According to the popular calendar - Jonah's Day

According to the folk and church calendar, the Memorial Day of Archbishop Jonah of Novgorod and Pskov is celebrated annually on November 18 Saint Jonah was born in Novgorod into a pious family, but was orphaned in early childhood and was raised by the widow Natalya Medovartseva As a child, he was a very sickly and weak child, but the widow did everything for the development of her adopted son Having grown up a little, he went to learn to read and write as a deacon, where he made great progress, devoting all his free time to reading books Having reached adulthood, Jonah settled in the Oten desert, which was located far from Novgorod and was surrounded by impenetrable forests However, despite the difficult path, many Christians attended Jonah’s services Jonah became famous during his lifetime by organizing a shelter for orphans and widows in Novgorod, as well as for his miraculous deeds According to one legend, an epidemic of pestilence raged in Novgorod, due to which a huge number of people died Jonah made a religious procession to the Zverin Monastery with prayers for the end of the illness, after which the illness subsided Jonah died in 1470, and in 1549 at the Makarievsky Council it was decided to list him as a saint According to popular beliefs, this day was associated with the traditions of marriage and marriage The girls not only prayed with requests to meet a good groom, but also said a prepared glass of milk with honey, which they drank in the morning Those who wanted to get married quickly scattered coins, pins, buttons and various small handicrafts in their yards And the guys who wanted to find a wife left the house early and carefully looked through the courtyards; no signs were left for them there It was also believed that on this day it was possible to “dry” the groom; for this, a bare twig was pulled out of a bath broom and placed on the threshold while waiting for the beloved As soon as the young man crossed the threshold, the twig was put away in a secluded place where it was dry and warm The twig symbolized the guy’s love; if the twig was dry, then the girl’s lover was “drying” for her The guys charmed the girls, catching the wind with their backs, and uttered the enchanted words; it was believed that the stronger the wind, the better the result On this day, people also used folk signs to predict the weather If it snowed, then the winter will be snowy and late If there was heavy snowfall that fell unevenly, it means that next year there will be a rich harvest The north wind spoke of the onset of imminent cold weather, but if the trees were covered with frost, there would soon be a thaw