A special national holiday on July 31 — Omelyan Day: history, traditions, omens

Every year on July 31, Orthodox believers honor the memory of the martyr Emilian Dorostolsky, who was executed in the IV century for professing the Christian faith. In the national calendar, the date was called Omelyanov or Yemelyanov Day, Sparrow Nights. In 2026, it falls on a Friday. Read about the history of the holiday, its traditions, signs and strict prohibitions in the Izvestia article.

What is the church holiday on July 31

Emilian lived in the IV century in the town of Dorostol on the right bank of the Danube, corresponding to the modern Bulgarian Silistra. According to his church life, he was a Slav, was enslaved by the local mayor and secretly professed Christianity.

During this period, the Roman Empire was ruled by Julian the Apostate. The Christian emperors who preceded him restricted pagan cults, but Julian tried to restore their former importance, restored temples, resumed sacrifices, and removed Christians from influential positions. On the ground, his policies were often accompanied by reprisals against those who refused to worship the old gods.

The imperial dignitary Capitolin, who arrived in Dorostol, announced the emperor's decree on the resumption of pagan worship in the city square and demanded to know if there were any followers of the new religion among the residents. The city elders assured the official that the entire population worships the ancient gods. Satisfied with the answer, he held a feast.

Emilian had heard about the imperial decree and saw that none of the local Christians dared to speak out openly. While the townspeople were celebrating, he entered the pagan temple, smashed statues with a hammer, knocked over altars and lamps and left the room unnoticed.

The destruction was not immediately discovered. Unable to find the culprit, the enraged townspeople grabbed a peasant who happened to be passing by the temple and began beating him. Then Emilian went out to the crowd, demanded to release the innocent man and confessed that it was he who destroyed the idols. When he was brought before the Capitoline for trial, he explained his act by saying that he could not recognize man-made statues as gods, and also openly called himself a Christian.

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The arrested man was subjected to severe torture, but the torment did not force him to renounce his faith. Then Capitolin sentenced him to be executed at the stake. According to the hagiography, the flame did not harm him, but scorched some pagans who were watching the process. When the fire began to fade, Emilian lay down on the glowing coals, crossed himself, said a prayer and died.

The Christians took the body of the martyr and buried it. Later, Emilian's relics were transferred to Constantinople, where a temple was built in his honor.

Traditions of the Omelyan national holiday on July 31

In Russia, the church name Emilian gradually transformed into the more familiar colloquial forms of Emelian or Omelian. This is how the folk names of the holiday appeared — Yemelyanov or Omelyan's day.

Another name for the date, Sparrow Nights— is associated with severe thunderstorms, gusty winds and frequent lightning flashes that raged during this period. The birds, awakened by the noise, left their shelters and darted restlessly in the dark, which is why the storm got its name.

Omelyan Day fell at the end of the second summer month, one of the most important stages of the agricultural year. In the southern regions, rye harvesting was completed by July 31, although in the more northern provinces the harvest continued in August.

Wheat, rye, and barley were usually harvested with sickles. Mostly women reaped, with one hand they gathered the stalks, with the other they cut them off at the base, then tied the ears into sheaves. The men mowed oats, buckwheat and peas, brought crops, prepared a place for drying and storage.

After the harvest was completed, the sickles were harvested, cleaned of earth and straw residues, and the blunted blades were sharpened. In some villages, tools were laid out in a circle on a compressed strip. The invited priest served a prayer service, blessed the new harvest and sprinkled sickles with holy water.

Then the men took the sickles home, inspected them for breakage, replaced the damaged handles, protected the metal parts from rust, and then stored them until the next season. Also on July 31, carts were checked, the threshing floor, barns and outbuildings were put in order. A short respite in the peasant calendar was followed by threshing, so the inventory had to remain serviceable.

The best rest after hard work was considered a sauna. She was heated in advance to finish washing until late in the evening. Not only the usual birch brooms were used for soaring, but also bundles of rye straw, wild grasses and flowers.

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The spiritual meaning of the holiday is to remind people that their lives should be transformed by the light of God's grace.

According to popular beliefs, the room was looked after by a bannik, a wayward spirit who did not tolerate noise, swearing and disrespectful treatment. Therefore, the ancestors entered the bathhouse with a bow, did not leave behind dirt and did not stay there at night.

By the end of July, berries and mushrooms were ripening in the forests, and the active season of home harvesting began. The women sorted the crops, dried and salted mushrooms, made jam, and prepared berry drinks.

Different housewives had different recipes, they changed the amount of salt and spices, chose their own drying methods, and monitored the temperature in the oven. Successful receptions were not advertised, but were "inherited" exclusively to daughters and daughters-in-law. After all, the quality of the summer preparations depended on how varied, nutritious and delicious the table would be during the cold months.

What not to do on Omelyan Day

The ancestors associated with Omelyan Day a number of prohibitions and superstitions, the main of which was considered a visit to the sauna after sunset, especially alone. According to legend, at night she passed into the power of the bannister, and a person who violated the established order risked angering the spirit, getting burned or getting very scared.

Also, on July 31, one should not stay in the open during a thunderstorm, since on Sparrow nights the elements, accompanied by lightning and strong winds, could become very dangerous for humans.

What else you can't do on July 31:

• to lend or borrow money, you will not be able to repay it on time, and the borrowed funds will not be returned.;
• sweep the floor unnecessarily — along with the garbage, you can "sweep out" prosperity;
• overeating — such a transfer of products can cause need;
• quarreling with relatives and neighbors — conflict will deprive the family of consent for a long time.;
• throwing tools uncleaned — carelessness will lead to breakdowns in the future.

Folk signs for July 31

In Russia, the last day of July was considered indicative of autumn and the beginning of winter, so on Omelyan, peasants carefully observed nature, watched thunder, insects, trees and the behavior of the inhabitants of reservoirs. According to the signs, they tried to determine what the weather would be like in the cold seasons, as well as whether rain, heavy rain or hail should be expected in the near future.

• the day turned out to be sunny — autumn will be mostly warm and dry, it rains in the morning — the autumn months are expected to be cold and wet;
• it is very hot — December will be frosty;
• birch leaves began to turn yellow from the top — autumn will come early;
• cones grow mainly on the tops of fir trees — severe frosts will not come until January.;
• thunder sounds muffled — a calm, prolonged rain will soon begin, and loud and booming rumbles lead to a heavy downpour.;
• thunder does not stop for a long time — hail is possible;
• The peals are short and jerky — the inclement weather will end soon and the sky will clear.;
• The flies have become especially annoying — the weather will soon turn bad.

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