Old Style date: April 20th. In Russia, it was believed that on this day, the deceased mourn their earthly lives and wish to see their relatives. Therefore, it was customary to visit cemeteries — to lament at graves and to call out to parents. Usually, this was done by elderly women and old ladies at dawn. The mourners at the graveyard would call out to their deceased parents: “Rise and awake, look upon your children, glance at us, the orphans, from your abodes, and comfort us with kind words!” It was believed that on this day the earth opens up and the souls of the deceased can come out into God’s light. Therefore, the lunch table was set as abundantly as possible so the ancestors could see that their descendants were living well. Before any task on this day, prayers were said together as a family. Work was approached with sacred reverence. In folk tradition, this day recalled proverbs about labor: “A lazy man in the field is like a drone in a hive”; “If you want bread with honey, take up the shovel”; “Lying on the porch, you won’t eat bread.” The day was also important for those engaged in fishing: fishing on this day was considered a great sin. This belief was possibly related to the fact that around this time, many river fish species spawn. Moreover, peasants would also divine from the fish fry: if the fry dispersed quickly, it was time to sow early, but if they stayed together longer, it was worth waiting. Namedays on this day Alexander, Gabriel, Gregory, Nicholas, Theodore