According to the folk calendar - Ivan Climacus

On April 12 (according to the old calendar style - March 30), people celebrate the day of Ivan the Climacus This event takes its name in honor of St John Climacus, abbot of the Sinai Monastery, whose memory is honored on this date by Orthodox believers John's life began in Constantinople at the end of the 6th century At the age of 16, the young man became a monk and spent about 20 years in obedience to his mentor After the death of his mentor, John went into the desert and lived there for 40 years in complete silence, fasting and prayers to the Lord Then the monk was appointed mentor of the monastery on Mount Sinai, where John spent his last years During his life, the saint wrote “The Ladder” (translated as “Ladder”), which describes the path of 30 steps of beneficence to spiritual perfection People used to make small ladders from sweet dough for Ivan the Climacus and bake them in the oven They were preparing with the goal of going to heaven after death The number of stairs was equal to the number of family members, and there were 12 steps, corresponding to the months of the year If one of the steps burned during the baking process, it meant that the month in the household was foreshadowed to be unsuccessful “Ladder” cookies were blessed in the church and treated to relatives Children threw their treats high into the sky and competed among themselves: whoever flies the highest will be lucky But it was important to be able to catch the ladder, since a broken step in it meant trouble in a certain month There was a belief that the brownie of Ivan Climacus should get engaged to a witch For this reason, he was in a bad mood: he threw dishes off the tables, knocked and made noise at night Residents tried to protect their properties from the mischief of the newly-made couple, which is why they avoided going out on this day In order not to let evil spirits in, they locked the doors to the hut and barn, and did not let the cattle out for a walk According to signs on Ivan Climacus, they watched what was happening in order to know the future Dandelion blossoms heralded early autumn If they saw that the birch had released its leaves before the alder, the residents expected a rainy summer The flight of bees from the hives meant the onset of real heat The flowering of cherries was used to determine the sowing period for corn and beets