One of the prominent figures in the pantheon of Christian saints is Mary Magdalene, a companion of Jesus Christ, obliged to him by the salvation of her body and soul. Mary is among the myrrh-bearing women who brought the world to the place of burial of the Lord the morning after his painful execution. Therefore, the day of her memory on the Orthodox calendar is celebrated twice.
In Russia, the Day of Remembrance of the Myrrh-bearing woman of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene is celebrated twice - on the second Sunday after Easter on the Day of the Holy Myrrh-bearing women and on August 4, the day on which she is mentioned in the holy calendar. Maria turned to the Lord after he rescued her from an angry mob about to stone the girl for leading a dissolute life and it was believed that demons had infused her. Christ managed to stop the reprisal with a wise word. The famous phrase of Jesus: "Let the one who is without sin, the first to throw a stone at her, " has become popular and is often used in everyday life, recalling that few of their mortals have the right to judge others.
After her salvation, Mary became a faithful disciple and follower of Christ, carrying his Word even after the death of the Teacher. According to Christian traditions, it was she who came to Easter to the Roman emperor Tiberius and gave him a painted egg with the words: "Christ is risen!". After that, the custom of dyeing eggs and giving them for a bright Easter holiday has taken root throughout the Christian world.
In the 9th century, the incorrupt relics of Mary Magdalene were transferred to Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, but then, after the Crusades, some of them were buried in Rome under the altar plate of the Lateran Cathedral. Some of the holy relics are buried in France, not far from Marseille. Here, at the foot of the mountain, in honor of St. Mary Magdalene built a magnificent temple.
For a long time in Russia it was customary to go to the forest on this day, August 4, to pick berries from which the housewives made blanks — dried them for the winter and made jam on honey from them. Therefore, the peasants called this day the Buttock and the Sweetwoman. With the day of Mary Magdalene, many folk signs were associated.
Today, no special festivities on this subject are held in Christian churches. Pious, churched people celebrate this day by reading the akathist of St. Mary Magdalene and the prayers addressed to her, asking them to intercede for them before the Lord. In churches, priests read sermons, the themes of which are echoed with examples from the life of this saint.
