Beware of fire, strangers and early rises. Bans and omens on Nicodemus day 13 November 2026
In 2026, November 13 falls on Friday. This is not a Friday, but the thirteenth. People were afraid of this day, but they were waiting at the same time. The Church remembers the apostles from the seventy Stachias, Amplius, Urvana, Narkissus, Appellius and Aristovulus, as well as St. John Chrysostom and St. Spyridon and Nicodemus, the prosphorics of the Caves. In the people, the date was called Nicodemus Day, Half-Day or the feast of the ovens.
Spiridon and Nicodemus lived in the twelfth century and were monks of the Kiev-Pechersk monastery. For thirty years they carried one obedience: they baked prosphora for the monastery. One day a fire broke out in the monastery and the stove caught fire. The saints managed to put out the fire, and they remained unharmed. That is why people revered them as defenders of the house from the fire.
The main task of the day was to prepare the house for winter. The hostess put in order the stoves, insulated windows and doors, transferred chickens from summer pens to warm chicken coops. The people said, “No, no, no, no, no, no, no.”.
By evening, the whole family sat down at the table. The main course was chicken, a round cake with chicken, eggs and onions. The round shape symbolized the sun and prosperity, and the filling promised a full winter. A piece of cake and a fish dish went to every household member, even a baby, for happiness and peace in the house.
The men went fishing and hunting from dawn. Nicodemus was considered the patron of the fish, and the catch had to succeed. Women walked around the corners of the hut with a candle and holy water, banishing troubles and protecting the house from fire.
The day was suitable for preparing the house for winter, family warmth and good deeds
On this day, it is better not to violate a number of prohibitions, otherwise, according to legend, you can call trouble:
On this day, nature suggested what the winter and the next harvest will be like:
Dream interpretations diverge this night. One of the interpreters assures that dreams are harmless and even the worst can not harm a person. Another notes that the plots are usually confused and poorly remembered, and after waking up it seems as if it has already been dreamed. The third advises to interpret what you see in reverse: luck in a dream will turn into failure, and bad – changes for the better. The national calendar refers the dreams of this night to prophetic: they can come true in two weeks.
