Today, September 14th, the Church honors the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is characterized as its “boast” and its “glory.”
On this day, in several areas of the country, various traditions revive that keep the Orthodox tradition alive.
The festival of the Cross is particularly significant for farmers, as it marks the beginning of the new year, in view of the sowing.
Farmers bring a mixture of the grains they will sow to the church to receive a special blessing from the priest: “May the earth sprout and provide seed for the sower and bread for food” (“Prayer for the blessing of the seed”).
On the day of the Cross, sailors used to stop long-distance journeys with sailing boats, as the saying goes: “On the Cross, tie and bind.”
With the basil they receive from the church, housewives usually prepare the sourdough of the year (Pilio, Koroni, etc.).
What tradition says
When Georgios Megas, sent by the Academy of Athens, visited Katalakko to record the customs of Limnos, the Limnians told him: “Every house, every housewife brings a pitcher of water to the church, they leave it in the middle of the church where the blessing takes place, and then they take it back.”
With this blessing, they make the sourdough of the year new. They remove the old one and knead it in the last week.” Even the Turkish women wanted to receive the blessing and cross flowers. Once a Turkish woman from Komi asked some Limnians from Kalliopi why their bread is sweet and doesn’t mold.
– “Because we put Blessing from the feast of the Cross in the dough, on September 14,” the Limnians replied.
– “Will you give me some too?” asked the Turkish woman. There was awkwardness. The Limnians found themselves in a very difficult position.
How could they give blessing to a Muslim? On the other hand, they didn’t want to refuse. So they gave her plain water and told her it was blessing. And the miracle happened. The Turkish woman’s faith that the water given to her by the Limnians was blessing made the bread rise, made it sweet, and it didn’t mold. Later, when the Turkish woman thanked them, they did not reveal their deception.
So…
In Katalakko of Limnos, “every house, every housewife brings a pitcher of water to the church, they leave it in the middle of the church where the blessing takes place, and then they take it back. With this blessing, they make the sourdough of the year new.
They remove the old one and knead it all in the last week.” In Koroni, “they make dough and put the basil twig they receive from the Cross on it; by the next day it rises and becomes sourdough by itself.
This sourdough is not lent for 40 days, and the first bread they knead with it will be used for the Divine Liturgy and will be distributed.” The sanctity of the day contributes to the preparations for the upcoming sowing, especially the blessing of the designated select seed for it.
For this purpose, they send a mix of seeds to the church, a mixture of all kinds of seeds, to be prayed over and blessed.