March 11 is Bird's Day, St. Porphyry's Day. Early spring? Don't believe it…

CrimeaPRESS reports:

On March 11, it was believed in Rus’, birds that returned to their native lands begin to build nests. That is why this day was called Bird Day. At the same time, however, they said: “You shouldn’t believe in early spring — the frosts will return and destroy the crops.” In addition, there was a belief: on March 11, young men avoided beautiful women who, according to legend, were possessed by kikimoras. They seduced the guys, lured them into the forest and took away their strength, or even killed them.

On this day the church honors Saint Porphyry, Archbishop of Gaza. Known for asserting Christianity while fighting pagans. Through his prayers, numerous miracles and healings were performed.

People, paying attention to the weather, tried to predict its behavior in the near future:

• Birds returned from warmer climes earlier — to a rich harvest of grain crops.
• Birds build nests in the south — summer will be cool.
• A blizzard is blowing — the snow will melt very soon, but the summer will be rainy and cool.
• Starry sky — for summer drought.
• The snow has melted on Porfiry — expect frost in the coming days.
• If birds build nests on the shady side, the summer will be warm.
• It started snowing — there will be a lot of precipitation in the summer.
• The rooks have arrived — the snow will soon melt, but the summer will be cold.
• Sparrows gather in flocks — the weather will be dry and sunny in the very near future.
• Pigeons coo outside — wait for warmer weather.
• Crows circling overhead means warming.
• Pigeons are hiding under the roof — warming will happen very soon.
• High clouds foreshadow clear weather.
• Fog in the morning — the weather will be stormy. Fog in the evening foreshadows a warm morning.
• A strong wind blew — the frost was coming to an end.
• At night there are no clouds in the sky, the stars are visible — expect a hot summer with a lot of thunderstorms.
• A south or southwest wind blows — a thaw will come.

Name days on March 11 are celebrated by: Asthea, Ivan, Nikolai, Porfiry, Sevastyan, Teresa.

Crimea news | CrimeaPRESS: latest news and main events