November 14, 2023 – Kuzminki: Traditions and signs

On November 14, Orthodox churches honor the memory of two brothers, the unmercenary saints Cosmas and Damian. In the folk calendar – Kuzminki. The old style date is November 1. Public news service I found out what traditions and signs fall on November 14, 2023 in Kuzminki.

Date history

Cosmas and Damian lived in the second half of the 3rd – early 4th centuries. At a young age, the boys lost their father, so they were raised by their mother, Saint Theodotia. She instilled in her sons piety, peacefulness and a desire for knowledge. Therefore, having matured, Cosma and Damian studied medicine. For their righteous lifestyle, the Lord gave them the ability to heal sick people. The young men treated everyone and did not take money for their work, for this they were called unmercenary.

Traditions

In Rus’, the day was nicknamed Kuzminki because today they once again said goodbye to autumn and welcomed winter. “Kuzminki is the wake of autumn,” they said in the old days. In some areas, autumn is traditionally a time from second Savior to Kuzminki.

Saints Kuzma (Cosma) and Demyan (Damian) were greatly revered in Rus’. They were called the guardians of the family hearth and patrons of all artisans and crafts, mainly blacksmithing and women’s handicrafts.

Also today the last weddings were completed – forging the happiness of the newlyweds. From that day on, housewives sat down to sewing, spun wool, and then made it into warm socks, scarves, and bedspreads for the winter.

Kuzminki was also celebrated by young people. Young beautiful girls gathered in one hut, set a sumptuous table, and invited single and prominent guys. The obligatory dish that day was hearty porridge. Acquaintances and cheerful conversations continued until late in the evening, and then, at dawn, the young people set out to steal neighbor’s chickens.

On this day, chickens celebrated their name day. So, the rich sent chickens to their relatives. Peasant women brought birds as gifts to the boyars, and they in return presented them with ribbons. It was customary to keep such chickens in high esteem. They were fed with selected barley, and killing birds was strictly prohibited. The eggs they laid were considered a medicine that healed diseases, so they simply did not eat them.

Signs

• If snow falls on Kuzminki, there will be a big flood in the spring.
• If the day is warm, don’t expect a cold winter.
• If the roads are muddy, then frosts will not begin until December.
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• Chickens do not hide from the rain – the precipitation will be long.
• The rooster stands on one leg – frost will soon hit.

Name day

Name days on November 14th are celebrated by: Adrian, Alexander, David, Denis, Dmitry, Elizaveta, Ivan, Kuzma, Peter, Sergey, Ulyana, Fedor, Yakov.

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