Feast of the glorious and all-validated chief apostles Peter and Paul

In the midst of summer - on July 12, all Christian people celebrate the feast of the glorious and all-praised supreme apostles Peter and Paul. The history of this holiday dates back to ancient times - the era of early Christianity. They began to celebrate it immediately after the martyrdom of both apostles. As the story goes, the apostles Paul and Peter were executed on this very day - July 12, only with a difference of one year. The Apostle Peter was crucified, and Paul, as a Roman citizen, was beheaded with the sword. Before meeting the Lord, Peter and his brother Andrei were fishing. But having met Christ, he abandoned all earthly affairs and relentlessly followed his Teacher. Peter unquestioningly believed every word of Jesus and immediately recognized him as the Son of the Living God. Just starting the path of apprenticeship, Peter wanted to imitate his teacher in everything, but the notes of human doubt inherent in everyone were not alien to the apostle. For example, the case when a faithful disciple wanted to follow the example of Christ and walked on water, but halfway along the way he got scared and began to drown. No less indicative were the manifestations of human weakness by the apostle when, before the execution of Christ, he denied him three times. How bitterly he repented of this and then, after the resurrection of Jesus, he also confessed his love to the Lord three times. The risen Christ again called him to the apostleship and predicted martyrdom. After the ascension of the Son of the Lord, Peter preached the word of God, healed the sick and performed many other miracles. The power emanating from him was so great that even those on whom the shadow of the apostle fell were healed. The Apostle Peter ended his earthly journey with crucifixion. His last request was to be crucified head down, since he did not consider himself worthy to die like the Savior. Saint Paul, unlike the other apostles, was not a disciple of Jesus. Having received an education in Jerusalem, and being a professor of the Pharisees' traditions, he hated Christians and was even their persecutor. But one day, heading to Damascus, he was blinded by an incredibly bright light and at that same hour he heard the voice of Christ. Jesus asked him why he was persecuting him and gave orders what to do next. Arriving in Damascus, Paul, on the third day after meeting the Lord, received baptism and from that day became the most zealous preacher of the hitherto persecuted Christ and one of the apostles. Over all the years of serving the Lord, he left 14 messages that can be read in the Gospel. Slavic culture is very rich in traditions and signs associated with the holiday of Peter and Paul. On this day, even before sunrise, young people went out into the field to see the first rays of the heavenly body. It was believed that on a given day it shimmers with special colors. The fishermen prayed to the Apostle Peter for successful fishing. But the villagers never worked in the fields on this holiday, otherwise there would be no harvest. All day long, young and old had fun, sang songs, danced in circles, performed animations, told fortunes, and also held crowded and fun fairs.