Date in the old style: May 22. This day in folklore was dedicated to the Basilisk — a mythical creature with the head of a rooster, the body and eyes of a frog, and the tail of a snake; sometimes it was depicted as a dragon. In the Middle Ages, such animals were believed to really exist; they were said to have poisonous fangs and claws and, moreover, could kill with just a glance. It was said that on this day, the Basilisk hatches from an egg laid by a seven-year-old rooster on January 15 and incubated by a frog. Recognizing such an egg, if it suddenly appears in the coop, is easy: it has a perfectly spherical shape and is covered not with a shell, but with scaly skin. However, people would take precautions and on the eve of the monster's supposed birth, they would hard-boil all the eggs they found. On Basilisk day, people tried not to engage in any work — neither in the field nor in the garden. It was said that from everything planted on this day, only wormwood and cornflowers would grow. "They neither sowed nor plowed — they waited out the terrible day so that the fields would not be infested and cornflowers would not grow." Girls had their own custom on Basilisk day. They would weave wreaths from birch branches and throw them into the river: if the wreath suddenly sank — it predicted misfortune. There were also special signs for the harvest. For instance, the massive appearance of gadflies on this day foretold that many cucumbers would grow. Abundant dews also promised a fertile year. Name days on this day: Vladimir, Daniil, Zakhar, Ivan, Makar, Mikhail, Pavel, Sofya, Thaddeus, Fedor, Yakov