Fasting Practices in "the Tales of the Twelve Fridays" (19th - early 21st centuries<i>)</i>
The article is devoted to the «tales about 12 Fridays» that were spread in Russia in the 19th - early 20th centuries and is based on manual and published materials about observance of Friday fasting before the 12th feasts of the Christian calendar. Following the abstinence, peasants saw in St Paraskeva (Friday) a reliable patroness and helper in their domestic and private matters.