Folk signs for January 24: what can and cannot be done
In Russia, signs and beliefs were given special importance. They were used to determine when to sow and harvest, when to prepare for winter, get married and go on a trip. Every day of the national calendar was full of rituals and superstitions. Izvestia tells about the signs for January 24 and the church holidays that fall on this date.
Folk signs for January 24, 2026
In the national calendar, January 24 is called "Fedosey Day", or "Fedosey Vesnyak". This day was considered an important milestone when winter shows its temper, and people begin to prepare for the arrival of spring. To speed up the return of the warmer months, there was a special ceremony: a large wheel, a symbol of the sun and fertility, was rolled along the main village street. They believed that it would help to overcome the frosts.
On the holiday, the ancestors heated the stoves hotly, paying homage to St. Theodosius, the patron saint of the hearth. Families gathered around the table for a tea party with honey and summer jam, which, according to legend, protected against colds. The main festive treat was a pie with greens — they didn't cut it, but broke it with their hands so as not to accidentally "cut" luck and health. In the evening, the sauna was supposed to be heated to wash away winter fatigue and resentment.
On Fedoseyev Day, the ancestors paid attention to various signs. They believed that the weather on the holiday could predict the nature of the coming spring. If there was a thaw on January 24, they understood that spring would come early, but it would be rainy. Frost, on the other hand, promised a long and cold winter.
Other signs of the day
- icicles on the roofs — February will be warm;
- snowfall leads to frosts in the coming days;
- fog and a lot of water in the ice hole — rivers will overflow in the spring.;
- rare clouds — frosts will intensify;
- A bird knocked on the window — good news;
- The sheep huddle together and bleat loudly — the weather will soon turn bad.
What not to do on January 24th
A number of strict prohibitions were associated with Fedoseyev's Day, based on beliefs about the protection of family, health and well-being. On the holiday, no one was denied help — any request was considered a "test of mercy", an indifferent person, according to beliefs, could lose his wealth.
What else can not be done on January 24th
- Using sharp objects (knives, needles) can cause injury.;
- hypothermia — after that you can get very sick.;
- To lend or borrow money is at risk of incurring prolonged hardship on oneself and the family.;
- moving to a new place of residence can lead to loss of peace;
- Appearing untidy in public is a recipe for failure;
- letting other people's cats into the yard can bring other people's troubles with them.
What is the church holiday on January 24th?
On January 24, the Orthodox Church honors the memory of St. Theodosius the Great, who lived in the fifth and fourth centuries. He was born in Cappadocia and was raised in the spirit of Christian piety. Striving to become a hermit, he went into the desert and lived for more than 30 years in a cave, in which, according to legend, the magi spent the night, who came to worship the newborn Christ. Gradually, the brethren gathered around the ascetic. Then Theodosius went back to the desert with a cold censer in his hands. In one place, the coals in the censer flared up — there the monk founded the first cenobitic monastery in Palestine, or lavra.
The saint established hospitals, hospices, and shelters for the elderly at the monastery. He courageously fought against the heresy of Eutychius, for which he was imprisoned. The Monk Theodosius was granted the gift of miracles and died peacefully in 529 at the age of 105.
Also on January 24, believers honor the memory of St. Mikhail Klopsky, a relative of Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy, who chose the path of foolishness. According to legend, one day he mysteriously ended up in the Klopsky monastery near Novgorod. The saint refused to answer the questions of the brethren about his name and origin and remained at the monastery. There he sang in the choir, read the Apostle, and during the meal read the lives of the saints. The mystery of the holy fool's origin was revealed when Prince Konstantin Dimitrievich (son of Dimitri Donskoy), who came to the monastery for service, recognized his relative Mikhail Maximovich in him.
Mikhail lived in the Bug monastery for 44 years. For his spiritual exploits, he was awarded the gift of clairvoyance and miracle-working. The saint predicted the birth of Grand Duke John III and his capture of Novgorod. Through his prayer, during the famine, the bread supplies in the monastery did not run out, and a spring appeared in a sandy place. The monk peacefully departed to the Lord around 1456.
Prayers for January 24th
Orthodox believers pray to St. Theodosius the Great on January 24. He is asked to establish peace in the family, to guide the lost and strengthen faith. Also on this day, they pray to St. Michael of Klopsk. He is approached with requests for healing from ailments, getting rid of adversity, consolation from sorrows, protection of widows and travelers.
Prayer to St. Theodosius the Great
"O holy head, Venerable Father, Most Blessed Abbot Theodosius, do not forget your poor to the end, but always remember us in holy and auspicious prayers to God: remember your flock, which you have saved yourself, and do not forget to visit your children. Pray for us, holy Father, for your spiritual children, for you have Boldness to the Heavenly King: do not be silent for us to the Lord, and do not despise us who honor you with faith and love: remember us unworthy at the Throne of the Almighty, and do not stop praying for us to Christ God, for you have been given the grace to pray for us. We don't think you're dead.: For though you have passed away from us in body, but you are still alive after death, do not depart from us in spirit, preserving us from the arrows of the enemy and all the charms of demons and the machinations of the devil, our good shepherd. For even though your relics of cancer are always visible before our eyes, your holy soul, with angelic hosts, fleshless faces, and heavenly powers, stands at the throne of the Almighty, rejoicing worthily, leading you in truth and being alive after death, we fall down and pray to you: pray for us to Almighty God, for For the benefit of our souls, and grant us time for repentance, so that we may safely pass from earth to heaven, and may we be delivered from bitter ordeals, demons of the air, and eternal torment, and may we be heiresses of the heavenly Kingdom with all the righteous who have pleased our Lord Jesus Christ from the beginning.: To Him belongs all glory, honor, and worship, together with His Beginningless Father, and with His All-holy, Good, and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen to that."
Prayer to St. Michael of Klopsk
"Oh, Holy and Priblizhennoe our father Michael, are you willing hard of chustvovat in the trail of our Lord Jesus Christ, the whole carnal sophistry rejected thou: are you his own country, race and temporary terrestrial nobility and the Kingdom the legacy leaving, monasticism and the fool-the way to salvation and to the heritage of the Kingdom of Heaven has predispos thou: cometh divine in this very monastery of the Holy Trinity, in it trudolyubie and godly podvidaca, according to the dispensation premnogu her helped speed up thou: and from all evils, from famine, vrajeala finding and fire zapalenia, and every evil judges preserving and protecting living in it, and her flowing the way of the Lord instructed thou: you and now our most Holy Trinity with all saints standing and continually nazywana of view of the Godhead Travelago, remember, we pray thee, honor your Holy memory: not Premacy, Saint of Christ to the Lord molyasya, He, by His grace prioninae attracted to you, and the power of your lips, and I kissed my heart safe and sound will retain and from every misfortune will releases, submitting travelling in the path logopedista, health of the sick, comfort the sad, orphaned, the widows and all apathemy speedy intercession and assistance from Vraja slander solid fence to protect: not presti same molyasya and for Our our country, like yeah, your intercession and prayers sahrastani, all will be possible feat currents nebesnoe sovershite, glorifying the Holy Trinity, of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy spirit, and your intercession, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen to that."
Earlier, Izvestia reported on the signs of the national holiday of Grigory Letoukazatel.
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