September 18 is the day of Elizabeth the Foreteller and Zechariah. To the bathhouse! And we guess…

CrimeaPRESS reports:

Our ancestors considered September 18 an unlucky day. But! They believed that today all fortune-telling and predictions were true, and therefore they communicated with might and main with fortune-tellers, healers and soothsayers. Especially if it concerned the upcoming marriage and family life! So crowds of unmarried girls went to fortune tellers who, for a nominal fee, told their fortunes. Often on this day, young people would tell fortunes on their own during gatherings.

And on September 18, it was customary to heat a bathhouse and steam in it in order to be healthy throughout the year.

The Church today honors the memory of Elizabeth and Zacharias, the parents of John the Baptist. According to legend, Elizabeth was Mary’s cousin and lived with her husband in Hebron. Despite many years of living together, the couple could not conceive a child until old age. One day, Zechariah withdrew into the desert, and there an angel appeared to him, who revealed to the elder that very soon they would have a child, who should be named John. The priest did not believe this, and the angel said that Zechariah would be speechless until the birth of his son. And so it happened — Zechariah began to speak again when he took the baby John in his arms. At that time, persecution was constantly being organized against Christians, and therefore Elizabeth and her child had to flee the city and hide for a long time in the desert. Zachariah was seized and demanded to tell him where his loved ones were. The priest said nothing in response, and he was killed right in the temple. The legend says that 40 days after this, Elizabeth died, and John was nursed by an angel. By the way, it was Elizabeth who predicted the birth of Jesus by Mary.

Signs of the day:

• The rowan leaves have turned yellow — winter will be early and cold.
• A rich harvest of wild rowan — for a stormy autumn. If rowan trees hardly bear fruit in the forests, the whole autumn will be dry.
• You cannot wash clothes on this day to prevent fever.
• You can’t give to the poor either.
• In the bathhouse on this day, take a steam bath with a birch broom — to expel all ailments from yourself.
• If a person still gets sick on September 18, you need to catch a spider, put it in a nut shell, wrap it in cloth and hang such an “amulet” around your neck. It is believed that the spider in the shell entangles an evil fever with its web.
• If a child suddenly gets sick, you need to put a doll without a face in his crib (you can make it yourself). The toy will take over the illness and the baby will recover.
• Anyone born on this day will inherit witchcraft spells from higher powers. No disease will take him!
• Those born on this day do not get along at home (they grow up to be travelers, vagabonds, their work will involve frequent business trips, etc.). Such people also made excellent shepherds.
• Whoever swears on this day and does not keep his word will soon die.

Name days are celebrated today by: Afanasy, Alexey, Zakhar, Gleb, Maxim, David, Fedor, Elizaveta, Iraida, Raisa.

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