A special national holiday on June 6 is Simeon's Day: history, traditions, omens

Every year on June 6, Orthodox believers honor the memory of St. Simeon Stylites, an ascetic of the sixth century, who became famous for his strict monastic life and the foundation of the monastery on the Marvelous Mountain. In the national calendar, the date is known as Simeonov, or Rosehip Day. In 2026, the holiday falls on a Saturday. Read about its history, traditions, signs and strict prohibitions in the Izvestia article.

What is the church holiday on June 6th?

Simeon Stylites of Wonderland was born in 512 in Antioch in Syria into the pious family of John and Martha. His mother prayed to John the Baptist for a long time about the birth of a child and vowed to dedicate her son to God.

From infancy, Simeon was unusually strict with himself. His life indicates that he got used to fasting, prayer, and abstinence early on, and as a child he saw the appearance of Christ several times. These visions, according to legend, revealed to him the future path — a difficult feat that will require a complete renunciation of worldly life, physical endurance and inner concentration.

At the age of six, Simeon went to the desert mountains. Later, he ended up in the monastery of St. John the Stylite near Seleucia in Syria.

The boy saw how the monk went up to the pillar, an open elevated platform, and spent his days there in prayer, almost without going down and completely detached from ordinary life. Simeon asked permission to follow his example.

At the age of seven, he took monastic vows and ascended the pillar, where he spent his days in prayer, fasting and reading the Holy Scriptures. The young monk's feat amazed even experienced monks. According to legend, Simeon intensified his fasting, spent nights without sleep, prayed a lot and gradually gained fame far beyond the monastery. People began to come to him for advice, prayer, and healing. His life attributes to him the gift of clairvoyance and healing, as well as special spiritual wisdom.

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In the 22nd year of his life, Simeon, by revelation from above, moved to the Wondrous Mountain. Here he founded a monastery, which became a place of attraction for monks, pilgrims and all those who sought spiritual help. There, the monk continued his stylistic feat as the mentor of the brethren.

The sick, the poor, the victims of wars and disasters turned to him. The life attributes to him healing, the resurrection of the dead, the liberation of the Antiochians captured by the Persians, as well as the prediction of the capture of Antioch by King Khozroi I and the earthquake in the city.

A special place in the stories about the saint is occupied by the episode with the monastery granary. During the famine, when many people came to the monastery in need of food, wheat was distributed almost non-stop. Through Simeon's prayer, the supply did not run out for three years.

By the end of his life, Simeon was considered one of the most revered Syrian ascetics. Tradition says that he was honored with a vision of the Lord and a conversation with Him, and warned the brethren about his death in advance. The monk died in 596, having spent 68 years on the pillar.

Traditions of the national holiday Simeon's day on June 6th

In Russia, the day of veneration of the saint was called Simeon's Day. At this time, the wild rose was blooming at the forest edges, roads and ravines. Therefore, in the national calendar it had another name — Rosehip Day. "The rosehip blooms — the blush of the year leads," the ancestors said.

For the peasants, rosehip was the most important medicinal plant. Its fruits were brewed for colds, coughs, headaches and weakness, the petals were applied to wounds, jams and infusions were made from them. Women and girls washed their faces with water infused with berries or wild rose petals to keep their skin white, clean and fresh.

Rosehip was also associated with one of the most famous legends of Simeon's day. In the old days, a rich chieftain lived in a village. He fell in love with a beautiful young girl, but her heart belonged to someone else — a poor guy with whom her parents did not want to tie the fate of their daughter. They hoped to pass her off as a wealthy man and did not listen to any requests. When it became clear that it would not be possible to persuade the family, the beauty went into the forest and died. According to legend, a bush with delicate pink flowers grew in this place.

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One day the same chieftain passed by. He saw a "wild rose" and decided to pick some flowers to take them to the grave of the girl he continued to consider his lost love. But as soon as the hand touched the branches, the bush was covered with sharp thorns.

Therefore, on June 6, they tried to treat the wild rose carefully. His blossoms were admired, the land nearby was put in order, and raw materials for treatment were collected, but they were done carefully, without haste and rudeness.

What not to do on St. Simeon's Day

In the national calendar, Simeon's Day was associated with many beliefs and prohibitions. The main one concerned the rose hips. On June 6, it was forbidden to break its branches, pick flowers for fun, or cut a bouquet for the house.

The ancestors believed that rosehip "takes over" diseases and bad thoughts, protects the house from misfortunes and quarrels, and broken branches and fading petals, according to beliefs, can "break" the peace in the family and attract separation. The sign "didn't work" only for herbalists who harvested the plant for medicinal purposes.

What else can not be done on June 6:

• complaining about life, getting discouraged and shedding tears — a sad mood can last until autumn.;
• to lend or borrow money, he will come back hard and can ruin the relationship.;
• doing laundry with your hands or steaming in the bath for a long time is a risk of "washing away" the luck and strength accumulated by the summer.;
• Getting angry, gossiping and fussing — an aggressive attitude will lead to a series of minor troubles.;
• If a black dog runs across the road, it will be an unhappy journey, and it is better to return home.

Folk signs for June 6

On St. Simeon's Day, the peasants carefully observed nature, especially plants, to determine whether the summer would be rainy or dry, and whether to expect an abundance of mushrooms in the forests.

• the rosehip has bloomed — there will be no more severe cold weather, summer is coming into its own;
• Wild rose has closed the flowers — heavy rains are coming soon;
• dandelions close in the middle of the day — to worsen the weather;
• there is no dew in the morning — it will rain, there is a lot of dew on the grass — the wind will rise soon;
• The grass smells strongly — it's going to rain soon;
• a rainy day leads to an abundance of mushrooms in the forests in summer;
• The day turned out to be clear and warm — there will be no cold snap in the coming weeks.

Earlier, Izvestia told why the summer solstice is considered the most energetically powerful day of the year.