According to the folk calendar - Prokhor Vesnovey, Kharlampy

According to the folk calendar, February 23 (February 10, old style) is the day of Prokhor Vesnovey Its name is associated with the Christian date of memory of St Prokhor the Lebednik The day is also dedicated to Saint Harlampius In the 11th century, Prokhor came to the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery with the desire to serve the Almighty After becoming a monk, he led a modest life, drinking ordinary water and eating quinoa The monk learned to make bread from this plant, and when famine came, the Lord sent a large harvest of quinoa Prokhor, with God’s blessing, baked quinoa bread and distributed it to the hungry Therefore, the monk was nicknamed the Swan Harlampius of Magnesia lived in the 2nd century and converted pagans to Christianity For this they subjected him to terrible torture and tried to force him to sacrifice to the pagan gods However, the martyr only glorified the Lord By order of the Emperor, he was killed, but the soul of Kharlampy went to God a couple of moments before the execution People asked Saint Harlampius to save them from involuntary death, such as murder or accident They prayed to the saint for safety from evil spirits wandering in the forest and near ponds that day The peasants believed that evil spirits came out and played cruel jokes on people In order to avoid trouble, not to get lost or fall into the river, residents tried not to go far beyond the village The evil spirits especially mocked apostates or those who had sinned On Prokhor, the election of a people's elder took place in the villages Traditionally, he was elected once every three years, but sometimes the headman had to be re-elected for misconduct The candidates were all the men of the village Along with the headman, his assistants were also elected Prokhor Vesnovey named the day for the turn to the beginning of spring The air became noticeably warmer, the frosts subsided, and drops often occurred The daylight hours increased and the dark night decreased If a thin bright moon was noticed on Prokhor Vesnovey, thunderstorms were expected Frost for a week foreshadowed a warm March