Experts who study the traditions and culture of the ancient Slavs have no consensus about the appearance of noons. There are two versions of the behavior of these entities, and in my article I will try to briefly highlight them.
According to one version, noon is a dazzlingly beautiful young girl of very tall stature, who can be seen in the field at an hour when the sun is at its zenith. In her hands she can hold something like a large frying pan, with the help of which she protects crops from direct sunlight, thereby preventing their death.
Most often, noons can be seen in fields sown with rye, hence another name for them - rye.
Another version, less common, endows noon with the appearance of a disheveled ugly old woman, also guarding the crops of rye. Regardless of the appearance, the task of the midday is to protect crops from the scorching sun and from trampling, so the meeting with this entity will most likely end in disastrous results. If in the first case the girl tries to lure the person away into the field and there to immerse him in a sound sleep without awakening, then the old women are credited with a tendency to eat what has fallen into their hands.
Midday is especially hostile to children running in sown fields. Some researchers find a direct similarity between ryes and mermaids, this concerns their beautiful appearance, with the help of which they lure a person and the desire to destroy those who succumbed to their spell.
Most likely, the appearance of such characters as noon is associated with the ancient custom of stopping field work during the period of greatest solar activity. The belief in noon days was most widespread among the eastern and western Slavs, in the southern regions such a character is almost unknown.
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