According to the folk calendar - Kuzma the gardener

Kuzma Ogorodnik is celebrated on May 1 (April 18, old style) according to the folk calendar The name of the holiday is associated with the church date of veneration of St Cosmas of Chalcedon, who served as a bishop in the 8th-9th century Cosmas was born in Constantinople, and from adolescence devoted himself to serving the Lord - he became a monk When he was elevated to bishop of the city of Chalcedon, he strengthened the Orthodox faith among his parishioners During the reign of Leo V the Armenian, severe persecution of admirers of icons began The authorities removed Cosmas from his post and imprisoned him in prison They tried to convince him to change his attitude towards icons through persuasion and torture However, unable to bear the latter, the saint died Kuzma (Kosma) was popularly considered the patron and protector of garden harvests On this day, they prayed to the saint for the safety of the crops and asked him to give a generous harvest Peasants went to their lands to garden and sow seeds of carrots, radishes and beets That’s why the day got its name – Kuzma Ogorodnik People believed that only women should do sowing Firstly, sowing work is not as hard as digging up the ground Secondly, the residents believed that the seeds sown by a man would only be good when they bloomed, but the plant would not bear fruit Before sowing seeds into the soil, women performed a ritual with them They were sprinkled with water from an underground source, or the seed was carried to the spring for soaking three mornings in a row Then they whispered a conspiracy for greater yields To avoid the evil eye, the ritual was carried out in secret from relatives and neighbors The date of Kuzma Ogorodnik was celebrated on Cuckoo Day The bird was called the keykeeper of paradise, since it was the last migratory bird to return to its homeland from warmer climes In autumn, the cuckoo was the first to fly away However, in the spring it brought with it the final onset of warmth Having noticed it, the residents could go to sow flax The appearance of the cuckoo did not particularly please the population, because many signs with it led to bad news Noticing a cuckoo on the roof of a house, people believed that a dead person would soon appear in it Kukushkin's flight overhead promised imminent death Seeing a bird flying for a long time over the village meant that a fire would start in it If she cooed on a tree without leaves, the peasants expected a hungry year Also, other signs about the future pointed to Kuzma Ogorodnik The good weather of that day predicted that by the end of May, stormy days would come on the contrary The falling rain foreshadowed increased yields in the fields The alder blossoms meant a good time for sowing buckwheat