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Forgiveness Sunday is one of the most important Christian holidays that believers will look forward to in 2020. This is a day of repentance and purification of the soul. It is difficult to overestimate its semantic load, since a person gets rid of the burden of gravity due to the pain caused and the grievances delivered.
Celebration date
Forgiveness Sunday is the last day of Shrovetide (Cheese Week). Since Lent begins on Monday, this day serves as a kind of preparation for it. A person cannot begin to fast until he cleanses his soul of the burden of guilt through repentance and forgiveness. This is the first step to humility.
The date of this Christian holiday is not fixed. This is explained by reference to Lent and Easter, the date of which is annually calculated according to the lunar calendar. To find out what date Forgiveness Sunday will be in 2020 is easy if the date of Easter is known. You need to perform a simple arithmetic operation - take 49 days. Namely, the Great Lent lasts 7 weeks.
Important! In 2020, Forgiveness Sunday will be March 1, since Easter falls on April 19.
History of occurrence
The history of the holiday goes back to ancient times. A tradition arose to apologize in ancient Egypt. The inhabitants of this country received the Virgin Mary with Jesus Christ as they fled from the persecution of King Herod. Later, these events contributed to the emergence of Christian churches in the state. Their ministers strictly followed all the predictions of the Bible and God's son. Priests must fast before Easter in order to be spiritually and bodily cleansed before Easter, to prepare for the celebration of Bright Sunday.
In order to protect themselves from earthly temptations and test the firmness of spirit and faith, they went alone into the desert for 40 days. The figure is symbolic, since Moses spent 40 days in the desert. Outside the settlements of the clergy, a harsh reality awaited. Each of them understood that he might not return home alive. Predators, the scorching sun and thirst, lack of food and other trials could inflict a mortal blow. For this reason, they always said goodbye to everyone and asked for forgiveness. After all, it is known that a person must go into the world of the departed with a pure soul and conscience, without burdensome sins and burdens.
Over time, tradition became stronger in Christianity and spread to other nations. And although today the holiday is several centuries old, all Christians ask for forgiveness on Sunday before Lent.
Traditions
The name of the Forgiveness Sunday shows the main traditions of the holiday. On this day, you must definitely ask for forgiveness from all people. Be sure to contact people who intentionally or unintentionally caused heartache or offended. But apologize should also be given to unfamiliar people, since it is believed that any sin committed by man falls on all of humanity. Words must be sincere, sound from a pure heart. It is important to repent of their deeds and sins. Otherwise, the words will not make any sense.
It is equally important to forgive people who have forgiven. It is necessary to let go of pain and resentment, to forgive a person if he repents of his actions. Sometimes it is difficult to do, because of mental torment. In this case, you must say: "God will forgive!".
Important! On this holiday, physical labor is prohibited. Conflict and quarrel are considered a great sin.You can’t keep evil and resentment against people.
Church customs
All believers must attend evening service in the church. On this day, priests read excerpts from the gospel. During the liturgy, the reasons why Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden must be recalled. The fact is that they did not suffer punishment for having committed a sin, but for not repenting of their deeds. At the end of the service, the priest turns to the parishioners for forgiveness. After that, believers turn to the priest and to each other with words of forgiveness.
Memory of the dead
On this day, they recall the deceased relatives. Go to the cemetery. Near the graves they pray and ask for forgiveness from the dead. This ritual must be performed if during life a person was hurt or offended. Some people leave sweets, pancakes and other treats on the graves, but the church urges them not to. It is better to pray for the departed, and to distribute the treats to children or the poor.
Family dinner
In some regions, the whole family gathers at Forgiveness Sunday at the festive table. Adult children come to their parents. On this day it is allowed to eat the usual food, although it is not recommended to overeat. Before dinner, everyone is praying.
Folk traditions
Since Forgiveness Sunday is the last day of Shrovetide, public festivities are organized on this day. Concert programs are always accompanied by pancake eating, contests, games and other entertainments. In the evening arrange winter farewell and burn a scarecrow. In big cities, fairs are held.
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