Tales from Crete | 82

It wasn't really my intention that I would write a story for today St. Day of prayer, because here in Denmark we still maintain St. Prayer Day as an official public holiday, so I actually take the day off as well. Yes, that means that there are a lot of small chores that have to be done at home and so I am lucky enough to be married to a wife who can always keep me busy with something or other.

But exactly the thing about taking time off such a St. Day of prayer not something that in any way has references to biblical stories, like all other holidays. It is a special Danish holiday that was introduced in 1686 by Hans Bagger, who was bishop of Zealand. The day of prayer was heralded the day before in the evening, by the ringing of all country church bells as a signal that inns and shops should close and that everyone should fast until the services were finished and otherwise refrain from work.

Great Day of Prayer does not have its origins in the biblical narratives like most other holidays. The day, which is a special Danish holiday, was introduced in 1686 by the bishop of Zealand, Hans Bagger. At the end of the 18th century, however, the Danish chancellery judged that there were too many public holidays. It was believed, with good reason, that people had lost respect for the many holidays, and that instead of prayer and going to church, they were used for drinking, gambling and idleness. So there was a bit of cleansing in the many days of prayer you had, but St. Day of prayer remained.

Another rumor says that it was Christian the 7th's physician, Johan Friedrich Struensee, who introduced St. Day of Prayer, as it is mistakenly regarded as a compensation for all the holidays that were abolished with the reform in 1770, but this is not true. The holiday is almost 100 years older and was created because Hans Bagger wanted to collect some of the country's days of penance and prayer. Hans therefore introduced three days of fasting and prayer, but only St. The day of prayer was enshrined in law through royal decree.

When St. Bededag is distinctly Danish, so you don't have any St. Day of prayer in Greece. On the other hand, you have so many other public holidays, which we also had in the past, but have more and more abolished here at home, but in Greece they are maintained. The various holidays in Greece also include various rituals, where food and drink are often included. Both what, how and why you should eat unleavened bread, white bread, lamb, offal etc.

In Denmark, we now eat wheat sprouts the night before St. Prayer day, but it is now also a bit of a misinterpretation. The buds of wheat have as little biblical relation as St. Prayer day. Since inns, shops and thus bakers were not allowed to stay open St. Prayer day according to the royal decree, the bakers could not stay open either. That's why they came up with making wheat buds that you could buy the night before St. Day of prayer and then toast the next day for breakfast - a little dry, but perfectly okay. And since I am one of those people who would like to preserve the traditions, which is also done in Greece, with some good history attached to it, my breakfast was naturally also on roasted wheat buds this morning.

Have a good St. Day of prayer everyone.