On June 29, Orthodox Christians celebrate St. Peter and Paul. The two apostles are considered the disciples of Jesus who contributed the most to the spread of Christianity in the world. On this day over 500,000 Romanians celebrate their name day.
Saints Peter and Paul, celebrated every year on June 29 PHOTO ARCHIVE
The two are celebrated together because they died on the same day, in the year 67, during the Christian persecution started by the Roman emperor Nero. Also on June 29, the fast held in honor of the two apostles ends, popularly called “Sânpetrului Fast”.
According to Christian orthodoxy, the Holy Apostle Peter, the son of Jonah and the brother of the Apostle Andrew, was born in Bethsaida of Galilee. His Jewish name was Simon, but the Savior will call him Chipha (stone). After a wonderful fishing on Lake Ghenizaret, he is called to become a fisherman of men. He confesses in the name of the apostles the divinity of Christ, but he also renounces Christ when He is caught to be crucified. After the Ascension of the Lord, Peter takes the floor in the gathering of disciples and they choose Matthias as an apostle instead of Judas. On the day of Pentecost, according to the sermon of the Holy Apostle Peter, three thousand people are baptized.
Saint Peter the Apostle preached in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, Asia Minor to Babylon and in the last part of his life, in Rome. Saint Peter died crucified on the cross, head down, in the year 67, on June 29.
Saint Paul the Apostle was originally from Tarsus in Cilicia, from the tribe of Benjamin. Saint Paul was a student of the learned Gamaliel. Paul lived in Tarsus and fought against the Christians. Saint Paul the Apostle participated in the killing of Archdeacon Stephen. On the road to Damascus Christ appeared to him in a blinding light and rebuked him: “Saul, Saul why do you persecute me?”.
Due to the fact that the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul were in prison because they confessed Christ as the Son of God, they became protectors of the penitentiary system in Romania. They are protectors of those deprived of freedom.
Customs and superstitions of St. Peter and St. Paves
In the popular tradition, the day of Saints Peter and Paul is also called Summer Saint Peter, a day that marks the middle of the agrarian summer and the beginning of the harvest.
Saint Peter is the patron saint of agriculture and is responsible for the condition of the harvests, he patronizes heat and rain and punishes those who disrespect him with thunder and hail.
It is said that when Saint Peter cracks his whip, sparks fly from it which, once they fall to the ground, turn into fireflies.
Another popular legend says that, when people stray from the faith, SânPetru calls the dragons and begins to start the hail on them, crushing it, so that they do not put people in great danger.
On this day, the festival of wolves is observed. That is why traps are not set and wolves are not chased away with gunfire. People want these wild animals to be tamed and not steal cattle from households.
On this day of great Christian celebration, people go to church, to service, and women share pots of water, so that the dead have something to drink in the other world. Sweet apples and honey are also distributed to the neighbors.
Also on this day people are allowed to work anything, but not to spin, because it is believed that this is how the coils come back from the dead. A number of popular traditions are preserved in the villages of Bărăgan.
“Until this day, the apples are not shaken. It is believed that if this tradition is respected, the fields are protected from hail. It is also said that if there is thunder and lightning today, the walnuts and hazelnuts will be wormy. say specialists in Ethnography and Folklore from the Lower Danube Museum Călăraşi, according to Adevărul.
It is said that on the day of Saints Peter and Paul, nightingales and cuckoos stop singing and turn into hawks, returning to their original form on the day of the Annunciation.
Out of respect for relatives in the family, passed on to eternal life, by tradition, girls and young women are not allowed to eat apples until the day of the holiday, so as not to upset those who have passed the last border of life.
Names celebrated by St. Peter and Paul: Peter; Petre, Petrisor, Petruţ, Petruş, Petrică, Pătru, Petruţa, Petronela, Pavel, Pavelică, Paveluţă, Păvălaş, Paul, Paulică, Paulin, Petrache, Paula, Petruţa, Paulina. Happy birthday to all!
