On the old calendar, December 3rd is dedicated to Saint John the Silent in the Orthodox tradition. According to legend, John began studying the Holy Scriptures and praying as a child. After his parents passed away, the young man divided his inheritance, giving part to the poor and donating the rest to build churches. He then retreated to a monastery, where he lived for 10 years before being appointed Bishop of the Church of Kolonia. However, disheartened by government interference in spiritual matters, John abandoned his position and sailed to Jerusalem, becoming a humble monk at the Monastery of Saint Sabbas. There, he took a vow of silence and later sought complete solitude by retreating to the desert. For nine years, he lived alone, surviving on herbs. Eventually, Abbot Sabbas persuaded him to return to the monastery, where John spent 66 years healing people through the power of prayer. In Russia, Ivan the Silent’s Day was traditionally marked by speaking as little as possible. It was believed that those who remained silent throughout the day would become more eloquent in the year ahead. An old superstition held that silence on this day not only warded off misfortune but also brought luck. “Ivan stays silent, good news grows,” people would say, warning that speaking unnecessarily might cause evil forces to steal one’s voice. Even the winter forest was quiet at this time, broken only by the creaking of frozen trees. Hunters ventured out to predict how long the calm weather would last by observing how high squirrels hid their mushroom supplies. Names celebrated today: Andrew, Gabriel, George, Ephraim, John, Nicholas, Sabbas, Theodore.