July, the Harvest Month

July is considered the most important month because it marks the time for harvesting grain. Nowadays, the threshing is done with the help of combine harvesters and typically lasts all of July, sometimes extending into the first days of August, depending on the weather.

When the last day of the harvest arrives, a portion of the last field is left unharvested to create the “Dragon.” This involves pulling out the tallest and ripest stalks and giving them to the girls to make the “Cross.” They then bind the stalks with red thread in three place at the roots, in the middle, and at the to symbolizing the three persons of the Holy Trinity.

The head of the household places the “Cross” in the home’s iconostasis, under divine protection. It remains there until it’s time to crush it with their palms and mix it with the seeds for the new planting season, so it can impart its fertile power to them.