According to the folk calendar - Vasilisa - spring water index

On March 23 (March 10, old style), according to the folk calendar, Vasilisa is celebrated - the indicator of spring water In the church calendar, on this date, the memory of several martyrs is honored, but the name of the national event is given in honor of Saint Basilissa of Corinth In the 3rd century, Christians were severely persecuted by pagans In the desert near the city of Corinth in Greece, a group of Christians was captured, among whom was a nine-year-old girl, Vasilisa The group’s mentor was Kodrat, he supported friends and guided them to lead a righteous life The idolaters subjected believers to torture, trying to force them to renounce their faith in the Lord and sacrifice to pagan idols But the Christians refused, for which they were executed by beheading On Vasilisa, the daylight hours were already becoming longer than the night Spring was fully on its way to the earth: the snow was melting, the grass was turning green, and birds were nesting The period of March thunderstorms was approaching Sometimes spring waters could flood houses To protect their homes from destruction, peasants dug drainage ditches Saint Vasilisa was called the patroness of spring waters, which means spring waters They prayed to her for the safety of houses from the water that overflowed the banks of the river They believed that its waters were capable of remembering information and learning hidden secrets If a certain house, barn or cellar was flooded with spring water, they said that the owners had sinned last year Melted snow flowed into reservoirs, the waters became free of ice and the men went fishing This day was good for catching roach and ram But the healers treated night blindness, a disease in which the patient saw well during the day, but poorly at night If cranes flew to Vasilisa, the peasants prepared for a fine spring season The return of starlings predicted the final melting of the snow Seeing hares near the village meant a temporary cold snap Cloudiness before lunch or a cold wind foreshadowed frost A halo around the moon was observed before rains