According to the folk calendar - Konon Ogorodnik

According to the folk calendar, Konon Ogorodnik is celebrated on March 18 (March 5, old style) This name was taken from the Orthodox calendar, since on this day the church honors the memory of the Great Martyr Konon Gradar, who lived in the 3rd century in the city of Mandona Konon was a Christian, often prayed and earned his living by gardening When the persecution of Christians began, he was asked about his faith Konon confidently recognized the Lord as his god and refused to glorify pagan idols For this he was subjected to torture: a dozen iron nails were driven into the martyr’s feet and he was forced to walk, after which the saint died Among the people, Konon was called the Gardener and was considered the patron of vegetable gardens and productivity They prayed to him that the seedlings would grow successfully and give a good harvest In any weather, the peasants went out to their plots and cultivated at least a small share of the land: they poured manure and dug up By this they expressed respect to Saint Konon, hoping that he would give a generous harvest In order to protect the harvest from worms, midges and drought, the owners performed a special ritual They dug three holes and called each one one of three troubles Then they read the plot to the holes one by one and covered them with earth In warmer regions, residents worked the land to its fullest extent The women took out vegetable seeds and soaked them in water, preparing them for planting Usually these were tomatoes, cabbage, cucumbers, zucchini, and peppers Konon Ogorodnik’s Day was considered a memorial day Families remembered deceased relatives, lit candles in the church, and visited graves And, if someone disappeared in the family, they prayed to the saint for help in finding him Looking at the signs of Konon Ogorodnik, the peasants predicted the weather The blossoming of snowdrops signaled the end of frost and the arrival of warmth Nesting rooks meant that after 3 weeks crops could be sown The return of wagtails on this day promised a fine spring The sunny day predicted a not hot summer