St. Andrew’s Day is a popular holiday that we associate with various types of fortune telling and prophecies. However, few people know that there is an equivalent for this occasion, which, however, is currently quite forgotten. In the past, however, it was quite a holiday that had a special meaning.
In the past, St. Andrew’s Day was addressed only to girls who did not have a husband yet. However, it is rarely mentioned that there was also a holiday equivalent to this day, but for bachelors. These were Catherine’s Days, an occasion that was most popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. Over time, however, this tradition slowly began to disappear.
This holiday was intended to predict the future of men looking for a wife. Performed which were supposed to be a prediction for the coming months regarding your love life. There were a lot of Catherine’s Day traditions in those days. One of them was putting a cherry branch into the water. It was said that if it blooms by Christmas, the bachelor will be sure that he will soon find his beloved.
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Another interesting tradition was putting pieces of paper under the pillow with the names of potential future loved ones written on them. In the morning, after waking up with… the man drew one of them, and the name on the card was supposed to belong to his future wife.
It is true that most of these traditions are no longer practiced, but Catherine’s Day has left the tradition of baking gingerbread on this day, which comes from the gingerbread season in Toruństarting on the day when the memory of St. is celebrated. Catherine of Alexandria.
Catherine is a permanent holiday that was celebrated on the same day every year. It took place on the eve of St. Catherine of Alexandria, i.e. on the night from November 24 to 25. It was then that the above-mentioned fortune telling was performed and delicious gingerbread was baked.
This is due to the fact that Saint Catherine is the patroness of virtuous bachelors. Additionally, she is considered the guardian of people who want to start a happy marriage. Therefore, the date of the fortune-telling was not accidental, especially since it was believed that on this night the border between our world and the world of dreams and fortune-telling is the thinnest.. This was supposed to make both worlds intertwine and enable young men to find their chosen ones.
As the years pass traditions regarding Catherine and Andrew’s Day began to combine to such an extent that now fortune telling is performed mainly on November 29. Currently, both women and men use various types of predictions on this day.
