According to the folk calendar - Evsey - Oats

On May 7 (April 24 according to the old calendar style) people celebrate Evsey - Oats off The first part of the name of the holiday is borrowed from the church calendar - on this day they honor the memory of the holy martyr Eusebius, who suffered for his faith in Christ in the 4th century Eusebius was an idolater When he was present at the torture of St George the Victorious, he believed in the Lord and accepted Christianity Together with him, 43 other pagans believed, but these were hours of Christian persecution, so they were taken into custody Emperor Diocletian ordered all prisoners to make sacrifices to the pagan gods, but Eusebius and the others refused At first they were beaten painfully with rods, but, failing to achieve worship, they all cut off their heads The people nicknamed the day Evsei - Oats off, since this day was considered the last in the period of sowing oats And the beginning of such a period was marked by the flowering of the birch tree and the appearance of winged ants The work day on Yevsey was difficult, because the residents had to sow all the remaining land for oats before sunset They sowed oats even in rainy weather; sowing later was unacceptable Often after Evseyev Day there was a temporary cold snap for 12 days To ensure a generous harvest of oats, in some regions housewives set the table using oats in dishes The main things on the table were bread and oatmeal porridge Sweets included oatmeal cookies and pancakes seasoned with honey Neighbors were invited to such feasts, or food from the table was treated to the poor In the evening, the peasants organized folk festivities Residents called musicians, lit bonfires, sang, danced and played Young people gathered in groups, boys and girls looked closely at each other But the healers on Yevsey performed ceremonies for invoking the spring season It happened that residents were attacked by “mayata” This was the name for the state when the soul was in a spring mood, one didn’t want to work at all, and the body lazily wanted to lie down on the grass Then the peasants washed themselves with blessed water and drank several sips of it Signs about Yevsey pointed the people to the future If a lot of mosquitoes were observed, then a generous oat yield was expected Sowing grain on a rainy day resulted in an abundance of weeds A golden sunset foreshadowed clear weather for the coming days Darkened low clouds on this day promised the onset of a thunderstorm