August 14 is one of the clearest examples of syncretism, the overlapping or fusion of different traditions, in the Belarusian cycle of the year.
Traditionally August 14 (August 1 in the Julian or Orthodox calendar) is seen as a marker of the change from the weather of high summer as well as the beginning of the harvest season. Orthodox Christians celebrate the date as Mjadovy Spas (Мядовы Спас), the Honey-Blessing Festival, or Makauje (Макаўе), the Maccabee Festival. Makauje illustrates how the Church chose a similar-sounding name to absorb the pre-Christian practice of sprinkling poppy seeds (мак – “mak”) in the home and stables to ward off evil spirits. Mjadovy Spas also marks the beginning of the two-week Orthodox fast before the celebration of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 28 in the Gregorian calendar, 13 days after the analogous Roman Catholic celebration of the Assumption).
In a ceremony which combines pre-Christian and Orthodox rites, people gather on August 14 at holy wells to have mid-summer honey and water from the well blessed.
Honey-Blessing Festival (part I), Raduha 2009/Мядовы Спас (частка І), Радуга 2009 год
