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Society, Russia

Family. Photo from website gov.cap.ru

Russia celebrates Family, Love and Fidelity Day

Who is the boss in the family is not the point. The main thing is to be able to find compromises. And to paint each new day with exceptionally bright colors: green, red, yellow, blue. Only then the family canvas can be rightfully called a picture ... A picture of a perfect family! This unusual work of art should certainly feature children, domestic livestock (for example, a dog or a cat as a background), a sofa, where all the family members like to gather and, by all means, the home keepers – the spouses.
  
Just for such ‘artists’ a new holiday, a Day for Family, Love and Fidelity was organized in 2008. Every year since, on July 8, Russian people raise their glasses to their second halves, to themselves, their brothers, and cousins. In the churches, the same day has been proclaimed the Memorial Day of patrons of marriage and family, Peter and Fevronia.
  
Russian Orthodox Church in general treats with special reverence the sanctity endeavor of Fevronia and her husband ...
  
One day the young Prince Peter became sick: his body was covered with aching scabs. No one could heal him. But one night the prince had a prophetic dream that healing can come from a simple peasant maiden by the name of Fevronia from village Laskovaya (‘Affectionate’) at Ryazan. Maiden Fevronia was able to treat with herbs and talk to animals. The Prince vowed to marry the peasant's daughter if she cured him. Fevronia brought the young man back to health, but he forgot about his promise. And the disease returned. So Peter repented and made Fevronia his wife. And again she cured him, this time for ever. Peter and Fevronia got on like a house on fire. Soon they came to reign in Murom. But the Murom boyars did not want to obey a smutty peasant girl. Then Peter and Fevronia left Murom. They settled down in the country and lived like ordinary people. The city remains without a prince. The boyars start strife over the reign, Murom is in havoc, and finally Peter and Fevronia are asked to return. The prince agreed. The couple arrived in the city together, and nobody was against their marriage. They lived in love and harmony all their lives.
  
In their declining years, Peter and Fevronia departed this life. The couple prayed that death would come to them on the same day, because they did not imagine life without each other. And so it happened. They died at the same time on June 25 (8 July in Gregorian Calendar), 1228. Their bodies, placed in different graves, inexplicably appeared in one coffin, which was considered a miracle. Peter and Fevronia were canonized by the Church Council in 1547. Today, the relics of saints Peter and Fevronia are in the Holy Trinity temple of the Holy Trinity monastery at the town of Murom. Since those days, they have had a reputation of paragons of marital fidelity, mutual love and family happiness.
  
If you pray to the relics of the holy couple, a miracle is sure to happen. They say Peter and Fevronia help all those who approach them for help: childless families would bear children, women tired of loneliness would find husbands, families with a discord would find peace and understanding again. Many young couples come to the holy relics for a blessing.
  
This holiday is perhaps a Russian analogue of Valentine's Day. On July 8, they hand medals For love and loyalty to those couples, who have happily lived together for years, raised children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, thus preserving family values and traditions. A symbol of this holiday is a common wild flower, daisy.

By Lyubov Yu. Moskvina, BCM.ru staff writer
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