According to the folk calendar - Olga Stradnitsa

According to the folk calendar, Olga Stradnitsa is celebrated on July 24 (July 11, old style) The date received part of its name from the church calendar - the day of honoring the memory of Saint Princess Olga, who became the spreader of Christianity in Rus' Olga lived in the 10th century and came from a noble princely family After her wife Igor was killed by the Drevlyans, the princess dealt harshly with the murderers and took over the leadership of the state Having discovered Christianity, Olga was baptized under the name Elena, and then began to spread the faith among her subjects She failed to introduce her own son Svyatoslav to Christianity, but she managed to instill love for the Almighty in her grandchildren As a result, her grandson Vladimir continued to spread the faith And the people called Olga the Stradnitsa This name was associated with the active harvest period - work on harvesting grain crops from the fields While the weather was clear, the peasants hurried to collect the ripened grain, since rain could ruin the harvest Although the rain made them feel better after the heat, the peasants were worried that the grain crops had not yet been harvested Before work, residents prayed to St Olga for help in hard work and a message of favorable weather The Stozhars also notified that the fields were ready for harvesting This is how the Slavs previously called a group of stars in the constellation Taurus, visible to the naked eye Stozhars became especially noticeable in July days Seeing them in the night sky, people believed that the grain harvest would take place with good weather In addition, Stozhary was a sign of a successful hunt for the beast Sometimes this period was popularly called a stormy period, since sunny days often gave way to cloudy and thundery ones The peasants watched the thunder; if it was clearly heard, then heavy rain was expected; if a weak rumble was heard, then precipitation occurred in small quantities Fishermen listened especially sensitively to thunder, since its rumbles on a given day announced successful fishing If residents of Olga Stradnitsa noticed leeches floating to the surface of the reservoir, they prepared for inclement weather Spiders frozen in the center of their webs foreshadowed rainy weather The active work of the bees promised dry, clear days