Traditions and customs on Holy Saturday. The prayer to say today if you want it to go well

• What not to do on Holy Saturday
• Traditions and superstitions before the Resurrection

Today, on Holy Saturday, the Orthodox Church celebrates the descent of the Savior Jesus Christ into hell and the connection is made between the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Once descended into hell, Christ is said to have preached the word of the gospel to those who were asleep and brought Adam and Eve out of the world of darkness.

Traditions and customs on Holy Saturday

Holy Saturday symbolizes the transition from death to life, from sin to salvation. It is the day when sorrows begin to turn into joy.

Believers from different corners of the country respect, on Holy Saturday, several traditions and customs left from their ancestors.

On this night, the faithful receive the Holy Light, and the priests perform the service of the Resurrection. People go to church dressed in new clothes, which symbolize the cleansing of the body, along with that of the soul.

On Saturday evening, before the Resurrection service, especially in the countryside, the housewives prepare the basket of food, which is to be taken to the church, to be consecrated by the priest.

It is said that on this day, the dishes must be put in the oven only with the right hand, and the number of trays in which the cake or pasca is made must match the husband, otherwise there may be trouble in the coming year.

Weddings, baptisms and other events are not held on Holy Saturday.

Being such a big day for the faithful, there is no washing, no sewing, and no knitting.

The prayer to say today if you want it to go well

“Lord Jesus Christ, my Most Righteous Judge! I know that my sins are without number. That’s why I ask You on this day, in which by Joseph and Nicodemus being placed in the Tomb, You descended into hell with Your Holy and Deified soul and from there you removed the darkness with the light of your Godhead and brought unspeakable great joy to our ancestors, because you saved them from the terrible slavery and took them to heaven.

Bury my sins and my evil and cunning thoughts, that they may perish from my mind and no longer fight with my soul. Illuminate the dark hell of my heart, drive away the darkness of my sins, and raise my mind to heaven, that I may rejoice in Your Face.

So Lord, accept my humble prayer that a fragrant incense, for the prayers of Your beloved Mother, who saw You on the Cross nailed between two robbers, and by Your terrible pains her heart was wounded; who together with the disciples and the myrrh-bearing women put You in the tomb, who on the third day saw You raised from the dead and at Your ascension saw You ascending from earth to heaven, accompanied by Your Holy Angels.

Have mercy, Lord, on both the living and the dead, for the prayers of Your Saints, to whom I, the unworthy, say: Oh, happy servants of God! Do not stop praying to Him, day and night, for us, the unworthy, who are always wrong with so many innumerable sins! Intercede for us the Gift and help of God, which we do not know how to ask properly. Amen.”