According to the folk calendar - Elisha Grechkosey

On June 27 (June 14 according to the old calendar style), Elisha Grechkosey is celebrated among the people. And according to the church calendar, on this day they honor the memory of the prophet Elisha, in whose name the national holiday was named. Elisha lived in northern Jordan a thousand years before the coming of Jesus Christ. As a young man, he became a disciple of the prophet Elijah, and after his death he adopted the gift of foresight and miracles. For more than sixty years, Elisha served the people, announcing future events. He could, through prayer, restore a source of water for warriors, fill a vessel with oil for the hungry, or heal a seriously ill person. The saint died after living for more than a hundred years. The people called Elisha Buckwheat, since on this day buckwheat was re-sown. It was considered one of the main dishes of peasants: porridge was cooked from its grains or added to soups, pancakes and flatbreads were prepared from buckwheat flour. Buckwheat was unpretentious in cultivation, and in composition it could replace meat. Buckwheat inflorescences were a good honey plant, for which beekeepers loved it very much. In order for buckwheat to produce well, it was planted in dry soil. To call for rain, residents prayed to Saint Elisha. However, rain was expected only from the next days, otherwise the rain that fell on Elisha Grechkosey promised precipitation within a week. Sometimes peasants made rain calls by cutting nettles collected from ditches into pieces, believing that they would attract thunderclouds. On Elisha Buckwheat there was a tradition of consecrating clothes woven or donated this year. Inconvenient and uncomfortable garments were also blessed. A prayer was read over the material and sprinkled with holy water three times. It was believed that this ritual would protect the owner of the clothing from troubles and illnesses in the future. Signs on Elisha Buckwheat predicted the residents about future weather. Watching the flight of kites, we prepared for clear weather. Thick clouds promised impending rain. Frogs jumping near a pond foreshadowed imminent precipitation. Bad weather was also announced by the cry of bats and the crowing of a rooster at an inopportune hour.