A special Russian holiday on September 17 is Babylon Day: history, customs, omens

On September 17, the Orthodox Church commemorates the Holy Martyr Babylo of Antioch, who suffered for his faith in the third century. The holiday is popularly known as Babylon Day or Onion Day, which is associated with the harvest of onions. In 2025, the date falls on Wednesday. Izvestia tells about the history, traditions and widespread folk signs that exist on this day.

Vavila Day (Onion Festival) — what is celebrated on September 17th

The history of the holiday is connected with the martyrdom of Saint Babylas during the reign of Roman Emperor Decius, who went down in history as a restorer of pagan cults. Decius once held a great feast in honor of the pagan gods in Antioch, where Babylas served as bishop in one of the temples.

After the feast, the ruler decided to visit a Christian temple, knowing that the arrival of a pagan in a place sacred to Christians would mean its desecration. Vavila came out to meet him, blocking the way. Offended, Decius ordered the church to be burned, and the bishop himself to be taken into custody.

His disciples Urvan, Prilidian, and Hippolonius, along with their mother Christodula, were present at the trial along with Babila. They confirmed their faith by refusing to worship idols and thus avoid death. They were subjected to numerous tortures, after which they were executed.

In the old days, Saints' Day coincided with the end of field work. Therefore, Babylon Day was not just a church holiday, but also a significant date on the peasant calendar. Even at this time, they started harvesting onions. This is how another name for the celebration appeared — Lukov Day.

Pimen the Great: biography of the saint, when is Memorial Day

How Babylon Day was celebrated in Russia

Since Babylon Day, pitchforks, rakes, shovels and other tools have been put away in the barn until next year. The people said: "Vavila is a late pitchfork." This phrase meant that the agricultural work was completed and now you can focus on household chores.

The housewives prepared onion pies and other treats, gathering the whole family at the table. They tried to add onions to all dishes, which symbolized well-being and good health for the whole year. During the holiday, the onion served not only as a staple on the table, but was also used as a talisman. It was often hung at home to protect against the evil eye and evil spirits.

There were also many folk traditions and superstitions associated with onions. For example, it was believed that if you drop an onion during cooking, then wait for the guests. Keeping a sliced onion in the house leads to a quarrel. And if you bring a bow from someone else's house, then you can take away other people's troubles and tears with it.

What can and cannot be done on Babylon Day

Many beliefs in the old days were associated with fire. During the holiday, it was not recommended to burn bonfires, handle fire carelessly, throw sawdust, garbage into it, as well as swear or utter obscene words near the fire. It threatened great misfortunes. Fire could only be called for the right purpose.

You should not borrow money. According to the signs, financial problems may arise. You should also not visit crowded places and wear dark clothes. They were afraid that they might get into trouble that way.

St. Lupp's Memorial Day: traditions, prohibitions, and the time to harvest lingonberries

What diseases does the northern berry treat and what is celebrated on September 5th?

What else can not be done:

• borrowing money may cause financial problems.;
• Bragging about your wealth or success can lead to losses.;
• to refuse alms to those in need and any other help to those who need it.;
• visiting crowded places and wearing dark clothes is considered to be easier to cause damage or the evil eye.

Folk signs on September 17th

According to weather signs, our ancestors judged what the upcoming season would be like. The main predictor on Onion Day was the onion head. So, if there were a lot of husks on the bulbs from the new harvest, then they knew that the winter would be cold, with severe frosts.

Other signs of the day:

• It was a stormy and rainy day, and autumn will be dry.;
• If the day is sunny, the winter will be mild.;
• the beetle hides under the foliage — the cold weather is approaching;
• It dried up quickly after the rain, leading to a prolonged storm.

Earlier, Izvestia reported on the national holiday of Domna Dobrorodnaya.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.