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Summer is slowly coming to an end. The nights are getting longer and colder, the clouds are gathering pace. Pears and apples ripen, sea buckthorn is filled with a bright orange color. We are harvesting and preparing for autumn. And what was August like for our ancestors?
Gustoed vs sextile
Before the baptism of Russia, August was called differently, but the name necessarily contained a link to the calendar. Somewhere there is a “glow” (the dawns become cold), somewhere there is a “serpen” (the harvest is ending), somewhere there is a “month-storage” or “thick eater” (the table at that time was especially rich).
The modern name has nothing to do with nature: it is a tribute to human vanity. The month was named so in honor of the Roman emperor Octavian Augustus: the conquest of Egypt fell on this especially successful period for him. The emperor chose the month that was formerly called «sextile». I took an example from Julius Caesar, who shortly before that renamed “quintillium” to July.
But back to our Russian men. “A peasant has three worries in August: mow, plow, and sow,” they used to say in Russia. What about women? And then there was a saying: «To whom work, and our women have a holiday in August.» No, their cases did not become less, but the joy in life definitely increased — what a satisfying, fruitful month!
Beware of water and pets
Until 1917, Ilyin’s Day was celebrated on July 20. But after the calendar reform, the holiday has shifted, and now it falls on August 2. As in the case of Ivan Kupala, Ilyin’s day in the Russian tradition also absorbed both pagan beliefs and Christian traditions.
There is a version that the Perunov day, which fell on this period, with the adoption of Christianity, began to be called Ilyin. And the image of the Old Testament prophet Elijah, who lived about nine hundred years before the birth of Jesus Christ, acquired the features of a formidable pagan deity. And Elijah became in Russia the ruler of thunder, lightning and rain, the lord of the harvest and fertility.
The Slavs believed that even evil spirits were afraid of Elijah: on the day of the «terrible saint» she turned into different animals — cats, dogs, wolves, hares. Pets fell out of favor on Ilyin’s Day — they were not allowed into the house. All work on this day stopped, so as not to anger Elijah the prophet and not to bring hail, thunder and lightning to his economy.
Men from neighboring villages arranged a “brotherhood” on Ilyin’s day (this ceremony is also known as “prayer”, “sacrifice”): they gathered at a common table, ate, drank, walked and performed a ritual with a sacrificial animal. They could be a bull, a calf or a lamb. Before Elijah, they bought him in a purse, fattened him, and after serving a prayer service, they cut him. And then they all ate together, sharing a meal with guests and beggars.
Our ancestors knew that it was during this period that the first signs of autumn appeared, the sun was no longer warm, and the water became cold.
Starting from Ilyin’s day, it was possible to pick wild berries and eat the fruits of a new crop, as well as play folk wind instruments. It was believed that during the period of active ripening of fruits, the game can “blow out the greens”, that is, disrupt the proper development of plants, therefore they imposed a ban on the game.
“Before Ilya, a man bathes, and from Ilya he says goodbye to the river!” — said the people. Why can’t you swim after Ilyin’s day? Someone says that Ilya “urinated” into the water, someone says that he threw ice or a cold stone into it. And in the northern regions of Russia, they believe that it was not Ilya who stepped into the water, but a deer or a bear.
Be that as it may, Ilyin’s day is the calendar border of the seasons. And from ancient times, our ancestors, who knew how to notice the smallest changes in nature, knew that it was during this period that the first signs of autumn appeared, the behavior of animals and birds changed, the sun was no longer warm, and the water became cold. Autumn is on the nose — «reserve», there is a lot of work to be done with harvesting. And with sick, cold bathing members of the household, you won’t get enough trouble. So they began to say that Ilya “urinated” into the water in order to discourage the desire to dive there.
Let’s roll across the field
In mid-August, the Slavic peoples traditionally celebrated «dozhinki» — the completion of the harvest. Also, this holiday was called «obzhinki» or «assumption / assumption». On this day, men and women worked in the field in complete silence so as not to disturb the «field» — the spirit, the owner of the field.
After the last sheaf was ready, the women collected all the sickles, tied them with the last straw, and everyone began to roll in the stubble. Yes, not just like that, but with the words: “Reaper, reaper! Give my snare to the pestle, to the threshing, and to the threshing and to the crooked spindle.
Adults like people, but the peasant life was hard — all summer in the field. The work is not easy, but it cannot be done, otherwise the winter will be hungry. And here it is — the last sheaf! How can you not rejoice? This rite gave both men and women relief and liberated with its absurd fun. The peasants had a sundress and a kokoshnik ready to decorate the last sheaf. The straw woman was brought with songs to the yard, placed in the center of the table with refreshments, and the celebration continued.
And our ancestors knew how to work and have fun. August is perhaps the most important month for the Russian peasant, because the life of the whole family depended on the harvest until next summer. And dressing up a straw woman is the best «team building» on the occasion of agricultural work.
Drinking honey: save yourself, who can
In mid-August, the Dormition Fast begins. But even in spite of this, the people called him a «bushy eater.» They said this: “The Assumption fast feeds a peasant to his fill”, “Fast — without starving, work — without getting tired”, “In August, a woman oppresses the ridge in the field, but her life is honey: the days are shorter — longer than the night, aching in the back — yes pickle on the table.»
On August 14, according to the Christian calendar, the honey Savior falls (in the old calendar it was August 1). Beekeepers collected honeycombs from hives and took them to the church to consecrate. There they received a blessing to eat honey, and delicious days began with honey gingerbread, pancakes with honey, pies and buns. And they also made drinking honey — the same one that in Russian fairy tales “flowed down the mustache, but never got into the mouth.”
Pit honey had nothing in common with mead: it was infused for a long time, for years, and its production required a product that was more expensive than sturgeon caviar.
Also, the word “saved” in this context means “saving yourself” — there are all the traditional gifts of the last month of summer: honey, apples and bread
Here is what Russian cuisine researcher William Pokhlebkin writes about this: “Medostav was associated with another rare and now extinct product — fish glue (karluk). Karluk was added to ready-made honey before it was tarred in order to slow down, slow down the fermentation process and “quench” (paste over) the decay products that arise in honey, neutralize them.
Since karluk had a cost hundreds of times greater than sturgeon caviar (a pood of caviar — 15 rubles, a pood of karluk — 370 rubles), this also increased the cost of the supplied honey. Modern culinary specialists believe that drinking honey can be made using gelatin.
After the Honey Savior comes the Apple Savior — August 19. From that day on, it was allowed to eat apples. And then Nut (or Khlebny) — August 29. On this day they always baked and consecrated bread. Savior holidays are named in honor of Jesus Christ the Savior (Savior). Also, the word “saved” in this context means “to save oneself” — there are all the traditional gifts of the last month of summer: honey, apples and bread.