According to the folk calendar - Tatiana's Day (Babi Kut)

January 25 (January 12, old style) is Tatiana's Day according to the folk calendar The name of the holiday comes from the church day of St Tatiana, who died for her faith in the Almighty Tatiana was born in the 3rd century into a wealthy Roman family of secret Christians In her youth she took a vow of chastity and dedicated her life to serving the Lord When she became a deaconess in the church, she helped the poor and healed the sick During the persecution of Christians, they tried to force the girl to accept paganism, but Tatiana refused After much torture, the martyr and her father were executed with a blow of a sword Traditionally, on Tatiana's Day, the eldest women of the family baked a loaf It was always treated with respect, since such bread symbolized fertility and the power of solar energy In order for the power of the sun to be transmitted to the household, the housewife gave everyone a piece of loaf The remaining crumbs were fed to livestock and poultry The housewife always had her own place near the stove It stored not only kitchen utensils, but also sewing supplies A woman could spend hours doing housework there The women's corner was celebrated on Tatiana's day, for which the holiday was called the Woman's Kut Unmarried girls prayed to Saint Tatiana, asking for help to improve their personal lives And in order to tie their beloved guy to themselves, they performed a secret ritual They collected a small broom from leaves and feathers, then hid it in their beloved’s house, so that the future mother-in-law would not find it Since the mothers of the boys themselves performed this ritual in their youth, only girls who were suitable as daughters-in-law were allowed into the housing On Tatiana's day it was customary to clean up, so the girls went to the pond in the morning and washed the house rugs The guys helped carry the wet rugs back Afterwards, the rugs were hung on the fence to dry, and having fun, the youth determined whose carpet was more beautiful To bewitch their betrothed forever, the girls placed a clean rug at the entrance at the threshold If a guy wiped his shoes on him when he came in, he became a regular guest Noticing snowfall on Tatyana's day, they expected summertime with showers Frosty and sunny weather foreshadowed a rich harvest at harvest They waited for the early return of the birds in the spring, looking at the clear sun If the housewife managed to bake bread with an even crust, it meant that a prosperous year had begun