JUNE
The sixth month of the year is found in the old calendars as the month of Szent Iván (St. John the Baptist).
The Day of the Corpus Christi falls on the eleventh day after Pentecost, that is, the feast of the Blessed Sacrament. In honor of the holiday, a procession is still held in the villages of Rye Island today. In the old days, all inhabitants of the village – the old and the young ones - prayed together for an abundant harvest and physical health. The flowers and tree branches of the altar tents set up for this day were taken home after the procession and stabbed among garden plants to protect them from pests.
June 8 is the Day of Medárd (St. Medardus). He is the best known weather predicting saint. According to observations, if it rains on the day of Medárd, then lighter or heavier rains are expected on each of the forty days following it.
June 24 is the birthday of St. John the Baptist in the church. However, related to the celebration of the solstice, a double holiday has developed in our region. This is St. John(Iván)'s Day fire jumping and fire consecration. On this day, bachelors walked along the village, asking for a twig at each house. From the collected wood, they lit a fire on the outskirts of the village in the evening, talking and singing around the fire. The deflating campfire was later jumped over by bachelors, and girls were also encouraged to do the same. The first girl to jump was thought to be getting married by the end of the year.
June 29 is the feast of St. Peter and Paul. According to folk tradition, on this day the lad or girl who heard the first bell from the church was to get married by the end of the year.
JULY
This month is also called the month of St. James based on the feast of the Apostle James. July is the time of the most demanding agricultural work, the month of harvest. Activities began around the day of Peter and Paul. Long time ago, a farmer would go out to his land, cross himself, and cut off some grain enough for a sheaf. After that, hard work could finally begin, usually starting with a prayer and even blessing the tools needed for the harvest.
Reapers were usually out in the fields early in the morning, as early as three o'clock, cutting the grain until five or six in the afternoon. The cut grain was tied into sheaves, placed in crosses. A seven-cross consisted of eighteen sheaves. The top sheaf was called the priest’s because during feudalism a harvest was taxed. Reapers were eating from a common bowl on the stubble, silently, and after a short rest, continued their work.
At the end of the harvest, a so called harvest wreath was woven by the girls from the ears of wheat, rye, and oats. The wreath was taken to the farmer's house by the reapers and hand-pickers, and the decorated wreath symbolizing the harvested crop was ceremoniously handed over in the midst of good wishes. The farmer hosted his workers with dinner, drinks and blessings.
AUGUST
The old Hungarian name is the Month of Kisasszony (Little Miss). This period in the peasant world is the month of threshing grain. Farmers on Rye Island took advantage of the good weather, trying to do this work before the feast of St. Stephen, by August 20th. Folk observations predicted rain and bad weather for the last days of August.
August 10 is Lőrinc (St. Lawrence Martyr)’s Day in the Church. There are many observations associated with his feast. In Rye Island, it is still believed that the melon is no longer good after this day, because Lőrinc peed into it. It is not advisable to take a bath after Lawrence Day either, as he also pees into the waters, thus cooling them to low temperatures. It is also significant as a weather forecast heritage: rain on this day promises abundant grape and fruit harvest.
August 15 is the feast of Nagyboldogasszony. In the ancient church, the Assumption of Mary is the oldest feast of Mary. It has been a compulsory holiday in our country since (our first king) St. Stephen.
On August 20, Hungarians celebrate the day of their country-founding king, St. Stephen. According to folk observation, storks set off for warmer regions on this day. People of Rye Island, in line with the order of the whole nation, also celebrated the cutting of the consecrated new bread on this day. Rye Island people held a tradition to always grant the first piece of the new bread baked from the new wheat, to beggars so that there would always be enough bread to offer as a gift.
August 24 is the feast of Bertalan (St. Bartholomew the Apostle). According to folk belief, as the weather is on Bertalan's day, so will the autumn be. Thunderstorm on this day refers to ice and snow. If it rains, a good cabbage harvest is expected.
