This is where another belief comes from:They ordered those bowls, as in Nikolshchyne!“.

Saint Nicholas was considered the patron saint of sailors. He was especially honored by the Cossacks, who always prayed to the Wonderworker before setting off on a journey by sea. It was believed that if you did not turn to the saint, you would definitely die in the waters.

What not to do on the “summer” Nikolai

Previously, people believed that on the holiday of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker on May 22, you can’t cut your hair, as well as do needlework. In general, they tried not to pick up sharp objects. If a person asks you for help, in no case should he be refused. Otherwise, the family will endure poverty and misfortune for seven years in a row. Also tried not to keep the debt to this day. They believed that there would be no money all year round. Therefore, it is better to distribute all debts on a holiday.

How to pray to St. Nicholas on May 22

For protection from the saint, as well as before any important event, the following prayer should be read:

O our all-good father Nicholas, shepherd and teacher of all who with faith turn under your protection and implore you with sincere prayer: hurry up and protect the flock of Christ from the wolves that destroy it. Protect our Ukraine and every Christian country, and the whole world, and save with your holy prayers from an earthquake, the onset of strangers and popular uprisings, civil strife; from hunger, plague, flood, fire, sword and impudent death of every person of protection. And just as you had mercy on three men who were in prison, and saved them from the wrath of the king and the death penalty, so have mercy on us too, that in mind, word and deed we are in the darkness of sins. Deliver us from the wrath of God and eternal punishment: so that Your protection and help and His grace and mercy give us Christ God to live quietly and without sin in this world, and not condemn us to stand to the left, but to make us stand to the right with all the saints. Amen.

Prayer to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker for the fulfillment of any desire:

Wonderworker Nicholas, help me in my mortal desires. Do not be angry at the impudent request, but do not leave me in vain affairs. That for the benefit of those who wish, fulfill with your mercy. If I want bad, turn away trouble. May all righteous desires be fulfilled, and my life be filled with happiness. May your will be done, amen.

Prayer to Nicholas for health, which is read on May 22:

The all-good Father Nicholas, the great and amazing miracle worker! With your prayers, you healed every illness and disease, you saved death with your patronage, you drove away misfortune with your care. I sincerely beg you, helper of those in grief and need of this life: hurry to me with your help, protect me and all people from fire and water, from hunger and pestilence, from serious illness and unexpected death. Take care of me through my whole life, and especially at the terrible moment of transition from premature life to eternity. Protect me then with the shield of your prayer before the just wrath of Christ God and help me so that I find myself forever in heaven, with you, where I will glorify and magnify the mercy of God. Amen.