Elijah’s Day is on July 20th according to the Old Style Julian calendar. In the imagination of the folk, the Biblical Elijah has merged with Perun, the ancient Russian god of Thunder. Like Perun, Elijah is linked to thunder, lightning, and rain. Because of this idea, Elijah is considered a strict, punishing prophet who strikes like lightning and roars like thunder. Like Perun, he is the protector of farmers and cattle herders.

Russian peasants believed that they must not work on Elijah’s special day for fear of offending him. They say that he punishes sales clerks who try to cheat their customers. However, he protects people against evil spirits, serpents, and magic spells. He is the patron of hunters, pilots, and treasure hunters.

Elijah did not die but was taken alive into heaven in a fiery chariot drawn by four winged horses. His chariot is at the top of the icon. Russians explained thunderstorms by saying that Elijah was riding the skies. He shot arrows of lightning down to earth and made thunder with the wheels of his chariot.

Traditionally, people were not allowed to swim on Elijah’s Day because on that day he was crossing the heavens in his chariot. His horses galloped so fast that they were apt to lose a horseshoe. When the horseshoe fell into the water, the impact muddied the water and caused it to turn cold.

A peasant woman from Nerchinsk told a story about what happened when some men swam on Elijah’s Day. This is what she said.

I was eight or nine years old at the time. I remember that it was Elijah’s Day. Some men were washing up in the bathhouse. In our village, the bathhouses were on the riverbank beyond the gardens. After they finished steaming in the bathhouse, the men jumped straight into the river to swim.

We children were on the riverbank. Auntie Mishchikha came out of her bathhouse and came over to us. She stared as if she couldn’t believe her eyes and said, “What on earth are they doing? Can they possibly be swimming on Elijah’s Day? Elijah is sure to muddy the water because only devils go swimming on his day.” Then Auntie Mishchikha went away.

As we watched, someone shaggy and black jumped out of the water on the other side of the river. He dove again and again. Then, he jumped out. He was hairy, and he was black from head to toe. He slapped the water with his hands and hopped around.

On that side of the water, there were only stones, so who could he have been? He couldn’t have been a human being. He must have been a devil.

The story ends here. We will never know what happened to the men who swam in the water with the devil.