The first is the real one: the history of the holiday

On August 15, Christians of the Eastern rite celebrate a great holiday – Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The holiday is dedicated to the mother of Jesus Christ – the Virgin Mary, who entered the Kingdom of Heaven and was reunited with her son.

History of the holidays

The holiday was founded in the 4th century by the Emperor Flavius ​​​​​​Mauritius. According to biblical tradition, after the death and resurrection of Jesus, Mary stayed in Jerusalem and stayed there until the persecution of Christians began. Then she moved to Ephesus, where she visited the righteous Lazarus and Mount Athos.

Later, the Virgin Mary returned to Jerusalem. Here she often visited places associated with the Savior for prayer and repentance.

The Mother of God knew when her earthly life would end. The Archangel Gabriel came to her and announced that she would leave her earthly life in three days and go up to heaven.

Then Mary warned her loved ones and left some property to the maids. She asked to be buried next to her parents in the Gardens of Gethsemane. Believers who learned about the Dormition of the Virgin Mary came to say goodbye to Mary. So all the apostles gradually gathered in Jerusalem.

During the Dormition of the Mother of God, the Lord God himself came to take her soul. Seeing him, the Virgin Mary got up from her bed and, without any suffering, she gave her soul into the hands of her son and God.

Three days later, the apostles began to bury the body. They carried the body of the Blessed Virgin Mary to the Gardens of Gethsemane, as she wished. There they put the body of the Virgin Mary and closed the door of the cave with a stone.

The Apostle Thomas was not present at the funeral. He wanted to say goodbye to Mary later and decided to enter the cave with the other apostles. But when they opened the coffin, they only found the linen of the Virgin Mary.

What not to do on the first day really

In ancient times, people saw some restrictions on the day of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary. During the holiday it was forbidden to swear, argue, settle cases or harm others.

It is better to spend this day in pleasant communication with loved ones, so you should not be tired on this day.

You can’t work hard physically for the real first, sewing, cleaning, washing, embroidering, knitting.

It was forbidden to walk barefoot in the dew, because it is believed that the dew is the tears of the earth yearning for the Mother of God.

You can’t cut your hair or buy new shoes during the holidays. It was believed that this would bring poverty.