Today, Orthodox believers celebrate one of the great religious feasts - Exaltation of the Holy Cross, which is established in memory of the appropriation and exaltation of the cross of Christ.
This significant event is associated with the cessation of persecution of Christians by Roman Emperor Constantine the Great in the early 4th century.
The service of the Exaltation has several features. In the evening before the feast the priest places the Cross decorated with flowers on the altar and puts a lighted candle in front of it. The Holy Cross is decorated with greenery and flowers as a sign that people receive the eternal life through it.
On this day it was customary to collect various medicinal plants, which were considered to have special healing powers. For example, cornflowers, carnation, basil and thyme were used to decorate the Crucifix and then to treat various diseases.













