May 14 is a special national holiday of Yeremey Zapryagalnik: customs and omens

On May 14, the Church honors the memory of the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah. The holiday was popularly called Yeremey the Harnessed, as horses were usually harnessed to work in the field in the middle of the month. In 2025, the date of the celebration falls on Wednesday. Izvestia tells us what traditions and omens are associated with this day.

What is the holiday on May 14th?

The Prophet Jeremiah was born into a family of priests in the city of Anathoth near Jerusalem. He lived 600 years before the Birth of Christ and was one of the four prophets described in the Old Testament.

According to legend, at the age of 15, the young man had a vision in which the Lord called him to give up worldly life and become a prophet. The boy did just that. He devoted the next 20-odd years to prophetic ministry and wrote the book of Prophecies, in which he predicted many historical events, including the fall of Jerusalem.

Later, the Christian Church established a day of veneration for the holy prophet. In Russia, May 14 became the day of Yeremey, Yerema or Yarema. Erema was called a Harness driver, another common name is Erema Zapashnik. Like other church and national celebrations, this day was closely linked to the agricultural calendar, which gave the holiday its name.

Yeremey Zapryagalnik in 2025: traditions and omens of May 14

In the villages on Yeremey, active plowing and sowing of fields began. "A lazy plough rides out into the field on Yeremey," the people said. It was believed that all the plantings made on this day would certainly give good shoots, which meant that the year would be satisfying and there would be plenty of everything in the house.

According to tradition, field work began after prayer. In order for everything to go well, our ancestors turned to the prophet, asking for good weather and a rich harvest. To this day, such sayings have been preserved: "Yeremy, Yeremy, understand about crops" or "Sow oats — pray to Yeremy."

Special pastries were also baked for the holiday and special May porridge was prepared, which was eaten together in the field. We also paid attention to the weather signs. They were used to determine what the new agricultural season would be. If a warm wind blows during the day on May 14, and there are many stars in the sky at night, then the summer will be dry. And the clear weather on Yerem promised many sunny days and a good harvest of bread.

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In 2025, the day falls on April 29th.

What can and cannot be done on May 14

According to other popular beliefs, it is forbidden to lend money on this day. The ban applies to both money and grain, otherwise throughout the year you will only have to give without receiving anything in return. Idle time also promises failures in the future. Idling and shirking work during the plowing period was forbidden.

In addition, on May 14, you should not conduct financial negotiations, as well as go fishing, buy and eat fish. In Russia, it was believed that by violating the ban, one could become dumb as a fish. It is not recommended to talk about your dreams, especially bad ones, as they can become reality.

Earlier, Izvestia told how Nine healers celebrated the national holiday in Russia.