A special Russian holiday on August 23rd is St. Lawrence's Day: history, traditions, omens

On August 23, the Orthodox Church honors the memory of the Holy Martyr Lawrence of Rome and Blessed Lawrence of Kaluga. In 2025, the celebration falls on a Saturday. In the national calendar, the holiday is called Laurentian Day. Read about its history and traditions in the Izvestia article.

What is the church holiday on August 23rd?

In the church calendar, August 23 is the day of remembrance of several saints who lived at different times, but left their mark on Christian history.

Memorial Day of Archdeacon Lawrence, Pope Sixtus and others

Saint Lawrence lived in the 3rd century. He was an archdeacon and served Pope Sixtus. At that time, Christians were severely persecuted, and the man who was elected to the Roman throne was doomed to death. That's what happened to Pope Sixtus—he was arrested and tortured.

When Laurentius saw that the pope was being led to prison, he wanted to share his martyrdom with him. However, Sixtus refused him, noting that much more terrible trials awaited the archdeacon, and ordered him to distribute all church property. The guards, who heard this conversation, decided that the church possessed some kind of treasure, and arrested Lawrence. In prison, the saint healed the sick and baptized many people, including the prison governor Hippolytus.

After the execution of Pope Sixtus and his two deacons, Lawrence was brought before the emperor to tell him where the treasure was hidden. The saint agreed, but asked to be given three days to prepare. During this time, he managed to distribute church property, and then came to the emperor with a crowd of beggars and the sick, saying that this was the treasure of the church.

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After that, Lavrenty was subjected to severe torture. The torture continued for several days, but the saint refused to worship idols and continued to pray. One of the soldiers named Roman, impressed by the archdeacon's steadfastness, believed in Christ and asked to be baptized. Immediately after the sacrament, his head was cut off.

Lavrenty's body was taken away and buried with honors by the head of the prison, Hippolytus. Three days later, he and other Christians were also martyred.

St. Lawrence of Kaluga Memorial Day

Lavrenty of Kaluga lived in the XV–XVI centuries near Kaluga. According to one version, he came from the boyar family of Khitrov, but chose the path of serving God through foolishness. In winter and summer, the saint walked the streets barefoot in an old shirt and sheepskin coat. For his feat, he was awarded the gift of miracle-working and perspicacity.

According to legend, Lavrenty often visited the house of Prince Simeon Ioannovich of Kaluga. In May 1952, the Crimean Tatars attacked Kaluga. The prince and his retinue set off to meet the enemy. One day, Lavrenty, who was staying at the prince's house, jumped up and shouted: "Give me my sharp axe, the dogs attacked Prince Simeon, we must defend him!" After that, he grabbed an axe and ran away.

At the same moment, the saint miraculously appeared on board the ship next to Simeon. He encouraged the warriors, and after a while they completely defeated the invaders. In memory of this, the prince founded the Kaluga St. Lawrence Monastery.

Lawrence died in 1515. Subsequently, numerous healings were performed at his tomb. So, in 1621, after a prayer service to the saint, the completely paralyzed boyar Kologrivy recovered, and in 1622 Stefan, a possessed resident of Kaluga, was cured. Blessed Lawrence helped the Kaluga militia during the Patriotic War of 1812. The banner with the image of the Virgin and Lawrence was carried by Russian soldiers throughout the war, and after that it was placed in the Kaluga Cathedral.

Traditions of the national holiday Laurentian Day on August 23

In Russia, the holiday in honor of Laurentius of Rome and Laurentius of Kaluga was called Laurentian Day or Laurentius the water-shaker. At noon on August 23, villagers went to the reservoir to look at the water. If it was calm, they knew that autumn would be warm and spring would be mild. The waves opposite promised a stormy autumn and a frosty winter. Small ripples on the surface of the reservoir foreshadowed rainy and cool weather in September.

On St. Lawrence's Day, the ancestors gathered dew to wash their faces. It was believed that on a holiday she could prolong youth and preserve beauty. People suffering from eye diseases washed their eyes with dew in the hope of healing. But walking barefoot in the dew on a holiday was forbidden — at the end of August it was already cold in many regions, so such a "walk" could end in illness.

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Pillows were beaten and dried on Lavrenty. It was believed that it helps to get rid of negative thoughts and bad dreams. Also on this day, they tried to find and pet a black cat. According to beliefs, an animal could take failures and torments out of a person's life.

What not to do on St. Lawrence Day on August 23rd

The Orthodox Church does not impose strict prohibitions on the commemoration day of St. Lawrence of Rome and St. Lawrence of Kaluga. Nevertheless, believers should remember that the holiday falls on the Dormition Fast, during which it is forbidden to eat meat, fish, eggs and dairy products. It is also worth giving up secular entertainment so as not to disrupt the prayerful concentration of fasting.

In Russia, Laurentian Day was associated with various superstitions. Hazelnuts were not harvested on the holiday, fearing that this would lead to a loss of income. It was also forbidden to swim at this time, because it was easy to catch a cold in cold water.

What else can not be done on August 23:

• Sharing dreams and plans for the future — they won't come true;
• quarreling with loved ones — the conflict will drag on for a long time.;
• fishermen will look for new fishing spots — there will be no catch;
• Being lazy and sleeping late can lead to financial difficulties.

Folk signs of August 23

In addition to observing the water on Laurentian Day, they also paid attention to other signs. Including:

• Rain — autumn and winter will be warm;
• The heat leads to a hot autumn;
• cranes are flying south — the first frosts will begin in October.;
• strong wind leads to warming;
• lots of acorns in the forest — for a rich harvest next year;
• The birds suddenly stopped talking — it's going to start raining soon.

Earlier, Izvestia reported on the history and traditions of the Marina Pimena national holiday.