A special holiday on May 14 is Yeremey Zapryagalnik: history, traditions, omens

Every year on May 14, Orthodox believers honor the memory of the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah, one of the four great prophets who predicted the calamities of Jerusalem and the Babylonian captivity. In the national calendar, the date is known as Yeremey Zapryagalnik, or Yerema Zapashnik. In 2026, it falls on a Thursday. Read about the history of the holiday, its traditions, signs and strict prohibitions in the Izvestia article.

What is the church holiday on May 14th?

The Prophet Jeremiah was born in the city of Anathoth, located near Jerusalem, in the family of the priest Hilkiah. He lived about six centuries before the Birth of Christ at an alarming time when the Kingdom of Judea was experiencing a spiritual and political crisis.

Jeremiah learned about his prophetic gift when he was about 14 years old. The biblical narrative says that the Lord promised to be with him, to protect him, and puts His words into his mouth. From that moment on, the prophet's life ceased to belong to him.

His ministry took place during the reign of King Josiah and his four successors, and ended after the fall of Jerusalem. For more than twenty years, the prophet rebuked the inhabitants of Judea for idolatry and moral hardness. He spoke at the city gates, at the entrance to the temple, in places where people gathered. His prophecies were a direct warning — if people do not change, war, ruin and captivity await them.

To illustrate Judea's future dependence on Babylon, the prophet, by God's command, wore a yoke around his neck, first wooden, then iron. However, Jeremiah was rarely listened to, and more often he was mocked, insulted, accused of intimidation, and even tried to kill.

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Jeremiah suffered particularly severe trials under King Zedekiah. For threatening prophecies, the elders threw him into a moat filled with mud, where he almost died. The prophet was saved by the courtier Abdemelech, who stood up for him before the king. But even after his release, the prophet continued to speak about the inevitable fall of Jerusalem.

The predicted came true, the troops of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem, destroyed the temple, killed some of the inhabitants, and took the rest captive. Jeremiah himself was given the opportunity to choose a place of residence, but chose to remain among the ruins of his hometown and mourn the disasters of his people.

Church tradition attributes several books to him: the book of prophecies, the Epistle of Jeremiah, as well as the Lamentation of Jeremiah, a mournful reflection on the destroyed Jerusalem. According to legend, before the final destruction of the city, Jeremiah hid the ark of the Covenant with the tablets in a cave on Mount Nawaf. They could not find him afterwards.

After the fall of the city, unrest began among the remaining Jews. When Godolijah, appointed ruler by the Babylonians, was killed, the people were afraid of Nebuchadnezzar's revenge and decided to flee to Egypt. The Prophet dissuaded them, warning them that trouble would overtake the fugitives there. But they did not listen to him, they were forcibly taken to Egypt and settled in the city of Tafnis, where, according to legend, he lived for several years. When the prophet began to predict that Babylon would devastate Egypt, he was killed.

Traditions of the national holiday Yeremey Zapryagalnik on May 14

In Russia, the name of the prophet was transformed into the more familiar Yeremey, Yerema. On May 14, one of the most crucial periods of the agricultural period began in the villages — the peasants harnessed their horses to the plough, went out to the arable land and started sowing, trying not to miss a single fine hour. Hence the folk names — Eremey Zapryagalnik, Erema Zapashnik. "A lazy plough rides out into the field on Yeremey," the ancestors said.

In a peasant household, the horse was not just an assistant, it guaranteed the survival of the family. Therefore, the horses were cleaned for Yeremey, the harness was checked, they looked to see if the harness was rubbing, if the straps were loose. On May 14, they tried not to overload the animal and treat it carefully.

In the morning, believers went to the temple and asked the prophet Jeremiah for clear weather, strong shoots, and protection from crop failure. The peasants believed that the whole next year depended on the first day of sowing, whether there would be bread in the house, fodder for livestock, and a supply of grain for the winter. "Yeremey, Yeremey, think about the crops" and "Sow the oats — pray to Yeremey," they said.

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According to legend, the seeds thrown into the ground on Yeremey produced strong shoots, guaranteeing a good harvest. Even if the weather did not allow for a large amount of work, the peasants tried to at least symbolically go out into the field, check the land, fix the furrows, prepare equipment or start sowing in a small area.

In order not to return home ahead of time, the housewives baked special pastries in advance and prepared May porridge. This food was taken with them and eaten by the whole community right at the arable land or after the first part of the work. Such a meal was a sign of common participation in the work — the ploughman, the sower, the hostess, the children — everyone was connected with the future harvest.

What not to do on Yeremey Zapryagalnik holiday

The holiday required farmers to be collected, the land had to be prepared and sown on time, otherwise the entire agricultural year could turn out badly. Therefore, idleness was considered to be the main prohibition against Yeremey the Harnessed. In the midst of plowing, a man who avoided work was depriving himself of future prosperity.

What else you can't do on May 14th:

• to lend money — along with them, according to legend, you can give your well-being.;
• To borrow grain, you will have to give more than you receive all year round;
• conduct important financial negotiations — they can turn into losses;
• idly spending time — an empty day on Yeremey promises a busy and not rich year;
• going fishing, buying and eating fish — there is a risk of losing luck or becoming "dumb as a fish";
• Telling bad dreams is believed to make a dream come true faster.;
• quarreling with household members is a conflict on the day of sowing that can "germinate" into long—lasting resentments.

Folk signs for May 14th

On Yeremey Zapryagalnik, the peasants carefully observed nature — the middle of May showed what the summer would be like, whether it was worth waiting for a good grain harvest.

• There are no clouds in the sky at dawn — the summer will be hot.;
• A warm wind blows during the day, and at night there are many stars — summer is expected to be dry.;
• The full moon on Yeremey leads to a cold snap;
• Dew appeared on the grass in the evening — the next day will be clear and cloudless.;
• The night is warm and starry, leading to stable good weather and a successful rural season.;
• clear weather on May 14 will lead to a good harvest of bread, the day turned out to be rainy — the crops will not germinate well;
• The wind changes direction during the day, and the weather will be unstable in the coming days.

Earlier, Izvestia reported on the signs and strict prohibitions of a special Semyon Ranopashets holiday.