Russian Holidays - Chemist Day of the Russian Navy (RCHBZ Day of the Navy)

Bereshchenye is celebrated on April 11 (March 29, old style) according to the folk calendar This is what they used to call the Day of the Birch, a tree revered by the people It was called a symbol of health and longevity In Bereshchenye there was a custom of going into the forest and collecting birch sap His movement awakened after the snow melted and the buds swelled Residents chose an adult strong tree for collection, made a small hole in it and placed a container Young trees were avoided so as not to destroy them The collected juice was used for health purposes: to boost immunity after winter, to treat skin or diseases of internal organs The juice was also used in the production of sbitnya, a honey drink Healing tinctures were prepared from the buds and leaves In the evening, the peasants went to the bathhouse and steamed using brooms made of birch twigs It was believed that by whipping the body with such a broom, the blood became purer, and therefore healthier Residents believed that birch was capable of expelling evil spirits, which is why a bathhouse with a birch broom was also a protective ritual against evil spirits To protect livestock from the pranks of evil spirits, birch branches were hung at the entrance, and birch wreaths were hung on the heads of cattle In order to save their homes from hail and lightning, birch twigs were fastened in the attic, and to preserve the crops in the field from pests, its branches were stuck into the ground If children were sick in Bereshchenye, they were lightly whipped with a birch twig, hoping that this would help them cope with the disease Birch trees were often planted near the house They believed that her presence would influence the health of the owner and drive away sadness But the tree had a capricious character If she liked the owner, she would help him throughout her life The exception was the weeping (dangling) birch It was considered the tree of the dead and was avoided People went to her only to enlist the support of their deceased great-grandfathers It was also forbidden to break its branches, otherwise you could incur the wrath of spirits from the other world Birch was credited with educational properties They believed that flogging it with branches would save the offender from bad deeds in the future So it was used to flog deceivers, thieves or children who had misbehaved If you noticed an abundance of sap in the birch trees in Bereshchenye, you prepared for a wet summer Full flowering of the tree on a given day foreshadowed drought in the summer The emergence of a flock of geese on the ice meant that the warmth would not come for a long time But large swan families promised a fine spring