According to the folk calendar - Michaelmas Day

Michaelmas Day is celebrated on November 21st in the folk calendar This bright holiday in honor of Archangel Michael in many regions marked the beginning of winter The field work had already been completed by this time The cellars were still bursting with winter supplies, and the money received from the sale of oats and hemp had not yet been spent On Michaelmas Day, family and public holidays associated with the cult of the clan were usually held Thus, pagan beliefs were closely intertwined with Orthodox traditions Saint Michael is one of the most revered Archangels in Orthodoxy He was considered the head of the heavenly army and is also known as the Archangel In the Old Testament the names of angels are not mentioned at all Mikhail became an exception to this rule His name appears in scripture several times The word “angel” itself is a Greek translation of the Hebrew malakh That's what the messengers were called The prefix "arch" means "elder" It turns out that the archangel is a senior messenger who occupies a high step in the hierarchical ladder in heaven Michael is an adaptation of the original three-part name Mikael Literally from the Hebrew, “Mi ka El” is translated as the interrogative sentence “Who is like God?”, which can be paraphrased into “no one is equal to God” There is another interesting interpretation of the name Mikael, which arose due to the ambiguity of the component “El” or “El” - an abbreviation for “Elohim” That's what the Jews called God Some suggest that Archangel Mikael is a senior messenger who is empowered by God It is noteworthy that Michael is not only present in Christian scriptures Mikail or Michael is one of the four muqarrabuns in Islam The highest angel of mercy who distributes spiritual and bodily food to the creations of Allah Mikail is mentioned in the Koran Together with Jibril (Gabriel), he opened the chest of the little prophet Muhammad to cleanse his heart In Islam, Mikail is responsible for thunder and rain, and also controls the angels who carry the laws of nature It is believed that he stopped laughing forever when he saw hell with his own eyes immediately after its creation, but let’s return to Christian traditions At the very beginning of time, God created a huge number of angels They became his assistants, but someone still had to supervise their work To make it easier to manage the heavenly army, God established a strict hierarchy The lower ranks were subordinate to the higher ones, and they were all ruled by Dennitsa, the most beautiful angel who was first created by God He had outstanding abilities and inspired others, but his high position gave him many temptations and Dennitsa succumbed to the sin of pride Although the angels carried God's will, they were not deprived of freedom of choice His belief that he could replace his creator grew stronger Gradually, the most beautiful heavenly warrior stopped obeying God and began to incite others to do so A riot was brewing, but one of the honest angels loudly exclaimed, “Who is like God?” (“Mi ka El?”) It was a call to the most powerful among them, who could overthrow the traitor With the help of divine support, Mikael won the duel with Dennitsa, who later became the devil Everyone who came over to his side during the failed rebellion, and this was a good third of the angels, turned into demons and demons - the minions of Satan After this, the heavenly army began to be led by two archangels - Gabriel and Michael Because of what happened to Dennitsa, Michael became the personification of the “militant Church” and the patrons of all believers who fight the forces of evil It was to Michael that God entrusted the souls of the Virgin Mary and Abraham At the Last Judgment, this Archangel acts as the intercessor of the souls of the dead There is a parallel here with the Islamic Mikail, who was the most merciful of the muqarrabun November 21 was often popularly called “Mikhailovsky mud” or “Mikhailovsky thaw” On this well-fed holiday, village residents set lavish tables and gathered with whole families Soon the Nativity Fast and severe frosts began, so Michaelmas became the last opportunity to have a good rest On the holiday, everyone's eyes were directed to the heavens, since on this day the sun always appeared Michael is not only a threat to evil spirits, but also the ruler of the elements It became a little warmer outside and a short-term thaw set in, even if severe frosts had already passed the day before, which is why the holiday was called “Mikhailovsky mud” On this day, meat dishes were always placed on the table Almost every house cooked jellied meat from beef or pork the day before A week after Michaelmas, the fast before Christmas began, so believers did not deny themselves the pleasure of enjoying the dishes before it It was believed that the more satisfying the table for this holiday was, the happier Mikhail was The villagers had been brewing beer the day before It was even called “Mikhailovsky”, since the drink was prepared specially for the holiday Almost everyone invited guests to the house It was not customary to refuse those who knocked on the door In Rus', on this day they appeased the courtyards - small spirits who protected rural yards They were considered the “younger brothers” of the brownies On this holiday you cannot quarrel, work (for profit), cut, sew, saw, do laundry or heat a bathhouse After Michaelmas it usually gets colder If the next morning the ground is covered with a crust of frost, then the winter will be snowy A clear morning was considered a harbinger of severe frosts The fog predicted a mild winter