Palm Sunday is an important Christian holiday. It is celebrated 7 days before Easter. This day is associated with many traditions and signs that believers try to adhere to. Is it possible to take a bath on Palm Sunday or not? This is a common question asked by people who observe holy fasting and honor traditions.
Willow (Source: look.com.ua)
Description and meaning of the holiday
Palm Sunday is celebrated 7 days before Easter. On this day Jesus came to Jerusalem before his death. Jesus rode into the city on a donkey. People rejoiced and greeted him. The road in front of him was lined with palm leaves. Since this tree cannot be found in our climatic zones, people went into the forest before Faithful Sunday and plucked willow. Features of the holiday:
- Willow should be harvested on Friday evening or early Saturday.
- In the evening it is customary to attend church services.
- On Sunday you need to wake up early in the morning and go to church to bless the willow branches.
Interpretations of the holiday:
- Christian version. Rumors spread around the outskirts of Jerusalem that a wanderer was heading to the city who could heal people from any disease. An amazing event that precedes the appearance of Jesus is the resurrection of the righteous Lazarus. Thanks to healings and giving life to the deceased, he will receive the status of Messiah, Savior.
- Pagan version. The holiday of Palm Sunday is based on the ancient pagan holiday of Verbokhlest, which is associated with fertilization. The pagans did not consider physical intimacy shameful and exalted its essence in relationships.
The symbol of the holiday is the celebration of life, rebirth, healing.
Jesus Christ in Jerusalem (Source: iphsph.ru)
The attitude of the church towards visiting the bathhouse
Since ancient times, the bathhouse was a place for receiving hygienic procedures - akin to a modern shower, so the possibility of visiting it is not rejected by the church as such, because a person must take care of himself and be neat, but the bathhouse has always been the only village building that was not illuminated.
This fact alone indicates a special attitude towards the bathhouse, which was not as favorable as it might seem. However, people always visited the baths to wash themselves, but only on the eve of church holidays. Usually these days were called bath days, they fell on the day followed by a holiday, or a few days before major religious events.
For example, Maundy Thursday is widely known, when ablution is carried out even before sunrise - two days before one of the biggest Christian holidays in honor of the resurrection of Christ - Easter.
Traditions and signs
Beliefs associated with Palm Sunday:
- Illumination of willow branches. After the ceremony, they need to be placed in the house, opposite the icons, and a candle should be lit next to them.
- Patting sleeping people with illuminated willow branches. Previously, village youth would enter houses and hit their sleeping owners. This was congratulations and illumination for the owners of the house.
- Laying out willow branches at the threshold. It is performed the day after the holiday to prevent evil forces from entering the house.
The branches must be stored until the next Palm Sunday. Before the onset of a new holiday, they should be thrown into a stream or burned at the stake.
The weather on the holiday determined what the summer would be like.
Going to the bathhouse on holiday
Visiting a bathhouse directly on a church holiday has always been considered a sin, but today most people simply cannot follow such church canons, since the vast majority of religious holidays fall on weekends, when a working person wants to relax and meet with friends.
Deeply religious people, of course, often refuse to visit the bathhouse as such. This is due to the fact that in modern realities of a combination of religious and social components, there is simply no time to go to the steam room, unless the bathhouse is built in your yard.
What can you do?
On Palm Sunday it is allowed:
- Visit the cemetery. After illuminating the willow branches, you can go to the graves of relatives and loved ones and leave one branch on each of them. On this day, it would be right to honor the memory of the deceased, refresh memories, and pray for them.
- Work in the country, in the garden. This day can be spent usefully at the dacha, but you are allowed to start working only after lunch.
- Clean the house. You can start it only after lunch.
- Eat fish. There are various restrictions on this holiday, but you are allowed to cook different fish dishes. It is important not to overeat.
It is better to spend this day surrounded by family members. In the morning you should visit the church and consecrate the willow. During the day you need to gather around the table and taste delicious dishes. Drinking alcoholic beverages is prohibited.
Consecration of the willow (Source: photosight.ru)
Bathhouse in modern conditions
Modern baths and saunas are very different from those that existed in Rus' before the beginning of modern history, and therefore the attitude that is formed towards them in society turns out to be completely different.
Today, visiting a bathhouse is not only hygienic procedures or an opportunity to have a good rest, but also often medical procedures, an opportunity to get rid of extra pounds or tone up your body.
That is why in modern conditions it is not always advisable to consider the attitude of the church to visiting the bathhouse, since it was formed centuries ago, and today the situation has changed significantly.
Is it possible to visit the steam room?
There are some features in visiting the steam room for adults and children that need to be taken into account.
For adults
There is no serious ban on visiting the steam room for adults on this day, but it all depends on the purpose of the visit. If this is a reason to have fun or get drunk, it is better to postpone this event. If you just want to relax and enjoy the bath procedures, the ban is lifted.
For children
On Palm Sunday you are allowed to wash your child in a bathhouse. If a child gets dirty, there is no need to postpone hygiene procedures until another day.
Is it possible for adults and children to take a bath on Easter?
When asked whether it is possible to go to the bathhouse on Easter, the priests give a negative but ambiguous answer. A person who bathes on a holiday commits a sin (in order to prepare everything for bathing, one must spend a lot of time; it would be better to spend it in prayers in the temple). A festive Sunday should begin with a trip to church or cathedral. You must definitely attend the morning service, consecrate the ritual food, and have a morning meal with your household.
On the Feast of the Resurrection, adults are not prohibited from taking a shower or doing daily hygiene procedures (washing their face and hands, brushing their teeth). This is due to the fact that it is impossible to attend services in the temple dirty and unkempt. Children can wash themselves. It is allowed to swim on Easter even when a person worked hard the day before, sick people (if this is necessary for health).
On Easter week
The first seven days that immediately follow the celebration of Holy Easter are called Easter week. Easter celebrations continue for seven days. But despite this, the seven days after Easter are ordinary days on which you can do everything that is planned.
Therefore, there is no ban on swimming and cleaning. The main thing is that all actions are not inconsistent with divine services. A person must keep not only his body clean, but also his home.
Knowing whether it is possible to go to the bathhouse on Easter, a believer will be able to avoid sinful acts.
How does a bath affect the body?
The bath carries a huge load (humidity, high air temperature), which is difficult for a weakened body to cope with. Doctors remind that a steam room is only useful for a healthy person, and visiting a sauna after Covid can lead to tragic consequences.
But, according to some experts, it is still possible to prevent the spread of a dangerous virus in this way:
- With regular visits to the bathhouse, metabolic processes improve, the number of leukocytes increases, which are activated against the viral agent. In addition, stagnation disappears, metabolic processes in cells accelerate, and the transport of nutrients improves. Overall, this helps strengthen the immune system.
- The steam room with wet and hot steam serves as a kind of inhaler, which allows you to clear the lungs of accumulated phlegm.
- Under the influence of high temperatures and steam, sweating increases, which helps cleanse the mucous membranes and skin. Healthy mucous membranes serve as a serious barrier to the virus, and increased sweating accelerates the elimination of toxins that impede recovery.
Does a sauna help against coronavirus?
Some believe that the bath, as a healing and restorative procedure, can improve the course of the disease or significantly shorten it in time. But this is not a completely correct assumption. Although there is a certain truth in it, you still need to know some of the subtleties of this procedure so as not to cause even more harm to your body.
The best day for a bath
If you adhere to this tradition and do not wash on Sunday, then Saturday can be considered the best day to take a bath or visit the bathhouse. Moreover, this is exactly what the ancestors did: Saturday in Rus' was considered a bath day, when the whole family washed.
People who want to follow folk traditions and those who want to devote Sundays and holidays exclusively to communication with God, without being distracted by worldly things, can do exactly this: wash on the eve of the holiday.
There are church holidays during which washing and cleaning the house is not only not condemned, but is also considered a necessary action.
So, on Maundy Thursday it is recommended not only to bathe yourself and bathe the children, but also to clean the house, completely clearing it of dirt, and also wash all the things that need washing, including bed linen. And at Epiphany, when Orthodox people should swim in an ice hole, those who for some reason cannot do this need to at least take a shower or take a bath.
There is no church prohibition on swimming, as well as on housework and other personal matters on holidays and Sundays. According to the Orthodox tradition, it is believed that Christian believers should devote the days of church celebrations primarily to communicating with God and performing the required religious rituals. And only after that can they engage in worldly affairs. Moreover, refusal to bathe, if a person does not go to church on these days, does not pray and does not perform godly deeds, is a serious offense, since in this case the reluctance to wash on a holiday is nothing more than superstition.
Is it possible to take a bath on Sunday?
There is also an opinion that you cannot wash on Sundays. According to Christian teaching, Sunday is considered a special day because the Bible states that you should work hard six days a week and rest on the seventh day.
Sunday is considered a day to devote to communicating with God. In addition, it is recommended to perform godly acts at this time, such as caring for your neighbor, charity, and studying Orthodox literature.
However, this does not mean that you cannot wash yourself. It’s just that, as in the case of other church holidays, you first need to visit the church and perform other religious rituals, and only then go about your personal affairs, including bathing.
If a person does not go to church, but limits himself only to refusing to swim on Sundays, then he commits a sin, since in this case his actions can only be regarded as superstition.
