May 31 is a special Russian holiday Fedot Ovsyanik: history, traditions, omens

Every year on May 31, Orthodox believers remember Saint Theodotus of Ancyra and the seven virgin martyrs who suffered for the Christian faith in the third century. In the national calendar, the holiday is known as Fedot Ovyanik, because it was by this time that the peasants completed sowing oats. In 2025, the holiday falls on a Saturday. Read about its history, folk traditions, prohibitions and omens in the material.

Fedot Ovsyanik – 2025: the history of the holiday

Saint Theodotus of Ancyra and the seven virgin martyrs Tekusa, Faina, Claudia, Matrona, Julia, Alexandra and Euphrasia, whom the Orthodox Church commemorates on May 31, lived in the third century in Ancyra, on the territory of modern Turkey.

Theodotus was a righteous follower of Jesus. Owning his own hotel, he helped persecuted believers, secretly brought them food, hid from his persecutors, redeemed the remains of the executed and buried them according to Christian custom.

Among these martyrs were seven virgins. These elderly women have devoted their entire lives to the service of God. Tecusa, the eldest of them, was a relative of Theodotus. Together with Faina, Claudia, Matrona, Julia, Alexandra and Euphrasia, she was captured on the orders of the cruel ruler Theoteknos. The women refused to participate in pagan rituals and were drowned in a lake.

After their deaths, Tecusa appeared to Theodotus in a dream and asked him to find their bodies. According to legend, on the night when Theodotus and his friends went to the lake to fulfill a request, a lamp burned in front of them, pointing the way. The guards guarding the execution site suddenly had a vision of the martyr Sosander, which caused them to flee in panic. The wind blew the water away, exposing the bodies of the martyrs, and the Christians were able to carry out their remains and bury them with honors.

When the authorities found out about this event, Theodotus was captured, severely tortured and executed. His relics were buried with honors, and later a temple was built on this site.

Traditions of the national holiday celebrated on May 31

In Russia, Saint Theodotus was revered as the patron saint of farmers, and his memory was associated with the completion of spring crops, in particular oats. Therefore, the holiday was popularly called Fedot Fescue.

In the morning, the peasants went to church and offered prayers to the saint. There was a belief that it helps to get a bountiful harvest, protects from drought and heavy rains.

The housewives also performed a special ceremony to make the oats grow well. They cooked oatmeal porridges, pies, treated their households and neighbors with them, and the leftovers were necessarily given to birds and cattle.

Fedot Fescue was also a day of special veneration for the oak. In the folk tradition, it was considered a sacred tree, symbolizing strength, endurance and vitality. The tree was endowed with magical powers, the peasants believed that it was on its branches that "rejuvenating apples" ripen.

On this day, gifts, treats were brought to the oak and even prayed at its roots, asking for a fertile season and family well-being. It was believed that the unfolded oak leaves on Fedot portend a rich harvest of oats.

To appease the tree and tame its power, the peasants boiled oatmeal jelly and poured it right under the roots, condemning special fertility spells. The women danced around the oak tree, asking for the health and well-being of the family.

Wedding ceremonies were sometimes held under the oaks. The newlyweds held hands and walked around the tree three times, believing that their union would become as strong as oak wood. This ritual was often accompanied by singing songs and folk festivals.

The oak not only symbolized strength and fertility, but was also considered a tree associated with the spiritual world. Our ancestors believed that touching an oak tree unnecessarily would bring disaster.

Bans on Fedot Ovsyanik: what not to do on May 31

May 31 was popularly associated with a number of prohibitions and warnings. It was believed that starting new businesses or buying things on that day was not worth it — they would not bring success. It was not recommended to do needlework before traveling to avoid trouble on the way.

Young couples should refrain from intimacy on this day, as this could lead to family troubles. The girls were advised not to stay at home alone, as this could mean a missed chance for a successful marriage in the upcoming wedding season.

On Fedot, it was strictly forbidden to break branches or tear the leaves of an oak tree, but if the trees themselves began to lose leaves, this was considered a bad sign, foreshadowing a bad harvest and a hungry year.

Folk signs of the Fedot Ovsyanik holiday

On Fedot Ovsyanik day in Russia, they observed nature in order to draw a conclusion about what summer would be like. The moon, hidden behind clouds on the night of May 30, was considered a harbinger of prolonged rains, and a clear sky promised a favorable, dry season. If a haze hid the horizon at sunset, the peasants understood that the summer would be rainy.

It was suggested by weather changes and animal behavior. If the wild boars went into the woods, it promised a rainy summer.

Earlier, Izvestia reported on the traditions of the Fedor Zhitnik national holiday.