The Transfer of the Not-Made-by-Hands Image of Jesus Christ, or as it is popularly called, the Nut Savior (also Bread Savior, Linen Savior), or the Third Savior, is one of the important Christian holidays. According to the new Julian calendar, which the OCU and the UGCC switched to on September 1, 2023, it falls on August 16. In 2025 it will be Saturday.
The Nut (Third) Savior is the popular name for the church holiday of the Transfer of the Not-Made-by-Hands Image of Jesus Christ. It used to fall at the end of August, when the harvest was already completed and the nuts were ripening. It is always celebrated after another very important church holiday, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. That is why the Nut Savior is often called the “post-holiday of the Assumption.” It is the end of the Assumption Fast, which lasts two weeks, and therefore there are no dietary restrictions.
Because the harvest is coming to an end in the fields, and the bread for the festive table is baked from the grain of the new harvest, the Nut Savior is often called the Bread Savior. Later, this bread is consecrated in the church along with the nuts.
Also in the folk tradition there were some signs associated with this holiday. For example, our ancestors believed that if a lot of nuts were harvested, then next year there would be a lot of bread. They said that the sun begins to set in autumn, that is, the days become shorter and colder.