According to the folk calendar - Prokop Perezimniy, the Road Destroyer

On March 12 (February 27, old style), according to the folk calendar, Prokop Perezimny is celebrated, sometimes also called the Road Destroyer The name of the day partly comes from the name of St Procopius Decapolitus, revered by the Orthodox Church on this date The monk was from the Decapolitan country, located near Lake Galilee Tired of the bustle of life, Procopius chose the path of a monk He spent his life in frequent prayer and fasting Trying to resist the iconoclast emperor in destroying icons, the monk was imprisoned After the death of the ruler, Procopius was released, returning to his monastery, he was engaged in good deeds At Prokop Perezimny, the weather was truly becoming spring-like: the sun was heating up more and more, melting the snow The situation with roads was especially difficult The snow roads compacted for sledding turned into a muddy mess That is why the date received the name Roadbreaker, meaning breaking of roads Residents of Prokop Perezimny tried to postpone long-distance travel When going out on a sleigh, there was a risk that the snow would finally turn into water, and it would be impossible to get back In such cases, travelers took with them both sleighs and carts, but even with such equipment it was difficult to get through the muddy roads Before the trip, we watched the drop: the more abundantly the water flows, the more dangerous it is to hit the road But the day was considered good for hunting True, the hunters were afraid to see a hare crossing their path, because such a sign foreshadowed bad luck We also went fishing The ice on the reservoirs melted, the water rose, and it became impossible to cross the river crossing In general, the day of Prokop Perezimny was devoted to household work Residents prepared tools for field work and took out seeds for planting In the evening we heated the bathhouse and took a steam bath Looking at the upper branches of the willow, the final arrival of spring was determined If the buds on the tops of the heads begin to open, it means that it will only get warmer and the frosts will not return In this case, the first seeds began to be sown in the plots Snowdrops appearing from under the snow meant the beginning of arable work