It was from June 7 that the so-called bear dew began, which, according to legends, are very harmful. Nevertheless, in the old days, various herbs, roots, roots were placed under the dew. During this period, chamomile begins to bloom.
It is also known that June 7 (Midsummer’s Day) is the beginning of the appearance of powdery mildew (honey, sweet dews). In the old days, when there were no effective means of pest control, powdery mildew became a real disaster for rural residents. Powdery mildew was the sweet secretion of worms and aphids that feed on the juices of vegetation. They said: "Honey dew knows rusty, spreads sweetly and eats away painfully," "Honey dew fell out – pestilence went to livestock. Fought this scourge in a variety of ways. For example, they led cattle through the ashes of a campfire. But ordinary dew was very revered and even said: "Without dew, the grass does not grow". On June 7, they tried to pray to Saint John the Baptist to ask him to save the gardens from this scourge. Also at this time, cabbage was planted, linden began to bloom.
At this time, frosts in the soil are still possible, and therefore, it is recommended to cover all plants at night. You can plant green cuttings for rooting, plant cabbage.
On this day, the hostesses tried to cover more densely the shoots of all garden plants, because, according to the national calendar, honey dews began to fall from June 7, supposedly affecting the leaves with rust: "From Ivan’s dew and the grass rusts". And if at that time something bad happened to the cattle, they said: "It surely attacked the honeydew.". And caring, attentive mothers would never allow their children to run barefoot through the Ivanova dew. After this run, one could get so sick that not a single healer would help, except that the sick one was immediately sprinkled from the coal. But this proven method did not always help out. Therefore, we tried not to risk it, because "God protects the bearded".
Many omens were associated with this day, but the main ones were related to the flowering mountain ash: "On Midsummer’s day, look at the mountain ash: a lot of flowers – there will be good oats, a small flowering – expect bad: there will be no sense with oats". "Rowan blossoms well – for the harvest of flax", "Late flowering of rowan – for a long autumn".
However, not only the mountain ash was used by the people, he and many other plants did not leave without attention: some treated him, others fed him, others predicted the weather, and on the fourth he checked the time.
In the Orthodox Church, June 7 is the day of commemoration of John the Baptist or John the Baptist. It was John who was the closest person to Jesus Christ from among his disciples. He was able to predict not only the coming of the Savior for the earth, but also his death in the name of faith. Later, John himself baptized Jesus in the waters of the Jordan. During his lifetime he denounced sinners and preached the Christian faith. Among other things, John was not afraid to denounce the tetrarch Galileo named Herod Antipas, who took away his brother’s wife and married her. The very wife of Antipas, Iroiada, was very disliked by John, and therefore persuaded her daughter Salome to ask Antipas for the head of John. He, of course, could not refuse her. Iroiada, according to the existing legend, did not allow to bury the head of John with the body, but hid it in her chambers. After that, the head of John was found and again lost. So, on July 7, the third acquisition of the head of John the Baptist is dated.
The first and second uncovering of the head of John the Baptist dates from March 9. During the riots that took place in Constantinople, the head was sent to the city of Emessu, but at the beginning of the IX it was again transferred to Comana, since during this period persecutions among Christians were widespread. After the restoration of icon veneration, the head of John the Baptist was found again in 850.