Folk calendar - Makrinin day, Mokriny

Makrinin Day, also called Mokriny, according to the folk calendar is celebrated on August 1 (July 19 according to the old style) This name is derived from the name of Saint Macrina of Cappadocia, whose memory is honored by the Orthodox Church on this day Macrina lived in the 4th century in Cappadocia (a city in modern Turkey) The girl grew up in a wealthy family, was the eldest of ten children, learned Christianity from her mother, and learned to read and write from the Holy Scriptures Macrina's parents betrothed her to a decent young man, but he died before the wedding Then Macrina chose the path of chastity in order to remain faithful to her failed husband After the death of her father, the girl and her mother took monastic vows and lived a strict life of prayer and helping those in need People began to call the saint Mokrina, associating her with frequent wet weather on this day It was believed that the rain that fell on Makrinin's day would bring good harvests to the land next year An abundance of nuts was also expected after the rain If there was no rainfall on Mokrina, the peasants performed a ritual to call for rain To do this, they chose a girl born on a given date and dressed her in a blue dress and scarlet beads Other girls from the area brought ears of corn to her, and she collected a sheaf from them Then the chosen one carried it to the pond and threw it into the water, and then she herself entered and quickly began to immerse the ears of corn under the water before they were carried away by the current Men were forbidden to look at this ritual, otherwise they could bring trouble to the village For this reason, they tried to avoid rivers where girls gather Residents also believed that if it rains on Makrinin’s day, then the chosen maiden should stay indoors all day Its release could bring terrible downpours to the village Fishermen on Mokrina went to the reservoir in order to catch more fish It was believed that during the hot period it bites reluctantly, so it was necessary to take better care of the float If you managed to catch a lot of fish, then until the next year fishing took place with a generous catch But for the fishermen who came home with empty nets, the day on the contrary promised meager catches Based on the weather on Makrinin's day, residents promised about the coming autumn - whatever the precipitation was, this was what they expected Noticing aspen fluff, one could go into the forest to collect boletuses, and when he saw the heather blooming, one could go for saffron milk caps The frequent falling of stars at night promised impending winds