Since ancient times, there has been a belief that on the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross, which is celebrated on September 27, it is better not to go into the forest. On this day, snakes gather from all sides, release poison and go underground for the winter, so you should not disturb them and interfere with them.

A long time ago I read in some magazine a strange story connected with this particular day. It was a very warm autumn, the end of September, and they were still mowing the grass. People were returning from haymaking, on the way they met a snake. One of the men cut off the slanting head of this snake and hung it on his scythe, continuing his way home. At this time, the snake's head slipped from the blade of the scythe and bit the offender in the neck. Before reaching a few steps to his house, the man fell and died instantly.

And this story was told to us by Dmitry Mikhailovich Sokolov, whom my husband Valery Afanasyevich mentioned in his story about Sharik. Dmitry Mikhailovich was once an avid hunter. And once again he got ready to hunt, just on September 27th. Grandmother did not let him in, she said that it was dangerous to go into the forest that day. But he did not believe in such signs and predictions. I took the gun and went.

Already at the entrance to the forest, he met several snakes, and further, wherever he went, there were snakes everywhere. The hunt did not work out, and he decided to return home, especially since anxiety had already settled in his soul.

And suddenly, in one of the clearings, Dmitry Mikhailovich saw a wild sight: there were countless snakes, probably a hundred or more. From what he saw, he simply turned to stone, but quickly oriented himself and shot at this snake. And then the light show began! The snakes hissed piercingly and crawled towards him. Dmitry Mikhailovich quickly began to move away from this place, but the snakes twisted into wheels and began to pursue him with incredible speed. These snake wheels were almost overtaking him, and then he began to take off his clothes: first a jacket, then a sweater, a shirt. The snakes immediately pounced on the clothes, giving Dmitry the opportunity to run away further. He even threw his boots at them. Finally reached the forest road. And here, for some reason, the vipers stopped chasing him.

Since then, Dima has abandoned hunting, and does not even go fishing on the Exaltation Day - he does not want to violate the laws of nature.

Another incident happened to my husband last year. He calls himself a forest man, because when the berry-mushroom season comes, he disappears in the forest for days on end. He leaves on a bicycle, leaves it in a secluded place and goes to his cherished places deep into the forest. Returns late in the evening with baskets full of mushrooms and berries. This time he also quickly collected a basket of porcini mushrooms, and there were only half a bucket of lingonberries. He put a basket of mushrooms on an old rotten stump with a large hollow and began to collect lingonberries. There were many berries. He quickly collected a bucket of lingonberries and returned for a basket of mushrooms.

When he was already approaching the stump, he almost fell from surprise. A huge thick snake was wrapped around the stump and calmly basked in the sun. Then Valery Afanasyevich took a twig and stroked the snake with it. He is a creative person, and such people see beauty even in such situations. The snake hissed at the touch of a twig, untwisted and slid off the stump. The man and the snake looked at each other for a while. Then the snake soared in front of Valery Afanasyevich, again sank to the ground and soared again. This went on for five minutes. The snake seemed to go into a rage, everything danced and danced. It was scary, creepy, and beautiful. The husband knew that in such cases they say: "Go your way, and I will go mine." After these words, the snake slowly crawled into the hollow, and Valery Afanasyevich took a basket of mushrooms, a bucket of lingonberries and went home.

Shocked by what he saw, he did not go to the forest for several days. Then the alarm dulled, and he again disappeared into the forest until the very frost. These are the secrets and mysteries that our nature and its inhabitants keep.

Folk omens on September 27th.

Today is September 27 (September 14 old style).
Folk signs, proverbs and sayings, today: Exaltation. Shift. Exaltation of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord.

Exaltation. Shift. Exaltation of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, as this holiday is officially called, is a purely church celebration. The main festive ceremony is performed in the church. With the return from the temple, the believers continue their usual troublesome day, filled with hard work. Exaltation throughout Russia was considered a "cabbage day". Exaltation is a fasting holiday. Whoever fasts on Exaltation, seven sins will be forgiven.
On the Exaltation of a good fellow - cabbage at the porch. Dare, woman, about cabbage - Exaltation has come. Three days before the Exaltation, cabbage was harvested from all gardens. And from that time on, the peasant women united in "help" no longer dispersed until the complete "tidying up" of cabbage.
The cutting and salting of cabbage began with the Exaltation. It was, before the spread of the potato, the second, after bread, food product in every peasant family.
On Vozdvizhenie it is impossible to start important and significant affairs - everything will go to dust. There were parties - skits. The “Indian summer” was ending and the real autumn was coming. You can’t go to the forest on this day, because there the bear arranges a lair for himself, and the goblin conducts a review of his forest kingdom, and it’s not worth disturbing them.

Exaltation. The caftan with the fur coat will move, the last cart from the field, the birds will fly away, and the cold will come. All animals and insects lay down for the winter, including the bear lies in the den. At this time, one of the most important autumn works begins - cutting cabbage and harvesting it for the winter.
On this day, there are often small morning frosts.
The west wind blows for several days in a row - to bad weather.
A reddish circle near the moon at sunrise, soon disappearing - to clear and dry weather.
Cranes fly high, slowly, cooing - to a warm autumn.

Signs of September.

Thunder in September portends a warm autumn.
Until the cherry leaf has fallen, no matter how much snow falls, the thaw will drive it away.
If the cranes fly high, slowly and "talk" - it will be a good autumn.
A lot of nettnik for Indian summer - to a clear autumn and cold winter.
The web spreads over the plants - to heat.
Autumn shade net - for clear weather, for a bucket.
A lot of acorns in September on oak - for a fierce winter.
If there are a lot of acorns on the oaks this month, then expect a lot of snow before Christmas.
Frequent and strong fogs that occur in September, especially without wind, cause various diseases to people of poor health.

Russian folk omens and superstitions.

The brownie can be seen during bright matins, in the barn, in the back corner.
The amulet vnai protects (architect very, very).
To lose a glove is unfortunately.
Let go of the jackdaw (set it on fire). Plant a red rooster on the roof.
A cricket flies around the hut - to death or to a fire.
The trinity is a trinity, but they don’t put three candles on the table.
Do not greet through the threshold, do not talk.

In the minds of the common people, unfamiliar with the history of religion, Exaltation, apparently due to the consonance of words with the same root, is associated more with movement (shift) than with exaltation (elevation). “The exaltation autumn moves towards winter, it shifts heat, and the cold approaches”, “Exaltation - bread moves from the field to the threshing floor”, “the bird moved to the Exaltation, and the fur coat stretched for the caftan.”

“Whoever fasts on Exaltation, seven sins will be forgiven.” Most often, cabbage and dishes from it were eaten on this day. “On the Exaltation, a good fellow has cabbage at the porch”; “Smart, woman, about cabbage - Exaltation has come,” people said. Three days before the holiday, it was customary to remove the heads of cabbage from the garden, and then for a week or even two, the peasant women were engaged in harvesting cabbage for the winter. Usually they did this together - at cabbage parties, which were accompanied by jokes and tales.

According to the general opinion, Vozdvizhenie was one of those days when it was not worth starting a single more or less important business, since everything that was started at that time did not end well, but went to dust.

However, it was on Vozdvizhenye that votive churches, chapels, or simply roadside crosses were erected in gratitude for deliverance from misfortune or pestilence. Around the villages on this day they made religious processions or walked around the surrounding fields with icons and prayers. And besides, one of the most important autumn works began on Vozdvizhenye in many regions of Russia - harvesting cabbage for the winter. “In the Exaltation of a good fellow - cabbage at the porch”, so “smart, woman, about cabbage - Exaltation has come.”

But those who wished could postpone this troublesome pleasure for a day or two: "Cabbage evenings sat out for two weeks." So the elderly, thorough housewives were in no hurry with the start of cabbage harvesting, finding more important things to do. But girls of marriageable age would not miss the Vozdvizhenskaya evening for anything. Indeed, according to legend, if a girl, going to a holiday, reads a special spell seven times, then the guy she likes will fall in love with her without memory. Go and try to resist this: “My word is strong, like iron! Raise, father, Exaltation Day, in the heart of the good fellow (name) love for me, the red girl (name), so that this love does not have an end-century, so that it does not burn in fire, does not sink in water, so that its cold winter does not chill ! My word is strong as iron!”

By the way, the number seven is not a simple value - it is magical. Therefore, on this day, not only the love plot was supposed to be repeated seven times, but the soul also had to be taken care of: “Whoever fasts in the Exaltation, seven sins will be forgiven, and whoever does not honor the Exaltation, seven sins will be raised on him.”

And in general, as during any folk holidays, all sorts of miracles, of course, also happened on Vozdvizhenye. For example, "tits - court birds flew with a song from the forests", and the beast subject to Leshy, on the contrary, was drawn to the forest, apparently going to sum up the results of the year at this pre-winter "meeting".

And they also say that only the snake that has bitten a person remains freezing on Exaltation, and all the rest climb underground to spend the winter with their snake mother. And in that cherished place, as if the legendary Alatyr-stone is buried. Sources of living water spring from under it, giving food and healing to the whole world. And on this stone sits the red-maiden Zarya, who does not allow the light to go out, the earth to fall asleep, and us to forget.

"Russian folk calendar" publishing house "Metaphor" 2004

The Christian holiday of the Exaltation of the honest and life-giving cross of the Lord, celebrated on September 27, was rethought by Russian folk culture on the holiday of the "Shift" and turned out to be "dedicated" to "reptiles".

According to folk beliefs, “on the day of the Exaltation, all snakes, snakes, and in general all reptiles “shift”, that is, crawl into one place, underground, to their mother, where they spend the whole winter, right up to the first spring thunder, which serves like a signal allowing the reptile to crawl out of the womb of mother earth and live in freedom. That is why on the feast of the Exaltation, or, in the peasant expression, "Shift", the peasants carefully lock the gates, doors and gates for the whole day out of fear that reptiles, crawling to their mother under the ground, did not crawl by mistake into the peasants' yard and did not hide there under manure or in straw and bunks. man, will be severely punished: all autumn, until the first snow and even through the snow, she will crawl in vain, not finding a place for herself, until the frost kills her or the man's pitchfork is pierced. Even today, in Russian villages, older people refrain from going into the forest on September 27: "The bastard is moving ... If you walk, they will go straight ahead, hapki. - And they will go right along the way."

Encyclopedia of Superstitions

However, far from all the common people imagined what the true meaning and significance of the church feast of the Exaltation was. In the peasant environment, this holiday was perceived, first of all, as the beginning of autumn and was associated with the general movement of the earth (its inhabitants, some objects) and the change of seasons; so, folk proverbs, sayings, etc. they said about this day: “The caftan will move the caftan, the fur coat will be pulled down” (or: “On the Exaltation the caftan with the fur coat moved and the hat moved”), “the bread moved from the field to the threshing floor” (at about this time the harvesting of bread ended and threshing began), “the earth moved from summer to winter”, etc. The Exaltation holiday itself was often called “Shift” by the people.

According to popular beliefs, on Vozdvizhenye the birds "shift" into flight, heading for wintering in Vyriy. Snakes and, in general, all the "reptiles" on this day also go to the winter hut: they go out into open places or climb trees to bask in the sun for the last time, weave into one big ball, and then hide underground, which then closes until the Annunciation (or St. George's day, the day of St. Rufus, 8.IV). In some places, it was said that all the snakes on Vozdvizhenie crawl into one place, to their mother, where they spend the whole winter, right up to the first spring thunder, which “opens” the earth and allows all reptiles to crawl out into the world. At the same time, it was also believed that, in addition to underground caves, snakes could also go under water, so from that day on it was forbidden to swim.

With all these beliefs about snakes leaving for the winter, many folk customs were associated. So, for example, for the entire holiday of the Exaltation, the owners carefully locked the gates, doors and gates, fearing that reptiles crawling to their “womb” in the womb of mother earth would crawl, by mistake, into the yard and hide there under a dunghill or in straw . However, peasants, as a rule, were not afraid to be bitten on this day, since it was believed that snakes, starting from the Exaltation, did not bite, because they would be severely punished for this sin: any snake that stung a person at that time, the earth, will not accept popular belief, and she will be doomed all autumn until the first snow and even crawling through the snow, not finding a place for herself, until frost kills her or men's pitchforks pierce her. According to popular opinion, another misfortune may lie in wait for a person in the forest on the Exaltation: for example, in many places there were stories about how a person who violated the ban on going to the forest on this holiday fell into the ground with snakes and remained in underground dens until spring until the earth opens up again.

This ban had another reason. So, according to popular beliefs, not only reptiles, but also many “unclean people”, first of all, forest spirits, fall into the ground on Vozdvizhenye. So, it was believed that on this day the goblin, before falling through the ground, rage and drive into one place all the beasts subject to them, arranging a kind of review before the coming winter; in some Russian regions, Vozdvizhenye was even revered as “a special day for the goblin” or “a game with bears” (a bear lies in a den on this day). And since the goblin is especially evil on this day, they can, according to popular opinion, harm a person who finds himself in their possessions: at best, they will simply beat him, or even send him to the “other world”. All these reasons forced the peasants to avoid the forest on this holiday; however, some daredevils still went to the forest jungle, since in some places it was believed that on this day in the forest you can take possession of the horns of the snake king, which, according to legend, have great power.

Exaltation in many places was considered a boundary date for the start or end of various works, for example, sowing winter crops, harvesting corn, picking fruits, planting trees, etc. In some places on Vozdvizhenie, various plants were collected and consecrated in the church, revering them as healing. From Vozdvizhenye they began to chop cabbage, and often they did it together: for example, in many places, especially in Siberia, for “cabbage”, i.e. cutting cabbage, women invited neighbors, and those, coming into the house, congratulated the owners on the skit, as if on a holiday. Kapustnik often served as an occasion for parties: the owners brewed beer and prepared dinner (the main dish of which was a pie, cf. the saying: “A good man has a pie with cabbage on Exaltation Day”), usually ending with songs and dances.

At the beginning of this week, Orthodox Vladimirians celebratedWorld Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord - this is the full name of the holiday,which is usually briefly called the Exaltation. But people who are far from faith,they heard about him: from year to year at this time among the hunters,mushroom pickers, fishermen, tourists and summer residents are constantlytalk about some kind of “shifting of snakes” in the Central Russian forests.

In suburban trains in recent years, complaints are often heard that the snakes have completely overcome, they are already crawling to the sites. And summer residents from Moscow are happy about this: “What an ecologically clean place - there are even snakes!” What is a viper - our only poisonous snake?

Cain sign

All the confusion in our few snakes, and there are only three of them - the copperhead and the viper - came, I think, from the changeable color of the latter. It is grayish, almost brown or red-brown with a dark zigzag stripe along the back, often completely black specimens. But bluish and almost green are very common with us.
rarely.

The German naturalist K. Link called the blackish pattern on the back “cain's seal”, its configuration is also not constant in different vipers - either a zigzag or wavy strip, or rhombuses or rows of dots, transverse stripes and other combinations. An x-shaped dark pattern is noticeable on the head, and a dark stripe passes through the eye, like a sight. The belly is almost always darker than the back or completely black.

The size of the snake is small, old individuals can reach up to 80 cm in length. Unlike other snakes in the center of Russia, the body of the viper is short, the tail is short, the head is triangular, almost spear-shaped, and is clearly delimited by a constriction from a short neck.

Meeting pointchangeit is forbidden

In the Vladimir region, which is rather unevenly populated by vipers, suitable places are forests - spruce and pine forests with moss, oak forests, alder forests, floodplain meadows, swamps, overgrown burnt areas and clearings.

The viper can be found on the roadsides, on the clearings of high-voltage lines, near reclamation canals and even in vegetable gardens. During the day, it is easiest to meet her in places warmed by the sun, and she crawls out to bask during the day to this place several times. A fallen dry tree, a large stump with a southern exposure are excellent solariums for sunbathing by a viper.

It is important for people to know: a viper bites a person when suddenly disturbed or if he does not allow her to hide. The first one never attacks! In any case, it warns with a rather loud hiss. At the same time, it characteristically bends the front of the body. With one jerk, she can throw a little more than a third of the length of the body. The viper is not able to jump "like a spring", as well as "rolling like a wheel, grabbing its tail with its teeth."

How often do we rush to a tussock with blueberry shrubs and gray berries, forgetting that a tussock, maybe for several years, has already served as a refuge for a viper! At dusk, collecting branches for a fire, we can also accidentally press the snake with our hand. Vipers often bite when they are stepped on with a foot in light shoes. But for many decades in our country only a few cases of death of people bitten by a viper are known. With timely and proper treatment, the bitten people recover in 7-14 days, although weakness is felt for another 2-3 months.

If stillbitten

The main rule after a bite is immediately, no later than 15 seconds (!), Start squeezing out the poison by pressing on the edges of the wound. Unfortunately, a lot of time is wasted on swearing, tears, calls to “kill this abomination”, etc. The viper has little poison, but it is highly toxic (about 20 times stronger than viper venom), so it is absorbed quickly enough, and you need to act without delay.

Naturally, one must move away from the snake in order not to get another “portion”. In the first seconds, a drop of poison sits in the tissues like in a capsule, and the wounds from the teeth have not yet completely closed. One click is enough, and up to 80% of the poison can be squeezed out, it will appear in the form of a bright red drop, and it can simply be wiped off with your hand. You can continue to squeeze out for no more than 20 minutes, after which you can apply a vodka compress to the wound for 1-2 hours. No vodka inside, as "folk wisdom" teaches, only plentiful drinking is recommended. An elastic bandage should be applied to the entire bitten limb and the victim should be taken to the hospital immediately.

autumngatherings of vipers

Vipers in some places of their distribution form the so-called "snake pockets", and in such "vipers" on foot you can count quite a lot of them. The placement of snake foci is usually determined by conditions suitable for overwintering. In autumn, vipers, striving for their wintering grounds, can crawl distances from 2 to 5 km and swim across lakes and rivers. Sometimes snakes hibernate alone, however, in suitable places, clusters of up to 300 snakes were found.

The vipers' winter quarters are the burrows of rodents and moles, the passages of rotten tree roots, the voids of peat bogs, and haystacks. The snakes finally leave for wintering in September-October. They hibernate in the soil below the freezing layer, descending to a depth of 40 cm to 2 meters. The temperature in wintering places does not fall below 2-4 o C, which allows this snake to winter comfortably even beyond the Arctic Circle. Therefore, we often meet vipers in the fall, which are in search of such suitable places.

Near Vladimir, such a snake hearth was known in the vicinity of the village. Mostostroy, there were often vipers in the Dolgaya Puddle area (the specimen stored in the Museum of Nature comes from there). This hot summer, vipers met in a close suburb, one of them bit a dog in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bLake Semyazino, a few years ago a man received a bite near the bridge over the Klyazma. Periodically see vipers and in the area of ​​the park "Druzhba".

hard lifeunpleasantcreatures

All adaptations and natural tricks are sometimes very conditional. Despite the poisonousness of the viper, it has many enemies. Various mammals eat the viper, for example, the hedgehog, which is not very susceptible to its poison. Moreover, the defending viper comes across only the spiny carapace of the animal, and, seizing the moment, the hedgehog simply gnaws the snake's spine, and then eats it.

Foxes, badgers, ermines, raccoon dogs do not disdain the viper. But jokes with her are still dangerous. In the Kameshkovsky district, I happened to see a dead young raccoon dog, next to which lay a viper bitten in half: apparently, the snake contrived and still managed to sting the beast in the nose. The viper is also eaten by birds: the gray crow, cranes, harriers, jays, and the short-toed eagle, which is very rare in our country, which got its name for its tendency to eat snakes (although it eats not only them).

But the main enemy of the viper is man. He not only destroys its habitats, but simply destroys the viper, justifying beating or shooting the snake with its poisonousness. Of course, it is difficult to condemn the killing of a snake near children's camps and summer cottages, but we must remember that the viper is an important member of natural biocenoses, and its poison is used to make various medicines. This year, strong forest fires undermined and destroyed many of its habitats. And how many snakes died in the fire, we will never know. Many vipers die on roads that cut through forests. So, only a few survive until their age limit, which for vipers is only 15 years old. And we must remember: by killing the viper, we violate the wise, balanced millennial course of forest life. So, if you love nature and care about the environment, it is better not to do this.

Denis DUDENKOV, Researcher, Department of Nature, VSMP.

Customs for Exaltation

In ancient chronicles, this day is known as "Stavrovy", on which it was customary to go in procession around villages and cities, thus protecting them from troubles, enemies and diseases. In the villages, fields are also bypassed in order to get a rich harvest next year. In Vozdvizhenye, the last sheaf was taken from the fields and this served as the end of the harvest, the last, third holiday of the meeting of autumn and the beginning of preparations for winter.

On the same day, it was forbidden to go to the forest: all living things were preparing for winter, animals went into holes, snakes crawled to one place for wintering. Even evil spirits, and she was preparing to hibernate until spring. Today it is widely believed that such a ban was based on the fact that the snakes are very angry on this day and if you interfere with them, you will be bitten. But in ancient times, people simply respected all living things and tried not to disturb the unity of animals and nature. At the same time, the Slavs believed that the snake that bites you will no longer be able to return back to the hole and it is doomed to death because it has violated the laws of its tribe.

The big danger in the forest that day was not animals, but evil spirits: goblin, water, werewolves were angry that they had to go to sleep and they could no longer harm people. In Vozdvizhenye, the evil spirits had their last meeting, during which they said goodbye to each other and went to sleep. To those people who violated their peace, they could do harm, twist in the forest, send a curse and damage.

This day was also important for domestic evil spirits. Unlike the forest, these spirits were useful for the family and the hearth, they were their protectors and guardians. Therefore, the name day of Ovinnik, the keeper of the barn, the place where wheat was stored and milled, was celebrated in Vozdvizhenye. The room was not heated, no work was carried out in it, embroidered towels were spread on the floor and refreshments for the spirit were left on them. This holiday was also considered the day of cabbage, and each housewife had to cook as many dishes as possible from this tasty and healthy product, bake pies with cabbage, cook dumplings. Some of the treats were carried to the church, where they were distributed to the poor.

Conspiracies and love spells for Exaltation

From the day of the Exaltation, a period of girls' gatherings began - Kapustensky evenings, which lasted two weeks. According to the traditions, all the girls going to these parties dressed in their best outfits, brought festive dishes with them, set tables in the upper room and feasted with the guys who at that time chose their brides.

In order to definitely get a groom for themselves at such gatherings, the girls performed special rituals and conspiracies. Before going to the party, the girl washed her face with clean, freshly collected spring water and said:

“As the water is pure and transparent, so the love (name) will be strong and constant for me. So be it, my word is strong.

Preparations for gatherings began long before they began. Girls embroidered belts for themselves and their suitors. If such a belt was presented to the couple and he accepted it, this was considered the conclusion of the engagement. From the Exaltation to the Intercession itself, girls were allowed to perform divination and love spells in order to get married faster.

For example, such a rite was widespread. The girl cooked small pies with cabbage, poured milk into a glass and left it all overnight on the table with the words:

“My friend brownie, become my matchmaker and marry (name) to me (name). Amen".

Another love plot of the girl was pronounced on the eve of the holiday. At sunset before the holiday, they went out into the street, looked at the setting sun and uttered the following words:

“Dawn-lightning, red maiden, you walk high above me, you fly far away. Look where the servant of God (name) walks, what he does, where he rests, in what house he lives, in what tower. Come the dawn-lightning to him close, close, reach me with love, Dry, bake, bring to my house, bless us on the lawful crown. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Now and forever and forever and ever. Amen".

A fairly strong love spell was done on the Feast of the Exaltation on the smoke. On September 27, after sunset, but before midnight, it is necessary to make a fire and when it flares up, shout out the words of a love plot:

“There is a dry forest in a dry forest. In that forest, all the foliage is dry, dryness drives that foliage, longing for the servant of God (name), dryness catches up with me, God's servant (name). Dry him water without me, do not get food into his mouth without me, go around the dream of a servant of God (name), find longing-dryness on him for me, God's servant (name). In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen".

They did not start any important business on Vozdvizhenye, because they believed that by doing this they insulted the resting nature, which gave them blessings and a rich harvest. According to other beliefs, everything that you started to do on this day was simply useless and without results.

Signs for Exaltation

• Whoever goes to the forest to the Exaltation may not return.
• On this day, snakes hide in holes.
• Leshy walks in the Shift - whoever goes into the forest will not find his way back.
• On the Vozdvizheniye, the bear is in the lair, the snake is in the hole, and the birds are to the south.
• At the good hostess in Vozdvizhdeniye and cabbage pie.
• Whoever fasts on Exaltation, seven sins will be forgiven.
• In Exaltation from the field, the last mop moves.
• From the Exaltation, autumn shifts to winter.
• If a cold north wind blows on this day, then the next summer will be hot.
• In the Exaltation of the bird, summer is carried away over the seas.
• Whoever does not fast on the Exaltation - seven sins will be raised on him.

Orthodox Christians are preparing for the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord. Why on this day you can’t go to the forest, why the snakes are woven into a ball, the clergy explain.

Exaltation (popular name - Shift) is one of the twelfth holidays of the Orthodox Church, celebrated in 2018 on September 27. This holiday is associated with the ongoing struggle between good and evil, when all evil spirits are activated.

The ban on hiking in the forest

Exaltation is one of the days of the year when it is strictly forbidden to enter the forest. It is believed that forest goblin, angry at the imminent onset of winter, inspect their possessions and drive to one place all the creatures that obey them. At the same time, they themselves can take on any appearance in order to mislead those who at that moment were in their possession: a person who went into the forest may not return from it or go crazy.

Visiting the forest is also dangerous because animals begin to actively prepare for the coming cold weather. Animals burrow into holes, and snakes crawl into one place under the ground and intertwine into balls. At this time, they are especially active and can pounce on uninvited guests.

Residents of villages and villages on this day try to firmly close all doors and gates so that not a single random “reptile” can crawl into their house. However, it is also believed that if a snake bites a person on this day, it will seriously pay for it: it will not be able to find a wintering place for its relatives and join their ball, and therefore is doomed to death.

Customs for Exaltation

In villages in Russia, with the Exaltation, the time for girls' gatherings began: the girls gathered for parties, brought various treats and invited guys who were to choose a bride for themselves. The girls, in turn, put on their best outfits, and prepared gifts for future suitors - embroidered belts. If the guy accepted the gift, then it was believed that an engagement was concluded between the young people.

The girls' gatherings lasted two weeks. These days, even the church did not prohibit conspiracies and love spells to help you get married faster. No important matters were planned for the Exaltation, so as not to offend the resting nature. In addition, everything that is started on this day, according to popular belief, will not bring success.

Even as a child, my grandmother, Anastasia Dmitrievna Vlasenkova (Grishina), told me different stories from her life. Once she told about how her father went for mushrooms in the autumn and it was on an Orthodox holiday, which is popularly called the shift, and in Orthodox it is the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and celebrate it on September 27th. And this story is over a hundred years old...

My grandmother's father's name was Dmitry Tarasovich. He was a brave man and therefore least of all believed in various signs and tales and always kindly made fun of superstitious people. On the eve of September 27, when the family sat down to dinner, he announced his desire and decision to go to the forest in the morning with one of the older children. Two of the six children were already teenagers. My great-grandfather's mother and his wife were alarmed.

It was believed that on this day you can not go to the forest. On this day, the snakes all gather in one place. And meeting with them is extremely dangerous for life ... And they began to persuade him to abandon the conceived undertaking. But it was all in vain.

My great-grandfather was a stubborn man. Then they said that he should go alone and not take the guys with him. And the women were more than determined. In the end, that's what they decided.

And in the morning, as soon as the sun peeked out from behind the horizon, he hastily had a bite to eat than God sent, put on boots, took a basket and went into the forest. At first everything was fine. He came across mushrooms and the basket was already half full of mushrooms, but he also came across ... snakes that all crawled somewhere in one direction.

My great-grandfather became interested and went after them. Soon he
I realized that the snakes were heading for a large ravine. Their number became more and more. This did not stop him, but only inflamed his interest.

Soon he came to the very ravine, to which the snake was crawling already visibly-invisibly. Where did so many of them come from? From all sides one could hear not only the rustle of the movement of these creeping reptiles, but also their hiss, as if they were talking among themselves.

And then my great-grandfather became really scared, because there was nowhere to step. There were snakes everywhere ... He exclaimed: "Lord, save and save me!" - and rushed headlong back, somewhere stepping on crawling snakes, which, oddly enough, at that moment did not pay any attention to him.

It is said that this day is considered the day of snake weddings*. Mating of snakes takes place, and then they crawled into their holes and hibernated until spring, when the grass turns green and the sun begins to warm the earth. Therefore, they hurried to the call of their snake nature.

Great-grandfather ran home, not remembering himself, pale and trembling. Then, when he calmed down, he said that he would never go into the forest that day again and would order all his relatives and friends not to go either. He also said that he looked into this ravine, and there the snakes either wove into balls, then unraveled, and the noise from their hissing was such that nothing could be heard ...

Two days later, he went back to the forest, where he found his basket of mushrooms near a large ravine. Everything was as usual. Birds chirped, the autumn breeze played with the crowns of trees ... And nothing around reminded me of those terrible minutes that my great-grandfather experienced on September 27, 1906.

* The male, which is usually much larger than the female, aggressively pursues her, trying to grab her back or neck with his teeth. When he succeeds, he wraps himself around her body and mates. During the month, mating is repeated several times. By the end of this period, the entire body of the female is covered with numerous bites and abrasions. In addition, male snakes have two genitals, and quite impressive in size. In royal snakes, whose length is about half a meter, the penis can reach 7-10 cm! When mating, snakes constantly use one organ, right or left. The second is a spare. The organs are located in the tail and crawl out into the hole - the cloaca
And one more note from the forum on the Internet: Their mating process goes like this: the female (as a rule, at first alone, then 10-20 more pieces are pulled up) opens her "household" wide open and highlights the invocative secret: "Come on!". I previously noted that snakes have a super sense of smell: all male Uzh that are nearby flock to the smell of a secret. And the real group sex begins. Males secrete their priceless liquid and begin to rub it into the females. They rub against each other for hours. Thus, rubbing, and fertilization occurs.
People often, without difficulty, detect these snake swing parties by their characteristic sounds - hence the belief that snakes "in balls" gather. When a person approaches, these sinful snakes scatter in a panic - they tick like a fan in all directions, including in the direction of the citizen who has disturbed them. Because of this, they say: when swirling, snakes rush, attack a person - guard !! !
Usually in one such "aggressive" cube from 40 to 150 snakes. This, admittedly, makes an impression: everything in the ball is moving, wet, sticky, hissing - fu-u-u, horror. Here, an outside observer is not up to the exact definition of who is participating in the orgy: vipers or snakes. So they attribute this dubious fame to vipers (it looks more intimidating and romantic, or something).
Source: http://talks.guns.ru/forummessage/80/212651-6.html

Reviews

Hello! I wrote a story about a meeting with a snake and scored in the search for Shift to clarify grandmother's stories. And I found, among other things, your story.
Well written! I need to visit you and read more. And this is my new story about a long-standing event www..
Come visit!

Good afternoon, Valery!
Happy holiday to you!
Thank you for visiting my page and leaving your positive feedback!
I will definitely visit you.
Sincerely,

And you with holiday! Come in - guests are always welcome. I have a few stories there so far, but on different topics, and all based on real cases in ancient times. Memories, that is. There are about people, animals, native places. There is even erotic prose, although this is not it at all, but simply distant juicy childhood memories.

Sincerely, Valery.

September 27 is one of the most significant days in the national calendar. There are many associated with it. It was believed that from that day autumn begins to move towards winter - it's time to prepare fur coats and hats. It is on this day that bears climb into dens, and birds are preparing to fly south - which means it's time to insulate the house. But at the same time, many people do not know, for example, why you should not go to the forest on September 27th. But this superstition also has an explanation.

September 27 - Orthodox Feast of the Exaltation

This day is red in the calendar because it marks one of the most important church holidays - the Exaltation of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord According to the biblical legend, Jesus Christ was crucified on Mount Golgotha ​​on an oblique cross, which, after the execution, was buried in the same place. Many years later, the city of Jerusalem, attacked by an army of Roman soldiers, was destroyed, and the sacred place of execution was razed to the ground. Emperor Adrian ordered to build a pagan temple on it. And only a few centuries after this event, a miracle was revealed to Emperor Constantine - a Christian cross with a victory inscription, thanks to which he managed to win many important victories. The pious ruler, seeking to fulfill the will of the Lord, ordered his mother, Empress Elena, to find the very cross on which the Savior was crucified. For a very long time this did not succeed, but in the end the shrine was found. With its help, it was possible to resurrect a recently deceased person, which is why the cross was called Life-Giving. In his honor, in Jerusalem, revived by that time, the Temple of the Ascension of the Lord was laid. And the very day of finding the shrine became a widely celebrated religious holiday.

The folk tradition connected September 27 with a natural phenomenon - the rise of autumn towards winter. Hence the appearance of many signs associated with this day and that have little in common with the church holiday. Although all the same, in Russia they tried to illuminate the newly built churches and begin the construction of chapels precisely on the Exaltation. In the villages on this day, religious processions were often held in nearby fields, and the hostesses began to chop and sour cabbage.

Why can't you go to the forest on September 27?

The Russian people have many prohibitions associated with the Feast of the Exaltation. One of the most famous is the ban on visiting the forest. To the question of whether it is possible to walk in the forest on September 27, the answer has always been unambiguously negative. And this was due to two reasons. Firstly, it was believed that on this day all the forest evil spirits became more active. For some reason, the Orthodox holiday for goblin, kikimor, werewolves was not a decree, not paying attention to it, they arranged the last gathering before winter. Lesovik checked his possessions, the readiness of animals for wintering. It was extremely dangerous for a person to stumble upon him at that moment. Secondly, it was believed that on September 27 the doors to the viry open for all creeping reptiles, into which they rush for the winter, huddled in huge balls. To stumble upon them in the forest is to be bitten. And a person could also fall into the ground - through the same open gates of the virium, and spend many months there until spring, along with snakes.

What else can not be done on September 27?

According to popular belief, September 27 not only you can not go to the forest, but also do some other things.