According to the folk calendar - Glafira Goroshnitsa

On May 9 (April 26, old style) according to the folk calendar, Glafira Goroshnitsa is celebrated This name is borrowed from the church calendar - the day of veneration of Saint Glaphyra of Amasia, a Christian girl who died for her faith in the 4th century Glafira was a servant of Constantia, the wife of the Roman emperor Licinius, an ardent idolater and hypocrite who issued an order on tolerance of other religions, but often violated it When Licinius wanted to lie with Glafira, the girl rushed to her mistress for help The Empress helped her escape from the residence; Glafira stayed with Bishop Basil of Amasia When the ruler found out about this, he forced the Christians to be brought to him On the way to Licinius the saint died People called Glafira the Pea Girl, because on this date the peasants plowed the land and planted legumes in it: peas, beans, lentils To prevent young shoots from dying from morning frosts, legume grains were sprinkled with a peat mixture from previously rotted plants In addition to the bean harvest, the plants served as fertilizer for the following year In addition, they enriched the soil with nitrogen Early potatoes were planted simultaneously with legumes Potatoes with already sprouted shoots were chosen for planting And to do this, it was germinated in advance: it was taken out for a couple of weeks in a bright place When burying potatoes in the ground, humus was added to the soil for better development To increase productivity, peasants read spells for rapid growth over planted crops And in the evening they had a meal with symbolic bean dishes Housewives baked pies with peas, cooked pea porridge, mashed potatoes or soup If peasants observed an abundance of dew on Glafira Goroshnitsa, they prepared for increased yields of cucumbers and millet A rare cuckoo cuckoo foreshadowed rainy weather, and a frequent cuckoo foreshadowed sunny weather Frosts on this day promised a drop in temperature in exactly a week Snow meant an easy year for livestock