According to the folk calendar - Akila Day, Watches

The Day of Aquila, also called the Watch or Aquila the Straw, is celebrated on July 27 (July 14, Old Style) according to the popular calendar Aquila is the date named after the church day of honoring the memory of one of the 70 apostles of God - Saint Aquila of Heraclea The saint lived in the 1st century in Rome When the persecution of the Jews began, Aquila and his wife moved to Corinth, where they met the Apostle Paul and became his follower Paul baptized the couple, after which they went to Ephesus to spread Christianity In Heraclea Pontus, Aquila was elected local bishop, but years later the saint was killed by pagans for promoting a different religion And among the people, Akila was sometimes called the Straw One During this period, peasants worked hard in the field: harvesting grain and storing hay for the winter Often such work would lead to a headache in the evening, so women, in order to get rid of it, wove wreaths of straw on their heads They also believed that straw belts would help relieve fatigue, tension and lower back pain Another name for the day was Watch Often on this day the weather began to change - thunderclouds rolled in, strong winds rose It was this kind of weather that could ruin the not fully harvested crop in the fields, the winds carried the drying hay, and lightning caused dry grass to catch fire In order to put out a fire in the fields in time or collect scattered straw, the peasants posted a sentinel in the fields If trouble happened, he called the entire village for help Residents believed that on the Day of Watch, there were evil forces in the whirlwinds that descended over the fields and were trying to penetrate human shelter When lightning strikes such a whirlwind, evil spirits reincarnate as a lost cow, goat, bird or orphaned baby, and then ask the peasants for housing To avoid this, the watchmen kept a close watch on the fields However, the rain did have some benefits After a heavy rainfall, mushrooms began to grow in the forest Residents freed from the harvest and hay collection, or children, were sent to collect them The collected mushrooms were boiled, fried, and added to hot dishes for flavor They were also dried in attics and consumed in winter On this day there was a tradition to honor the spirit of the field - Polevoy He was considered a good spirit who protected fields from bad weather and pests It was believed that he lived in the field itself, so during the harvest the peasants did not cultivate a small part of the field They also brought a pot of boiled porridge to the left ears of corn and asked Polevoy to take care of the future harvest If on the day of Akila they noticed a lack of precipitation, then they prepared for the dry autumn season Dawn in fiery tones and an abundance of clouds announced an impending thunderstorm Seeing calm seagulls on the water, residents expected a fine day The flying bats in the evening also promised good weather