On Saint Gregory’s Day the stork flies over the sea, and the frog opens its mouth; the ice floats across the sea, and it is a lazy farmer who does not plow.
On Svaty Řehoř Day (celebrated in folk tradition on March 12, though in modern times the feast day has been moved to Sep. 3) spring really came to the Czech villages and the farmers prepared for the first plowing.
It was said: "On Svaty Řehoř, every farmer is lazy who does not plow.” The actual start of spring plowing also had its own magical ceremony – the farmer sprinkled himself, the plow and the ground with holy water and blessed the field and the first furrow with a cross. When he returned home, the housewife doused him with water to keep him strong in the days to come. Sieving was done on days when the moon was waxing – this was especially true for grain and flax. And finally, when the field was sown, it was walked around, which was related to the belief in the magical protective power of the circle.
There is a well-known old saying associated with March 12th: "On St. Gregory's Day, the stork flies over the sea and the frog opens its mouth". Although in recent years there have been recorded cases of storks wintering in Czech territory, the stork remains one of the most prominent messengers of spring and a symbol of bird migration.
Storks are not only a symbol of spring but also of love, loyalty and fertility. The first to arrive is usually the male (they always fly to places where they nested in the past), who is repairing the old dwelling after the winter and waiting for the arrival of his female, with whom he usually spends his entire life. When the male and female arrive "home", they both greet each other enthusiastically by tilting their heads back and clapping their beaks. The pair nests and the female lays eggs at the beginning of April.
