According to the folk calendar - Eutropian day

On March 16 (old style date - March 3), according to the folk calendar, Eutropian Day is celebrated On this day, the Orthodox Church honors the memory of Saints Eutropius and Cleonikos of Amasia and Basiliscus, three martyrs who died in the 4th century for Christianity Eutropius and Kleonicus were siblings and were friends with Basilisk While in Amasia, the trio preached Christianity among the pagans When severe persecution of Christians began, their comrades were put in prison They were subjected to terrible torture, inclining them to idolatry But the martyrs endured courageously and prayed to God for endurance As a result, Eutropius and Cleonice were crucified on the cross, and Basilisk’s head was cut off Popularly, on Eutropian Day, residents performed rituals in their plots to warm the earth They crossed their areas from north to south and from west to east, so that the path they traveled resembled a cross The cross provided protection from evil spirits, bad weather and insects And they asked the sun to look at the earth and melt the snow The sun was believed to be favorable to those who respect it throughout the year There were rules for behavior with a celestial body It was forbidden to stand with your back to the sun into the sunset or, with your back turned, to work in the field They also avoided lending money after sunset and taking out the trash From Eutropian Day it became dangerous to go out into the forest The time had come for the bears to awaken from hibernation Hungry animals left their dens and wandered in search of food According to folk signs, residents predicted the coming weather If the fog obscured the sun, they prepared for rain The wind blowing toward the sun foreshadowed clear days Sunset in the clouds promised bad weather the next day The cheerful chirping of tits was heard before warming, and the plaintive chirping before cold weather