According to the folk calendar - Signs of Timothy

On June 23 (June 10 according to the old calendar style) the Sign of Timothy is celebrated among the people The date received its name in honor of St Timothy of Prussia, whose memory is commemorated by the Orthodox Church on this day Timothy lived in the 4th century in Bithynia, a city of Prussia Having become a bishop, he strengthened the faith of Christians even during the period of their persecution For his wisdom and righteousness, God endowed him with the gift of miracles When Timothy was reported to the pagan ruler, he ordered the bishop to be locked in prison However, the saint preached the word of God there too and converted people of other faiths to Christianity For this, the governor ordered Timothy's head to be cut off On this day, people watched for signs that foreshadowed trouble for the residents That is why they called the day the Sign of Timothy Everyone looked closely at the little things in order to see the sign sent from above They did not turn away from the signs; on the contrary, residents perceived them as a warning Seeing them, the people prepared themselves for the bad, so in the future the misfortune that happened would upset the residents less The people believed that along with signs, ghosts appeared on earth, harming living people In order to protect themselves from them, peasants wore special herbs that warded off evil spirits - chamomile, nettle, thistle, fern Prayers and blessed water also helped On this day, you should take a steam bath or swim in a pond There were also prohibitions on the day of Timothy After eating, it was forbidden to leave a spoon on the table, otherwise the harvest could turn out to be bad When cleaning, you should not sweep the rubbish out of your home, since the wind could pick it up and spread it among the neighbors, which would lead to a quarrel If any of the peasants on the day of the Sign of Timothy saw wolves near the village, then they prepared for the death of cattle A circling flock of crows warned of the approaching mass disease of residents Having noticed an abundance of rodents in a stable or barn, they expected a hungry year A glimpse of a light-like shine in a field meant the onset of drought and a small harvest An audible rumble from the ground promised a fire in the village, a rainbow in the sky - starvation, fire in the clouds - the beginning of a war Having noticed a lump in the baked goods, the owners foreshadowed misfortune or death in the family Also, trouble was expected if a crack appeared along the mirror But seeing your home in the light meant a happy event