The Orthodox Church honors on November 30 the memory of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called, who was the first of the apostles to be called to follow Christ.
The name of St. Andrew appears frequently in the Gospels. He is mentioned in the story of the feeding of the people with five loaves. From an early age, Andrew thirsted for the divine truth, and when John the Baptist appeared in Judea, he became one of his disciples. Andrew was standing on the banks of the Jordan when John the Forerunner, pointing to the crowd of Jesus passing by, said: “Behold the Lamb of God!”. Hearing these words, Andrew went after the Savior and spent the whole day with him. Then he went to find his brother Simon (Peter) and told him the good news: “We have found the Messiah!” and brought him to Christ. The two brothers continued their previous life and engaged in fishing. They were from Bethsaida. Later, the Savior saw them once on the Sea of Galilee and said to them: “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men”. Since then, they followed Christ everywhere and witnessed his miracles, death and resurrection.
The Bulgarian people celebrate St. Andrew’s Day as a holiday of the seed (the grain). This day is associated with the understanding that the light in the day begins to grow – it grows, that’s why somewhere it is called Edreevden, and the sun moves “like a chicken in an egg”, every day less the day increases as much as a grain of millet. Although scarce, the hope of light brings freshness and serenity to people’s souls.
The Orthodox Church celebrates the Day of the Christian Family
According to popular belief, Andreevden is also called Mechkinden. The legend tells that St. Andrew was the only one of the apostles who did not have a holiday, so he mounted a bear and went to God. The Lord told him “Whoever does not celebrate you, let your horse ride him”. Therefore, on November 30, in certain regions of Bulgaria, they boil corn and transfer it through the chimney, shouting: “To you, bear, boiled corn, don’t eat the raw and don’t eat the goods and the people.”
Tradition dictates that early in the morning, the coarse grain is taken and thrown into the fireplace – up, so that all the grain plants grow tall and are as big as the swollen corn.
The young brides are especially honored on this day, and it is to them that the ritual of throwing the boiled seeds falls, so that as they quickly grow fat, so the brides are filled with new offspring.
Wheat, beans, lentils, peas, millet or barley should be present on the table on this day.
Andrey, Andriyan, Andreya, Andro, Hraber, Hrabrin, Silen, Deshka, Parvan and others celebrate their name day.
2023-11-30 04:20:29
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