Trinity 2020: preparation, celebration and traditions

The meaning of the holiday

Pentecost is the birthday of the Christian Church. On this day the Holy Spirit descended in a flame on the apostles and all the followers of Christ who gathered together in the upper room of Zion. The appearance of the Holy Spirit, which clearly showed the Trinitarian nature of God, gave reason to call this day also the day of the Holy Trinity. The name Pentecost comes from the Greek name of this day - "Pentecost" and means the fiftieth day after Easter - the Resurrection of Christ, when this event took place. The Old Testament also had Pentecost, but it was about the day Moses received the 10 commandments of God's law. Thus, the descent of the Holy Spirit also marked the beginning of the New Testament, where Christians in the Church will be guided directly by the Spirit and not by the precepts of Jewish ceremonial law. In addition, having received the Holy Spirit, the apostles began to preach the gospel of Christ in various languages, and on the same day converted about 5,000 people to Christ. The received gift was passed on by the disciples of Christ through the laying on of hands to the bishops - leaders of the local Christian communities, and those in turn - to other bishops. So this gracious gift, called apostolic succession, exists in the Church to this day.

Preparation

Pentecost, like any other great Christian holiday, has certain preparatory moments. First of all, it is a funeral service, which is performed on the Saturday before the holiday and is called "Trinity Father's Saturday". On this day, the Church prays especially fervently for the rest of the souls of all the dead, and Christians for their deceased relatives. The establishment of this Sabbath is due to the fact that during the period from Easter to Pentecost in the church services there are no separate funeral litanies for the dead, and the rite of requiem is reduced in accordance with the Easter charter. Therefore, on Trinity Saturday, believers are invited to pray especially for the dead, and after that day, memorial services are already held in the usual, not abbreviated way.

In addition, before the day of the Holy Trinity, all the liturgical vestments and rows in the temple are changed from white to green. The tradition of worshiping in green is associated primarily with the Christian custom of decorating the temple for this holiday with flowers and greenery. Saint John Chrysostom (IV) first mentions this tradition in his works. Since then, this custom has spread among our ancestors, so it is impossible to imagine a church in Ukraine, which would not be decorated with flowers and branches before the Trinity.

Liturgical features

First of all, they relate to worship and prayer. From Easter to Pentecost, all worship with kneeling is abolished in all churches as Christians celebrate the joy of Christ's Resurrection. And instead of the prayer of the invocation of the Holy Spirit to the "Heavenly King" - the troparion of Easter "Christ is risen from the dead" is read. Ten days before the day of the Holy Trinity, on the fortieth day after Easter, the Church celebrates a great feast - the Ascension of the Lord, when the event of the bodily ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ to heaven is commemorated. The Ascension always falls on a Thursday, and on the Wednesday before it the Passover is celebrated in the churches, a service identical to Easter, where the troparion "Christ is risen from the dead" is sung for the last time. That is why in the period from ten days from the Ascension to the Trinity the prayer "Heavenly King" is skipped, and the troparion of Easter is no longer read.

Before His Ascension, Christ commanded the apostles to be together in Jerusalem and await the descent of the Holy Spirit. With this in mind, Christians, like the apostles, also look forward to Pentecost after the Ascension. On Saturday evening, during the All-Night Mass, the prayer to the Holy Spirit "King of Heaven" is sung as a stykhyra for the first time. The deacon usually addresses the people at this time, and they all sing this prayer together after a fifty-day break. The next day, after the festive liturgy and the Eucharist, the Great Vespers are celebrated immediately, the course of which is interrupted three times to read three special prayers. Before this reading, the clergy and all the parishioners get on their knees, because from this moment earthly bows and kneeling are allowed again. In prayer, the priests and the whole community turn to God and ask for the blessings and grace of the Holy Spirit to be sent to them all, just as it did with the apostles two thousand years ago. The Monday after the Trinity is called the day of the Holy Spirit, and from it begins the Trinity’s week in which fasting is abolished on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Folk traditions and customs

As we noted above, the day of the Holy Trinity is called "green holidays" in Ukraine for good reason. Before the festive all-night service, a big cleaning was done, after which the houses were decorated with flowers and fragrant herbs: thyme, lovage, calamus, mint, cornflowers. In addition, these plants were used to make a festive bouquet, which the priest consecrated with holy water after prayers and worship. Then it was placed behind the icons to dry, and then used for bathing babies and young children, throwing them into hot water. The plants were boiled in water and gave a fragrant aroma and color. In the absence of any detergents in ancient times, such bathing had a good effect on the skin, cleansing it of dirt and germs. Nowadays, few people use plants for bathing, but as a decorative element, such bouquets are still common.

However, as we see, the meaning of the day of the Holy Trinity is to celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit and to pray for the gift of His grace to modern Christians. And the folk tradition of decorating and using plants is a more decorative moment than the one that really makes sense on the big day of Pentecost.