“Epiphany Night” Ivan Bunin

Dark spruce forest with snow like fur,
Gray frosts have descended,
In sparkles of frost, like in diamonds,
The birches dozed off, bending over.

Their branches froze motionless,
And between them on the snowy bosom,
As if through lace silver,
The full month looks down from the sky.

He rose high above the forest,
In its bright light, numb,
And the shadows creep strangely,
In the snow under the branches turning black.

The thicket of the forest was covered with a blizzard, -
Only tracks and paths flow.
Running between the pines and fir trees,
Between the birch trees to the dilapidated gatehouse.

The gray blizzard lulled me to sleep
The forest is deserted by a wild song,
And he fell asleep, covered in a blizzard,
All through, motionless and white.

Mysteriously slender thickets sleep,
They sleep, dressed in deep snow,
And glades, and meadows, and ravines,
Where streams once roared.

Silence - not even a branch will crunch!
And maybe beyond this ravine
A wolf makes his way through the snowdrifts
With a cautious and insinuating step.

Silence - maybe he’s close...
And I stand, filled with anxiety,
And I look intensely at the thicket,
On the tracks and bushes along the road,

In the distant thickets, where the branches and shadows
In the moonlight patterns are woven,
Everything seems to me like something alive,
It's like animals are running by.

Light from the forest guardhouse
It flickers cautiously and timidly,
It's like he's lurking under the forest
And waits for something in the silence.

A diamond radiant and bright,
Playing green and blue,
In the east, at the throne of God,
The star shines quietly, as if alive.

And above the forest higher and higher
The month rises, and in wondrous peace
Frosty midnight freezes
I am the crystal forest kingdom!

1886 - 1901

Analysis of Bunin's poem "Epiphany Night"

Working as a proofreader for an Oryol newspaper, Ivan Bunin travels a lot. His routes run mainly through the nearest forests, since the aspiring writer loves hunting and everything free time prefers to spend time in the lap of nature. He falls so in love with the Oryol thickets, is so reverent and enthusiastic about the flooded meadows and fields that, without noticing it, he begins to recreate their image in his works. It is worth noting that initially Ivan Bunin wrote only poetry, believing that prose was boring to read. However, even after emigrating to Paris, the author remembers to the smallest detail what his favorite meadows and copses in the Oryol region look like, recreating their images in his novels and short stories.

In 1896, on the eve of one of the most significant Orthodox holidays Ivan Bunin began work on the poem “Epiphany Night”. From the outside one might get the impression that the author really spent it in a snowy forest, watching how the gloomy spruce forest of waters was transformed by the effects of severe frosts. However, the poet’s diaries indicate the opposite: Bunin celebrated Epiphany in Ukraine, regretting that he could only dream about snow and frost. However, under the influence of surging memories, the author wrote several lines of the future poem “Epiphany Night”, which mentally transported him to the Oryol forests, where “the dark spruce forest was deafened by the gray frosts with snow, like fur.” The writer’s imagination did not last long, and soon he put the manuscript aside, completing the image of a winter forest with birches decorated with frost, like diamonds.

The poet returned to this poem 5 years later, when, shortly before Epiphany, he happened to visit the forest. After an unsuccessful second marriage and a break in relations with Anna Tsakni, Bunin returned from Odessa to Moscow, and on the eve of the new year, 1901, he decided to visit his elderly parents. His path ran through the familiar and beloved Oryol forests, and the poet could not deny himself the pleasure of wandering at night through a thicket covered with snow. It was after this trip that the poem “Epiphany Night” was completed, which became a real hymn to the winter forest. It is noteworthy that there is not a word about the approaching Epiphany in this work. But every line of this work breathes a feeling of celebration: the winter forest, decorated with snow and frost, like jewelry, froze in anticipation of a miracle, and for the author is the real embodiment of a forgotten fairy tale.

Indeed, lulled by a gray blizzard, the forest appears mysterious and delightfully beautiful to Bunin. It is generously bathed in soft moonlight, deserted and motionless, “silence reigns all around - not even a branch will crunch!” However, the author knows that it is deceptive, and the forest thicket still poses a threat to the lonely traveler who sees the shadows of wild animals. At the same time, even the prospect of meeting a wolf cannot force Bunin to leave this kingdom of snow, mysterious and alluring, which is illuminated by a lonely star, lit “in the east, at the throne of God.” Contemplation of nature captivates the author so much that he is simply unable to continue his journey. Bunin not only enjoys the midnight silence, inhaling the prickly frosty air, but also associates himself with part of this world, claiming: “I am the crystal kingdom of the forest!” With this phrase, the poet emphasizes that he considers himself a part of nature, its son, who, due to a misunderstanding, was forced to leave his homeland. However, wandering in a foreign land allowed him to understand what exactly is most valuable and will burn out in his life, which is unlikely to be happy without this snow-covered forest, scorching frost and clear starry sky.

I used a ring to tell fortunes on Epiphany night,
So that my betrothed appears to me - in disguise.
rustled in my lonely palace
The cards are old: it will fall or it will fall
I want the king of diamonds... Under the melted candle
The cards fanned out onto the floor.
The Queen of Spades winked, shrugging her shoulder:
“See, here I am! And you didn’t believe me.
Wasn’t she waiting for me, having laid out her inventory,
Spelled half the night over gold?
Under the window there is a gray-haired tramp - January
He scattered his long beard.
Something whispers among the bare frozen birches,
Pokes his nose at...

The annual cycle ends.
January is approaching the threshold.
The time has come for us all to repent
and finally sum it up
good and evil that we have sown
in the field of your conscience,
dreams that were dispelled
thick fog days gone by,
all our feelings unspent,
to all our thoughts and deeds,
bills that are still paid,
at least somehow, with grief in half...

The world is waiting, trembling with impatience,
watches the clock hands.
The night of baptism is about to come,
Night of absolution.
Let this...

Night - it’s time for us to sleep again,
Night is for rest.
Night is a lie that comes to life at night Evil,
The night is for us, it will give the light of the stars.

The night is in it, a riddle, a secret and a dream,
It’s night - but the poet has no time for sleep.
The night is in it, all the colors have been eaten away by the darkness.
The night is darkness, but there is such depth in it!

Night - you, saving me, give me peace.
Night - I’ll take a piece of you into verse.
Night - you will cover me with soft darkness,
Night - hide my sins and pain in the darkness.

Night - you give us time for love.
Night...

Night, beloved and love,
Came into our hearts again,
And our blood boils
Prepare words of love for me.

Night, beloved, snowfall,
And your desired, tender gaze.
It's like a starfall at night,
And there is lightning in the sky.

Night, beloved and thunderstorm,
There is a frozen tear in the eyes.
Your beautiful eyes
And a quietly spoken phrase.

Night, beloved and sadness,
It's like old, worthless morality.
Takes my soul away
I'm sorry to part with you.

Night, beloved and flowers,
You gave them today.
They are alike...

I will trust everything to paper, as it is.
And in a few years you, perhaps,
Once you read it, you will want to re-read it again.

If my line warms you,
If you respond with your soul,
So it wasn’t in vain that it was a sleepless night,
And the dreams were not in vain.

On an autumn night, on an anxious night
I have no time for dreams from the surging words.
Through time again
through the impossible distance
I'm ready to be with you until dawn.

It's time to put an end to my life.
But I haven’t burned all my bridges yet...

Night. Wind. Wind. Night.
Heavy rain. The snow is disappearing.
As if removing a veil of frost
Autumn has opened its face again -
It's the shaggy winds that play,
turning the wheel of time,
It's someone calling with a candle
go out onto his porch...

There's shadows on the wet threshold
until two thousand and five,
There, squinting from the gray wind
a man stands motionless...
- Don't look, make some tea,
It's just night, bad weather
It's in the vents of the pipeline
Rain water runs fast...

There is only night. Only the wind and night.
Large...

Night, only night is given to you and me
At night you are always with me, you are close.
During the day, you and I see it’s not destiny to be,
The night will cover us with its blanket.

There are a lot of stars in that blanket
Stars and constellations with a sad moon,
That you and I shine all night
And they don’t let you get lost by accident.

We are under the night blanket with you
Holding hands, we walk along the road.
Let me kiss you, just wait,
Let sadness and anxiety leave us.

I will forget everything with you,
The night will help us find all the roads.
And kiss...

5 293

Every year on Epiphany night from January 18 to 19, greatest miracle– The Spirit of God descends on the waters, and they become healing.

The beginning of the world is water, and the beginning of the Gospel is Jordan. A sensual light shone from the water, for the Spirit of God rushed above the water and commanded the light to shine out of the darkness. From the Jordan the light of the Holy Gospel shone, for, as the holy evangelist writes, “from that time,” that is, from the time of Baptism, Jesus began to preach and say: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17).

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem

The consecration of water is the invocation of the grace of the Holy Spirit upon it. A believer drinks holy water not just to quench thirst, but for the sake of assimilating its beneficial properties, to cure illnesses or spiritual despondency, and to cleanse the home of all kinds of filth.

Water is sanctified with the aim of returning the water element to its primitive purity and holiness, lost after the fall of man, and descending upon it with the power of prayer the blessing and grace of the Holy Spirit. Through this sacred act, according to the teachings of the Church, water acquires a number of beneficial properties: it cleanses people from spiritual and bodily defilement, sanctifies objects and strengthens them in spiritual labors.

What do they pray for during the great blessing of water? That this water should be sanctified by the power and action and influx of the Holy Spirit. That it should be a gift of sanctification, deliverance from sins, healing of soul and body. That she should receive the blessing of the Jordan. To drive away all sorts of slander from visible and invisible enemies. So that this water leads to eternal life. So that we too, through tasting this water and the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, may be worthy of sanctification.

The baptism of Jesus Christ in the waters of the Jordan sanctified the nature of water. And consecrated on this day in the Church Epiphany water contains a pledge of grace.

• It is a mistaken belief to believe that Baptism and Epiphany are not the same thing, and that the water that is blessed on January 18 and January 19 is different. Both on the feast of Epiphany itself and on Christmas Eve (the day before), the water is blessed with the same rite, in memory of the descent of our Lord Jesus Christ into the waters of the Jordan River.
• It is strictly forbidden to quarrel, swear, or indulge in ungodly actions or thoughts while collecting holy water or taking it. As a result, holy water loses its holiness and often simply spills. Blessed water is a church shrine, which has been touched by the grace of God and which requires a reverent attitude towards itself.
• Holy water, like any shrine, must be kept with reverence, in the Red Corner. Do not store water in the refrigerator, next to food. If holy water “blooms” due to a lack of reverence towards it, it can be used to sprinkle the home or should be poured into an untrodden place.
• A special property of holy water is that, added even in small quantities to ordinary water, it imparts beneficial properties to it, therefore, in case of shortage, Epiphany water can be poured into containers and added to ordinary water - “a drop of holy water sanctifies the sea.”
• What should those who could not come to the temple for holy water on January 18 and 19 do? Firstly, you can come for it later - there is always holy water in the church. If she is not in one temple, you just need to go to another. Secondly, it is not necessary to store a whole tank of it - you can ask your friends for a small amount of Epiphany water.

How to drink holy water?

They drink Epiphany water on an empty stomach, along with a piece of prosphora. From this and morning prayers every day of a Christian must begin. Even if a person is prescribed to take medications on an empty stomach, they take holy water first, and then the medications.

You can also wash the patient with it and sprinkle his bed. Holy water is also sprinkled on the home.

Since Epiphany water is sacred, women in critical days You cannot touch it, like other shrines during this period. But this is only if she is otherwise healthy. If a woman has any health problems, then consuming holy water on these days can be blessed.

Drink Epiphany water a little at a time: 1-2-3 sips. You can add it to ordinary, unconsecrated water, and then it will all be sanctified. Holy water helps to heal from mental and physical illnesses, especially when taken with faith.

For example, Seraphim of Sarov advised patients who came to him to take a tablespoon of consecrated water every hour.

At the same time, a prayer is read.

Prayer for accepting prosphora and holy water

Lord my God, may Your holy gift and Your holy water be for the remission of my sins, for the enlightenment of my mind, for the strengthening of my mental and physical strength, for the health of my soul and body, for the subjugation of my passions and infirmities, according to Your boundless mercy through the prayers of the Most Pure One Your Mother and all Your saints. Amen.

Is it necessary to swim at Epiphany?

In any church holiday, it is necessary to distinguish between its meaning and the prevailing conditions around it. folk traditions. The main thing in the feast of the Epiphany is the Epiphany, the Baptism of Christ by John the Baptist, the voice of God the Father from Heaven “This is my beloved Son” and the Holy Spirit descending on Christ in the form of a dove. The main thing for a Christian on this day is to be present at church service, Confession and Communion of Saints Mysteries of Christ, receiving Epiphany water.

The established traditions of swimming in cold ice holes are not directly related to the church holiday Baptisms of the Lord are not obligatory and, what is especially important, do not cleanse a person from sins, which, unfortunately, is talked about a lot in the media, and even more so do not make a person “baptized.”

What do atheists say?

First mentions of healing properties Epiphany water by Saint John Chrysostom in the 4th century. And for more than 17 centuries, opponents of Christianity have been trying to prove that the phenomenon of Epiphany water does not exist. But it exists!

Priests bless water in silver bowls and place silver crosses in them, and silver ions, as is known, have a detrimental effect on microorganisms - so Epiphany water does not spoil for a long time.

All the silver was stolen from churches during Soviet times, and now all church objects in most churches are, at best, made of brass. And brass, as you know, does not disinfect anything. And even before the revolution, not all churches had silver church utensils. Moreover, this argument looks especially ridiculous when we're talking about about “Jordans” - the consecration of water in the Epiphany ice hole. No amount of silver is enough to “disinfect” a river, lake, or even more so the sea.

Water for the blessing of water is collected from an ice hole or consecrated in it in winter time when the number of microorganisms in water bodies is minimal. “Epiphany frosts” also contribute to this. Therefore, such water is stored for a long time.

This explanation of atheists also does not stand up to criticism. In most churches, especially urban ones, people have not gone to “Jordan” for a long time, but consecrate the usual tap water. Moreover, one can talk about “Epiphany frosts” in Siberia. In the central regions of Russia, and even more so in the southern republics, there are no frosts at this time. As for Orthodox countries, for example, the Middle East and Africa, it is almost always summer there.

Orthodox newspaper, No. 3

“Epiphany Night” Ivan Bunin

Dark spruce forest with snow like fur,
Gray frosts have descended,
In sparkles of frost, like in diamonds,
The birches dozed off, bending over.

Their branches froze motionless,
And between them on the snowy bosom,
As if through lace silver,
The full month looks down from the sky.
He rose high above the forest,
In its bright light, numb,
And the shadows creep strangely,
In the snow under the branches turning black.
The thicket of the forest was covered with a blizzard, -
Only tracks and paths flow.
Running between the pines and fir trees,
Between the birch trees to the dilapidated gatehouse.
The gray blizzard lulled me to sleep
The forest is deserted by a wild song,
And he fell asleep, covered in a blizzard,
All through, motionless and white.
Mysteriously slender thickets sleep,
They sleep, dressed in deep snow,
And glades, and meadows, and ravines,
Where streams once roared.
Silence - not even a branch will crunch!
And maybe beyond this ravine
A wolf makes his way through the snowdrifts
With a cautious and insinuating step.
Silence - maybe he’s close...
And I stand, filled with anxiety,
And I look intensely at the thicket,
On the tracks and bushes along the road,
In the distant thickets, where the branches and shadows
In the moonlight patterns are woven,
Everything seems to me like something alive,
It's like animals are running by.
Light from the forest guardhouse
It flickers cautiously and timidly,
It's like he's lurking under the forest
And waits for something in the silence.
A diamond radiant and bright,
Playing green and blue,
In the east, at the throne of God,
The star shines quietly, as if alive.
And above the forest higher and higher
The month rises, and in wondrous peace
Frosty midnight freezes
I am the crystal forest kingdom!

Analysis of Bunin's poem "Epiphany Night"

Working as a proofreader for an Oryol newspaper, Ivan Bunin travels a lot. His routes run mainly through the nearest forests, since the aspiring writer loves hunting and prefers to spend all his free time in the lap of nature. He falls so in love with the Oryol thickets, is so reverent and enthusiastic about the flooded meadows and fields that, without noticing it, he begins to recreate their image in his works. It is worth noting that initially Ivan Bunin wrote only poetry, believing that prose was boring to read. However, even after emigrating to Paris, the author remembers to the smallest detail what his favorite meadows and copses in the Oryol region look like, recreating their images in his novels and short stories.

In 1896, on the eve of one of the most significant Orthodox holidays, Ivan Bunin began work on the poem “Epiphany Night.” From the outside one might get the impression that the author really spent it in a snowy forest, watching how the gloomy spruce forest of waters was transformed by the effects of severe frosts. However, the poet’s diaries indicate the opposite: Bunin celebrated Epiphany in Ukraine, regretting that he could only dream about snow and frost. However, under the influence of surging memories, the author wrote several lines of the future poem “Epiphany Night”, which mentally transported him to the Oryol forests, where “the dark spruce forest was deafened by the gray frosts with snow, like fur.” The writer’s imagination did not last long, and soon he put the manuscript aside, completing the image of a winter forest with birches decorated with frost, like diamonds.

The poet returned to this poem 5 years later, when, shortly before Epiphany, he happened to visit the forest. After an unsuccessful second marriage and a break in relations with Anna Tsakni, Bunin returned from Odessa to Moscow, and on the eve of the new year, 1901, he decided to visit his elderly parents. His path ran through the familiar and beloved Oryol forests, and the poet could not deny himself the pleasure of wandering at night through a thicket covered with snow. It was after this trip that the poem “Epiphany Night” was completed, which became a real hymn to the winter forest. It is noteworthy that there is not a word about the approaching Epiphany in this work. But every line of this work breathes a feeling of celebration: the winter forest, decorated with snow and frost, like jewelry, froze in anticipation of a miracle, and for the author is the real embodiment of a forgotten fairy tale.

Indeed, lulled by a gray blizzard, the forest appears mysterious and delightfully beautiful to Bunin. It is generously bathed in soft moonlight, deserted and motionless, “silence reigns all around - not even a branch will crunch!” However, the author knows that it is deceptive, and the forest thicket still poses a threat to the lonely traveler who sees the shadows of wild animals. At the same time, even the prospect of meeting a wolf cannot force Bunin to leave this kingdom of snow, mysterious and alluring, which is illuminated by a lonely star, lit “in the east, at the throne of God.” Contemplation of nature captivates the author so much that he is simply unable to continue his journey. Bunin not only enjoys the midnight silence, inhaling the prickly frosty air, but also associates himself with part of this world, claiming: “I am the crystal kingdom of the forest!” With this phrase, the poet emphasizes that he considers himself a part of nature, its son, who, due to a misunderstanding, was forced to leave his homeland. However, wandering in a foreign land allowed him to understand what exactly is most valuable and will burn out in his life, which is unlikely to be happy without this snow-covered forest, scorching frost and clear starry sky.

Epiphany is an amazingly pure and clear Christian holiday. Epiphany Day sounds like the final bell chord in a long chain of New Year's celebrations.

On this great day, the Creator sends holy power to the earth, filling rivers and reservoirs with it. Epiphany blessed water becomes a transparent symbol of one of the greatest church holidays.

Special magical power possesses the night preceding Epiphany. On the eve of the Epiphany, the heavens open and you can directly turn to higher powers.

On this night you can make any, most secret wish and turn to heaven. But in order for it to come true, you must adhere to some rules.

Epiphany night. How to make a wish correctly

Before Epiphany, it is customary to thoroughly clean your home, getting rid of dust, trash and unnecessary things. The corners and doors of your home should be sprinkled with the holy Epiphany water brought from the temple. Then the house will be filled with purity and piety.

It is equally important to bring order to your soul. Try to let go of the insults caused to you, even if they seem unforgivable. It is important to mentally ask for forgiveness from those who have offended you. Epiphany night is a time when it is important to expel anger, irritation, envy, and suspicion from the heart. May peace and love reign in your heart on the eve of holy events.

Only with such a heart open to goodness can one turn to the Creator. The request will definitely be heard and fulfilled if:

It will be sincere and pure, like Epiphany water. It should be the most cherished and come from the very depths of your soul;

A desire should not have a time frame. The heavens will figure out when it is best to implement it;

In no case should turning to the baptismal sky bring harm or trouble to other people. The basis of any desire should be love and justice;

Ask only for yourself. You do not have the right to make a request on behalf of other people without knowing what the fulfillment of your desire will bring them.

Before expressing your desire, thank the Almighty for all the blessings He has given you, ask for forgiveness for your sins, and only then turn to heaven.

At midnight, place a container of water on the table and watch it carefully. When ripples appear on the water, you can go outside and directly address the night skies.

If it is not possible to leave the house, then you can make a secret wish as soon as you see a disturbance on the surface of the water. The main thing is to have time to mentally say the request while the water is moving.

There is another way to make your dream come true. You can write your request on the mirror with soap and put it under the bed all night. If the letters disappear in the morning, you can be sure that your plan will come true.

Allows you to tell fortunes and make your wishes come true. To do this, pour a handful onto the table small items. These could be pebbles, nuts, beans. buttons. If the number of items poured out is even, there is no doubt that your aspirations will be heard and fulfilled. Odd number It will make you think and put your request aside for a while.

Nowadays, there are a lot of Epiphany fortune-telling, from somewhat scary to funny, and the main thing, of course, is how to relate to them. If it is reasonable with a certain amount of humor, then this a great opportunity It's great and fun to spend a few cold winter evenings with friends.

Epiphany night is a surprisingly mysterious time. Still, it is important not to take effects and fortune telling too seriously, whatever they may be. Or rather, no, let's put it another way. Believe and hope only in good and bright predictions!