[ad_1]
Today we honor the memory of St. Ignatius the God Bearer, one of the best disciples of the Holy Apostle John the Theologian, so named because he carried God in his heart.
Ignazhden is generally celebrated on December 20, but when the date falls on a Sunday, the holiday is moved to December 19.
People believe that the Christmas and New Year holidays begin on this day.
According to beliefs, this day is considered the beginning of the Dirty Days (from Saint Ignatius to the Epiphany) and the transition from the old to the new year.
In some areas of Bulgaria it is called New Day. The other names for the holidays are Ignat and New Years.
According to Christian tradition, the labor pains of the Mother of God begin on this day. This is the period during which young and unborn women, called “martyrs”, do not work to conceive and give birth more easily to their children.
Whose will be the first to enter Ignazhden’s house, one can guess what his next year will be like.
Whoever steps on the threshold of the house first is called an “assistant”, the hostess hands him an Ignatian cake and he sits at the head of the table.
Nothing should be taken out of the house, especially fire, embers or salt, so that the blessing does not come out.
It is believed that if the day of San Ignacio is cloudy, the harvest will be good and there will be plenty in the hives.
Early in the morning on the day of Saint Ignatius, the women light the fire, put out a pot of vegetables and prepare the bread dough. They make cakes from it for each member of the family and a cake, which they leave for Christmas Eve.
Small pretzels (“horseshoes”) sprinkled with sesame seeds are also prepared.
On the table today there should be beans, wheat, oshav, nuts, boiled corn, cabbage, onions, pickled peppers, potatoes with rice, bulgur, yeast cake, cookies.
Celebrate today all who bear the names: Plamen, Plamena, Ognyan, Ognyana, Ignat, Ignata and Igo.
[ad_2]
