Holidays of the Slavs - Agrafena Bathing suit

The Slavic holiday of Agrafena Bathing Lady is celebrated on July 6th Its name is associated with the name of Saint Agrippina of Rome, who was subjected to torture because of her love for Christ This holiday combines both Christian and pagan rituals; this combination occurred in the era of dual faith It is traditionally associated with the element of water, since from this day swimming in reservoirs begins This day is considered to be preparation for Midsummer or its initial stage In some areas, the celebration of Agrafena Bathing House was transformed into the celebration of Ivan Kupala On this day, women and girls decorated their homes with bunches of herbs and made a special doll, filling it with fragrant herbs They also went to the grove and, accompanied by melodious singing, broke birch brooms for the bathhouse However, brooms were made not only from birch, but also from alder, currant, willow, and rowan, adding medicinal herbs to them, which were also collected for Agrafena Bathing Suit After a day of work, the girls had to go outside the village, walk around the sown fields, singing special Kupala songs There was also a custom of women rolling on rye; this promised a rich harvest Not participating in these processes was a great shame: this could bring disaster not only to your yard, but to the entire village There was a custom on Agrafena Bathing Day to clean wells, then the water in the well, according to legend, would be tasty and healing The guys dressed themselves in old clothes, collected silt from the river and watered everyone they met, sparing only the poor and old Then the young people went to the nearest river and performed ablution In the evening, a visit to the bathhouse was obligatory; bathing in it symbolized deliverance from sinful thoughts and aspirations Sometimes they cooked a special barley porridge, which they treated to the household, and they did not forget about the beggars On the banks of the rivers, boys and girls lit fires and had a joint meal Also, sometimes they dressed the girl up as a bride, sang, had fun next to her, calling her the Swimsuit The healers stripped naked at night and went to dig up roots and collect herbs Some wondered about their betrothed and their future fate They collected burning plants or those that pricked and threw them into the fire, thus saving themselves from troubles and enemies Grandmothers-healers took children to wash themselves in streams, throwing coins there and asking in return for health for the children