According to the folk calendar - Ilya Muromets Day

According to the folk calendar, January 1 (December 19, old style) is the day of Ilya of Muromets. In the church calendar, this day is dedicated to the memory of St. Elijah of Pechersk, the miracle worker of Murom. It was the monk Elijah, who lived in the 12th century, who became the prototype of the legendary hero. Since childhood, the future monk suffered from paralysis and could not move until he was 30 years old. Then unknown elders came to him and asked him to bring water. Elijah replied that he could not walk, then the request was repeated as an order. An unprecedented force raised the young man to his feet, and he was able to bring water to the old men. Since then, Elijah led an active life, developing his body. It is known that Elijah was tall at that time and had unprecedented strength. He took part in the battles, but, miraculously surviving after being seriously wounded, he gave lunch to serve the Lord. Having become a monk in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, Elijah did good deeds for people. It is believed that the character in the stories about Ilya Muromets, who defended the people from enemies, is described from Ilya of Pechersk. Therefore, people installed it on January 1st during the day. According to tradition, they bowed to their native land, thanking for the defenders. People believed that prayers to Ilya Muromets would help restore health, especially for those suffering from paralysis of the lower limbs and spine. January 1 was spent resting so that the coming year would be easy. Housewives refrained from cleaning so as not to sweep good luck out of the house. If anyone managed to walk around a tree backwards in a circle while riding a horse, he was expected to be faithful to his spouse. So that in the coming year they would not be bothered by lack of money, they looked for three unmarked graves in the cemetery and asked not to know poverty as well as the names of the dead. By the signs of Ilya Muromets they judged the coming weather. If the sky is clear and the stars are visible, then a berry harvest was expected in the summer. Lying snow on the street foreshadowed a large harvest of grain crops. For this day, similar weather was predicted for July.