In the

folk Christianity Folk religion, traditional religion, or vernacular religion comprises, according to religious studies and folkloristics, various forms and expressions of religion that are distinct from the official doctrines and practices of organized religion. ...

of Slavic

Eastern Orthodox Christians Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millenni ...

, Paraskeva Friday is a mythologized image based on a

personification Personification is the representation of a thing or abstraction as a person, often as an embodiment or incarnation. In the arts, many things are commonly personified, including: places, especially cities, National personification, countries, an ...

Friday Friday is the day of the week between Thursday and Saturday. In countries that adopt the traditional "Sunday-first" convention, it is the sixth day of the week. In countries adopting the ISO 8601-defined "Monday-first" convention, it is the fifth ...

as the day of the week and the cult of saints Paraskeva of Iconium, called Friday and

Paraskeva of the Balkans Paraskeva of the Balkans, alternatively known as Petka, was an ascetic female saint of the 11th century. She was born in Selimpaşa, Epivates, near present-day Istanbul, and had visions of the Virgin Mary. After living in Chalcedon and Heraclea ...

. In folk tradition, the image of Paraskeva Friday correlates with the image of Saint Anastasia of the Lady of Sorrows, and the Saint Nedelya as a

personified Personification is the representation of a thing or abstraction as a person, often as an embodiment or incarnation. In the arts, many things are commonly personified, including: places, especially cities, countries, and continents; elements of ...

image of Sunday. Typologically, Paraskeva Pyatnitsa has parallels with day-personifications of other cultures, for example, the Tajik ''Bibi-Seshanbi'' ('Lady Tuesday').

Etymology

The word ''paraskeva'' (, ) means "preparation or the Sabbath.

Image

The image of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa according to folk beliefs is different from the iconographic image, where she is depicted as an ascetic-looking woman in a red maforiya. The carved icon of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa from the village of Illyeshi is widely known. It is revered in the Russian Orthodox Church as a miracle worker and is housed in the Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg. The most common idol was the sculpture of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa – not only for Russians, but also for neighbouring peoples. The folklorist A.F. Mozharovsky writing in 1903, noted that in the chapels "in foreign areas" there were "roughly carved wooden images of Saints Paraskeva and

Nicholas Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Ancient Greek, Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In ...

... All carved images of Saints Paraskeva and Nicholas have the common name of Friday'. Sculptures were widespread among the Russians. According to a 1908 historical sketch of Sevsk, Dmitrovsk and Komaritskaya volost by Svyatsky, commonly, Paraskeva were: "a painted wooden statue of Pyatnitsa, sometimes in the form of a woman in oriental attire, and sometimes in the form of a simple woman in poneva raditional skirtand lapti ast shoes.. placed in churches in special cabinets and people prayed before this image". The popular imagination sometimes gave Paraskeva Friday

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including f ...

ic features: tall stature, long loose hair, large breasts, which she throws behind her back, which brings her closer to the female mythological characters like Dola,

Death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

, and

Rusalka In Slavic folklore, the rusalka (plural: rusalki; , plural: русалки; , plural: ''rusałki'') is a female entity, often malicious toward mankind and frequently associated with water. It has counterparts in other parts of Europe, such as th ...

(mermaid).

Depictions and traditions

For

East Slavs The East Slavs are the most populous subgroup of the Slavs. They speak the East Slavic languages, and formed the majority of the population of the medieval state Kievan Rus', which they claim as their cultural ancestor.John Channon & Robert Huds ...

, Paraskeva Friday is a personified representation of the day of the week. She was called ''Linyanitsa,'' ''Paraskeva Pyatnitsa, Paraskeva Lyanyanikha, Nenila Linyanitsa.'' Paraskeva Friday was dedicated as Paraskeva Muddyha Day and as Day of Paraskeva the Flaxwoman. In the church, these days commemorate

and Paraskeva of Iconium, respectively. On these days, no spinning, washing, or ploughing was done so as not to "dust the Paraskeva or to clog her eyes." It was believed that if the ban was violated, she could inflict disease. One of the decrees of the Stoglav Synod (1551) is devoted to the condemnation of such superstitions: According to beliefs, Paraskeva Friday also oversees the observance of other Friday prohibitions, including washing laundry, bleaching canvases, and combing hair. In the stories Paraskeva Pyatnitsa spins the kudel left by the mistress, punishes the woman who violated the ban, tangles the thread, maybe skin the offending woman, takes away her eyesight, turns her into a frog, or throws forty spindles into the window with orders to strain them until morning. There was a ritual of "driving Pyatnitsa" documented in the 18th century: "In Small Russia, in the Starodubsky regiment on a holiday day they drive a plain-haired woman named Pyatnitsa, and they drive her in the church and at church people honour her with gifts and with the hope of some benefit". Until the 19th century, the custom of "leading (driving) Pyatnitsa"a woman with loose hairwas preserved in Ukraine. Among

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

there was a belief that Friday walks were littered with needles and spindles of negligent hosts who did not honour the saint and her days. In bylichki and spiritual verses, Paraskeva Pyatnitsa complains that she is not honoured by not observing the Friday prohibitionsthey prick her with spindles, spin her hair, clog her eyes with kostra ( shives). The icons depict Paraskeva Friday with spokes or spindles sticking out of her chest (compare with images of Our Lady of the Seven Spears or Softening of the Evil Hearts). In eastern Slavic cultures, wooden sculptures of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa were also placed on wells, sacrifices were brought to her. The sacrifices, emblematic of women's work, might be clothes, kudel ( long bundle of fibre for spinning), threads, and sheep's wool; these were thrown down a well. The rite was called ''mokrida'', which may allude to

Mokosh Mokosh ( ) is a List of Slavic deities, Slavic goddess. No narratives about this deity have survived and scholars must rely on academic disciplines like philology to discern details about her. According to etymological reconstruction, Mokosh wa ...

. The Russians prayed to Paraskeva Pyatnitsa for protection against the death of livestock, especially cows. The saint was also considered the healer of human ailments, especially

devil A devil is the mythical personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conce ...

's obsession, fever, toothache, headache, and other ailments.

Ninth Friday

The celebration of the ninth Friday after Easter was widespread among Russians. In

Solikamsk Solikamsk (, , also Соликамскӧй, ''Sovkamsköy'') is a town in Perm Krai, Russia. Modern Solikamsk is the third-largest town in the krai, with a population of History The earliest surviving recorded mention of Solikamsk, initially a ...

, the miraculous deliverance of the city from the invasion of

Nogais The Nogais ( ) are a Kipchaks, Kipchak people who speak a Turkic languages, Turkic language and live in Southeastern Europe, North Caucasus, Volga region, Central Asia and Turkey. Most are found in Northern Dagestan and Stavropol Krai, as well ...

and Voguls in 1547 was remembered on this day. In Nikolsky County, Vologda province, on the ninth Friday there was a custom to "build a customary linen": the girls would come together, rub the flax, spin and weave the linen in a day. For the

Komi peoples The Komi ( also ) are a Permians, Permian ethnic group who are indigenous to, and primarily inhabit a region around the basins of the Vychegda, Pechora River, Pechora and Kama river, Kama rivers in northeastern European Russia. They mostly reside ...

, the ninth Friday was called the "Covenant Day of the Sick" (). It was believed that on this day the miracle-working icon of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa () from the chapel in the village of Krivoy Navolok could bring healing to the sick. There is still a tradition of crucession to the Ker-yu river, where elderly women and girls wash temple and home icons in the waters blessed with the icon of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa. The water is considered holy for three days after the feast and is collected and taken away with them. Dipping icons in standing water was considered a sin.

In folk calendars

Among the

South Slavs South Slavs are Slavic people who speak South Slavic languages and inhabit a contiguous region of Southeast Europe comprising the eastern Alps and the Balkan Peninsula. Geographically separated from the West Slavs and East Slavs by Austria, ...

, the day of is celebrated everywhere. In some regions of

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

and

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

, they also celebrate , called in , , and in , , . In Bulgarian Thrace, St. Petka is dedicated to the Friday after Easter, and in Serbia, the Friday () before St. Evdokija Day (). In Bulgarian it is known as , , , or . In ; and in , , , , .

Notes

References

External links

Параскева Пятница
(hrono.ru)

// Российский этнографический музей
Пятница
// Энциклопедия культур * '' Успенский Б. А.'
Почитание Пятницы и Недели в связи с культом Мокоши
// ''Успенский Б. А.'' Филологические разыскания в области славянских древностей * '' Рыбаков Б. А.'
Двоеверие. Языческие обряды и празднества XI—XIII веков
// ''Рыбаков Б. А.'' Язычество Древней Руси

(dralexmd.livejournal.com) * ''Basil Lourié.'
Friday Veneration in the Sixth- and Seventh-Century Christianity and the Christian Legends on Conversion of Nağrān
(англ.) {{Slavic mythology Friday Pages with unreviewed translations Slavic legendary creatures Supernatural beings identified with Christian saints Folk Orthodoxy Articles containing video clips