According to the folk calendar - Anfisa the needlewoman

December 21 (December 8, old style) is the day of Anfisa the needlewoman according to the folk calendar Among the people, her day appeared from the church date of veneration of the martyr Anfisa of Rome, who died for her faith in God Anfisa lived in Rome in the 4th century and was a supporter of the Christian faith, just like her husband, a Roman dignitary The girl was baptized by Bishop Ambrose of Milan But one day the mayor’s wife suggested Anfisa change her faith to the Aryan religion, which was widespread in those days She refused, then the Aryan denounced Anfisa, after which she was sent to the stake alive The martyr's husband, fearful of his wife's fate, renounced Christ But God punished the traitor - when he passed by the church, he was struck by lightning The people revered the martyr Anfisa as the patroness of needlework For young girls, her day was spent in embroidery, yarn, sewing, and preparing outfits for Christmastide There was a tradition of doing handicrafts in private to avoid the evil eye If it was not possible to remain alone, the girl performed a ritual of protection against the evil eye It involved wrapping a special thread around the wrist to protect against evil spirits When women embroidered patterns on fabric, they perceived them primarily as a talisman Drawings were made on all openings of clothing - sleeves, collar, hem - on peculiar passages through which evil spirits could get to the human body Each ornament was intended for special protection; these could be natural phenomena, animals, birds or figures The color of the embroidery also played an important role This amulet was less common among men, because they have much more strength than women, which means they have more opportunities to resist evil forces Watching sparrows on the day of Anfisa, people noticed that their frequent nest building foreshadowed the coming severe frosts Wild birds hiding under the roof of a house meant the approach of a blizzard The low temperature outside promised a warm winter, and snowfall on that day predicted summer with frequent showers