According to the folk calendar - Bereginya

According to the folk calendar, Bereginya is celebrated on July 15 (July 2, old style) On this date, residents honored the great Slavic deity - Bereginya, calling her a good spirit-protector of worthy people People often imagined Bereginya as a young fair-haired maiden in a long dress She appeared to travelers or those lost in the forest, showed them the way to their native lands and protected them from attacking goblin, merman, mermaids or ghouls In Slavic mythology, there was not one Bereginya, but several Residents believed that they became wooers who died before the wedding, girls or maidens-suicides who had experienced abuse However, unlike dangerous mermaids, they protected good people: they helped residents fill their nets with fish, irrigated fields with moisture during drought, and protected children from drowning The symbol of Beregini was called a weeping willow or birch Therefore, on this day, residents came to these trees, bowed low and asked for happiness, love and prosperity Young families should have planted a birch tree in their yard during this period And it is no coincidence, because it was considered a strong amulet against evil spirits But on the day of Beregini, lovers and unmarried girls bewitched their boyfriends They placed a birch branch at the threshold and invited their beloved to visit When he passed through the threshold, the girl quietly removed the twig, hid it and read a plot for the guy’s long-term love for her Residents believed that on this day Bereginya came to the home of good people, sat down at the loom and made fabric for the whole family That is why the people began to embroider a good goddess on towels On her holiday, housewives brought towels out into the morning dew so that they absorbed the power and strength of nature Then they wiped their face with it, believing that such a ritual would give more energy and health With the advent of Christianity in Rus', the inhabitants mixed the image of the spirit of Beregini with the image of the Mother of God Therefore, the holiday was often called the Day of the Mother of the Raw Mother of God, the Day of St Peter the Great, or the Day of the Cheese Mother of God On this date, the peasants prayed to the Mother of God to give a rich harvest of bread If you noticed the first yellowness on the trees on this holiday, you were preparing for early cold weather in the fall An abundance of berries in the forest was observed during the harsh winter season Fine days were predicted if they saw active splashing of carp in a pond Flocks of winged ants announced the approach of rain But open holes in the anthill, on the contrary, promised dry weather