According to the folk calendar - Ivan the Old Cave

On May 2 (according to the old calendar style - April 19), people celebrate Ivan the Old Cave So the holiday is named in honor of St John of the Ancient Cave, whose memory is honored by Orthodox believers on this day From his youth, John became involved in the monastery, which was built by the Monk Chariton not far from Jerusalem During the years of monastic life, John was elevated to the rank of priest; he led a strict life of prayer and fasting They began to call him the Old Cave from the name of his monastery So they called her because of her decrepit, that is, very old, age The location of the Kharitonov monastery was above the caves The people of Ivan the Old Cave had a tradition of dressing up spring in new clothes In the morning, the girls baked pies or rolls from the remaining flour and took them out to the field on a new woven canvas Laying the canvas on the grass, the girls made four bows to each cardinal direction Then they announced to spring that these were clothes and treats for her This ritual was performed by weavers so that flax and hemp would be abundantly produced On the day of Ivan the Old Cave, all the clothes woven in winter were taken out into the fresh air They were laid out on the grass, rinsed in streams, and hung on trees in order to imbue the materials with the energy of nature So, under the spring rays and winds, clothes were ventilated after winter storage If it was planned to sell new canvases of fabric, then after airing they were rolled into tubes and carried to the market Having sold them, the prayer merchants thanked St John for his initiative A church candle was lit in front of his image The signs of Ivan the Old Cave told the peasants about the weather So clouds in the sky and rain foreshadowed a dry June A sunny day meant the end of May was expected to cool down Passing clouds or a calm golden sunset promised the following days without precipitation Seeing hares in a winter coat meant the return of cold weather