A special Russian holiday Semik (Green Yuletide): history, traditions, omens

Every year, on the seventh Thursday after Easter, Orthodox believers celebrate Semik, which is known in the national calendar as Green Yuletide, or Rusalnaya Week. This holiday marks the transition from spring to summer and is accompanied by traditional rituals related to fertility and commemoration of the dead. In 2025, the date falls on June 5th. Read about its history, traditions, prohibitions and folk signs in the Izvestia article.

Semik (Green Yuletide)-2025: the history of the holiday

Semik has its roots in pagan times and represents the transition from spring to summer. In the pre-Christian era, when the official calendar did not yet exist, it served as a kind of boundary of the seasons. The holiday became so popular in Russia that even after the adoption of Christianity, it organically fit into folk customs.

Semik is also associated with the commemoration of the dead, especially those whom the church did not bury, the so—called mortgaged dead, people who died an unnatural death. It was believed that on this day their souls especially needed prayers and commemoration.

Until now, the holiday has been widespread in different regions of the country. At the end of the XIX–beginning of the XX century, girls in Central Russia organized the seven-Trinity festivities. These facts were recorded in the archival manuscripts of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society (IRGO), and were also reflected in the paintings of that time.

Semik had a special significance among the Volga peoples, such as the Mari and Chuvash, who brought their ethnic rituals to it, enriching traditions. On the banks of the Ob River in Western Siberia, it persisted as a mass celebration until the 1920s, and in some remote villages until the end of the 20th century.

In modern rural areas of the Novosibirsk region, this celebration is still celebrated, but more often under other names, such as Rusalchin Velik Day or Rusalnaya Nedelya. It continues to symbolize the final transition to summer and retains its connection with agricultural rituals aimed at fertility.

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Traditions of the national holiday celebrated on June 5th

The main symbol of the holiday in Russia was the birch tree. Her ancestors associated her with vitality and fertility, so they danced around these trees, decorated them with ribbons, scarves and beads.

It was customary to bring birch branches and bouquets of the first flowers to the houses, which were then dried and stored for household needs. The girls wove wreaths, put them on, and then let them float on the water, guessing at their betrothed. It was considered a bad omen if the wreath sank:this presaged illness or loneliness in the current year.

On Semika there was another rite — cumulation. It was accompanied by an exchange of wreaths and symbolized strong friendship and mutual support among the girls. In some regions, there is still a ceremony of seeing off Kostroma, where a doll made of straw is dressed in white, carried around the village, and then burned or floated on water. This ceremony symbolizes the end of the spring cycle and the meeting of summer.

After the rites, folk festivals were held with songs, round dances and feasts.
During the holiday, housewives always prepared dishes from eggs, which were associated with the beginning of a new life and fertility. Sometimes the pies were shaped like wreaths.

The celebration of Semika was somewhat reminiscent of Maslenitsa. It was also associated with the cold weather, it was also accompanied by noisy festivities, songs, treats and visiting guests. In some villages, the holiday was even called honest, like Shrovetide.

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Prohibitions on June 5: what not to do during Semika

There were several popular prohibitions associated with Semik. So, any work with the earth was forbidden, including digging, loosening or sowing. It was not necessary to do this, so as not to disturb her peace.

Bathing, washing, rinsing clothes, and even just going to the water on this day was also considered extremely undesirable. According to legend, in early summer, mermaids gathered at the reservoirs, which could lure unwary travelers into the abyss. It was also not necessary to go into the forest alone, as it was considered unsafe.

Folk signs of June 5th

On Semik, the peasants carefully observed nature, which, according to their ancestors, could predict the weather for the coming months. So, the abundance of gadflies foreshadowed a rich harvest of cucumbers, the flowering of hawthorn — a harsh winter.

If it's stuffy in the morning, rainy weather is expected, and if the midges are curling in a column, on the contrary, you can count on a series of clear and warm days.

Earlier, Izvestia told about the history, traditions and signs of the national holiday Fedot Ovsyanik.