According to the folk calendar - Afanasyev Day

Afanasyev Day, also called the Months holiday, is popularly celebrated on July 18 (July 5 according to the old calendar style) The holiday received its name from the church date of honoring St Athanasius of Athos, revered by Orthodox Christians Athanasius was from Trapenzund (modern Trabzon in Turkey) and lived in the 10th century An orphaned boy at an early age was taken in by a nun As a youth, he received a good education, after which he took monastic vows at the Kiminsky Monastery Years later, Athanasius went to Mount Athos for solitude, where he eventually built a monastery The saint could heal the sick and drive demons out of his body through prayer Athanasius died tragically during the collapse of the monastery wall People called this day the Months Holiday, since they celebrated the moon on this date By nightfall, residents left their houses and peered into the heavenly body During the Months holiday, people noticed how the moon changed its shades, how it hid behind the clouds and slowly moved across the sky People believed that observing the month on a given night gave more vitality People often treated the moon with respect Days were counted from new moon to full moon, since many works depended on the lunar cycle It was believed that things would be all right if they were started on the waxing moon, for example, planting plants or buying property But in the waning month they tried to postpone important undertakings Residents believed that the moon could influence human mood, and during the full moon they tried not to walk around late, fearing the activity of evil spirits On this day, women prepared dough and made crescent-shaped cookies from it A lot of butter, honey, nuts and poppy seeds were added to it The finished baked goods were taken out at sunset and treated to their own and neighboring children They often tried to bake a lot of cookies to treat them to friends and passers-by, believing that this would bring prosperity and income to the family If on Afanasyev's day they saw the moon diving from one cloud to another, then they expected a generous harvest in the fields The haze covering the month in the sky foreshadowed inclement weather If the heavenly body brightly illuminated the earth at night, then they prepared for fine days But the clouds that turned yellow during the day warned of impending precipitation