According to the folk calendar - Evstignei Zhitnik

Evstignei Zhitnik is a summer holiday celebrated by believers on August 18 On this day, Orthodox Christians pay tribute to the memory of Saint Eustigney, a faithful and courageous warrior who became a saint, a Roman by birth It is known that Evstigney devoted no more or less to military service - as much as 60 years According to a long-standing legend, while still serving in the army, Evstigney had the opportunity to observe various miracles testifying to the power and strength of the Lord For example, one day he saw a shining Cross in the sky, promising him victory in battles and a long life After completing his military service, Eustignaeus went to Antioch, where he began the life of a righteous man The future saint regularly visited the temple, devoted a lot of time to prayer and strictly observed all fasts In other words, he led a calm, measured and pious life, in full accordance with all Christian dogmas The idyll ended when Julian the Apostate seized power in the empire, intending to return the Romans to paganism Eustignaeus by that time was already an ancient old man at the age of 110, with gray hair He was soon arrested by order of the new emperor, then tried, calling on him to publicly renounce his faith Evstigney, being firm in his own convictions, did not renounce his faith and was not afraid to directly declare to the king’s eyes what he thought about his apostasy from Christ After listening to the daring speeches of the righteous elder, the emperor gave the order to execute him So Evstigney accepted martyrdom for the Christian faith, and over time was canonized Many folk traditions are associated with the holiday of Evstigney Zhitnik It was celebrated at the end of summer, when peasants massively harvest crops from their fields It was generally accepted that one should work silently on this day, without being distracted by empty conversations, without fussing or quarreling with other people If you break this unwritten rule, then in winter the cattle will definitely be attacked by illness Some special rituals were also used to provide protection from evil spirits that could harm cows, sheep and other livestock It was necessary to ask for help and support from Mother Damp Earth, casting special spells “on all four sides” of the pasture To do this, the oldest residents of the village got up at dawn, went to the field at first dawn, then turned their faces to the east and uttered special words addressed to nature itself They contained a request for protection from an unclean reptile, a dashing deed and an evil love spell And on this day in Rus' it was customary to glorify zhito (barley), hence the name of the holiday - Evstignei Zhitnik It was supposed to knead the dough for barley bread in the morning, always using the first grind of wheat It was believed that if you tasted such bread, you would live in abundance, satiety and warmth all year People also believed many signs associated with the holiday of Evstigney Zhitnik: