According to the folk calendar - Gromnitsy (Candlemas of the Lord)

On February 15 (February 2, old style), according to the folk calendar, the holiday of Gromnitsa is celebrated. It is closely intertwined with the great church holiday - the Presentation of the Lord. History says that it was on this day that the newborn Christ turned 40 days old. Then there was a tradition of taking the forty-day-old firstborn of the family to the temple for dedication to the Lord. Therefore, the righteous Joseph and Mary brought little Jesus into the temple and also sacrificed two doves. In the church, the 300-year-old Saint Simeon was waiting for them; according to prophecy, he was destined to die when he personally saw the Savior. The prophetess Anna, seeing the real Messiah, bowed to him and went out to notify the people about the Savior. Translated, “Sretenye” means “meeting.” If for Christians this was a meeting of the Old and New Testaments, then for the Slavs two seasons of the year met - winter and spring. There was a struggle between them for dominance on earth, which is why the weather often changed during the day. It happened that there was even thunder, from which the day received the name Gromnitsa. Before the arrival of Christianity, sacrifices were made to Gromnitsy to Perun, the god of thunder and lightning. In the villages, in order to help spring defeat the cold, peasants staged exhibition battles. Some men dressed in kaftans, and others in fur coats, symbolizing the warm and cold seasons. There was a fist fight, and if the men in caftans, the Zimobors, won, then spring was destined to defeat winter. At Gromnitsa candles were made from beeswax. They were called thunderbolts and were worn to illuminate the temple. Candles were kept behind icons, lit only at important moments in life, be it the birth of a baby in the family or a funeral. It was believed that they protected from troubles and could “defeat” evil spirits. Residents also blessed water in churches and took it home. They sprinkled it on their homes to protect them from troubles, washed and drank to relieve illnesses of the body and mind. An important ritual was going around the house with the icon in hand and reading a prayer. With Gromnitsa the period of preparation for work in the gardens began. The owners checked the equipment, and the housewives fed the birds and livestock to their fill, taking care of the future offspring. In the garden, snow was cleared from tree branches, and pancakes were baked in the kitchen, symbolizing the circle of the sun and the approach of warmth. On this day it was forbidden to work and swear. It was impossible to sit in boredom and sadness, so as not to waste happiness. They did not carry dairy products for sale, did not use eggs in food, otherwise infertility could have occurred. They avoided long journeys or moving to another place, for fear of encountering trouble. If there was snowfall on Gromnitsy, a long winter was expected, and warm weather foreshadowed the imminent arrival of spring. The sun's rays from behind the clouds meant that the spring-winter meeting had taken place. A cold and cloudy day predicted a cool spring. The beginning of the rain foreshadowed a large grain harvest, and windy weather promised good fruit harvests.