Kuzminki November 14: the secret rites of “God’s blacksmiths” and how to appease the house
In the national calendar, November 14 is the day of Kuzma and Demyan. If the church honors them as unmercenary doctors, then in Russia they were known as “God’s blacksmiths” and “handsmiths.”.
It was believed that the saints not only heal, but magically “forge” the health and fate of a person, just as a blacksmith gives a new shape to metal.
On this day, blacksmiths did not work: they believed that it was now that the saints themselves forged plows for farmers. But the women sat behind the yarn, begging the brothers to equal them in skill with those who began spinning earlier. The wedding season continued. People said that Kuzminki forged family happiness of young people.
The main tradition of the holiday is fraternity, that is, a common meal. Traditionally, some cereal and beer products must be stolen. The housewives left eggs or milk on the table so that the neighbors could drag them away for a common cause. The main thing in the house on this day was a girl for extradition, and they began the meal with a steep egg, which served as a talisman from infertility.
On November 14, the yard was also pacified. If the spirit offended the cattle, an unloved horse was riding around the yard with a litter, and another, smeared in tar, was brought to the baldness of an invisible prankster so that he would escape forever.
It was not without the “chicken name day”. Wealthy people gave chickens to poor relatives, and eggs from so-called “chaelobite” birds, which were never killed, were considered healing.
The signs for November 14 are simple: warm weather promises a mild winter, the presence of unflying foliage on the trees - to severe frosts and a poor harvest. And dreams on the night of Kuzminki are considered prophetic if you remember them.
