The Folk calendar. The Farmer's Year

The Folk calendar

In the popular peasant calendar, ancient pagan traditions are intricately intertwined with Christian culture.

In traditional culture, nature lives through the same stages of life as man. Spring is the youth of the world, summer is maturity, autumn is old age. And then winter comes — the death of the world. Winter has come — we are happy: it is clean, cool, there is no dirt. But time passes (and our winter lasts up to six months), we are tired of snow and cold. So, we need to spend the winter and call for spring. And not just to spend, but to drive away, burn an effigy of Winter on the feast of Maslenitsa.

Spring is coming — the time for planting in the garden, sowing in the arable land. But spring also needs to be spent to meet summer. Seeing off spring in the ancient agricultural calendar was associated with rituals when the stuffed Spring (the Slavs called it differently, for example, Kostroma) was either lowered down the river or drowned. The most significant holiday of the end of spring and the beginning of summer was Trinity. It was called the "green Yuletide."

"Don't pray for a long summer, pray for a warm one," the peasants said. The peasants had a lot of work in the summer: weeding beds, haymaking, harvesting brooms, etc. Several summer holidays stood out especially — Ivan’s Day, Peter’s Day, Ilyin’s Day and three Saviours (Honey, Apple, Nut). The peasants believed that after the day of Elijah the Prophet, "the sun falls asleep" and summer ends. By the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, you need to "have time" to finish all the business in the garden.

After the harvest, it was time for cheerful village weddings, which continued with a break (for the Christmas fast) until the end of winter.

Thus, the course of life for the farmer represented an unchanging cycle (winter-spring-summer-autumn), the symbol of which was a ring — decoration without beginning and end.

Peasant Calendar — Saints

An indispensable attribute of a peasant house is the finding of three of the most revered saints — Simeon of Verkhotursky, Nicholas the Wonderworker and Panteleimon the Healer. And in the homes of rich peasants, one could also find a wooden calendar on which holidays were celebrated in the form of notches, and church holidays in the form of drawings. In the form of a cross — Easter holiday, three crosses on the same basis — Trinity, "cow" - Yuri (Yegoriy) Veshny Day, "sun" - summer solstice day, Ivan Kupala, etc. A similar calendar is in the collections of the Tobolsk Museum-Reserve. He entered in 1900. from a peasant of the Bagishevsky parish of Gorboruk. The peasant himself pointed out that "there used to be a lot of such [calendars], but now they are very rare."

The Folk calendar by month

January
January is the beginning of the year. The Slavs called it prosinets, from the blue of the sky. The name "January" came to us from Byzantium along with the Julian calendar. January was dedicated to the god Janus, the patron saint of travelers and sailors. He accompanied both happiness and troubles. Janus was depicted with two faces: one facing the future, the other facing the past.

New Year - January 1st / December 19th

Malanya. Vasiliev Evening - January 13 / December 31
Old New Year's Eve falls on January 13th (December 31st). This holiday was popularly called Vasiliev Evening, named after St. St. Basil the Great. The ritual dish on Vasiliev evening is a roast piglet.
The Old New Year in some volosts of Tobolsk county was the height of Yuletide. The custom of dressing up on Christmas Eve and going home still persists, although it is a relic of the hoary antiquity.

Epiphany Eve - January 18th / 5th
It was customary to draw chalk crosses at Epiphany, and to see the Baptism of the Lord they put a cup of water and said: "At night, the bowl of water will sway by itself." If the water in the bowl swayed at night, they ran to watch the "open skies". It was believed that if you see the flashes, you can at least ask for the Kingdom of Heaven – everything will come true.

Epiphany - January 19th / 6th
The main event of Baptism is the Water Consecration, for which an ice hole has long been made in the established place on reservoirs – the "Jordan". The whole day is full of special significance for Christians – a prayer service, a procession, the consecration of water.
On the day of Baptism, after the consecration of the water in the Jordan, they bathe naked: in order to wash themselves with consecrated water, and in order to be cured of diseases, to be cleansed from sins.

Tatiana's day - January
25/12 "The sun will shine on Tatiana – for the early arrival of birds."
"Snow on Tatiana – rainy summer."

February

The word February came to us from Byzantium. Our ancestors called this month sechen, sneden, fierce, bokogrei. In the old days, it was called wedding from winter weddings, which were performed from Epiphany to Maslenitsa.

St. Macarius Day — February 1 / January 19
Macarius of Egypt was born in 301. In the thirtieth year he went to the desert of Egypt. During the persecution of Christians, he was exiled to one of the Nile Islands, where he converted the entire population to Christ.

Timofey — February 4 / January 22
The Apostle Timothy was a companion of the Apostle Paul. He died a martyr’s death in Ephesus, where a feast was celebrated in honor of the pagan goddess Diana. Timofey tried to stop this celebration, accompanied by debauchery, but the crowd threw stones at him.
On this day, severe frosts occur, which are called Timofeevsky.

Candlemas — February 15th / 2nd
The Slavic word "candlemas" means "meeting".
The Christian holiday Candlemas coincides with the ancient Slavic pagan holiday Gromnitsa, associated with the worship of fire. Leaving the church, they tried to bring a burning candle to the house. Whoever does not extinguish the fire will be happy.

The feast of Candlemas. Anna — February 16th / 3rd
The bear turns to Anna the prophetess in the den.

Vlasy — February 24 /11
The Holy Martyr Vlasius is the patron saint of cattle. The consonance of the names Vlasius — Veles led to the fact that after the adoption of Christianity, the features of the pagan deity were transferred to this saint. Rituals dedicated to Saint Vlasius have been recorded in many regions of Russia. A prayer service was usually held, during which a procession with icons went around the village. For this holiday, it was customary to bake rye loaves, which were brought to the church for consecration. In Novgorod on St. Peter’s Day. Vlasia was beaten down with cow’s oil. In the evening, a general feast was held, at which they drank beer.

Kasyanov Day — February 29 / 15th
In many localities, he is an unloved saint, "the merciless one." Kasyan’s day happens only in a leap year. In Russia, since ancient times, it has been considered a leap year to be dangerous. They talked about the man who had an accident that day: "Kasyan looked at him." Kasyan’s eye was considered very dangerous, on this day they even advised not to leave the hut, so that misfortune would not happen. According to its properties, Kasyan is close to the Slavic Viy, whose deadly gaze is hidden under huge eyelids or eyelashes.

The ancient pagan holiday of Maslenitsa falls at the end of February — beginning of March. In the Christian calendar, the dates of this holiday vary depending on the day of Easter, which is preceded by a seven-week Lent.
The Maslenitsa week itself was called cheese week, syrnitsa. Initially, they ate "white" food on Shrovetide: milk, butter, sour cream, cheese. Pancakes appeared as a memorial food.
After Maslenitsa, the seven-week Great Lent begins, during which all amusements were prohibited. The first day of Lent is called Clean Monday. Among the people, this day was given special importance as the day separating Maslenitsa and Lent. On this day, strict fasting was observed — dry fasting.
Only in some areas pancakes with linseed oil were prepared, the eating of which was called "Shrovetide pancakes".

March

The word March came to us from Byzantium. This first month of spring was named after the god of war Mars — "martius". The Slavs called this month dry, protalnik, berezol, rookery.

Vasily-Kapitel — March 13 / February 28
St. Basil suffered in Byzantium during the persecution of icon worshippers. After his release from prison, he continued his monastic feat. The saint died in 750.

Evdokia Plushykha — March 14th / 1st
Evdokia, a fearless confessor of the Christian faith, was beheaded around 170.
In the old days, Evdokia was called "Vesnovka", believing that she was in charge of the spring and kept the keys to the spring waters. In many places, this holiday was considered "babyish", women ordered a holy prayer service in front of the icon. From that day on, canvases began to be whitewashed in a number of localities.

Fedot — March 15th / 2nd
The Holy Martyr Fedot was a bishop in Cyprus. During the persecution of Christians, the governor ordered him to be severely beaten and tortured. The saint endured everything with fortitude. Emperor Constantine the Great granted freedom to all Christians. After two years of episcopal ministry, Fedot died peacefully around the year 326.
If there are snow drifts on Fedot, there will be no spring for a long time.

Gerasim Grachevnik — March 17th / 4th
The Church honors the memory of two Gerasimos: St. Gerasimos, who lived in the 5th century in Lycia (Asia Minor) and St. Gerasimos, the first Vologda wonderworker, who lived in the 12th century. It was believed that rooks arrived on this day.
Gerasim the rooker brought the rooks.

Forty Martyrs — March 22 / 9th
The popular name of this holiday is Magpies. This day in many localities was considered the border between winter and spring. The spring kicking ceremony was timed to coincide with the Magpies. According to popular belief, forty more frosty matinees followed after this holiday, so women baked forty buns on this day, which for forty days were thrown one bun at a time into the garden with an appeal to frost so that the crops would go away and not freeze.
Forty martyrs — forty matinees (there will be more).

Daria
Unclean ice holes — March 29 / 16
The Holy Martyr Daria was a priestess famous for her beauty and intelligence at the Temple of Minerva in Rome. One day, the son of a noble Roman pagan Christanthus was brought to her so that she could distract the young man from Christianity. Instead, Christophe converted her to Christianity. Daria and Christophe swore to each other to live in celibacy and virginity. After the death of his father, Christophe made his house a monastery for newly converted Christians. According to the complaint of the neighbors, the ruler of the city of Kelerin ordered the tribune Claudius to lead an investigation and punish the perpetrators. But Claudius, along with his entire family, converted to Christianity. Daria and Chrysanthus, who were captured, were tried to torture with hot candles, but the candles went out. Then Daria was ordered to be taken to a brothel, but the Lord sent a lion, who sat at the feet of the saint and did not let anyone near her. But by order of Emperor Numerian, Daria and Chrysanthus were buried alive in the ground.
With the increase in warm days, it gets dirty in the ice holes of rivers and ponds. They talked about it: "Here comes Daria’s dirty lubbers."

Alexey is a man of God. Alexey Warm — March 30th / 17th
The man of God was born in the fifth century. On the day of the wedding, Alexey left the bride and went to the holy places. He remained a beggar in the city of Edessa, where he spent more than 17 years. Against his will, he was transported to Rome, where he spent another 17 years, unrecognized by his parents and fiancee. It was only after his death that it was revealed who he really was.
If streams run to Alexey, fish should be caught.

Wednesday in the sixth week of Lent was called Wednesday. The Middle Cross marked the middle of the fast. On this day, cookies in the shape of crosses were baked everywhere from unleavened or sour dough, which they ate themselves and fed to livestock.

April

Among the Slavs, this month was called berezozol from the fact that it was an evil month for birches, since at that time they began to harvest birch sap. April was also called kapelnik, snegogon, solnik, aquarius, and tsveten.

April is blowing with the wind, the sky is blue — it promises warmth.

April with water — May with grass.

Annunciation — April 7 / March 25

On this day, the Archangel Gabriel, sent by God to the Virgin Mary, informed her that her son Jesus would be born, and this would be the Messiah and the Son of God.

In the national calendar, the Annunciation was one of the most revered holidays. It was perceived as a spring awakening of nature.

Any work on the Annunciation is prohibited: "On the Annunciation, the bird does not build a nest, the maiden does not weave braids."

John the Ladder — April 12 / March 30

He is revered as a great ascetic and the author of the wonderful spiritual creation "The Ladder of Paradise" - a guide to ascent to spiritual perfection. It is known that John the Ladder died after the year 600.

On this day, they baked ritual cookies — "ladders". Each family member was baked his own "ladder" so that everyone would be healthy.

Mary of Egypt — April 14th / 1st

The Venerable Mary lived in the IV century A.D. For seventeen years she was a harlot. But she went into the desert, where she lived for 47 years, without seeing a single person, until she met Saint Zosima, who gave Mary communion, after which she died quietly. According to popular beliefs, Mary of Egypt will judge all harlots at the Last Judgment. This is a day of very strict fasting.

If streams run to Mary of Egypt, fish will be well caught.

Nikita — April 16th / 3rd

For his strict, pious, hardworking and prayerful life, the Lord honored Nikita with the gift of miracle-working.

Nikita wakes up from hibernation, and he must certainly be appeased. To do this, he was treated by drowning someone else’s horse and saying: "Here's a housewarming present for you, Grandpa: love and complain to our family!". They also threw him a goose without a head.

Fedul-windmill — April 18th / 5th

The martyr Theodulus (Fedul) was a reader at the temple and was distinguished by piety, healed ailments with the help of a ring. He died during the persecution. The Christians buried his body. It was in the year 303.

Fireflies wake up on Fedul: A breeze blows up to Fedul, it will pull warmth from Fedul.

Anti-flood — April 24 / 11

Antipas was a disciple of the Apostle John the Theologian. The holy martyr is considered a healer of various human diseases, especially toothache. In the old days, they took a copper coin for this, held it on a sore tooth, punched it with a nail and hung it on the icon of St. Nicholas. The Antipas.

Rivers are opened on this day. The bear comes out of the den. The first nettle shoots appear: Antipas has dissolved the water.

The Day of the Martyrs Agapia, Irene and Chionia. Irina-the seedling — April 29 / 16

At the end of the III — beginning of the IV century, for the pious Christian life, Irina and her sisters, the holy martyrs Agapia and Chionia, were captured and tortured and tortured.

In the old days, in many provinces of Russia, seedlings began to be sown on this day. Siberians believed that the Irtysh River was being opened on this day.

Irina-the seedling — sow cabbage for seedlings.

Sunday in the sixth week of Lent is called Palm Sunday. On this day, the Church celebrates the feast of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem. The holiday got its name from a festive attribute — a willow tree, which in Russia replaced the palm branches with which people once welcomed the entry of Jesus Christ into the city.

The main holiday of the Russian Orthodox Church is Easter Sunday. An obligatory accessory of the Easter table is the colored eggs consecrated the day before, a cake and in some areas a cottage cheese Easter.

May

In Russia, this month was called grass, because of the appearance of grass, leaf beetle, as young leaves appear in bunches, rosenik because of the abundant May dew. They said about May: "May is dressing up, summer is expected to visit", "May crowns spring, meets summer".
It is not customary to play weddings in May. On this occasion, they say: "In May, to get married is a century to worry about", "In May, good people do not get married", "I would be glad to get married, but May does not tell." The last day for matchmaking was considered St. James's Day (April 30 / May 13).

St. George's Day. Yegoriy Veshny - May 6 / April 23
St. George's Day is celebrated twice a year: on May 6 and December 9. He was considered the lord of all forest animals, the patron of herds: "All the animals are at Yegorya's fingertips." On this day, the first pasture of cattle in the field was performed ("Yuri dismissed the dew. Drive the animal to St. George's dew"). Yegoriy the Brave is called the patron saint of wolves, the wolf shepherd. They say: "What the wolf has in his teeth, Yegoriy gave."

Mark the Evangelist's Day. May 8 / April 25
Saint Mark was sometimes called the "key keeper" because it was believed that he possessed the keys to the rains. On this day, they prayed for rain. On St. Mark's Day, the arrival of birds was expected: "On Mark, the arrival of songbirds in flocks."

Semyon-ranopashets. May 10 / April 27
In many areas of Russia, early plowing began on this day.
It's time to plow, when thunder rumbles, the forest dresses in foliage, the lark sings, and the water frogs begin to croak.

St. James the Apostle's Day. May 13 / April 30
In the old days, matchmaking was stopped from that day, considering that May was unprofitable for newlyweds.
A warm evening on St. James and a starry night for the harvest.
A clear sunrise is a beautiful summer.

Jeremiah is a harness maker. May 14 / May 1
On this day, they were preparing for sowing. We walked through the early dew to the arable land and said: "From the Jeremiah harness, harness the horse to the plough, go out to the sowing, raise the net."

Mavra is a thrush. Timofey - May 16 / 3
On this day, it was customary to cook green cabbage soup from young nettles and sorrel. They talked about it: "Look for nettles in green cabbage soup", "Moors-green cabbage soup – pinch nettles". The riddle: "It will be born burning, but it is good for cabbage soup" (nettle).

Irina-the seedling - May 18 / 5th
On Irina, the grass was burned in the fields ("On Irina, the thin grass is out of the field!").
On this day, cabbage seedlings were planted in the beds, saying: "Don't be big-legged, be fat-bellied; don't be empty, be tight; don't be red, be tasty; don't be small, be great!"

St. John the Theologian's Day - May 21 / 8
On this day, votive pies were baked to treat pilgrims and beggars.
Ivan the wheat farmer, drive the mare and plow the land for wheat.
A rainy day – the mushroom will go to the shelves.

Nikola Veshny - May 22 /9th
On Nikola Veshny, girls and women prepared a ceremonial dish – fried eggs, which were then eaten in honor of the saint.
Since Nikolin's day, the horses were driven out into the field, for night forage. The boys spent the whole night with the horses in the field. To do this, they baked pies with buckwheat porridge. Single guys spent the whole night playing games.

Simon the Zealot Day - May 23 / 10th
They are digging roots for Simon, looking for treasures.
Some say: "On Simon the Zealot, the birthday girl's land: it's a sin to plow." Others answer: "This wheat is for Simon, it will be born like gold."

Lukerya is a mosquito. May 26 / 13
Mosquitoes appear from Lukerya.
There are few mosquitoes – there will be no oats or herbs.
A lot of mosquitoes – be good oats.

Sidor is a borage. May 27 / 14
Swifts and swallows fly to Sidor.
Cucumbers can be planted on Sidor.

Pakhom-bokogrei, Pakhomy warm - May 28 / 15
Completely summer weather is set from Pakhom.

It was customary to sow rye and oats from the Pakhom. Barley was sown on the Pakhom.

May

In Russia, this month was called grass, because of the appearance of grass, leaf beetle, as young leaves appear in bunches, rosenik because of the abundant May dew. They said about May: "May is dressing up, summer is expected to visit", "May crowns spring, meets summer".
It is not customary to play weddings in May. On this occasion, they say: "In May, to get married is a century to worry about", "In May, good people do not get married", "I would be glad to get married, but May does not tell." The last day for matchmaking was considered St. James's Day (April 30 / May 13).

St. George's Day. Yegoriy Veshny - May 6 / April 23
St. George's Day is celebrated twice a year: on May 6 and December 9. He was considered the lord of all forest animals, the patron of herds: "All the animals are at Yegorya's fingertips." On this day, the first pasture of cattle in the field was performed ("Yuri dismissed the dew. Drive the animal to St. George's dew"). Yegoriy the Brave is called the patron saint of wolves, the wolf shepherd. They say: "What the wolf has in his teeth, Yegoriy gave."

Mark the Evangelist's Day. May 8 / April 25
Saint Mark was sometimes called the "key keeper" because it was believed that he possessed the keys to the rains. On this day, they prayed for rain. On St. Mark's Day, the arrival of birds was expected: "On Mark, the arrival of songbirds in flocks."

Semyon-ranopashets. May 10 / April 27
In many areas of Russia, early plowing began on this day.
It's time to plow, when thunder rumbles, the forest dresses in foliage, the lark sings, and the water frogs begin to croak.

St. James the Apostle's Day. May 13 / April 30
In the old days, matchmaking was stopped from that day, considering that May was unprofitable for newlyweds.
A warm evening on St. James and a starry night for the harvest.
A clear sunrise is a beautiful summer.

Jeremiah is a harness maker. May 14 / May 1
On this day, they were preparing for sowing. We walked through the early dew to the arable land and said: "From the Jeremiah harness, harness the horse to the plough, go out to the sowing, raise the net."

Mavra is a thrush. Timofey - May 16 / 3
On this day, it was customary to cook green cabbage soup from young nettles and sorrel. They talked about it: "Look for nettles in green cabbage soup", "Moors-green cabbage soup – pinch nettles". The riddle: "It will be born burning, but it is good for cabbage soup" (nettle).

Irina-the seedling - May 18 / 5th
On Irina, the grass was burned in the fields ("On Irina, the thin grass is out of the field!").
On this day, cabbage seedlings were planted in the beds, saying: "Don't be big-legged, be fat-bellied; don't be empty, be tight; don't be red, be tasty; don't be small, be great!"

St. John the Theologian's Day - May 21 / 8
On this day, votive pies were baked to treat pilgrims and beggars.
Ivan the wheat farmer, drive the mare and plow the land for wheat.
A rainy day – the mushroom will go to the shelves.

Nikola Veshny - May 22 /9th
On Nikola Veshny, girls and women prepared a ceremonial dish – fried eggs, which were then eaten in honor of the saint.
Since Nikolin's day, the horses were driven out into the field, for night forage. The boys spent the whole night with the horses in the field. To do this, they baked pies with buckwheat porridge. Single guys spent the whole night playing games.

Simon the Zealot Day - May 23 / 10th
They are digging roots for Simon, looking for treasures.
Some say: "On Simon the Zealot, the birthday girl's land: it's a sin to plow." Others answer: "This wheat is for Simon, it will be born like gold."

Lukerya is a mosquito. May 26 / 13
Mosquitoes appear from Lukerya.
There are few mosquitoes – there will be no oats or herbs.
A lot of mosquitoes – be good oats.

Sidor is a borage. May 27 / 14
Swifts and swallows fly to Sidor.
Cucumbers can be planted on Sidor.

Pakhom-bokogrei, Pakhomy warm - May 28 / 15
Completely summer weather is set from Pakhom.

It was customary to sow rye and oats from the Pakhom. Barley was sown on the Pakhom.