Quiet week after Pentecost. Greenery, birch trees, wreaths, dances. This is Green Week — an ancient Slavic holiday that Christianity mixed with Pentecost week. The main day is the Seventh (Thursday on the seventh week after Easter). In 2026, the Seventh falls on May 28. On this day, birch trees are honored, the deceased " заложные" (those who died not by their own hand) are remembered, fortunes are told about the future. Paganism and Orthodoxy are intertwined so closely that it is impossible to distinguish them. But the atmosphere is pure, green, spring-like. What are the Green Weeks Green Weeks (also known as Russian Week, Kletch Week) are the transition from spring to summer. In the folk calendar, they follow Pentecost (in 2026, Pentecost is on May 24, and Green Weeks are from May 25 to May 31). The main days: the Seventh (Thursday, May 28), Pentecost Saturday (memorial, May 30) and the Spirit Day (Monday, June 1). On these days, according to beliefs, mermaids, mavki, and bogatyrinas become active. The souls of the deceased ancestors come to the world of the living. Therefore, they were remembered, appeased, and the houses were decorated with greenery. In Christian tradition — a full week after Pentecost, there is no fasting, you can celebrate, but still, it is not worth sinning. The Seventh is the most magical day. In it, rituals of fertility, girl's fortunes, and memorials for "improper" deceased (those who died not by their own hand) are intertwined. Birch — the main tree of the Seventh On the Seventh, girls went into the forest, chose a young birch, wound wreaths on it (twisted branches into a ring, without breaking them). Then they danced in a circle, sang songs, kissed through the branches (the ritual of "kumlenie"). A few days later, on Pentecost, they came to "develop" the wreaths — to see if they had dried up or not. If they had dried up, it meant illness, if they had unraveled, it meant parting, if they were green, it meant marriage this year. The birch ... Read more