According to the folk calendar - Evpatiy Kolovrat

Evpatiy Kolovrat Day is celebrated on August 24 On the same day, Orthodox Christians honor the memory of the martyr Euplus of Catania, who preached the word of God in early Christian times This man was a Sicilian archdeacon who lived in the city of Catana during the 3rd-4th centuries (more exact dates are not known) The clergyman never parted with his Gospel; he constantly preached and spread the Christian faith among pagan peoples The archdeacon was captured during one of his sermons, after which he was thrown into prison and then beheaded In Rus', this saint is held in high esteem; in his honor, at different times, Orthodox churches were built in Moscow and other cities And yet, our people are closer to their hero - the epic hero Evpatiy Kolovrat, glorified in legends and tales They say that this warrior was a prince and ruled in Ryazan, he lived in the 13th century and defended his lands from the constant raids of the Mongol-Tatar horde Glory to Evpatiy Kolovrat came after one of the decisive battles, when he himself personally destroyed many enemy horsemen Unfortunately, the forces of the detachment of the Ryazan prince and Batu Khan were unequal Evpatiy fought to the last and died in battle like a hero The khan himself was so amazed by the courage and courage of his opponent that he allowed the prince’s body to be given to his soldiers so that they would bury the hero with full honors There are many beliefs and superstitions associated with the day of Evpatiy Kolovrat Our ancestors believed that on August 24, a ghostly white horse appeared in the swamps, silently moving along the ground There were even brave souls who tried to catch and ride him, however, no one succeeded They say the horse rushed over the earth, trying to find its lost rider At night he appeared in the cemetery, stood over the graves and pitifully kicked the ground, as if mourning the dead According to a long-standing belief, in the place where a white horse suddenly appeared, a battle or massacre later took place On the day of Evpatiy Kolovrat it was forbidden to drink alcohol Those people who violated this ban had their dead relatives appear at night to shame and scold them It was possible to work exhaustively on this holiday As a rule, peasants began to shear their sheep so that their wool had time to grow back before the onset of the first cold days Folk signs associated with Evpatiy Kolovrat Day: