Church holiday September 25, 2026: Artamon Zmeevik - signs, traditions and prohibitions

Church significance of the date

On September 25, according to the new style (September 12 according to the old), the Church celebrates the feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God - the last day of the feast of one of the main Mother of God celebrations. On the same day is remembered the Hieromartyr Autonomy, Bishop of Italy, who accepted a martyr’s death for his faith in 313.

Saint Autonomy lived in the fourth century and served as a bishop in Italy. He converted many pagans to Christianity, built and consecrated a temple. During the persecution of the emperor Diocletian, Autonomy had to hide, but he continued to preach. Once converted Christians destroyed the pagan temple, and angry pagans attacked the temple, where they killed the saint during the service.

Since September 25, 2026 falls on a Friday, the day is lean.

Folk traditions

In Russia, Saint Avtonom was called Artamon the Serpent. It was believed that on this day the snakes last crawl to the surface, and then go into forests and burrows until spring. The people said: “Artamon the last time the serpent let go, and then shuts them in the depths of the earth to the castle.”.

Peasants believed that by September 25, snakes became especially aggressive before wintering, so they tried not to go into the forest unnecessarily. If a hike in the thicket was necessary, wear high shoes to protect against bites.

Collecting a tree is one of the main traditions of the day. After the first frosts, the berries lost bitterness and were considered especially healing. From the ash, jam was boiled, fruit drinks, kvass and tinctures were made, and part of the harvest was left on trees for birds. The ash was treated with care: it was considered a home amulet, branches with clusters were hung at the entrance to the house to protect against the evil eye.

For hunters, the day opened the autumn fishing season. It was considered a special luck to get a hare - this promised success for the whole autumn and full winter.

There was also an unusual ritual: if the wintering place of snakes was known, raw eggs or milk were put there. If the offering disappeared, the family waited for a prosperous year.

What was forbidden

The popular beliefs of September 25 ordered to observe a number of strict prohibitions:

You can’t kill snakes – this is the main prohibition of the day. It was believed that killing a reptile would attract disease, trouble and a series of failures for the whole family.

Do not go into the forest unnecessarily - on this day snakes are especially active and aggressive before going to winter.

It was forbidden to cut hair and nails - according to legends, it could "cut off" health, luck and even shorten life.

You can't share bread with strangers - bread symbolized prosperity and well-being; giving it to someone else, you could incur poverty.