Clean Thursday 2023: when to dye eggs, customs and signs

The priest explained why it is better to choose a temple between cleaning and a temple

Every year, three days before Easter, an important event occurs that is of great importance for Orthodox people – Maundy Thursday. On this day, according to the Gospel, the Last Supper took place, during which Jesus Christ, knowing about the betrayal of Judas, said goodbye to the disciples. He also performed Holy Communion and washed the feet of the apostles. This is one of the most important days of Holy Week – the last week before Easter. “MK” figured out how to spend this day.

The biblical scene of Jesus washing the feet of his apostle disciples is associated with his desire to show his deep humility, as well as serving people. This day is associated with the cleansing of the body and spirit of Christians, because it was then that the sacrament of the Eucharist – Communion was established. During communion, believers eat bread and drink wine, which are the personification of the body and blood of Jesus.

Over the thousand-year history of Christian Russia, Maundy Thursday has acquired many folk signs – however, the Church is not loyal to all of them. For example, there is a belief that if the first Easter cake burns down, then the year will not be very successful. And if the weather is sunny on Maundy Thursday, then the heat will stay until the end of spring. It is also known that if you do not swim on Maundy Thursday, then the whole next year will be accompanied by troubles and failures. It is necessary to clean up and take out all the old things from the house in order to make room for something new.

However, all this is just folk speculation. The essence of the holiday is different. The MK correspondent spoke with Father Philip Ilyashenko, who spoke about the meaning and traditions of this important day:

— Why is Maundy Thursday important for the Orthodox?

Passionate, Clean, Thursday is associated with the remembrance and experience of the greatest event of the Last Supper, which means the secret evening supper. It was done in secret, because according to eyewitnesses of this event, Jesus had to hide.

A secret place was chosen. Jesus told the disciples to go to the city and when they see a man with a pitcher of water, follow him. He said: a man will come into the house and you will ask the owner if you can have dinner here. At this meeting, the most important events took place, one of which was the washing of the feet of the students by the teacher. The second event was this: Jesus told the disciples that there was a man among the 12 present who would betray him. The Savior gave a sign to his beloved disciple John that it would be Judas. After that, it was as if Satan entered Judas, he left to inform the presence of Jesus for his future murderers.

And the main event was the establishment of the sacrament of the Eucharist – the sacrament of communion, when a person is united with God, eating wine and bread, like the body and blood of Jesus. This is the main purpose of this day. The task is not to clean the house, but to become a participant in this Last Supper. Today we have a free opportunity to get into the temple and begin to touch the essence of this holiday. As for bathing and many folk signs, I want to emphasize that we do not believe in signs, but in God. Undoubtedly, each of us has many worries, we have responsibilities that we cannot refuse, but these days, the goal of being with God should be put in the first place.

– When do you need to bake Easter cakes, paint eggs and consecrate them?

The tradition of dyeing eggs is quite old. When Mary Magdalene brought the egg to the emperor, announcing the resurrection of Christ, the emperor began to laugh at her. He said it was as likely as the egg in her hands to turn red. Mary handed him an egg with the words “Christ is Risen”, after which the egg turned red.

For the holiday, of course, we are preparing in advance. But cooking on the days when there is a service is not very correct: if you have a choice, it is better to prefer the service. In my family, we cook Easter meals on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and paint eggs on Thursday afternoon. We bless them on Saturday.