A special holiday on October 7: Thekla the Pryadalnitsa — history, traditions, omens

Every year on October 7, Orthodox believers honor the memory of the First Martyr Equal-to-the-Apostles Thekla of Iconium, an early Christian saint who, according to church tradition, was a disciple of the Apostle Paul, preached Christianity and was persecuted for her faith. In the national calendar, the date is known as Thekla Zapryadalnitsa, or Thekla Zarevnitsa. In 2026, the holiday falls on a Wednesday. Read about its history, traditions, signs and strict prohibitions in the Izvestia article.

What is the church holiday on October 7th?

Thekla lived in the 1st century in Iconium, a city in Asia Minor on the territory of modern Turkey. The Orthodox Church venerates her as the First Martyr and equal-to-the-Apostles. The first name is associated with the persecution she suffered for the Christian faith, the second with the preaching to which she devoted her life.

Details of Thekla's biography are known from the early Christian apocrypha "The Acts of Paul and Thekla", compiled in the II century. According to this legend, she was born into a wealthy and noble family. At the age of 18, the girl was engaged to a young man named Famirid. At about the same time, the Apostle Paul came to Iconium.

Thekla heard Paul's sermon, which he read in the house of one of the local residents, and was so carried away by the new teaching for her that for several days she listened to the apostle, almost without leaving the window. After that, the girl decided to become a Christian, abandon her upcoming marriage and devote her life to serving God.

This choice did not suit either her family or her fiance. Famirid appealed to the city authorities with a complaint against Pavel, accusing the preacher of persuading young women not to marry. The apostle was arrested and imprisoned.

According to legend, Thekla secretly left the house at night, gave her jewelry to the gatekeeper and the prison guard, and thus entered the prisoner. The girl was found there a few days later.

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After the trial, Pavel was punished and banished from Iconium. They tried to force Fyokla to give up the Christian faith and return to her former life, but she did not agree. Then the girl was sentenced to be burned. The life tells us that Thekla herself went up to the prepared bonfire, but the execution did not take place: the rain began to extinguish the flames. After that, she left Iconium and sought out the Apostle Paul.

The rest of the legend takes Thecla to Antioch. There, an influential citizen, Alexander, tried to take the girl by force, but she resisted and publicly humiliated him. For this, Fekla was sentenced to a new execution — she was to be torn to pieces by wild animals in the arena. But the animals did not harm her, and after several unsuccessful attempts to execute the girl, the ruler ordered her to be released.

After that, Thecla found Paul again, this time in the Lycian World. After receiving his blessing to preach, she first returned to her native Iconium, and then settled near Seleucia. There the saint lived in seclusion for many years, telling people about Christianity and healing the sick.

When Fekla was about 90 years old, the local pagans, dissatisfied with her popularity, sent people to her with the intention of abusing the saint. Fleeing from her pursuers, she turned to God with a prayer. Then a rock opened up in front of the martyr and hid her. This was the end of the saint's earthly life.

Traditions of the folk festival Thekla the Pryadalnitsa on October 7

In Russia, on the day of the veneration of equal-to-the-Apostles Thekla, women took out spinning wheels, so in the national calendar it was called Thekla the Pryadalnitsa.

By the beginning of October, the main field work was coming to an end, but it was time to process the harvested crops and do household chores. The peasants continued to thresh for Fecla — the sheaves of grain were dried in sheaves, and then threshed, separating the grain from the ears. Due to the short autumn day, it was often necessary to work with a fire. The bright reflections from the heated fireplaces were far visible in the dark. Hence the second name of the holiday — Thekla Zarevnitsa.

The job required extreme caution. Dry straw and an open fire could easily cause a fire, so the furnace was trusted only by experienced owners. In popular beliefs, the building also had its own host spirit, the ovinnik. Before the prayers began, they tried to appease him — they presented him with treats and asked for permission to heat the sheep.

The threshing began with the first threshing of a sheaf, which was separated from the rest during the harvest and stored separately. Bread was baked from the resulting flour, which was shared with the household. According to beliefs, this rite helped to keep the family healthy and prosperous until the next harvest.

After completing their summer and early autumn chores, the women began making threads and household linen. The housewives tried to focus at least a little on Fekla: according to beliefs, the work started on October 7 will be contested all winter.

In this regard, another well—known belief has been formed in Russia: "What you tie on a Fecla is not untied." It extended not only to yarn, but also to human relations. Therefore, the day was considered suitable for weddings — they hoped that the union concluded on October 7 would turn out to be as strong as a tight knot.

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Unmarried girls on the holiday arranged fortune-telling to find out if the wedding was coming soon. To do this, they took a roll and went to the barn, where they held out their hand through a small window with treats. A warm touch, according to legend, promised a wealthy husband, a cold one promised a poor one, and if no one touched his hand, marriage was not expected in the next year.

In addition, on October 7, farmers tried to finish harvesting beets so that the first frosts would not damage the harvest. Hence the saying: "Pull the beetroot." The housewives prepared beetroot and other hot dishes from it, and the strongest root vegetables were sent for storage.

On the same day, in some areas, they went mushroom picking for the last time during the season. Until stable cold weather set in, the ancestors collected boletus and other late mushrooms. They were fried, added to pies, or harvested for the winter.

What not to do on the holiday of Thekla the Pryadalnitsa

There were a number of prohibitions and superstitions associated with Fekla the Spinneress in Russia, the main of which concerned quarrels in the family, rudeness towards parents and elderly relatives. According to beliefs, disrespect for elders will lead to illnesses and troubles, and the conflict that began on October 7 will drag on for a long time. Therefore, at home, the ancestors tried to talk calmly and not bring minor disagreements to a serious disagreement.

What else you can't do on October 7th:

• swearing and swearing — words spoken with anger will return to family conflicts.;
• to borrow or lend money — after that, prosperity will leave the house for a long time.;
• leaving a home in disarray — a mess will "attract" troubles in the household.;
• to cry and immerse yourself in heavy memories for a long time — sadness on Thekla can linger for a long time.;
• to enter into large transactions and make hasty financial decisions — the agreements will turn out to be fragile or bring a loss.

Folk signs for October 7th

On Fekla Zapryadalnitsa, the peasants carefully observed nature, especially trees, birds and the autumn sky, in order to determine by signs whether frosts would strike early and whether there would be a lot of snow in the coming winter.

• There are a lot of acorns on the oaks — the winter will be relatively warm, and next summer will be fruitful.;
• thunder rumbled — to a mild, short and snowless winter;
• birds fly low above the ground — for early cold weather and harsh winter;
• rowan has a lot of berries, especially in case of severe winter frosts.;
• The leaves stay on the trees and fall off slowly — a serious cold snap will not come soon.;
• The sun rose quickly this morning and is shining especially brightly — the weather will change dramatically in the near future.;
• The moon is surrounded by a circle and appears reddish — next summer will be dry.;
• the first snow fell on wet ground — it can linger, and the one that fell on dry ground, on the contrary, should melt quickly.

Earlier, Izvestia reported on the signs and strict prohibitions of the Kondrat da Ipat special holiday.