According to the folk calendar - Anna Dark

December 22 (December 9, old style) is the day of Anna the Dark according to the folk calendar. This event comes from a church holiday - the day of Anna’s conception of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. Righteous Anna and her husband Joachim tried for many years to conceive a child, but to no avail. When Joachim went into the desert to pray, asking the Almighty for his wife’s pregnancy, an Angel descended to him and conveyed the good news that his wife was pregnant with a daughter. The grateful parents promised to give their unborn child to the temple to serve the Lord. It was Mary, born on September 21 (September 8, old style), who in the future became the Most Holy Theotokos - the mother of God’s son. The people called Saint Anne the Dark One, because on her feast day the nights became long and the day got dark early. In addition, the winter solstice was approaching, which meant short daylight hours and the longest night of the year, then the sun “turned” towards summer. The exact opposite applied to the weather - traditionally on Anna the Dark, the frosts became stronger. It was the frost that caused the wolf packs to approach the villages. They said that from the day of Anna until the Epiphany frosts, hunger forced wolves to attack people, even near villages. Therefore, people avoided leaving the village alone, especially after sunset. On Anna's Day, childless women asked the saint with prayers to help them get pregnant, and those who were already preparing for motherhood prayed for an easy birth. It was believed that on this day pregnant women should be careful with any work. They were not allowed to approach the stove and light a fire, so that the child would not be born with birthmarks on the body. It was impossible to do sewing so that the umbilical cord would not get tangled. It was forbidden to meet with holy fools or cripples, so that the disease would not be passed on to the child. It was customary among beekeepers to check their bees in omshaniks - places where hives are sheltered from frost. The bee owners monitored the integrity of the shelters and a sufficient supply of food for the insects for the winter. Beekeepers read spells for successful honey collection next summer. By observing natural signs on Anna's Day, people determined the future weather. If frost appeared on the bark of trees, and huge drifts of snow swept around, then the harvest of the coming year was expected to be excellent. Fences densely covered with snow foreshadowed a cool summer. The weather on Anna's day predicted similar weather for the New Year.