According to the popular calendar - Barnabas Day

On June 24 (June 11 according to the old calendar style) people celebrate Barnabas Day The date received its name from the name of St Barnabas, the apostle of the 70, and St Barnabas of Vetluzh, revered by the church on this day The Apostle Barnabas was a disciple of the Apostle Paul Together with him, he spread the Christian faith in the territory of Asia Minor, then went to Italy and organized an episcopal throne there Returning to Cyprus, the saint spoke about the life and exploits of Christ One day, the Jews, outraged by the sermons, attacked Barnabas and stoned him to death Barnabas of Vetluga lived in Rus' in the 15th century From his youth he chose the path of a clergyman, and years later he went into solitude in desert places He stopped at Red Mountain, not far from the Vetluga River, and led an ascetic life After the death of Barnabas, the monks erected two temples at his place of residence, and centuries later the city of Varnavin was founded The people considered Barnabas Day a holiday Residents gathered from all over the area, set a large table together, talked, and sang songs After sunset, large fires were lit, round dances were performed around them and people jumped over the fire Unmarried girls were engaged in fortune telling for their betrothed Often the festivities lasted until dawn They believed that on the Day of Barnabas, evil spirits would come together and divide human territories among themselves, where they would commit mischief Some had to harass livestock, others had to go to people with illnesses, others had to frighten children, and others had to destroy crops in their gardens After the division, the evil spirits rolled out into the grass, filling it with their poison They said that the peak activity of the festivities of evil spirits occurs at noon, and during these hours residents tried not to go out into the street On this date it was forbidden to touch herbs By picking a plant and bringing it into the house, one could bring the spirit of evil spirits into the house and then trouble would not be avoided Haymaking was postponed until the following days, otherwise the cattle could die from such hay in the winter Doctors tolerated the collection of medicinal herbs, believing that they would cause more problems than they were worth Sometimes Barnabas was called the strawberry man This name was associated with the tradition of telling fortunes about the future harvest using strawberries on a given day To do this, we went into the forest and looked at strawberries If you saw red berries on a bush, you expected a generous harvest of spring crops Noticing the fog over the pond on the Day of Barnabas, residents foreshadowed an abundance of mushrooms in the forest If in the morning the floral aroma soared and intensified, then they were preparing for an approaching thunderstorm Hiding pigeons foreshadowed worsening weather The sun, shrouded in haze at dawn, promised rainy weather in the afternoon