According to the folk calendar - Anton-perezimnik

According to the folk calendar, January 30 (January 17, old style) is the day of Anton the Winter Winter The day takes its name from the Christian date of honoring the memory of Saints Anthony - the Great, Chernoezersk and Dymsk Anthony the Great (3rd century) was distinguished by his serious character and great love for the Lord Having given part of his inheritance to the poor, he went to live in the desert He built a monastery in it, performed good deeds, and hundreds of parishioners asked the sage for advice Anthony of Chernoezersky (16th century) became a monk, and then founded a monastery in the Novgorod lands near the Black Lake Anthony of Dymsky (12th century) was humble before the Lord, and together with his parishioners he built a church in honor of Anthony the Great Among the people, Anton the winter-winter was sometimes called Antonina - half of winter, because the first part of the winter period had been passed, and the second brought closer to spring Usually by this date the weather became warm, and sometimes the snow melted But warming occurred for a short time, after which the cold descended again During Anton the Winter Winter, peasants protected their homes from the penetration of evil spirits To do this, in the morning they went out to a street fork and walked backwards towards their yard It was necessary to walk carefully so as not to fall, and to cover up the traces left behind with branches Residents believed that this way the spirits would not find their way to the house To protect themselves from damage, the owners crossed the road to their lands with a sharp tool But not all spirits were considered bad Helper spirits were considered to be the brownie - the keeper of the hearth, the goblin - the keeper of forest lands, the bagan - the caretaker of the household, the barn and barn - helpers in construction, the vostrukh - the keeper of household goods To get along with them, the peasants tried to appease them Housewives baked round buns for Anton the Winterman For their dough, oats or barley swollen from soaking were used By adding flour, eggs and sugar to it, they sculpted bread in the shape of the sun It was the luminary of the sun that could protect the people from the machinations of evil spirits living in darkness and bring spring closer They used signs to navigate the future weather An early spring was expected if there was a sharp warming on the day of Anton the Winter Winter A snowstorm meant a long winter If you noticed squirrels hiding together or tits chirping in the yard, you were expecting a cold snap A cloudy sky at night foreshadowed a rich harvest, and a clear sky foreshadowed poor seedlings