February 26 is Martin's Day. Spring is becoming more and more in the air

CrimeaPRESS reports:

On February 26, Christians honor the memory of Saint Martinian. He lived in Palestine in the 5th century, was a hermit and, terribly afraid of worldly passions, led a reclusive life. He spent 25 years on a desert mountain in the vicinity of Caesarea. There, according to legend, the first miracle happened: Martinian resisted the spell of the harlot Zoe, who was trying to seduce him. He pacified his passion by standing barefoot in the fire. After such an event, the temptress turned to God. Martinian, wishing to protect himself with even greater solitude, went to the sea. He settled on a bare cliff, surrounded on all sides by water, where he lived for six years — food was delivered to him by a shipman who transported him to the rock. The hermitage ended after the disaster of a passing ship. Everyone on the ship died except Photinia, the woman who climbed onto the cliff to Martinian. Realizing that “worldly passion” could overtake him here, the saint threw himself into the sea and miraculously, with the help of dolphins, survived. Since then, this saint has been considered the tamer of passions.

In Rus’, Martinian was renamed Martyn, and February 26 became Martin’s Day. Our ancestors also prayed to the saint for protection from temptations and carnal temptations. In addition, it was customary to remember relatives who had passed on to another world, to visit cemeteries, and to light candles in churches for the repose.

People believed that the frosts began to weaken on this day, and spring was increasingly “spreading” in the air.

As for the signs, on Martin’s Day they predicted not only the weather, but also tried to understand what the coming farming season would be like.

• Snow does not melt for a long time — expect cold weather in the spring.
• The snow has begun to melt — spring will be warm.
• Martin’s day is cloudy — it will also be cold in the spring. Frosty and dry — summer will be hot.
• Are the sun’s rays clearly visible? The coming days will be clear, but the frost will last for a long time.
• The tits sing loudly, calling for early spring.

AND! There is such a belief: if, looking at the sky on the night of February 26, you see bright stars, it literally means that deceased loved ones are looking at the world from heaven. Call them by name and you can count on help in difficult moments.

Name days on February 26th are celebrated by: Artyom, Semyon, Martin, Timofey, Zoya, Svetlana, Ivan, Irina, Vasily, Vladimir, Gabriel, Nikolay, Pavel.

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