January 17 — Feoktistov day. Were the holidays happy?

CrimeaPRESS reports:

And that’s all… In the old days in Rus’, it was January 17 that ended the riotous time of Christmastide. And together with him they set the final point in all kinds of festivities, gatherings and fortune telling. The good people returned to their everyday worries. Unbridled joy was replaced by humility and work.

Whether you believe it or not, our ancestors believed that it was today that evil spirits left the world of the living and went home. True, she might have become strange, and therefore they helped her, driving the devil out of the village. The ceremony was loud and emotional: they turned a local guy into a “horned” guy, putting a fur coat on him with the fur turned outward, and then they staged a fight and drove him away. Then, at the site of the “fighting”, a fire was lit, over which everyone tried to jump. It was believed that this would bring happiness and health to a person, and would also help to enlist the support of higher powers.

The weather was also predicted on the day of Theoktistus. The signs are:

• The weather of this day indicates the weather of October
• If the morning fogs begin to descend — to the spring harvest
• If there is a full moon on January 17 and the weather is clear, there will be a strong flood in the spring
• If there is a lot of snow on the trees, beekeepers will have a successful year and will be able to collect a lot of honey
• If the sky is cloudless on this day, then severe frosts will remain for quite a long time
• If the clouds hang low, we are waiting for the cold
• If the starry sky is without clouds, there will be sun and frost
• The scarlet dawn portends windy weather

What should you do on Feoktistov Day? Make a wish and go outside. If you see the Big Dipper’s bucket in the sky on the right, your wish will come true.

And today the Orthodox Church honors the memory of the Venerable Martyr Zosimas, the hermit of Cilicia. Patron of beekeepers and beekeepers. To appease the elder, you should put honey or delicacies made from it on the table — gingerbread cookies and sweets.

Name day is celebrated on January 17, and the day is rich for those celebrating: Denis, Alexander, Aristarkh, Arkhip, Afanasy, Efim, Zinaida, Joseph, Karp, Clement, Mark, Nikanor, Nikolai, Pavel, Prokhor, Stepan, Timofey, Thaddeus, Yakov.

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