Ignazhden: names, customs and table

Ignazhden: traditions, names and table

On December 20 we celebrate Ignazhden. The Orthodox Church celebrates St. Ignatius God-bearer, one of the best disciples of St. Apostle John the Theologian, so called because he carried God in his heart.

Ignazhden Nouns

Blamen, Blamena, Fiery, Fiery, Ignat, Ignat, Igo

Ignazhden Customs

According to the belief, on St. Ignazhden, the birth pains of the Mother of God also begin, then the gatherings of the carolers take place. That is why it is called New Day or Young Year. Ignazhden marks the beginning of the Christmas holidays. It is connected with the custom of polvavane, foretelling what the new year will be like. If the first guest is good and lucky, the family will enjoy prosperity and success throughout the year.

The evening before the holiday is the first Cadena evening. They prepare lean foods for her. Raw wheat and walnuts are placed on the table. A candle is lit on top of the bread or wheat, and the oldest is walked around with incense and charcoal and a censer. The ashes, the candle and the walnuts are kept for the rest of the incense evenings. According to Christian tradition, the birth pains of the Mother of God begin from this day.

In Loveshko, there is a tradition where if an unmarried girl wants to know who she will marry, she sits on a tree, sprinkles herself with barley and says the words: "Whoever is lucky to come tonight, let's get married together!". Then he gets up and takes wood chips in one hand and barley in the other and enters the house. He leaves the cod by the hearth, and puts the barley under his pillow. He who dreams at night will marry him.

 Women who have not given birth observe the ban on not working on this day to make their birth easier. Before sunrise, the women sweep the chimneys and throw out the soot together with the broom, sprinkle the burnt wheat and ashes around the house.

On this day, nothing is taken out of the house, so that the blessing does not escape. It is not given and borrowed, especially salt.

Ignazhden Meal

The following dishes are prepared on Ignazhden: Rhodope cakes, patatik, kravaichets, beans and ritual bread.