A special national holiday on October 23rd is Evlampy the Winter Designator: history, traditions, omens

Every year on October 23, Orthodox believers honor the memory of the martyrs Evlampius and Evlampia, as well as St. Ambrose of Optina. In the national calendar, the date is called Evlampy Winter Designator. In 2025, it falls on a Wednesday. Read about the history of the holiday, its rituals and prohibitions in the Izvestia article.

Evlampy Winter Designator — 2025: the history of the holiday

This autumn day unites the memory of the martyrs Evlampia and Evlampia, as well as the great Russian elder— St. Ambrose of Optina.

The Holy Martyrs Evlampius and Evlampia were brother and sister. They lived at the beginning of the fourth century in Nicomedia during the persecution of Christians. The young man, despite the decree of Emperor Maximian, who ordered to rid the city of the followers of the new faith, accepted it and without fear opposed the will of the ruler, calling his decision madness.

Evlampy was captured and subjected to severe tortures, but they did not break his spirit. The young man agreed to go to a pagan temple, where he suddenly turned to an idol with an appeal to fall in the name of Christ. He immediately collapsed, which shocked the audience, many of whom believed in the Savior. And the guards arrested the brave young Christian again.

At the same time, his sister declared herself a Christian and wished to share her brother's suffering. Encouraging themselves with words from the Gospel, they remained firm in their faith, despite the torture. As a result, Evlampia died of agony, and Evlampius was beheaded.

Another figure whose memory is revered on this day is St. Ambrose of Optina (in the world Alexander Grenkov), who lived in Russia in the 19th century. He was born into the family of a sexton in Tambov province in 1812, received a spiritual education and took a vow of monasticism after a serious illness. However, he postponed its fulfillment for several years, being in a spiritual struggle with himself.

The decisive moment was Alexander's meeting with the ascetic Hilarion, who advised him to go to Optina Pustyn, which Grenkov did in the autumn of 1839. Elder Leo became his spiritual mentor in the monastery. Here he took monastic vows with the name Ambrose, soon becoming a hierodeacon, and later a hieromonk.

The saint's health deteriorated sharply at this time — the disease "locked" him to his cell for a long time, depriving him of the opportunity to personally participate in divine services. However, his physical infirmity only increased his spiritual influence. Ambrose devoted more and more time to people, providing support and giving wise advice that combined the depth of faith and worldly insight.

Not only commoners flocked to him, but also outstanding minds of his time — from St. Petersburg senators to Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Solovyov. The image of Ambrose formed the basis of the character of Elder Zosima in The Brothers Karamazov.

He devoted the last decade of his life to the creation of a women's monastery in Shamordin, located 12 versts from his monastery. St. Ambrose died in 1891 and was buried in Optina Pustyn.

Autumn folk signs and Orthodox traditions for the day of the Apostle James Alfeyev

Traditions of the national holiday celebrated in Russia on October 23

In Russia, Evlampius Day of the Winter Designator marked the boundary between the two seasons. Nature gradually froze, the nights became longer, the sun appeared less and less often from behind the clouds. By this time, the field work was completed, and the peasants began harvesting kindling, the simplest means of lighting their homes. Therefore, another name has been fixed for the holiday among the people — the Evlampy Lamp.

Resinous, dry and even logs were used to make the kindling. Long thin splinters about a yard long (about 71 cm) were split off from them. They were installed in special metal holders, which were placed in the hut. Thus began the cycle of winter life, illuminated by a flickering fire and warmed by the warmth of the family hearth.

The peasants believed that if a harvested splinter burns poorly and constantly goes out, then someone from outsiders "brought" evil or the evil eye into the house. To get rid of the evil energy, on October 23, a special protective ceremony was held — they bought a new knife, stuck it into the threshold and pronounced a protective spell. It was left at the entrance for ten days, and then hidden away and never used again — it was considered a talisman that "collects" all the negativity.

The holiday was also considered an auspicious time for household chores. The women were engaged in cooking and needlework, while the men were engaged in repairing equipment or any useful work that required skill and attention. According to beliefs, everything done on this day with their own hands brought harmony and prosperity to the house.

On October 23, the healers collected rue, an herb with strong magical powers. It was hung from the ceiling to protect children from evil spirits and spoilage. The plant was also used in folk medicine as an antiseptic, for example, for inflammation of the respiratory tract, stomach and skin.

On this day, young people jumped over the campfire, burning old things. The rite helped to get rid of diseases and problems. It was believed that fire cleanses, and jumping through it symbolizes the renewal and prolongation of youth.

Mothers treated sick children with the help of "living fire", conducting the ancient rite of "re-baking". To expel the disease, the baby was carefully placed three times on a shovel and brought to a warm oven, trying to "bake" him anew for health and strength.

Folk signs for October 22: what can and cannot be done on Yakov the Woodcutter's day

What not to do on the Evlampy Winter Day

In the folk tradition, Evlampia was subject to a number of prohibitions related to everyday life, the violation of which, according to beliefs, promised a lot of trouble. So, after eating, it was not allowed to leave food on the table. This could have caused the family to starve and destitute for a whole year. Special attention was paid to crumbs — they could not be swept to the floor, so as not to drive prosperity out of the house.

What else can not be done on October 23:

• Women should wear jewelry, especially expensive ones — the glitter of rings and earrings can attract evil spirits.;
• Buying clothes — it will bring trouble to the house;
• to borrow matches or a candle is a risk of "giving away" the comfort and family warmth to the occupant.;
• guessing — all predictions will turn out to be false;
• to have a wedding is a union doomed to brevity and unhappiness.

Folk signs for October 23rd

In Russia, cold matinees usually began with Evlampia. At that time, the peasants carefully observed nature in order to predict what kind of winter it would be — early or prolonged, harsh or mild.

The main signs of the day:

• If it's slushy on October 23rd, there won't be snow until November 4th.;
• there are no morning frosts yet, ready for warm weather for the next four weeks;
• The willow leaves had completely fallen off by early winter;
• A wind from the east or north will cause a cold snap soon.;
• the horns of the month are turned to the north — the winter will be fast and harsh, to the south — on the contrary, dirty, slushy and protracted.

Earlier, Izvestia reported on the traditions and signs of a special national holiday, Yakov Studenyi.