According to the folk calendar - Spiridon Solstice

According to the folk calendar, December 25 (December 12, old style) is the day of Spyridon Solstice It comes from the church day of honoring the memory of St Spyridon of Trimythous, a popular benefactor and wonderworker of the 3rd-4th centuries Spiridon was from Cyprus, had a wife and daughter, led a righteous life and helped the poor After the death of his wife, he devoted himself entirely to the Lord For his efforts, hard work and modesty, he was elevated to the rank of bishop of the city of Trimifunt The Almighty awarded Spiridon the gift of healing the seriously ill and the ability to cast out demons By his behavior, the bishop set an example for the parishioners, distinguished himself from other church servants in his mercy and justice at the same time, and denounced priests who were incorrectly performing their duties With the help of prayers, Spyridon could work miracles - cause rain in a drought, or stop it, light lamps, and once was able to resurrect a child People called Spiridon the Solstice, because from his day the sun began to gradually extend the daylight hours, thereby reducing the dark night People believed that Spyridon turned the heavenly body towards summer According to legend, it was dangerous to leave the house, since a battle was beginning between light and darkness It was in the darkness that evil forces gathered To help the sun disperse them, people lit fires, set fire to hay wheels and sent them down the mountain to the reservoir The symbolism of the sun was found in everything that resembled a circle The people held round dances around the fire, walked around the houses in a circle, reading protective prayers Women baked round loaves and flat cakes The youth gathered before dawn on the hill and called on the sun to return to its native places On the day of Spiridon there was a ritual of protecting the house from evil spirits The housewife wedged the sickle into the door frame from above At the same time, the owner drove the ax with the tip into the door threshold It was believed that the power of iron at the entrance would stop evil It was not recommended to work on Spiridonov's day, but fortune telling was allowed To make chickens lay eggs more often, they were given food from the right hand They often made a wish, broke the branches of an apple tree and put them in water, if the flowers bloomed for Christmas, the wish would come true People watched the direction of the wind; if it changed during the day, the year foreshadowed a rich harvest Sparrows actively preparing their nests meant the approach of severe frosts Cloudiness in the morning sky predicted a short winter If the cattle asked to go into the barn or the juniper bent its branches, a blizzard was expected They said what the weather would be like on Spiridonov’s day, this is how it will happen on New Year’s Day