According to the folk calendar - Zosima Pchelnik

Zosima the Pchelnik is celebrated on July 2 (June 19, old style) according to the folk calendar Zosima named the date from the church date of honoring the memory of Saint Zosima of Apolloniad, who gave his life for faith in the Savior Zosima lived in the 1st century in the territory of Thrace, in Apolloni He was a military serviceman and an idolater, but after learning about Christianity, he believed in the Lord and was baptized Zosima quit his service and devoted himself to prayer to God and good deeds For this, the ruler ordered the Christian to be tortured: they put him on hot metal, did not give him water or food, put on boots with spikes inside and forced him to run The Lord supported Zosima, leaving him unharmed, but the kats cut off the martyr’s head Zosima the Beekeeper existed among the people for several days During the summer Zosima watched bees swarm and fill honeycombs with honey In this way, the bees prepared food for themselves for the winter, so beekeepers did not disturb the insects during this period The owners read prayers to Saint Zosima for successful swarming, the safety of the bee colony and an abundance of honey To protect the apiary from the evil eye, beekeepers performed specific rituals Skulls of livestock were placed near the hives, as if they were performing an ancient ritual of sacrifice to the bee god In gratitude for the generous collection of honey, beekeepers buried a jug of mead in the ground They believed that the swarm could die from being overcounted, so the owners installed several empty hives in the apiary, which only they knew about Bees were valuable to the people Their honey helped peasants in times of famine and simply delighted them with its sweetness Candles were made from wax to illuminate homes From propolis, pollen and royal jelly, healers prepared medicines that helped against many diseases Bees were also indispensable pollinators of flowers, berries, fruits and vegetables Even on this date, Saint Job the Righteous was honored It was believed that if a person was offended by an unkind word or slandered, then he could turn to the saint for protection They believed that all unjust accusations on the day of Job fall from a righteous person Girls whose reputations had been tarnished by ill-wishers were especially looking forward to this day If Zosima the Beekeeper watched the bees hiding in the hive, then they prepared for inclement weather Frozen insects on the walls of the hive foreshadowed hot days Also, high temperatures and drought were foreshadowed by irritated and stinging bees