Orthodox Christians celebrate the Saints Archangels Michael and Gabriel on Saturday. According to popular beliefs, on this day, summer is sent to the other world and the cold of winter begins gradually. Several traditions and superstitions are connected to this holiday.
Saints Michael and Gabriel, iconographic representation. PHOTO archive The truth
“On November 8, the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel are celebrated, together with the council of all the heavenly powers. Thus, the day of November 8 is dedicated to all non-corporeal groups (the number 8 represents the symbol of eternal life, infinity)”. says the ethnographic researcher Sorin Mazilescu, in a post on Facebook about the “heralds of God’s will”
According to the specialist in folklore and traditions, the celebration on November 8 was at first only a celebration of Saint Michael the Archangel. Later it was honored together with him and the Holy Archangel Gabriel, to eventually become a day of honor for all the heavenly hosts.
“The Holy Archangels are seven in number: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Salatil, Uriil, Gudiil and Varahil, but the most famous are the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel. Considering that the names of the two Archangels end with the shortened form of the name of God El (Elohim) (El in Greek), we can say that they are fulfillers of the will of God. Therefore, those who do not honor the The Holy Angels do not honor the power of God that is manifested through them. The name of the Holy Archangel Michael, Mi-cha-El in the Hebrew language, means that God? (mi=who, He=God), and the name of the Holy Archangel Gabriel, in the Hebrew language, means God is my power, and Gabriel is the face of divine mercy“, explains the researcher.
Archangel Michael enforces justice against injustice in the world, punishes those who violate God’s will and commit injustice, and guards those who are righteous. Saint Gabriel is the archangel of joy, of gentleness and divine mercy, of good tidings.
Sorin Mazilescu recalls that Archangel Michael is the one who put an end to the fall of the evil angels with the words: “Let’s sit well, let’s sit with fear, let’s remember”words that the faithful repeat all the time during the Holy Liturgy: “Let’s sit well, let’s sit with fear, let’s remember, the Holy Sacrifice in peace brings it.”
“He is the one who destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and saved Lot and his family from death. He guided the Jewish people when they came out of Egyptian captivity. He strengthened Joshua, the son of Navi, before the conquest of Canaan began, and according to Revelation, he will bring final victory over the devil and his minions. There is a tradition according to which Michael I revealed himself to Saint Constantine the Great and showed him the sign of the holy cross in the sky saying: Through this sign you will win!“.
In iconography, the Archangel Michael is represented carrying a fiery sword in his hand, a sign that he punishes sin.
“Saint Michael the Archangel is mentioned in the books of the Old Testament as being present especially where God punishes injustice. For this reason Archangel Michael shows himself to be an angel of Divine justice. Archangel Gabriel is the one who announced the birth of the prophets and the righteous of God, but also the incarnation and birth of the Son of God from the Holy Virgin Mary. He is the one who interpreted Daniel’s vision (Daniel, 8, 16)”. recalls Sorin Mazilescu.
According to tradition, he is the one who rolled away the stone from the door of the tomb and sat on top of it, when the Lord rose and for the first time announced to the Myronosites that Christ had risen.
Archangel Gabriel is represented in Orthodox iconography holding a white lily flower, as a symbol of joy and blessing. Archangel Gabriel is the angel of God’s goodness and mercy.
Saints Michael and Gabriel facilitate the passage of the dying to the other world
According to popular beliefs, the two archangels facilitate the passage of the dying to the other world.
In popular tradition, the Archangels Michael and Gabriel appear humanized and, sometimes, together.
“They are the ones who restore harmony and order to the world by releasing the stars stolen by the devil. Their day of celebration is meant to ease the passage to the other realm of people on their deathbeds. The legendary sources state that the Archangel Michael was in the beginning an ordinary man who married a beautiful girl named Stăncuţa. After the wedding, she became very bad, and for his patience with her, Michael was proclaimed a saint and commissioned to take people’s souls. It is also said that, during a fight with Stăncuţa, Archangel Michael would have lost an eye and since then death is half blind, in the sense that it also takes the souls of young people.
Deciding to go out into the world, he arrives at a house where a child had been born, whom he offered to baptize. As a christening gift, he offered the newborn the profession of doctor. In other versions, he would have been given a bottle of medicine that, if only three drops were administered to the sick, would cure them. But he could heal only the patients at whose feet Archangel Michael was standing. If the Archangel stood at their head, it meant that they could no longer be saved.
According to other legendary sources, the Archangel Michael always walked accompanied by the devil, who was intolerant of the dying, while the Archangel gave them another hour or two of life”writes Vasile Pistolea in the volume “Religious holidays and customs for Romanians” (Editura Marineasa, 2006).
As for the Archangel Gabriel, it is said that he controls the plague, like Saint Haralambie, and that he would have given the Mother of God the news of the birth of Jesus.
The estates of Archangels and the ram’s cake
Popular traditions say that those who work on this day will suffer a painful death. Even now, the Finns go to the godmothers with their cakes and it is said that she is sent to the other world in the summer, and the saint begins to loosen, gradually, the frost of winter.
“The food offerings given for the dead in the form of alms are called Archangels’ Gifts. On this occasion, candles were lit both for the living and for those who disappeared without a candle, in festive circumstances. In Transylvania, it is customary to make the rams’ cake on this day, the rams being the name of the rams separated from the sheep. Now the rams mix with the sheep again, and on this occasion a cake of corn or wheat flour is made which, after baking, is thrown among the sheep. If this cake falls face up, it is a sign that the sheep will do well when they give birth. If it falls face down, it is said that it will be bad for them“, writes Antoaneta Olteanu in the volume “Calendarele poporului român”, (Publishing Paideia, Bucharest, 2001).
More than a million Romanians celebrate, on Saturday, the name day of Saints Archangels Michael and Gabriel. Most are men.
