Date according to the old style: August 22. In the church calendar, this day commemorates the martyr Agathonikos of Nicomedia, who suffered for the Christian faith in the 4th century. The first part of the day’s name comes from this date. The second part is linked to an ancient folk custom rooted in pagan times. According to an old belief, on this day, the forest spirit (leshiy) comes to the barn to “have fun with the straw” – tossing sheaves from one barn to another, untying them, and scattering the straw all around. Therefore, farmers would go on watch to guard their supplies. Gathering at night, the men would wear their coats inside out, fur side up, wrap their heads in a towel, and take a poker in hand. With this poker, they would draw a circle around the barn and sit inside it. It was said that, in this case, the leshiy could not approach the barn. In folk tales, the leshiy is a forest spirit whose main task is to ensure that no harm comes to his domain. Accordingly, the leshiy interacts with people differently: to those who do no harm, who do not break branches needlessly or hunt animals, he shows a quick, short path out of the forest. To the wicked, he causes them to wander in circles and may even lead them deep into the forest. It was said that, outwardly, the leshiy resembles a human and can take on the appearance of a familiar relative. But upon closer inspection, he could be recognized: he almost always wore a red sash, the left side of his coat was wrapped over the right, and his shoes were switched, right foot on the left and vice versa. In the folk calendar, the leshiy is given several notable days, with Agafon Ogumenik being one of them. Another significant day was the Elevation of the Cross, when the leshiy herded animals through the forest; encountering such a convoy was considered deadly dangerous. In October, on Erofey’s Day, “the leshiy parts ways with the forest.” Peasants would say that on this day, the forest spirit falls underground, where he winters until spring, but before doing so, he goes wild – shouting, laughing, breaking trees, and driving animals. On any day associated with the leshiy, it was inadvisable to venture into the forest. On Agafon, people noted: if the day was clear, sunny weather would continue for another four weeks. Name day celebrations on this day Aleksandr, Aleksei, Ariadna, Afanasii, Vasilii, Gavriil, Ivan, Ilarion, Isaakii, Makar, Mikhail, Fyodor, Felix