When is the Day of the Beekeeper?

Everyone knows the expression "works like a bee". But not only bees work: those who take care of them and collect a sweet treat are just as hardworking. It is no accident that in 1997 the President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma approved the Day of the Beekeeper. Now the beekeepers celebrate their professional day every August 19. Unfortunately, there is no such holiday in Russia yet, therefore in the article we will describe the traditions of its celebration with reference to Ukraine.

How to celebrate the holiday

The work of beekeepers has always been in high esteem, and in Ukraine especially. This country produces one-seventh of the world's honey. On a holiday in big cities, they organize fairs and rich cultural and entertainment programs. Lviv and Kiev are famous for their large-scale fairs and exhibitions of beekeeping products and performances by folk amateur art groups.

The Day of the Beekeeper recalls the first two beekeepers - Nikolai Vitvitsky and Petr Prokopovich. In cities there are conferences, festivals and parades of beekeepers, meetings of round tables. At festivals beekeeping products of Ukrainian beekeepers and companies are represented, honey tasting is held, presentation of new books on beekeeping is held.

Day of the beekeeper in Ukraine is celebrated not only by bee-keeping professionals, but also by amateurs. Specialists estimated that 5 million bee colonies work in the apiaries of the country, but no one knows how many beekeepers are in the country. The holiday is created so that people know their producers, they buy high-quality products. And beekeepers on this day not only congratulate each other, but also exchange experiences.

Day of the Beekeeper and Transfiguration of Our Lord

On the day of the beekeeper, Orthodox Christians celebrate the Transfiguration of the Lord, in another way it is called the Apple salvage. Traditionally, the churches consecrate honey and apples. Beekeepers specially consecrate the hive until the cold, so that their offspring will overwinter well. In our country, the Transfiguration of the Lord also passes with the sanctification of apples and honey. Therefore, we can say that the day of the beekeeper in Russia on August 19 is annually.

Beekeeping in Russia

Our ancestors also extracted wax and honey, searching for beehives of wild bees. Pasechnoye beekeeping began to spread in the 10th century. Our honey and wax, along with furs, were the main export goods. According to the estimates of the beekeeper Vitvitsky, in the 16th century Russia produced 10 million tons of honey. There was an extensive honeybase at the expense of huge forests, glades, felling with a predominance of honey.

Production began to fall with the introduction of regular protection of forests by Peter I. After the appearance of kerosene, as well as the development of sugar and sugar beet breeding, the beekeeping came to naught. Of the forty million bee colonies that produced honey in the early 19th century, there were only five million left by the year 1840.

In the future there is an increase in bee colonies, which was crossed out by the war of 1940-1945. Since 1960, beekeeping existed at the expense of sovkhoz and kolkhoz apiaries, which increased production volumes. By 1989, the number of bee colonies reached 8.5 million.

Day of the beekeeper is very necessary for our country, although it is not officially recognized in Russia. Beekeepers need support and attention to their hard work. Then the quantity and quality of honey and bee products produced will grow many times.