What can and cannot be done on the Orthodox holiday of December 24 – read on .

Danylo was born in the 5th century by the prayers of his mother, who had been unable to give birth to a child for a long time. When he was 5 years old, his parents wanted to send him to a monastery, but the abbot refused. Having reached the age of twelve, Danylo himself became a monk. The hard monastic life did not satisfy the boy, he was looking for great feats. Having learned that Saint Simeon worked on the pillar, Daniel went to him and received a blessing for his exploits.

Daniel lived for nine years in an abandoned pagan temple, and once he was given a vision of a pillar. The saint considered it a sign of God, erected a pillar and struggled on it. Endured many trials, as a result, received from the Lord the gift of clairvoyance and miracle-working, gave many prophecies. He died in 91 years.

The Orthodox holiday of December 24 is the day of memory of Nikon Pecherskyi

Nikon Sukhy lived at the end of the 11th – the beginning of the 12th century, he came from a family of noble and rich Kyivans. In 1096, when there was an attack by the Polovtsy on Kyiv, he, along with other monastic families of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Wealthy Kyivans wanted to buy out their relatives, but Nikon refused.

He decided that the Lord liked his sufferings and steadfastly endured all the torments that the Polovtsians brought to him. For three years, Nikon was tortured by hunger, thirst and violence. As a result, he dried up due to bleeding from torture in captivity – hence the nickname “Dry”.

Signs of December 24

Folk signs today / photo (Andrii Horb)

• how much snow on Nikon – how much grass there will be in the spring;
• magpies kick loudly – soon it will get cold;
• squirrels huddle in one hollow – expect severe frosts;
• crows circle and cannot find a place – a storm is coming.

What can’t be done today

Our ancestors believed that during the whole day it is better not to go anywhere without a special need. It is also better to go to bed as early as possible, otherwise dark forces will torment a person at night.

What can be done on December 24

On this day, Orthodox believers can pray to the saints for health and well-being. On this date, the Slavs performed rituals and protected themselves from evil spirits. For example, people hid brooms in a closet, and took them out only in the morning, having made the sign of the cross on them three times.