According to the folk calendar - Ivan Brazhnik

January 20 (January 7, old style) according to the folk calendar, Ivan Brazhnik is celebrated It takes its name from the church day of honoring the memory of John the Baptist And we call the day Hawkmoth for the use of intoxicating drinks for good purposes From Christmas to Maslenitsa it was time for weddings, as fasting ended and it was allowed to eat meat The boys' parents sent matchmakers to the girls' families Usually weddings were arranged by agreement between couples in love, but it happened that girls did not get married of their own free will In order to shed fewer tears in their married life, the girls were allowed to drink a little wine on the day of Ivan the Brazhnik There was a tradition in the morning, before eating, to take a sip of water collected the day before in the consecrated river The peasants believed that it protected a person from the inside from the influence of evil spirits and helped to gain health for a year In addition, beer was brewed on Ivan-Brazhnik from honey and hops They drank it in small quantities, believing that it would relieve various sorrows In the period from Ivan-Brazhnik to the beginning of Maslenitsa, boys and girls met at gatherings, but with work in hand In some areas the day was considered a holiday, people rested Caring owners fed their livestock with bread cakes and salt, sometimes treating them to pancakes while reading out spells This ritual was performed for a good offspring in the spring Ivan-Brazhnik's future was judged by weather signs If severe frosts set in and lasted for up to seven days, a sharp warming was expected after them A clear month in the sky foreshadowed a river flood in the spring Snowfalls predicted that Maslenitsa would also have snow If it is wet or foggy outside, it means that the field will produce well in the summer, and if it is sunny, the summer is expected to be dry