Holy Monday, traditions and customs. What is forbidden to do on the first day of Passion Week

Holy Week or Passion Week is the last week before Resurrection Sunday.

The services held in the church on these days, called Denii, have the role of reminding the faithful of the events that took place in the last days of the Savior’s life.

The word “denie” comes from the Slavonic “vdenie” and means vigil or night service.

It is believed that during this week the dead return among the living, who are commemorated on Maundy Thursday.

Thus, on Holy Monday, Joseph the Fair, who was sold by his brothers in Egypt, is commemorated.

“The story of his life in the liturgical cult is the anticipation of the Sacrifice of the Savior Jesus Christ who was sold by Judas”, notes doxologia.ro.

Great Monday. The Life of Joseph the Fair

Joseph was the eleventh son of the patriarch Jacob and the first of Rachel. Of all the children, Joseph was the most gentle and obedient, being very loved by his parents.

Gradually, the brothers began to be envious of Joseph and thought ill of him. One day, when Joseph was 17 years old, his father sent him to bring news of his brothers, who were with the flocks in the pasture.

Seeing him coming, one of the brothers said: “Come, let’s kill him and say that a wild beast ate him. Father will believe us”.

Finally, Joseph was stripped of his clothes and thrown into a well by his brothers. At that time, some merchants from Egypt were passing by, who were interested in buying people.

One of the brothers, Yehuda – meaning Judah, thought of selling Joseph to the merchants, receiving 20 pieces of silver for him.

The brothers then sacrificed a kid and dipped young Joseph’s clothes in the blood. Going to their father, they told him that his son had been eaten by a wild beast.

Traditions and customs on Holy Monday

On Holy Monday of Passion Week, several traditions and customs that have been handed down from the ancestors are observed.

First of all, on all the days of Holy Week it is said that it is not good to eat “nettles or food cooked with vinegar, because the Savior was beaten with nettles and his lips were moistened with vinegar instead of water”. , it is mentioned in the Dictionary of Romanian traditional symbols and beliefs, by Romulus Antonescu.

In many areas of the country, on Holy Monday, women start cleaning for Easter. They take everything out of the house, wash and ventilate well, so that all the bad things from the winter come out.

According to tradition, Shrove Tuesday is the last day on which houses can be cleaned. However, according to some superstitions, this week should not be whitewashed in houses, because it is bad for all kinds of diseases.

Beginning on Monday, some believers begin a harsher fast, choosing not to eat anything from sunrise to sunset.