What church holiday is celebrated on March 17 according to the new and old styles, what not to do, signs of the day.

On March 17, according to the new church calendar, Orthodox believers remember the Monk Alexy, the man of God. On the same day is the last day of Cheese Week, Forgiveness Sunday. We talk about the prohibitions and signs of the day that are celebrated in the church on March 17 according to the old style in the material.

March 17, 2024 – what church holiday is today according to the new and old calendar

March 17, according to the new style (March 30, according to the old style) is the day of remembrance of St. Alexis, the man of God, who went down in history with his devotion to Jesus Christ.

The Monk Alexy lived in the 4th-5th centuries. He was from a noble Roman family, but decided to leave everything worldly for the sake of serving the Lord. When the guy got engaged, he left the ring to the bride, and he secretly sailed to Mesopotamia. Alexy settled in Edessa – he gave everything he had to the poor, and he himself began to beg for alms on the porch of the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos. He ate bread and water, and gave everything else to the old and infirm. Alexy lived like this for 17 years, but one day the sexton of the church had a vision: the Mother of God asked to bring into her church a man of God worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven – and pointed to a beggar on the porch. From that moment on, Alexy began to be revered; people flocked to him, who received the gift of miracles for his devotion to faith. But he himself, not wanting fame, left Edessa.

He secretly came to his parents’ house, they settled him there, but did not recognize him. For 17 years, Alexy lived next to his relatives and prayed for them, but they continued to grieve for their missing son. In his suicide letter, he confessed who he was and asked for forgiveness from his loved ones. Many people came to Alexy to say goodbye, the sick at his tomb received healing.

The relics of Saint Alexius can be venerated in Rome, in the Church of Saint Boniface.

Holiday March 17th according to the old style – St. Gerasim on the Jordan, martyrs Paul and Juliana.

What do the signs say for March 17?

In the folk calendar, March 17 is the holiday of Alexei Teply. They called it that because the weather is usually warm on this day. By its signs one judges the weather in the future:

• warm on this day – spring will also be warm;
• geese fly high – it will snow;
• You can’t see the starlings – it’s bad weather.

It is believed that after Warm Alexey you can sow barley.

What can you do on March 17

They turn to Saint Alexy, the man of God, with a prayer for recovery, asking to protect them from the consequences of serious illnesses, to relieve them from the fear of trials of fate, to intercede for the offended, to console the grieving and to help them in need.

March 17 in 2024 is the last day of Cheese Week (week). It is called Cheesecake Week or Forgiveness Sunday, when it is customary to ask forgiveness from family, friends and acquaintances for all your misdeeds, as well as to forgive others.

On the day of St. Alexis, people venerate the birch tree – it symbolizes peace, purity and harmony. At this time, birch sap is usually collected and uzvar is prepared with honey and various spices – they believe that such a drink adds strength. According to one of the folk signs, if an unmarried woman meets a stork on this day, she needs to sit down – then she will soon meet her betrothed.

What not to do on March 17

Among the prohibitions, what you cannot do today is to quarrel, offend someone, refuse alms and help. On this day, as already mentioned, you need not only to ask for forgiveness, but also to forgive yourself, and if you are not yet ready to forgive a person, then it is better not to be cunning, but to answer: “God will forgive.”

According to popular beliefs, you cannot lend anything to Teply Alexey to those who have small children in the house – it is believed that you can give away their fate. It is not advisable to go on a long journey on this day and start new things – it is better to wait until tomorrow. They also try not to work on this day.

March 17 – name day today

Name days today according to the church calendar are celebrated by Alexey, Pavel, Makar, Victor, Alexander, Gabriel.

Previously, we published the Orthodox calendar for March 2024 with holidays in the new and old styles.