According to the folk calendar - Savvin's day

According to the folk calendar, Savvin Day is celebrated on December 18 (December 5, old style) It comes from the church holiday of the righteous Savva the Sanctified, who knew how to heal with prayers Sava was born in the 5th century in Cappadocia, his parents believed in Jesus Christ, so from an early age he sought to know God While studying at the monastery, Savva studied the Holy Scriptures, after which he chose the path of a monk The monk constantly read prayers addressed to the Lord, for which he was awarded the gift of healing sick and demon-possessed people He could work miracles, causing rainfall during a drought or restoring a spring underground The disciples who came to the monk built a church in the cave where the monk was, and Savva himself created the Jerusalem Rule for Palestinian monasteries Among the people, Savvin Day was known as the “continuator” of the Barbarian frosts The frost was just getting stronger, sealing the ice crossings on the rivers People on Savvin day tried not to go into the forest, because they believed that they could get lost or freeze It was also forbidden to work, and all necessary work was postponed to the next days During the day they prayed, meditated on the Lord, and went to bed early, saving splinters It was believed that the daylight hours were getting longer, but the reason for this was the bright reflection of the snow There was a belief that on the day of Saint Sava it was forbidden to swear or quarrel This was especially true for owners with horses After all, on the road the animal could behave unpredictably, or even some disaster would happen Without leaving their homes, peasants determined the future weather To do this, they watched how the logs burned in the stove: if they crackled or the fire gave off a red tint, then frosts were expected Smoke creeping along the ground from the chimney foreshadowed bad weather If the snow began to melt, a quick thaw was expected