On September 14, the Orthodox Church honors the church holiday of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross of the Lord, called by the people the Day of the Cross.
The Holy Orthodox Church worships the Lord’s Cross four times a year – on the third Sunday of Great Lent, called the Adoration of the Cross, on Good Friday, on August 1 and on September 14. According to an ancient custom, on this day, a water festival is held and the priests sprinkle a cross on the homes for blessing.
According to church tradition, St. Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine the Great, was a devout Christian. She went to the Holy Places in Palestine to look for the Holy Sepulcher, which two centuries earlier had been buried by the persecutors of the Christians. Her efforts were crowned with success. The cave of the grave was found, as well as three crosses. Which of the three is the cross of Christ was found out when a recently deceased person was resurrected by touching one of them. A part of this life-giving cross was sent by Elena to her son in Constantinople, and the cross itself was placed in the main Jerusalem church.
After some time, a temple was built over the cave of the Holy Sepulcher, which still exists today. It was solemnly consecrated on September 14, 335. Thousands of pilgrims gather on this day. In order for all to see the Holy Cross, the bishop lifts or “raises” it above the heads of those present. The holiday gets its name from this “upheaval”.
In our country, on the eve of Easter, thousands of pilgrims gather in the area of Krastova Gora in the Rhodopes to pray for health.
Folk beliefs say that all prayers will be answered on the eve of Easter, because on the night before Easter, the Lord comes down to earth and fulfills every sincere wish.
By tradition, a strict fast is observed on Easter Day. On this day, the oldest woman in the household must bake a special ceremonial bread, called cross pita, decorated with a large cross in the middle. The national holiday is associated with the end of the summer and the beginning of the autumn agricultural season. People even believed that the holiday, which in the old style was celebrated on September 27, marks the beginning of autumn and day and night cross (equalize). From Krastovden or from Simeonovden (September 1) the sowing of winter cereals can begin. On Easter, the seed for sowing is “lit”. In some regions of the country, the holiday is called grozdobernik, because the grape harvest begins.
On September 14, name day is celebrated by: Krastyo, Krastina, Christina, Christian, Kuncho.
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