Old Style Date: August 29. According to the church calendar, this day marks the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist. John is considered the closest precursor to Jesus Christ, having foretold the coming of the Messiah. According to tradition, he baptized the Son of God Himself in the waters of the Jordan River. The day of Saint John's beheading is traditionally observed by Orthodox Christians with fasting. On this day, it is forbidden to eat anything round: no cabbage from a round head, no cutting poppy heads, no digging potatoes, or picking apples. It was also customary to commemorate all soldiers who died in battles.
John (Ivan) the Fasting One was considered a turning point in peasant concerns. Fieldwork was ending, but the time for preparing pickles for winter began. Autumn markets and fairs also opened. As a result, on the Forerunner’s Day, restrictions and temptations met, making the fast particularly difficult. "Ivan's fast is not great, but even before it, Philip's fast is like that of a heron," people used to say.
There was also a major shift in nature: summer ended, and autumn began with the first frosts. "Ivan the Fasting One came and took the bright summer away," people noted. There were also other sayings on the same topic: "With Ivan, the man meets autumn, and the woman starts Indian summer"; "Ivan the Fasting One – the godfather of autumn"; "Ivan the Forerunner drives the birds far away."
Interestingly, the behavior of different birds on this day was used to predict the weather. If cranes flew south on Ivan the Fasting One’s day, it foretold a short autumn and early snow. If starlings lingered, a dry autumn was expected, and if flocks of rooks flew low over the land in the evenings, good weather was hoped for. Another observation was: "The swan flies towards snow, while the goose flies towards rain."
On Ivan the Fasting One’s day, it was customary to harvest turnips. The "Turnip Festival" was modestly celebrated: without songs or feasts, but the poor and wanderers were given fasting food.
Names celebrated on this day Ivan
