Date by the old style: June 13. On this day, the Orthodox Church commemorates the holy martyr Akulina. The young Akulina lived in the 3rd century and turned to the Christian faith in childhood. She tried to guide her friends to the true path, for which she was executed. The torturers did not even take into account Akulina's age: at the time of her death, she was only 12 years old. Peasants in Russia sowed buckwheat on Akulina (Akilina). The exact timing of these works depended on the weather and usually occurred "either a week before Akulina or a week after Akulina." People said: "Sow buckwheat when the rye is good." This crop was considered capricious, so one should not count on a good harvest. There were special sayings about this: "Buckwheat is not uniform, nor is the land: in some places, you throw a cartload of seeds and later you don't gather even a grain"; "Do not believe in buckwheat in bloom, but believe in the granary." According to an old custom, buckwheat porridge was cooked on this day and given to the poor. Those who dined thanked the hosts and wished them a good future harvest. "May you Orthodox have buckwheat without measure. Without bread and without porridge, our work is in vain" - said the poor. The hosts boasted about who had the tastiest dish. On this day, they remembered the saying: "Buckwheat porridge is our mother, and rye bread is our father." However, milk should not be drunk on Akulina, despite the popular habit of consuming it with buckwheat porridge. It was believed that on this day it became harmful to health - "Akulina's milk" - "milk from a mad cow." Another name for the holiday: Akulina - Raise the Tails. This appeared due to the invasion of flies and mosquitoes that occurred at this time. Livestock became restless, cows ran around the meadows fleeing from insects and waved their tails. People noticed: "From Akulina until mid-July, cattle go mad from the heat and gadflies." Therefore, the animals were driven to pasture at dawn so that by noon they could be closed in a cool barn. People also had a hard time. "If you go through the forest, the mosquitoes will drive you crazy" - this saying did not appear without reason. At the same time, swarms of midges heralded good weather. Name days on this day: Akulina, Alexander, Alexandra, Alexei, Andrey, Anna, Antonina, Daniel, Dmitry, Ivan, Pelageya, Savva