According to the folk calendar - Vasily Kapelnik

March 13 (February 28, old style) is the day of Vasily Kapelnik in the folk calendar According to the church calendar, on this date the memory of St Basil Dekapolit, a monk-protector of icons in the 8th century, is honored Vasily was a monk in the Decapolitan country, located near Lake Galilee Together with his mentor friend Prokofiy, he tried to protect the icons from the emperor The latter brought heresy to the people, comparing icons with pagan idols For opposing the ruler, Vasily and Procopius were imprisoned and kept until he died After his release, the monk continued to guide believers on the true path and do good deeds The people called the saint the Dropman As it became warmer outside, the snow on the roofs began to melt, and the flowing drops were called drips They said that on this day winter itself sheds tears goodbye Long icicles frozen at night foreshadowed long stalks of flax and hemp in the fall There was a tradition for Vasily Kapelnik to carry coniferous branches into his home: spruce, juniper, pine The aroma of pine needles in the house promised health to all household members Healing tinctures were prepared from needles and buds, strengthening the immune system and helping with respiratory diseases It was believed that pine decoction contained many vitamins Healers advised Vasily to carry out a ritual of treatment for sheep dyspnea - a disease in which excess fluid accumulated in the abdominal cavity, also called abdominal dropsy The patient was wrapped in sheep skin and placed on the floor, then the sheep were brought into the room The peasants believed that when animals passed by a sick person, they would take the disease with them and carry it away Young women baked butter rolls in the morning, accompanying the baking process with stoneflies - songs inviting spring Then relatives and friends were treated to such baked goods Eating kalach on an empty stomach for Vasily Kapelnik foreshadowed prosperity in life The men went into the forest to hunt hares The melting snow opened up the ground, where young grass was growing, and hungry hares gathered around it, losing their vigilance Therefore, the hunters returned with good catch In the evening they prepared game dishes and shared stories If it was a cloudy day on Vasily Kapelnik, frosty weather was expected at night The lack of snow on the roofs meant warming soon The sun during the day foreshadowed the fertility of the earth in the summer, and the rain - the summer season with fine days