January section. January - studich, section, prosinets. Ancient Slavic calendar. Month names and explanations
Almost all holidays among the Slavs coincide with the cycle of life of the Earth, and therefore not only the spiritual principle is important, but also something else - familiarization with Nature, bringing into one’s life the feeling that the Earth is living matter. For thousands of years, natural calendars have served people, helping them to cultivate the land, harvest crops, hunt and fish on time. The year, divided into 12 parts, is depicted on ritual thickets, and each month corresponded to a special sign, the Annual Wheel - the Kolo Svarog - carried a special meaning, which was the eternal rebirth and renewal of all living things. But the calendar is important not only for everyday life, it is always decorated with joyful holidays.
January (Siechen, Stuzhen)
January 1 (sickness, cold) noted Morok (Frost) Day. Once upon a time, the god of severe cold Morok walked through the villages, sending severe frosts. The villagers, wanting to protect themselves from the cold, put gifts on the window: pancakes, jelly, cookies, kutya. Now Morok has turned into a kind of kind old man - Santa Claus, who distributes gifts to children. This is how it became quite recently, in the middle of the 19th century. By the way, there is a deep ritual meaning in decorating a Christmas tree: according to legend, the spirits of ancestors live in evergreens. Therefore, by decorating the tree with sweets, we bring gifts to our ancestors. This is an ancient custom. This day, like the Shchedrets that precedes it, is a family holiday.
From January 1 to January 6 (cold) are noted Veles Days or Scary, Warlike Evenings- the second part of the Great Veles Christmastide, which begins with the Day of Morok (Frost) and ends with Turitsy. Among the people, these six days are marked by rampant evil spirits. The first half of Christmastide was dedicated to the future harvest and fortune telling about marriage, and the second was associated with livestock and animals. Veles could act both in the form of a bear - the “king of the forest”, and in the form of a bull-tour - a representative of horned wealth. On Veles's Christmastide they baked ritual cookies in the form of domestic animals ("cows", "kozulki", "bagels", "horns"), dressed up in animal skins and masks, and danced in sheepskin coats turned inside out (so that evil spirits would not recognize).
January 6 (Sechenya) Slavs celebrate Winter Tours. This Ancestral holiday is dedicated to one of the totemic and most revered animals among the Slavs - Tur, the embodiment of the union of Veles and Perun. Tur is the son of Veles and Mokosha and is the patron of shepherds, guslars and buffoons, brave prowess, dancing and fun, as well as groves and forest animals. Another name for this day is Vodokres. This day ends the yuletide excesses. It's time when the Gates of Navi close, and the world of Revealing acquires its usual orderliness. About this time, the Spark of Heavenly Fire (Cross) from the Svarog Forge falls into the waters of the Earth, endowing them with miraculous properties. They also believe that at this time Veles, the Giver of Health, blesses all earthly waters, so that anyone who bathes in them on this day will be healed of all kinds of ailments. Orthodox Christians celebrated the Epiphany of the Lord (otherwise called Epiphany) on this day.
January 8th (sec.) are noted Babi Porridge. On this day, it is customary to honor midwives (now midwives) and women in labor. They were brought gifts and treats, kvass, pancakes, pies and fruits. They came with their children so that the grandmothers would bless them. It was especially recommended on this day to go to the grandmothers of expectant mothers and young girls.
January 13 (cold weather) noted Mara Winter- holy day, when the great dark mistress, the mistress of winter colds, comes into her full power. This day is considered by the people to be a “terrible” day, a dangerous day for all living things. It is not celebrated as a holiday itself, so ethnographic information about it is extremely scarce. So, it is known that this day is one of the most “unlucky” days of the year. This is due to the fact that, according to popular beliefs, at this time the Fever, or Shaking Sisters, daughters of Mara, who live in the dark dungeons of the world of Navi, are being “released”. At night on this day, porridge, milk and bread are left on the table for Domovoy, with a request for well-being. If Likho has “settled” in the house, they turn to Domovoy for help.
January 21 (cold), according to folk legends Prosinets- a holiday of the rebirth of the Sun, which is celebrated with the blessing of water. On this day, the Slavs bathed in cold river water and held grand feasts, which certainly had to include milk and dairy products. They glorify Heavenly Svarga - the world of all Gods.
January 28 (cold weather)- the day of honoring the House Master, who is also popularly called "Kudesami." If you don’t honor the Brownie on this day, he may become “offended” and stop helping his household; the grandfather-next-door may turn from a kind keeper of the hearth into a rather dashing spirit. Then everything in the house can go to waste: the owners will lose the desire to work, illnesses will appear, troubles and misfortunes will pile up, and the economy will fall into decay. After all, the Brownie is the Ancestral guardian spirit, the spirit of the Ancestors, by insulting which a person cuts off the roots of his Ancestral Tree. To honor the Brownie, after dinner a pot of porridge is left for him on the table, which is covered with hot coals so that the porridge does not cool down until midnight, when he comes from under the stove for dinner. Since then he has been peaceful all year round.
The word “calendar” goes back to the Latin “calendae” (the first day of the month), and it, in turn, to the verb “calare”, which means “to call out”: in Ancient Rome the duty of the chief priest was to loudly proclaim the first day of each new month. In general, calendars were created to measure time, the periodicity of natural phenomena, seasons and holidays. I will try to create a “bell calendar”, where the bells will reflect the main holidays of the month, folk festivals, traditions, symbolism and the beauty of nature.
Open the calendar -
January begins.
In January, in January
There is a lot of snow in the yard.
Snow - on the roof, on the porch.
The sun is in the blue sky.
The stoves are heated in our house,
Smoke rises into the sky in a column.
(S. Marshak)
Famous sayings and signs in January:
The month of January is the sovereign of winter;
January puts on a sheepskin coat to the toes, paints cunning patterns on the windows;
January - spring grandfather;
If the echo goes far in January, the frosts become stronger;
If it's March in January, be afraid of January in March.
January - prosinets, the turning point of winter, winter break.
January weather
January is the beginning of the year, the middle of winter. The month of January received its name in honor of the Roman god Janus - the deity of the sky and sunlight, symbolizing the beginning and end, entrance and exit, past and future. He opened the gates of heaven, releasing the sun into the sky, and at night he closed them again. According to legend, Janus taught people crafts, agriculture and time calculation. This pedantic god kept count of days, months and years: on the fingers of his right hand the number 300 (CCS) was inscribed, and on the left 65 (LXV), which gave a total of 365 - the total number of days in the year.
Author's work "Winter's Tale" from the Veliky Ustyug Toy Museum
The Saxons called the first month of the year the month of the wolf. And the Slavs gave different names - snowman, prosinets, iceman. The name “prosinets” comes from the ancient Russian word “sin” - light, bright, red. January was also called “cut” - it cuts the winter in half. January is crackling - “fierce”, “crackling”, “snowman”. And the sun turns from January to summer. According to popular belief, it, dressed in a bright sundress and kokoshnik, rides out and directs its horses onto the summer road.
Father Frost
In nature, January is the very middle of winter, the time of severe cold. Frost and wind chill all living things, drive animals into holes and lairs; In January there is snow everywhere, rivers freeze, trees are covered with frost, winter comes into its own. Despite the severe frosts, people affectionately call this time “winter-winter.”
Snow Maiden. Larisa Nagurnaya
“Russian snowy winters are good and clean. Deep snowdrifts sparkle in the sun. Large and small rivers disappeared under the ice. On a frosty, quiet morning, smoke rises into the sky in pillars over the roofs of village houses. Under a snow coat, the earth is resting, gaining strength.... And how beautiful is the winter dawn, the morning dawn, when snow-covered fields and hillocks are illuminated by the golden rays of the rising sun and the dazzling whiteness sparkles! The Russian winter is extraordinary, bright winter days, moonlit nights!..,” this is how I.S. describes. Sokolov-Mikitov Russian winter.
Christmas tree
January holidays are the most long-awaited and most fun of the year. New Year is one of the most important events of the year. Previously, on the first day of the year, farmers tried to find out about the nature of the following months, about the harvest, about the fate of themselves and their loved ones.
Christmas Eve. Elena Lapteva
The most important symbols of this holiday are Father Frost, Snow Maiden and the New Year tree. Since ancient times, Santa Claus was simply a spirit of cold. People did not expect gifts from him, but brought them themselves - they threw cakes with meat over the threshold of their homes to appease Frost. In the West, this wizard was called Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus. And only towards the end of the 19th century a different idea of Grandfather Frost emerges, who congratulates, gifts and caresses children. The Snow Maiden is a positive image that appeared in ancient times. But this folklore character was poeticized by A.N. Ostrovsky in his famous spring fairy tale. Having melted with love in the spring, the Snow Maiden began her life in literature and art.
Christmas
Eve or Christmas Eve, or rather the evening before Christmas, got its name from the ritual food - sochiva, i.e. grain porridge. Although this day seems to be a holiday, feasts were not accepted; the rule “you can’t do it until the first star” makes you not only remember the Star of Bethlehem, but also look forward to it.
Merry Christmas. N. Minkova
According to popular beliefs, on the eve of the Nativity of Christ, miracles occur in nature. On Christmas Eve, trees seem to begin to move from place to place, or even bloom for a moment in the bitterest frost, livestock can speak to their owners in a human voice, water in a well may well turn into wine, and flooded temples suddenly rise from the bottom of lakes and monasteries, and the ringing of their bell towers can be heard.
Goat (carols). L. Ostroverkhova
The birthday of God's son is the favorite Christian holiday in January. All-night services in churches, fun, feasting, gifts, noisy games are mandatory attributes of Christmas. In peasant huts, Christmas trees were not decorated; this tradition existed only in wealthy houses, mostly urban. But all the children received gifts, and even the poorest poor man tried to please his kids with at least a gingerbread.
Baptism. Oksana Shafieva
Christmastide will last for two whole weeks after Christmas until Epiphany - the longest holiday in the peasant calendar, a time of cheerful fun, games in the fresh air, caroling and fortune-telling. Carols or winter Christmas songs are found not only in the folklore of Slavic, but also European peoples; the name itself goes back to the Greco-Roman New Year holiday calendae. Initially, these songs had a magical meaning: the glorification of the owner of the house and his family members was supposed to evoke wealth, harvest and offspring with the help of verbal images. It was believed that the more carolers who came into the house, the better. In gratitude for the good news about the birth of Christ, the renewal of the world, it was customary to give treats from the festive table.
Winter-winter. Lakeeva
Mummering is an element of folk holidays, ritual and playful dressing up using masks. The world of Russian mummers' characters was quite diverse: they could portray various animals and birds, a lady, a gypsy, beggars, kikimora, witches, the devil, etc. The background music and noise consisted of the ringing of bells, bells, and the knocking of spoons.
Christmastide ends with Epiphany; the main event of this holiday was the blessing of water. In addition to swimming in the ice hole, bridesmaids were organized on this day: dressed up girls lined up near the ice hole, and the boys chose brides for themselves.
By magic. S. Sheronova
On long winter January evenings, it’s time to tell stories and fairy tales. We remembered the fairy tale about Emelya and the pike, Morozko and the Snow Maiden.
Morozko. Khokhlova
Snow Maiden. O. Guseva
The Catholic Christmas week ends with the feast of the Three Kings or Wise Men. The content of the holiday is a church legend about the worship of the baby Jesus by the pagan kings - the magicians Caspar, Melchior and Belshazzar, who came with gifts to Bethlehem.
Feast of the Three Kings
The traditional flower of January in England is the carnation. She personifies love and admiration, purity and freshness.
January girl. Marjorie Sarnat
Sources:
I.I. Shangina. Russian traditional holidays. – St. Petersburg: ABC-classics, 2008. -336 p.
Big book about nature: Poems, stories, riddles, signs, proverbs / Artist. V. Dugin. – M.: Bustard-Plus, 2008. – 208 p.
All year round. Russian agricultural calendar. - M: “Pravda”, 1989. – 496 p.
Discovery magazine No. 1, 2011.
http://retroman.ru/origin-of-month-names.html
http://origin.iknowit.ru/paper1133.html
http://rudocs.exdat.com/docs/index-359439.html#10846391
http://www.razumniki.ru/korotkie_rasskazy_pro_zimu.html
This is a holiday dedicated to the month, which on the 9th day after Kolyada transfers the Sun-Sivoyar to Other, so that the new Sun-God may reign in the world. In honor of the Month of Veles, dumplings, a ritual dish of the New Year, are prepared. Boys and unmarried young men sow at home, marking the birth of a new life, while a ritual prayer is said:
I sow sow and sow. Happy New Year. Sow and be born live-wheat, live-wheat, all arable land. For happiness, good health, much for the Master, the hostess, and the entire White World!
New Year is the holiday of the birth of a new month or the holiday of Vasily. This ancient Slavic name is associated with the month and Varna Vesey, that is, peasants who, according to Ori mythology, were formed from the womb of the first man - the World. This is where the words “whole” (village), “all” come from.
The ritual dish of the New Year is dumplings. Ears of the month
For 1 kg of dough you need: 600 g flour, 3 eggs, 40 g melted butter, 250 g sugar, 10 g salt. Types of filling: stewed cabbage, cottage cheese mashed with yolk, butter and sugar, boiled potatoes with fried onions and mushrooms (per 100 g of dough - 110-115 g of filling).
Pour milk into the sifted flour, add eggs, salt, sugar, pour in melted butter (you can use fresh milk) and knead the dough of medium thickness. Roll out the prepared dough into a layer 1-1.5 mm thick. Using a glass, cut out circles. Place the filling on each circle and pinch the edges of the dumpling to form a month. Place the prepared dumplings in a large amount of salted boiling water and cook for 5-6 minutes until they float to the surface. Fry in oil with onions, pour it over the prepared dumplings and serve. Pour sour cream into a separate bowl.
It should also be noted that on New Year’s Day the yard is plowed with a plow - the owner of the house symbolically walks around the house with a plow. This symbolizes the descent of Divine power onto the earth and its fertilization for the new birth of the harvest. Before Christmas, the “old sun” seemed to have died, and on the ninth day (January 1) it set off in a moon boat along the river (the passage of time is “year”) to Paradise, that is, a funeral took place (Hore - God of the month among the Slavs, Charon - carrier of the dead across the river of death among the Greeks). We can consider the time when the boat went to Eternity as a reference. According to our Slavic custom, the funeral was accompanied by sowing for “eternal life,” because a funeral is not death, but a transition to another life. Therefore, on New Year's Day, people sow their homes for Wealth and Goodness, despite the fact that it is winter outside.
Seeding
The boys go home to sow seeds before sunrise. They put mixtures of grains (rye, wheat, peas, millet, etc.) into a bag or mitten and in each house they shower the owner and the house with these grains, saying:
For happiness, for health, for a new summer;
Give birth, O God, rye-wheat, and all arable land;
Good afternoon, Happy New Year and be healthy;
I sow, weed, I sow, I congratulate you on the New Year;
Sow, be born rye-wheat and all arable land.
Happy New Year and be healthy!
The chief sower is invited to sit down, saying:
“Sit down with us and sit, so that everything sits well with us: the chickens, and the geese, and the ducks, and the swarms, and the elders.”
During sowing, girls and boys catch grains and guess from them: if the number of grains turns out to be in pairs, then there will be a wedding this year, and vice versa. The grain that was sown is carefully collected by the owners and stored until sowing, and then thrown into the ground with other seeds. Some of them are also given to chickens to help them lay eggs better.
The owners themselves go to wish the local sorcerer a Happy New Year and, instead of mixed grain, bring him a bag of buckwheat, oats, wheat, etc. Returning from the temple, the owner fumes the house with thyme, and then the family sits down to dinner.
If children sow at dawn, then after the service adults also do this when visiting friends. friend. At the same time, there was one difference - they do not sow the house with grain, but sprinkle it on the owners, saying:
Sow, be born rye-wheat, all arable land,
For happiness, for health, for the New Year,
To give birth better than last year
Hemp to the ceiling, and flax to the knee,
So that you, the grandchildren of Dazhbozhy, don’t have a headache.
Be healthy. Happy New Year. God grant!
During the New Year's day, groups of young people walk around the village in disguise. Among them there must be Vasily, Melanka, grandfather, woman, etc. They take with them a goat, a horse, a plow or ralo, a sickle and a stick. Entering the yard, they do the New Year's sowing: they plow and sow the snow, and then drag it. Having entered the house, they perform a variety of playful actions: they sprinkle water on those gathered, paint the chimney, smear clay on household items, “talk” to the stove, sweep the floor “inside out,” make “quarrels” and “peace settlements,” and in the end they demand refreshments. The purpose of these actions is to deceive evil forces and attract Wealth to the house.
Holy evening. Hungry Kutia
On the eve of the Blessing of the Waters, Christmas Eve is celebrated - Hungry Kutya. Just like on Bogataya Kutya, only Lenten dishes are prepared, but in smaller quantities.
In the evening, a service is held in the temples and the “evening water” is blessed, which is also considered useful against any misfortune. Returning from the temple, the owner takes a bunch of ears of corn or medicinal herbs and sprinkles the house with sacred water.
On the eve of the Blessing of the Waters, one must remain in strict fasting; a hungry kutia is being prepared.
During this period, the Sun is closest to the Earth and begins to rage and fill with youthful strength. At this moment it influences the water - Dana, filling it with divine power. Therefore, the Blessing of Waters is also called Yar-Dana. In the morning, people go to reservoirs to stock up on holy water for the whole year, which at this time has miraculous healing powers. On a river or pond, an equilateral cross or a circle-hole is cut out of ice, which symbolize the Sun. Next to the cross there is a throne made of ice entwined with pine branches - the so-called “heavenly gate”.
Magi and priests consecrate Yar-Dan water. People, having taken consecrated water, wash their eyes so that they can see well, their ears so that they can hear well (and only good words), their forehead so that their head can be wise, and at home they wipe their body so that they can be as healthy as water. The brave souls swim in the ice hole, knowing that they will not get sick for a whole year and will be blessed.
The water collected at the Blessing of Waters is used for various diseases - they wash sore spots, sprinkle houses and households. In every house throughout the year, under the images there had to be a bottle of consecrated water, which, if consecrated according to all the rules, could stand for a whole year without spoiling.
On a river or pond, an equilateral cross or a circle-hole is cut out of ice, which symbolizes the Sun. Next to the cross there is a throne, also made of ice and entwined with pine branches - the so-called “heavenly gate”.
From the church where the service took place, people carry banners and flags. After the service on the river, the pigeons they brought with them are released, and the hunters salute with their guns. People draw water from the ice hole carefully so as not to fall. Having collected consecrated water, people wash their eyes here so that they can see well, their ears so that they can hear well (and only good words), their forehead so that their head can be wise, and at home they wipe their body so that they can be as healthy as water. The brave souls swim in the ice hole, knowing that they will not get sick for a whole year and will be blessed.
Prayer for God's grace Said before diving into the hole
The path of the Orthodox Faith-Veda
I believe in the Most High Family - the One and Many-Faced God, the source of all that exists and bears, which is an Eternal treasure for all Gods.
I know that the Universe is a Genus, and all the many-named Gods are united in it.
I believe in the trinity of existence of Rule, Reveal and Navi, and that Rule is the Truth, and it was retold to the Fathers Our forefathers.
I know that Prava is with us, and we are not afraid of Navi, for Navi has no power against us.
I believe in unity with the Native Gods, because Dajbozh’s grandchildren we are the favorites of the Gods. And the Gods keep their right hands on our rallies.
I know that life in the Great Family is eternal, and we must take care of the eternal, walking the paths of Rule.
I believe in the power and wisdom of the Ancestors who are born among us, leading us to good through our Guides.
I know that strength lies in the unity of the Slavic-Orian Clans, and that we will become glorious by glorifying the Native Gods.
Glory to the Most High Family, Gods and Ancestors!
Dana- Goddess of Water, Mother Voditsa, the primordial water Dyva, cosmic water, manifests itself in reality in all bodies of water and
rivers, the feminine principle of the world. Dana is young Lada, she comes to us along with fire and light during the birth of the Universe by the Goddess Lada. It is the basis of physical health and beauty. The Gods bequeathed water to sanctify Dana - this is the wife of Dazhdbog and his opposite. Dana and Dazhdbog are Lelya and Polel, children of the Great Mother Lada. We know that water is also multi-manifest and, like the Sun-Dazhdbog, resides in four states throughout the year. The wedding of Dana and Dazhdbog is celebrated by the Gods and the whole world on Kupala.
The tree of the Goddess Dana is the linden tree, the day for glorification is January 6, as well as every Friday. They glorify Dana near healing springs, before they are cleaned and decorated with ribbons, images are sharpened and idols are placed. There should always be vessels at springs and wells so that the traveler can drink. The water of Dana not only cleanses and sanctifies, hence it is called right, living and dead, it also washes the evergreen tree of Rod. Dana is often called by young girls, trying to find a loved one, they also call her at Glorifications, so that she can purify and sanctify their bodies and souls.
Dana is mentioned in ancient folk choruses: “Oh Dana, Dana,” “Shidi-ridi, Dana.” The name of the Goddess of Water is also indicated by the names of many of our rivers: Don, Danube, Dnieper, Dniester, Desna, Dvina. The goddess Dana was also revered by the Celts and Indo-Aryans. Hindus still have temples dedicated to the goddess Danu (at lakes Batur and Bratan in Indonesia), who is considered the embodiment of primeval waters.
Prayer-Praise to Dana
Dana the Maiden, Holy Water! You flow with milky rivers and fertile rains, you saturate the Earth, you please the Sun, you release rays from behind the cold clouds. The ant grass grows tall, the spring wheat grows rich. We sing Glory to You with all our Family, we let the loaf of bread flow into the holy river. Receive him, Dana, a week early from the Orthodox Family, from the Life-Manifested World. Your holy water, Young Dana, Your happy water, Our beautiful Virgin. They did not seethe with floods, hail, or dark waters, but only with rich rains and murmuring streams, from which the harvests grow and our bins are filled with bread. Bless, Dana, show us your will. Glory to Mother Dana!
Ritual dish - crucian carp or just river fish
Fish on this day is considered a direct manifestation of the Almighty, therefore all Slavs, regardless of the level of spiritual dedication, use it to sanctify their body and unity with God.
2 large crucian carp, 1 onion, 6-8 salted or pickled mushrooms, a pinch of salt and ground black pepper, 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil.
Clean the crucian carp, gut it, remove the gills, but do not cut off the heads. Rinse well in cold water and pat dry. Then rub with salt, sprinkle with pepper and stuff with chopped mushrooms and fried onions.
Place the fish in a deep frying pan generously greased with sunflower oil. Lubricate the crucian carp with oil too. Bake in the oven or oven at medium temperature until done, carefully turning occasionally.
Dedications
A kind of transitional day between entertainment and everyday chores is the dedication, which falls on the second day after the Blessing of the Waters. On this day, they take bread and salt out of the house, which lie in Pokutya from Bogata Kutya, and, breaking it into pieces, feed the animals. They do the same with hay.
On this day the Christmas holidays come to an end. People don’t work, they gather for the last vespers, where they say goodbye to Christmastide.
The beginning of the week, when it is customary to guess the future, the middle of the calendar winter - the conditional plunge of the world into darkness, Nav - where the past and the future intersect. Fortune-telling rituals based on the weather, birds and animals are carried out. This week you should pay attention to your spiritual life, think about your purpose and its best fulfillment.
Fortune telling for the future, the Magi's appeal to the Other World. The Magi perform the holy sacraments. The holiday is held only by Spiritual Guides.
The Old Slavonic name for January is sechen, which is also what it is called in Ukrainian. And in the modern Belarusian language the name of the month is studzen. The last name does not require explanation, but the section, experts believe, comes from the word “sech” - to cut down the forest. To prepare areas for crops, forests were cut down in winter. There is another explanation: January “cuts” the winter in half.
The gloomy days of December are over, the thaw is over, and real winter has arrived. True, even in January there are mild winters in our area, and the frequency of such winters in each century is very variable. Scientists have calculated that over the past millennium there has been a slow decline in the average annual air temperature in the northern hemisphere. They call these years the Little Ice Age. Since the mid-20th century, scientists have noted warming, which, according to them, “proceeded at an unprecedented rate,” and over a century (by 1998) the average annual temperature increased by one degree. The increase in temperature can be explained by the beginning of the melting of glaciers and the increase in the number of mild winters with thaws in January.
Phenologists classify the entire month of January as the “root winter” subseason. However, people said that no matter what, since the New Year, winter has turned to spring. Another popular name for January is Prosinets. This name refers to the decrease in the number of days with cloudy skies and the more frequent occurrence of clear or partly cloudy days when blue skies are visible. Remember the lines: “Frost and sun! Wonderful day! This is about January. There are only four or five more clear days per month, but this is already noticeable. January is our coldest month of the year. The average air temperature in January in the north of the region, in the Leningrad, Novgorod and Pskov regions, is from minus 7.5 to 8.7 degrees. In the central zone and in the south from 9.4 to 10.6 below zero. The coldest January is in the Vladimir region. There, the average monthly temperature is minus 11.2 degrees.
The coldest January in Moscow was recorded in 1940. Then at the meteorological station at the All-Russian Agricultural Exhibition the thermometer dropped to minus 43 degrees. This record-breaking frost for Moscow remains in my memory as such an episode. That winter we lived near Moscow, where my mother worked. The school where I studied was in a nearby village on the shore of the Uchinskoye reservoir. Due to severe frost, the school was closed. Glad that I didn’t have to go to school, I dressed warmly and went skiing. But not even half an hour had passed before I was forced to return - and not because I was cold, I was dressed warmly - the skis did not work. The snow was somehow unfamiliar, grainy, like cereal. And the skis refused to roll even down the hill, although before the frost it was our favorite hill. Of course, I heard about special ointments for different types of snow, but I learned to use them much later.
In that year 1940, a record frost for the Central region was recorded in Kalinin (now Tver). There the temperature reached minus 50 degrees. And yet, January is not only frosts, there were also warm Januarys, when the air temperature rose to plus 5-6, and in Pskov and Vladimir even up to 7 degrees. In Moscow, the absolute maximum of plus 6 degrees was recorded in 1976. In almost all regions of the Central region, the coldest period is the third ten days of January. In January, snow cover continues to grow. In the last ten days of the month in the Leningrad, Novgorod, Pskov and Tver regions, its height reaches an average of 19-25 cm. In the Yaroslavl, Moscow and Vladimir regions there is more snow - the snow cover height is 28-35 cm, and in the southern regions it is about 18 cm. In snowy winters, already in the first ten days the height of the snow cover can exceed 40 cm, and in the last ten days - above 50 cm. The record holder is Novgorod, where in January the snow height was 88 cm. But there have been years when in some areas, including northern regions, there is no snow at all in January.
Midwinter. Everything in the forest is dormant, waiting for spring. Deciduous trees are bare. Pine and spruce trees are covered with fancy snow caps. Only traces of wintering animals enliven the picture of the winter forest, and not the black grouse and hazel grouse flying south. Of the yard birds familiar to our eyes, only sparrows remain to spend the winter with us, while all the rest, including crows and jackdaws, migrate to us from more northern regions.
In January, licensed hunting for ungulates and fur-bearing animals continues. Fans of ice fishing, as a rule, note a decline in biting activity. There are years when the decline in activity is so great that the dead winter begins already in January.
Gardeners and gardeners in our region in January prepare the soil stored in the fall for seedlings and check the seeds for germination. At the end of the month, those who are especially impatient sow seeds of peppers and early tomatoes, so that at the end of April - beginning of May, at the age of about 60 days, they can be planted in greenhouses.
January is the middle of winter, and grain growers are already wondering what spring will be like, what summer will be like. No wonder people say: “After winter comes summer.” It has been noted that “winter warmth means summer cold,” “if it’s dry and cold in winter, it’s dry and hot in summer.” Snowy winter means a long spring and rainy summer. It has been noticed that frosts occur on certain days in January. Thus, frosts at Christmas (01/7), Epiphany (01/19), and Afanasyevsky (01/31) are well known. To find out which grain would produce better next year, before Christmas they stuck spikelets of different grains into a snowdrift along the ravines. The next morning they looked: which spikelet is covered with frost, that grain will be fruitful in the coming year. We noticed that if on Vasily’s Day (14.01) there is severe frost and light snow, it means a good summer, and if it is warm and there is no snow, it means a cold summer. If on Epiphany (19.01) the weather is clear and cold, it means a dry summer; cloudy and snowy - for a bountiful harvest. If on Emelyan (21.01) the wind is from the south, the summer is threatening. If frost falls on the stacks on Grigory (January 23), expect a damp and cold summer. If Fedoseyev Day (January 24) turns out to be warm, then expect early spring. If the sun shines on Tatiana's day (January 25), it means early arrival of birds. If it’s warm on Anthony the winter-winter (January 30), don’t believe it, it’s only for one day, Afanasyevsky frosts are ahead.