According to the folk calendar - Evdokia Svistunya, Avdotya Plyushchikha

On March 14 (March 1, old style), according to the folk calendar, the day of Evdokia Svistunya is celebrated, also called Avdotya Plyushchikha or Vesnovka The name of the holiday is partly taken from the name of the Christian martyr Evdokia Iliopolis, revered by the church on this day The story of the martyr began in the 2nd century in the Palestinian city of Iliopolis The girl had extraordinary beauty, but led a dissolute life Having heard the prayer of the pilgrim Herman for life after death, she decided to return to the righteous path After a series of trials, she was accepted into the monastery, where years later she received the rank of abbot Thanks to prayers to the Lord, Evdokia revived the dead When the persecution of Christians began, the saint was beheaded According to the old style of the calendar, people celebrated the arrival of spring on Evdokia She was called Whistler because of the beginning of the spring winds, which sometimes sounded like whistling Animals in the forest also whistled, rejoicing in the warmth and looking for a mate Avdotya (a derivative form of Evdokia) was called Ivy, because the snowdrifts melted due to warming, decreasing in size, as if they were flattening Breaks in the ice and the remains of snow piles in the fields were called “buns” On this day, residents collected melted snow, believing that it had miraculous properties It was consumed internally and wiped off in order to have good health Livestock was fed with it for a good offspring, and birds - for more egg laying The floors were washed with melted snow so that evil spirits would be afraid to enter Women on Evdokia baked cookies in the shape of larks or swallows They were distributed to children, who tied them to a thread and threw them into the sky The girls climbed onto the roofs and sang spring songs These rituals were performed to invite spring Evdokia Svistunya's Day was considered a day off Residents were forbidden to work, but wealthy people looked for mercenaries for field work The owners of the geese decided among themselves when to slaughter the birds and go goose hunting Housewives set festive tables, residents visited guests, and young people gathered in cheerful companies Even the day of Evdokia was called Vesnovka According to legend, the Lord handed Evdokia the keys to the spring waters so that she could begin spring at her own discretion That’s why the weather was different; sometimes the sun was shining and it was raining at the same time The upcoming spring was determined by the day: a fine day meant a warm spring, a cloudy day meant a long and cool spring The bright sun predicted good grain harvests, and the falling fog predicted an abundance of beans and peas in the summer