CrimeaPRESS reports:
This day was also called Denis, Autumn Fever and Khlebnik.
The main fear of October 16th was that people believed that now the so-called autumn fevers were coming into the world, roaming around the world and affecting people. They said that the fireweed, lomiha, shaker, fever, yellow or insomnia, living in the swamps, and other evil spirits wandered through the forests, approaching the huts of the peasants. They themselves suffered, and they tormented the people: they could turn into a speck and fly into their eyes, get under their clothes. Meanwhile, this belief is easy to explain without going into mysticism: the unstable weather of these days often led to colds—that is, fevers. They believed that aspen bark helped fight fever — they always tried to carry it with them. In the hut they also usually tried to keep an aspen log just in case. If your legs cramped, you put them on this log.
In the old days, it was also believed that on October 16, sabbaths of all kinds of evil spirits took place, and therefore it was customary to cast spells against the evil eye and avoid meeting a person with the “evil eye.” They said about this time: “Winter Denis has come — beware of the dashing eye.”
The church today honors the memory of Saint Dionysius the Areopagite, who lived in the 1st century in Athens. Tradition says that Dionysius was a disciple of St. Paul, who subsequently ordained him to the post of bishop in his hometown. In 95, by order of Pope Clement, Dionysius was sent to Gaul to preach the Christian faith. However, there, after about 1 year, he was captured by the pagans and killed. It is to Dionysius that historians attribute several works called “Areopagitica”, which had a significant influence on the development of the Christian faith and its philosophy.
There are no special signs for today. But! Our ancestors believed that “deep autumn” began on October 16. This is the time of leaf fall, first snowfalls, frosts and birds flying away. Relatively warm and clear days are replaced by fog, rain and cold weather.
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