According to the folk calendar - Day of Midwives

Midwives' Day is popularly celebrated on January 8 (December 26, old style) This holiday is held in honor of women who help during childbirth It is also called Babi porridge, since accomplished mothers with their children went to thank the midwives, and in return they treated them to porridge The people considered the midwife a respected person She was so nicknamed for her ability to wrap a newborn in swaddling clothes so that he could not scratch himself and slept peacefully The midwives also taught the new mother how to swaddle the baby Not everyone could become a midwife; this required being a mother herself and being of advanced age The woman had to be distinguished by her flexible character and good reputation, otherwise the adopted children could be born weak and sickly According to tradition, mothers collected a basket with pies, lard, pancakes, vodka and went to the midwife They also brought her a towel so that the path of the newborns she received would be easy They showed the old woman how the child had matured and thanked her Pregnant women went with gifts to the midwife so that their birth would go smoothly There was a belief that on the day of the midwives, evil spirits crawled out of hiding and wandered the earth, trying to harm people: they stole the moon from the sky and covered the sun To defend themselves, the peasants dressed up as animals or mummers: they put on shabby clothes, painted their faces with soot, and depicted terrible and wretched deformities The mummers ran around the village singing and dancing, showing the evil spirits that their place was taken It was forbidden to buy rope products on the day of midwives in order to protect your family from hanging They also did not prepare jelly, so as not to invite death into the house Based on the cold and snowy days, the midwives determined a cool, rainy summer Clear skies during the day foreshadowed rich harvests of millet Crows circling in the sky were observed before a snowstorm, and tits singing before a strong cold snap Frost also promised a burgundy sunset Warmth was expected if they saw a fire in a white stove