Naumov day among the Slavs

For a long time in Rus' there was an analogue of the modern holiday of knowledge, which fell on December 1 They called it the day of Nahum or smart day According to the new style, it falls on December 14 The minor prophet Nahum (consoled) in Rus' was called a literate man Nahum (Nachum) is the author of a book included in the Holy Scriptures, in which he predicted speedy divine punishment for sinners It was for this prediction, which later came true, that the prophet began to be considered the patron saint of smart and educated people By this time, work in the field had already ended, supplies for the long winter had been prepared It was time to think about spiritual food On this day, children were brought to a respected teacher, asking him to teach them to read and write The role of teachers was usually sextons or retired servicemen Educational activities were highly respected in Rus' In payment for learning to read and write, the teacher was given eggs, bread, cereals, and less often - money A mother who brought her child to a teacher for the first time, as a rule, wailed or cried loudly, because she knew that teaching was necessarily accompanied by beating with rods or other punishments She asked the mentor not to punish the child too much, but already on the first day, as a warning, he punished the newly made students with rods The latter had to unquestioningly fulfill all the requirements of the teacher From the very morning the whole family went to church The children received a blessing from the priest for further studies Parents turned to God with prayers, asking to give intelligence to their offspring On this day, everyone could ask for resolution of complex cases They also invoked good luck on Nahum by distributing alms to the needy and helping the suffering The women baked cakes in the shape of coins and distributed them to the neighborhood children There are signs for this day in the folk calendar According to one of them, if the sky on Nahum is covered with stars, then the next day people expected severe frost