According to the folk calendar - Kuzma and Demyan, Summer Kuzminki

On July 14 (July 1 according to the old calendar style), people celebrate Kuzma and Demyan This holiday is named after the church date of honoring Saints Cosmas and Damian, whose memory is revered by Christian believers on this day The brothers' story took place in Rome in the 3rd century The young men were raised by a Christian mother, who instilled in them love for the Lord and mercy for the suffering They became doctors and treated the sick for free For their Christian faith, Cosmas and Damian were called to trial before the pagan emperor, but he was struck by a terrible illness and the brothers managed to cure the ruler They were released, but after a while the healers died in the forest at the hands of their envious teacher Cosma and Damian were considered intercessors against various ailments and patronized everyone who worked in the medical field or received health services Residents went to churches and asked the holy brothers for recovery, good health, family well-being and patronage in their studies, so that reading and writing would be easy On this day, people were engaged in gardening and field work The peasants went to haymaking in order to dry up more hay for their livestock for the winter We also weeded the garden beds to remove weeds It was time to harvest the root crop Weavers began collecting dye herbs needed to dye fabrics and embroidery threads It was customary for Kuzma and Demyan to pick raspberries and gooseberries They were used to make compotes and jams, and add them to cottage cheese, pancakes, and pies Housewives tried to prepare at least a few jars of raspberry jam, since this plant had warming and diaphoretic properties and helped with cold fever But gooseberries were valued for their spicy taste in meat and fish dishes The second name of the date was Summer Kuzminki, also called the Indian holiday They were honored mainly by girls and women During the day, housewives gathered together and pooled together to prepare a feast of plant crops They always cooked a huge vat of porridge, which they treated to neighbors and poor people or travelers passing by Homemade alcohol was also placed on the table Women often stayed up late, telling each other their deepest secrets and sharing the latest events If a reddened moon was observed on Kuzma and Demyan, then they prepared for windy weather, but a month with blunted horns was noted for precipitation Bright stars and a cloudy sky in the morning foreshadowed an imminent thunderstorm A spider weaving a web promised hot, dry weather The heat was also predicted by a chirping magpie