June 10 — Nikita Gusyatnik: strict prohibitions of the national holiday
Every year on June 10, the Orthodox Church honors the memory of St. Nikita the Confessor, Bishop of Chalcedon. In the national calendar, this date is called Nikita Gusyatnik, or Noon. In 2025, the celebration falls on a Tuesday. Izvestia tells us about the traditions and signs that exist on this day.
What is the holiday today, June 10th
St. Nikita the Confessor lived in the second half of the 8th century in Byzantium. People knew him as a merciful and generous man who always came to the aid of the poor, orphans, widows and the unjustly wronged. For his righteousness and honesty, St. Nikita was elected Bishop of Chalcedon.
At that time, the iconoclastic heresy spread throughout the Byzantine Empire. Her supporters considered the holy images to be idols and advocated the destruction of temples, icons and relics. St. Nikita boldly urged his flock not to listen to the speeches of iconoclasts, and spoke out against common misconceptions. For this, he was tortured and sent into exile.
Saint Nikita the Confessor died in exile at the beginning of the 9th century. Subsequently, several miraculous healings took place at his relics. Believers turn to him with various requests: for protection for those in need, including widows and orphans, for strength and patience, protection from enemies and ill-wishers.
Nikita Gusyatnik in 2025 — traditions
In Russia, St. Nikita the Confessor was still revered as the protector of newborn goslings. It was believed that the saint protects the chicks from diseases, injuries and predators. Hence the popular name of the holiday — Nikita Gusyatnik.
On this day, the peasants treated poultry with special respect. For ducklings and goslings, wheat porridge was cooked in holy water with the addition of chicken eggs. According to beliefs, such a treat helped the chicks gain strength to grow up healthy and strong.
Nikita Gusyatnik's holiday had another name, Noon. It is associated with the legends of the noonday spirits that appear in the fields when the sun is at its zenith. They look like ordinary women, but it's dangerous to approach them: they will ruin men, and they will involve girls in their dances and make them dance to exhaustion.
In folk tales, there were good and evil noonday spirits. The first walked through the fields with a frying pan and covered the crops with it from the scorching sun. The latter turned their frying pan so that the rays reflected from it burned the seedlings.
At Noon, pregnant women went to the field so that the child would receive strength and health from the growing ears of grain. Mothers of young children suffering from restless sleep took their babies out into the yard at dawn, stood facing the sun and read a special plot, and then, backing away, returned home. It was believed that this would help restore the baby's peace of mind.
Nikita Gusyatnik in 2025 — what can and cannot be done
On Nikita Gusyatnik, villagers went to the temple to pray to the Bishop of Chalcedon for success in business and to ask for health for themselves and their loved ones. The church did not set any special prohibitions on this day, so after the service people returned to their daily activities.
Nevertheless, there were various superstitions associated with the holiday among the people. On this day, the men did not approach the fields, so as not to encounter the midday sun and lose their strength. They also avoided swear words, as they believed that the person who utters them could be possessed by evil spirits.
Unmarried girls stayed at home at noon so as not to lose all chances of finding a groom. By this time, the housewives had tightly closed all the windows and doors so that evil spirits would not enter the dwelling. Wormwood twigs, which were hung at the entrance, were protected from otherworldly guests.
Mothers tried not to scold their children on the holiday in order to maintain harmony in the family. It was forbidden to frighten children so that they would not acquire lifelong fears.
Nikita Gusyatnik in 2025 — signs
Nikita Gusyatnik was associated with many folk traditions in Russia. The farmers rejoiced at the abundance of dew in the morning and the clear, windless weather in the afternoon. It was believed that there would be a good grain harvest after that. The bluish air above the forest also promised good weather.
We paid attention to animals and insects. If the lizards crawled out to bask in the sun, they waited for windy weather. The approach of warm and sunny days was indicated by the abundance of wasps and ants on a summer day. And the geese, cleaning their feathers, foreshadowed the coming bad weather.
Earlier, Izvestia told about the traditions and signs of the national holiday Rosehip Day.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
