January 18 — Epiphany evening

CrimeaPRESS reports:

January 18, in the folk calendar, is listed as the Second Christmas Eve. The Orthodox are preparing for a big holiday — the Epiphany of the Lord — and today is the eve of the celebration. There is a long tradition associated with it — the blessing of water. On January 18 this is done in churches. After the liturgy, around noon. And on the feast of Epiphany itself (January 19), the ceremony is carried out on the street, near open reservoirs. By the sea, springs and rivers. By the way, it is believed that not only water, but also snow acquires special qualities on Epiphany evening. Therefore, our ancestors washed themselves with it, and stored the melt water for household purposes, and in some cases it was also used as medicine.

The eve of Epiphany is a time of strict fasting and repentance, and therefore January 18 is also called Hungry Kutia. This evening, according to popular belief, it was impossible to have dinner. And, in principle, these days were the end of rich festive tables. Life returned to its measured, everyday routine.

And also: “Once on Epiphany evening…” — remember? Yes Yes! And this is also about today. It was mostly girls who “looked” into the future, wondering about their betrothed. At the same time, however, they remembered that on the eve of Epiphany, evil spirits walk around the world. It was believed that one could meet the “dark ones” today, anywhere. And they can appear in any guise: in the form of an animal, an insect, a friend or a stranger.

What can’t you do on Epiphany Eve?

Today is rich in weather signs, perhaps, like no other:

• It snows on Epiphany evening — there will be a good harvest of grain crops.
• What the weather is like on January 18, this is how it will be on Maslenitsa.
• A strong south wind is blowing — the summer will be rainy, with a lot of thunderstorms.
• At night there are no stars visible and the sky is cloudy — there will be very few mushrooms in the fall.
• A strong snowstorm or drifting snow on January 18 means a good harvest.
• There is little snow on the trees — there will be no berries at all. If the snow, on the contrary, has already bent the branches on the trees, expect a rich harvest.
• A full month on this day foreshadows river flooding in the spring.
• If there is a lot of snow on the trees, there will be a rich harvest of fruits and honey.
• It’s snowing in the morning — a harbinger that there will be a lot of buckwheat and bread.

Name day on January 18th is celebrated by:

Pauline. Grigory, Evgenia, Joseph, Lukyan, Nonna, Roman.

Crimea news | CrimeaPRESS: latest news and main events