July 12, 2019 the ethnographic festival Petrovki will be held in the Open-air Museum of Wooden Architecture Vitoslavlitsy. The festive program includes acquaintance with the exhibition, devoted to St. Peter’s Day, meeting guests by “village people”, opening of haymaking, goat-milking and cheese-making workshops, dancing and games. For Peters and Pauls the entrance is free.
June 29 / July 12 is the great feast of the Orthodox calendar, which is celebrated as the day of Apostles Peter and Paul. St. Peter’s Day (Petrovki) began in the morning, when people visited a church or a chapel, where the service was celebrated, and after it the priest of the village served the rite of blessing the water in every yard. Then they all went to the field and the priest blessed the future harvest.
On the eve of the commemoration day of St. Peter and Paul the fast ended. During the fast people stored up butter, eggs, milk and cheese. Butter and cheese were the main things on the festive table. There is an old saying: "An egg is dearest at Easter, and cheese is on St. Peter's Day." July 12 is also celebrated as the feast of the shepherds. On this day the shepherds got the second payment - for the part of the grazing season that was over. And pet owners generously shared natural products with the shepherd.
St. Peter's Day was kind of a borderline in the household activity of peasants. The tradition required that by this day all the field works related to planting were completed. Haymaking began. People had their scythes, rakes, sickles, pitchforks and carts ready. And very hard work began. People even used to say: "Peter and Paul added heat". In the morning they were mowing, in the afternoon - turning up, in the evening - stacking. On the first day of work peasants dressed smartly. Women came out in embroidered shirts girt with belts.
The traditional feature of this holiday were tables groaning with food and visits of the relatives and friends. The hosts prepared in advance: baked, boiled, fried, stocked up beer and vodka. They prepared to break the fast in a big way and looked forward to the arrival of guests. Guests came for a few days, bringing gifts, and boys and girls brought fancy dresses for merrymaking. This feast was a great contribution to establishing bonds between people, families and villages.