What day is it?

Every year on December 17, Orthodox Christians all over the world, including in Ukraine, celebrate the Day of the Great Martyr Barbara. This is a purely women’s holiday, on this day women beg Varvara for happiness and fate. Since ancient times, it has been believed that the Day of the Great Martyr Varvara opens the season of winter cold and frost. It is not for nothing that this holiday is also called Winter Varvara. Our forefathers tried not to go outside unnecessarily, and women did household chores in addition to weaving and spinning.

How the idea to celebrate came about Day of the Great Martyr Barbara

The holiday has a very ancient and tragic history. The Great Martyr Varvara was executed on December 17, 306 AD by her pagan father, who did not accept his daughter’s conversion to Christianity.

A pagan girl who became a Christian

Varvara came from a noble pagan family of Asia Minor. The girl lost her mother early, so her father, named Dioscorus, was very careful about her daughter’s education. He hid her from prying eyes, because Varvara had extraordinary beauty, and he wanted to protect her.

For this he built a tower that she could not leave. Observing the grandeur and beauty of the surrounding world from the small windows of her tower, the girl began to think about who is the creator of this amazing nature.

Later, noble women and men began to propose to her, but she refused them all, and told her father that she was not going to marry at all. In order to change my daughter’s views, I had to let her go outside, where she met Christians who told her about the only God. In deep secrecy, she accepted baptism just at the time when Christians were being persecuted.

Torture and execution

Dioscorus often left home and went on business trips. During the long absence of her father, when construction was underway in the estate, Varvara ordered the builders to create a third window in the new house. She decided to dedicate this window to the Holy Trinity.

When the father found out that his daughter had converted to Christianity, he was furious and immediately took her to the court of the local ruler. Dioscorus publicly declared that he renounced his daughter, because she renounced ancient pagan customs and stopped worshiping the gods and accepted Christianity. The ruler of the city persuaded the girl for a long time to obey her parents’ will, but she continued to firmly defend her opinion.

After that, the torture began: beating with oxen and rubbing the wounds with a coarse hair cloth. After some time, all the wounds of the saint disappeared, but the torture did not stop. At the end, Varvara was beheaded by her own father.

Relics of the Great Martyr

The relics of the saint were preserved and in the 600s of our era were sent to the center of the Orthodox faith – Constantinople. In the 12th century, Princess Varvara, the daughter of the Byzantium Emperor Oleksia, became the wife of Mykhailo Izyaslavych, Prince Svyatopolk of Kyiv. When she moved to Kyiv, she took the relics of the famous great martyr with her.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the largest number of relics of the saint were kept in St. Michael’s Cathedral in Kyiv and were later transferred to the Volodymyr’s Cathedral, where they remain today.

Day of the Great Martyr Barbara in history

• 306
  December 17

  The Great Martyr Varvara was executed on December 17, 306 AD by her pagan father, who did not accept his daughter’s conversion to Christianity.
• 600
  ?

  The relics of the saint were preserved and in the 600s of our era were sent to Constantinople.
• XII century

  Princess Varvara, the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Oleksiy, took the relics of the Great Martyr with her when she moved to Kyiv.
• 20th century
  early

  The saint’s relics were kept in St. Michael’s Cathedral in Kyiv and were later transferred to Volodymyr’s Cathedral, where they remain today.

Signs and beliefs

There are many signs that were made by our ancestors since ancient times and have come down to our days.

• It was believed that if on December 17, on the Day of the Great Martyr Varvara, the heat is preserved, then the year will be fruitful, especially flax.
• An intense and bright glow in the west indicates clear and sunny weather.
• Severe frosts that begin on this day will be long-lasting.
• If the smoke coming out of the chimney creeps down, it means that warming will happen soon.
• On St. Barbara’s Day, it will be cold and frosty, which means the roads will be covered with ice.
• Is it cloudy outside? So it will snow. Not a cloud in the sky? It is necessary to prepare for frost.

Rites and traditions

Ever since the times of Russia, the Day of the Great Martyr Barbara was celebrated exclusively by women. In the morning, they went to the church, where they prayed to the saint and put candles near her image. Saint Barbara is the protector of married women and their personal happiness.

Young unmarried girls also often turn to the great martyr with a request to send a good groom and a successful future married life.

However, the holiday is not only the patroness of the fair sex. She also takes care of the men who work underground: miners, geologists, etc.

What can and what should not be done on this day?

On December 17, active preparations for Nicholas the Wonderworker Day and Christmas holidays began in Russia. Women cleaned their houses, prepared all kinds of goodies, embroidered. Embroideries made on this day were considered holy.

However, it was strictly forbidden to spin and weave on this day. There was a belief that if a woman disobeys and starts spinning on this day, she may be hurt by her own spindle.

Young girls used fortune telling on this day. To do this, they took cherry twigs and put them in water. If buds or leaves appear on the branches at Christmas, then next year they will meet their groom and even get married.

What to ask Saint Barbara?

Women believed that it was on this day that they could ask for happiness and well-being, both for themselves and for their relatives. There is a whole list of requests that can be addressed to the Great Martyr Varvara on this day:

• Health for family members.
• Protection from mother-in-law’s prejudices and slander.
• Prayer for pregnancy and healing from infertility.
• Happiness and good fortune for children.

The prayers of pregnant women deserve special attention. On this day, they can ask for a safe childbirth, as well as pray for the health of the future child.

Conspiracies for Barbara’s Day

On the day of the great martyr Varvara, every woman can carry out a conspiracy for happiness. For this you will need a talisman with an agate stone. Agate should be thoroughly washed and firmly squeezed in the hand. Then the hand with the stone is put to the mouth and the conspiracy itself is spoken: “Please always protect me, help me in difficulties, fill me with happiness.” After that, the customer must always wear the ordered talisman as a talisman. If over time the agate has lost its luster and darkened, it is necessary to take a new talisman and make it speak.

Postcards for the day of the Great Martyr Varvara

More postcards for the Day of the angel Barbara

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Why is it important? this day?

The Day of the Great Martyr Barbara is celebrated throughout the Orthodox world, but it is considered a women’s holiday. Women have the opportunity to turn to the saint with requests for simple female happiness. Believers believe that Varvara will definitely help if you have faith and follow all the traditions of the holiday.

When will we celebrate Day of the Great Martyr Barbara?