According to the folk calendar - Laurentian Day

On August 23, people celebrate Laurentian Day, dedicated to the day of memory of Saints Lawrence of Rome and Lawrence of Kaluga Lawrence of Rome - senior deacon of the Christian community of the Roman province, who lived in the 3rd century The information that has come down about the man’s biography is legendary Lawrence’s responsibilities included control over the property of the Church, and he also had to help the suffering and the poor During the persecution of Christians, Lawrence was imprisoned In prison, he healed fellow prisoners with prayers and converted many pagans to Christianity The warden of the prison, Hippolytus, having seen these miracles, himself believed in Christ and was baptized After some time, the ruler invited Lawrence to voluntarily give him all the property of the Church The deacon, asking for a delay, hastily distributed all the church goods to the sick and poor Then, together with them, he went to the ruler and reported that it was these people who were the wealth of the Church For this act, Lavrenty was severely punished: he was put on an iron grate and fried alive Hippolytus, devoted to Lawrence, stole the body and buried it in a cave according to Christian canons On the day of the archdeacon’s death—August 10 (23, New Style)—Orthodox believers remember the torment that Saint Lawrence experienced and thank him for his love for Christ Icon painters depict a martyr with a lattice in his hands Sometimes he is depicted with a casket, symbolizing the riches of the Church A popular theme in painting is the healing of the blind and the distribution of treasures to the poor The holy fool Lavrentiy of Kaluga lived in Kaluga in the 15th and 16th centuries It is believed that he was able to protect Kaluga from the attack of the Tatars in 1512 The blessed one lived on a mountain peak overgrown with dense forest He walked barefoot and wore no other clothing except a shirt and sheepskin coat The saint became famous for his strength of spirit, self-denial and miracles of healing Lawrence reposed on August 23, according to the new style A monastery was built on the site of his monastery After his death, the blessed one continued to perform miracles, helping the warrior-defenders of Kaluga and Rus' Icon painters depict the holy fool in his usual clothes and with an ax on a long ax handle On Laurentian Day, those who suffer from eye diseases pray to the saints It is also believed that Saint Lawrence saves from the evil eye and damage The symbol of August 23 is water At the dawn of this day, the girls washed themselves with water from the spring This, according to legend, gave them beauty The morning dew was given to old people and babies to give them health At noon, people went to the banks of reservoirs and watched the water surface If it was calm, then autumn and winter promised to be mild A small ripple predicted a rainy autumn Despite all this, there was a ban on swimming on this day It was believed that violating this rule would lead to illness Another name for this holiday is Lavrenty the Zorechnik This is due to the fact that at the current time of year, sunsets and sunrises took on a scarlet hue People looked at Lavrenty at the linden leaves If they began to turn yellow, then an excellent harvest of winter crops should be expected Sometimes August 23 is called Miller's Day On this day, people carried the first sheaf of wheat to the mill After grinding it, they baked bread, which was considered the most delicious, aromatic and healthy