habits

It was said that George is heading for summer, or Saint George won over the sleigh, he will win over the winter. According to popular belief, it was believed that on his feast day the earth opens up and snakes and scorpions come out of the holes, for which warmth is vital, to get their blood flowing and give them strength after a long winter sleep. On this day, it is not poisonous snakes, but water, so it must not be drunk at all. For the Slavs, this day was the first time they bathed in nature, and that is why they were most happy about the arrival of St. George’s children, who on this day recited in loud voices:

St. George rises, unlocks the earth for grass to grow,
grass green, rose red, violet blue,
all kinds of flowers on wreaths of vines.

On the day of St. George, our great-grandmothers were looking for magical four-leaf clovers:

It was believed that this symbol of luck is even stronger on April 24 than on other days, has magical power and will fulfill absolutely all wishes. It was said about the magic clover:

A four-leaf clover for mercy,
at five for children, at six for happiness, at seven for death.

A four-leaf clover, accidentally found on St. George’s Day and sewn into a blouse or shirt, guarantees the wearer faith, hope, love, happiness and protection throughout the following year. When you are on St. A single girl put a four-leaf clover found or given to Jiří under her pillow, her future husband appeared to her in a dream.

On St. George’s Day, for the first time, they were driven out to pasture:

In some regions, e.g. Šumava, April 24 is the day when they were driven out to pasture for the first time. It is also based on an ancient legend: “Not even four can tread grass on St. George”. The fact that St. Jiří paid for the protector of horses and cattle. Another reason why this holiday could be associated with the period of beginning vegetation was the interpretation of the meaning of the name George. We know that it is of Greek origin and literally translated means farmer or peasant.

On this day, a common drive was held in most villages, which meant that for the first time after the winter, the householders brought their cattle out to the trailer, where they were usually handed over to the community shepherd. On this occasion, his records were also carried out, when each householder counted the pieces of his small herd (mostly it was only one or two cows, a calf and a few sheep with lambs). Since the common people didn’t have parchment and later expensive paper on which to write the statuses, a simple system of rabushi, which were wooden sticks with notches, was used. Two were always put together and the number of pieces was “recorded” with a knife. One was kept by the householder for inspection and the other by the shepherd. In the autumn, the robbers were then aligned and according to them it was calculated whether the shepherd returns everything as he should.

Who was Saint George:

St. George is one of the most famous Christian saints, although his existence is not documented by reliable historical sources. However, it does not change his popularity.

George lived in the 3rd century in Cappadocia (today’s Turkey) and came from a noble Christian family. George joined the army and in time reached the rank of colonel in the Roman army. When Emperor Diocletian began to persecute the Christians, he appeared before him and confessed his faith. The emperor called his words treason and immediately had Jiří imprisoned. They tortured him for several days to renounce Christianity, but in vain. He was executed in 303. He became a martyr, and on the site of his grave in the village of Lydda near the port of Jaffa in Palestine, the Roman emperor Constantine I built the first St. George’s temple in the world in the 4th century.

The most famous legend about St. George:

He is depicted as a fearless knight who saved a beautiful princess from death by being eaten by a dragon. The inhabitants of a small town in Libya were threatened by a dragon and demanded two sheep a day for propitiation, and later even people chosen by lot. Finally, it happened to the king’s daughter, who was already waiting for the dragon to emerge from the lake, but suddenly brave George appeared, traveling to the Holy Land. He killed the dragon and demanded that all the inhabitants of the city become Christians in order to save the princess, and so it is said that it happened. That is why St. Since the 12th century, George has been depicted on horseback as a handsome knight in armor, killing with a spear the sleigh that is coming at him. However, this depiction is symbolic – the sled represents an evil spirit or paganism.

The knights chose him as their patron, and he also became the protector of Genoa, Italy. His protection was also invoked by blacksmiths, coopers, travelers and especially peasants – after all, Georgius means farmer in Latin. Since 1908, he has also been the patron saint of scouts. Attributes: dragon, wheel, banner, horse, knight.

Money with the image of St. George rubbing a scaly sled used to be a universally popular amulet of soldiers and hunters, because they were often in danger of death. According to popular belief, this money (Mansfeld’s Georgian toler) had the power to protect against any injury and was therefore very popular and valued.

book: Czech year in the countryside and in the city – Pavel Toufar