November 28 – steam will relieve diseases

November 28 in the folk calendar is Guryev’s day. There was a belief in Rus’ that from that day on, all evil spirits finally calm down and do not disturb people until Christmas time, which will begin on January 7th.

It was believed that Guriy was the protector of the family hearth, so women whose husbands were rude to them asked Guriy to return advice and love to the family.

In the evening we went to the bathhouse. According to popular beliefs, hot steam on this day helps to get rid of many existing and only possible diseases, and those who ignore bath procedures will suffer from fevers and colds all year round. Bath today is a conditional concept. You can just take a fragrant bath or hot shower. Even if the sign does not work, it certainly will not be worse.

Among the prohibitions that our ancestors tried to observe on this day were the following: you can’t clean the house in the evening, you need to put things in order before dinner – otherwise there will be no luck in business; you can’t refuse those who ask for money – to financial turmoil; spouses or loving couples should not quarrel – a quarrel threatens to drag on for a long time and can lead to a break in relations; things of the spouses cannot be washed together – to quarrels and disagreements; you can’t complain about life – you won’t get help either from people or from above.

Folk signs on November 28 are as follows:

– if the snow has already covered the ground, it will not melt until spring;

– if there is a lot of snow, next year will be fruitful;

– if the wind has risen – it will not subside until mid-December;

– if the temperature is above zero and cloudy during the day – May will be rainy.

Dreams that occurred on the night of November 28 may turn out to be prophetic, so they should be remembered.

Alena Bodrienko.

Photo from the site Kultura.rf