Funny holidays - Sweet Cucumber Festival

The end of summer is the time of harvesting, making jam and pickling vegetables. On August 15, a funny holiday is celebrated - Sweet Cucumber Day. Various celebrations are held throughout the 3 summer months in honor of this popularly beloved cucurbit family crop. The regional festival "Lukhovitsky Cucumber", which attracts a lot of tourists and farmers, is celebrated annually in the Moscow region in mid-June. In Suzdal, every second or third Saturday of July, a unique and vibrant Cucumber Day takes place. All these holidays are held in the traditions of the Russian fair and are aimed at developing gastronomic tourism. The Sweet Cucumber Festival is widely celebrated in areas where agriculture and gardening have been the occupation of the indigenous population since ancient times. A rich harvest of cucumbers was collected in the Vladimir-Suzdal Principality and in other territories of Rus'. The fruit came to us from East Asia, quickly took root and acquired the status of a national vegetable. By the 16th-17th centuries, real cucumber capitals appeared in Rus' - Murom, Klin, Suzdal, Nezhin. The tasty ripe fruit of this popularly loved crop should have a sweetish taste. It is no coincidence that in Iran, cucumber is considered a fruit. It is served on the table along with other sweets for dessert. Salt, bitterness and other flavor nuances give the vegetable various cooking options - pickling, pickling or frying. Cucumber is a moisture-loving crop that requires regular watering. The bitterness characteristic of early fruits is associated with a lack of water, nitrogen and potassium in the soil. In order to make a fresh cucumber more palatable in a salad, the peel is cut off. It is in it that cucurbitacin accumulates, a substance that gives a bitter taste. Processing the vegetable (soaking it in warm water before eating) and hot canning helps get rid of it. The ceremonial events on August 15 amaze with their diversity. In addition to fairs where gardeners and farms sell fresh and canned vegetables, the following are held: • competitions for the largest fruit; • performances of folk art groups; • master classes on pickling, fermentation, making pies and exotic types of cucumber jam; • training in carving - artistic carving of vegetables; • competitions for the best themed costume, etc. Sweet and not so sweet fruits of plants from the pumpkin family are not only eaten. They are used in cosmetology - cucumber lotions and masks get rid of pigmentation, oily shine and acne on the face. Few schoolchildren know that the skin of a vegetable can easily erase marks left by a pen or felt-tip pen. A slice of cucumber helps prevent bad breath. Thanks to its juice, the glass in the bathroom stops fogging up and door hinges stop squeaking. Some peoples believe that the vegetable brings good luck. That is why Germans traditionally decorate the Christmas tree with cucumber-shaped toys or hang fresh fruit on it. Rarely is a Russian feast complete without pickles. The traditional appetizer of the meal is pickled cucumber. A crispy and aromatic vegetable reigns on the table on holidays and weekdays. The Sweet Cucumber Festival is intended to pay tribute to its taste, versatility and popularity.