According to the folk calendar - Stepan Senoval

On August 15, the Eastern Slavs celebrated the day of Stepan Senoval This day in the Christian calendar is dedicated to the anniversary of the transfer of the relics of the martyr Stephen from Jerusalem to Constantinople The apostle of seventy was slandered by the Jews for allegedly blaspheming Christ For this, the thirty-year-old archdeacon was stoned Stephen is the first martyr, the first Christian to suffer for his faith in Jesus Christ The relics of the passion-bearer were found only four centuries after the death of the saint - at the beginning of the 5th century Very quickly they spread to many cities around the world Miracles of healing occur near the relics of Stephen Christians also keep contact relics - stones with which, according to legend, Stephen was beaten Icon painters depict a young martyr with bloody stones on his head and with a palm branch or censer in his hands People associate this day with seeing off summer and welcoming autumn The peasants at Stepan Senoval were finishing haymaking and putting away the dried hay for storage The grass, mowed at the beginning of summer, was growing back by this time They called it the aftereffect, or the second hay, and they mowed it down again for Stepan Senoval On August 15, knowledgeable people collected late-flowering medicinal herbs Some made a magical Stepanov wreath of twelve herbs At the same time, it was important to ensure that the torn plants did not drop a single flower It was hung in the red corner and used when one of the household members fell ill People also performed rituals on horses to prevent them from theft and illness The horse was sprinkled with holy water and given water through silver to protect it from evil spirits To do this, they took a silver coin and put it in the hat Then they filled it with water and gave the animal something to drink The coin was hidden in the stable Often the same coin was passed down from generation to generation On Stepanov Day, horses were protected from hard work, they were washed, their manes and tails were combed, and ribbons were braided It was believed that the weather on Stepan showed what September would be like If the spider was weaving webs, it means that strong winds will soon blow The same thing should be expected if the croaking frogs suddenly fell silent