Andrew celebrates the feast day on November 30. The name comes from Greece and is derived from the Greek word “andréios,” meaning bravery, courage, and manhood.
On the eve and day of the feast, unmarried girls perform various practices to reveal themselves about their future married life.
St. Andrew was born on the shores of Lake Galilee in Palestine, fishing with his brother St. Peter. St. Peter became the patron saint of fishermen. He was a scholar of John the Baptist and later became an apostle of Jesus along with his brother. After the crucifixion of Jesus, he traveled around the world spreading Christianity. Because of his actions, he was persecuted by the Emperor Nero, who asked Andere to renounce his faith. This did not happen, and Andrew died a martyr\’s death. Like Jesus, he was crucified, but on an X-shaped cross. Therefore, one of his attributes is a cross of this shape. Such a cross is called the Cross of Andrew.
Andrew was also the patron of all lovers and brides. Therefore, on the eve of his feast day and on the day itself, unmarried girls performed various practices and divinations to divine who would be their beloved or whom they were about to marry.
Here are some of these traditions.
At midnight on November 29-30, the girls would go to the henhouse and say, “Cock, cock, crow. Tell me when you have a man. Chickens, stop clucking and do not interfere with my marriage. If the first chicken clucks, the girl will be married within a year. If a chicken clucked, it meant that she would not be married the following year.
Another custom of the eve was to write the names of the seven boys on seven pieces of paper and place them under the pillow. In the morning, the girl would take out a piece of paper. The name of the boy on this slip of paper must be the name of her lover. A similar custom was to write four slips of paper. Each slip was tied to a corner of a handkerchief. On the first untied corner was written the name of the girl who would become his girlfriend.
Elsewhere, the girls baked five dumplings on St. Andrew\’s Day. Four of them were filled with a piece of paper with a boy\’s name written on it, and the fifth was left blank. They then recorded which dumpling came out first. When the dumpling was cut open, the paper had the boy\’s name written on it. If the dumpling was empty, the marriage was forfeited the following year. Similarly, bread placed on a shovel marked the bride-to-be. More and more girls placed bread on the shovel. The bread thus served was offered to the dogs, and the first slice of bread became a marker for the soon-to-be bride.
Another custom was to plant a twig in a pot on November 30 and water it with water scooped into its mouth. If the twig turned green by Christmas, the girl could expect an early marriage.
The eve of St. Andrew\’s Day and the day of the holiday are steeped in superstition and tradition. As the feast day approaches, it is up to the girl to try out some of the customs that foretell her future marriage.