What are the winter holidays? Holiday calendar: winter

Christmas - one of the favorite holidays of the Russian people both in Orthodox Russia and in modern Russia. It started the Winter

Christmas time (a two-week period from Christmas to Epiphany, in the middle of which the New Year was celebrated). Christmas time coincided with the winter solstice, when, according to the observations of our distant ancestors, daylight hours began to gradually increase. On December 25, in ancient times, the holiday of the birth of the sun was celebrated, which foreshadowed the spring revival of nature. The Catholic and Protestant churches still celebrate Christmas on this day, and in Russia in 1918 it was moved to January 7th.

The 40-day Advent (Philippovsky) fast preceding Christmas usually ended on Christmas Eve, during which, with the appearance of the first star in the sky, a festive meal began.

From the morning of Christmas day in Orthodox Russia it was customary to carol (from the word "carol"). The exact meaning and origin of the word "kolyada" has not yet been established. There is an assumption that it has something in common with the Roman word "calenda", which means the beginning of each month (hence the word "calendar"). Another hypothesis boils down to the fact that the word "kolyada" comes from the word "kolo" - a circle, a rotation and means the end of the solar circle, its "turn" for the summer ("The sun - for the summer, winter - for the frost," says a Russian proverb ). Kolyada was also called one of the ancient Slavic solar deities.

Most often children and youth caroled, less often adults. Walking from house to house with a star symbolizing the star of Bethlehem, as well as singing carols (ancient congratulatory songs in honor of Kolyada), Christmas carols glorifying Christ, are the most important elements of the holiday. According to the Gospel, the star of Bethlehem led the Magi to the cave where Jesus was born. During the festive tour of the yards, carolers praised the owners, their children and the house.

For example:

Kolyada was born

Christmas Eve

Behind the river, behind the fast.

How Kolyada searched

The sovereign's court.

Found Kolyada

The sovereign's court!

Sovereign's Court

Not small, not big

On ten pillars

On the seven winds

The hosts gave gifts to the mummers, invited them to the house, treated them. Kolyada himself - an ancient Slavic mythological character - is mentioned in most Christmas congratulatory folk songs.

Christmas time was celebrated from December 25 (January 7) to January 6 (January 19). The first six days were called "holy evenings", the second six - "terrible evenings". The ancient Slavs had holidays associated with the cult of nature, its rebirth, the turning of the sun to spring and an increase in the length of daylight hours for this period. This explains many conventionally symbolic actions that have come down to us from pagan times. Religious and magical rites aimed at caring for the future harvest, spells for the offspring of livestock symbolized the beginning of preparations for spring, for a new cycle of agricultural work.

This also determined the content of many carols, invariably including wishes for a good harvest and prosperity. In the middle of Christmas time, December 31 (January 13), i.e. on New Year's Eve, Vasiliev evening was celebrated (or as it was also called "generous evening"). Again, children and youth went from house to house with congratulations and carols. Each participant in the ceremony had his own favorite carol, which he sang to the owner of the house and members of his family.

In New Year's rituals, the abundance of motifs associated with spring-summer peasant work is striking, although it would seem that these works are still far away (in carol songs, the industrious owner, praised by carolers, “walks around the yard in a plow”, “gathers a good harvest”, and "cattle graze in the meadow"). This is explained by the fact that the original basis of the winter New Year's customs was the so-called "magic of the first day": the peasants believed that everything that happened on the first day of the new birth of the sun would spread to all subsequent days, weeks, months and the year as a whole.

Gifting during caroling was not just a payment, but a kind of magical act, designed, like the whole ceremony, to ensure good luck for the family in the coming year. The carolers received special ceremonial food: figurative cookies depicting domestic animals (“goats”, “cows”), as well as pies, cheesecakes, etc. Moreover, until the 20th century, the ancient meaning of this gifting was preserved in the minds of the peasants. It was believed that if the hostess did not give gifts to carolers, then the bins in her household would be empty in the coming year. This belief was reflected in the texts of carols.

For example:

There's a pie on the stove

You don't cut. don't break

Better give it all!

Who will serve the pie

That is why the yard is full of cattle,

ninety bulls,

One and a half cows.

Don't give me a pie

We are the bull by the horns...

Numerous divinations were associated with the magic of the first day, with the help of which people tried to guess their fate in the new year. Most fortune-telling took place in the second half of Christmas time. Among the people, these evenings were called "terrible", since there was a belief that all the evil spirits resisted the resurrecting sun and gathered together to resist it. Any fortune-telling, according to popular belief, is impossible without the help of witches, devils, werewolves and other representatives of evil spirits.

For two weeks, the entire population gathered for festive parties - the so-called gatherings and games, at which they sang round dance and dance songs, ditties, arranged all kinds of games, played skits; mummers also came here.

Dressing up was one of the favorite pastimes of the youth. Once upon a time, dressing up had a magical meaning, but over time it turned into entertainment.

Completes the winter Christmas time Christian holiday - Baptism, on the eve of which Epiphany Eve is celebrated, the last day of Christmas festivities. Epiphany is one of the twelve main (twelfth) Christian holidays. It is based on the gospel story about the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River by John the Baptist.

On the eve of Epiphany, the girls were guessing. At the same time, so-called spy songs were often heard, under which objects belonging to one or another participant in fortune-telling were taken out of a vessel with water. The words of the song, performed at the same time, were supposed to predict certain events in the girl's life.

In Russia, the celebration of Epiphany was accompanied by rituals associated with faith in the life-giving power of water. The main event of the holiday is the blessing of water - a rite of great consecration of water. It was held not only in Orthodox churches, but also in ice holes. A hole was made in the ice in the form of a cross, which is traditionally called the Jordan. After the church service, a religious procession led by a priest is sent to her. The consecration of water, the solemn procession near the Jordan, the filling of vessels with holy water are the constituent elements of this ritual.

According to custom, at Epiphany, bridesmaids were arranged among the people: smart girls stood near the Jordan and the guys with their mothers looked after their brides.

On this day, the Russian people closely followed the weather. It was noticed that if it snows while walking on water, then the next year will be grain-bearing.

One of the favorite holidays of the Russian people was Pancake week - an ancient Slavic holiday that marks farewell to winter and the meeting of spring, in which the features of agrarian and family and tribal cults are strongly expressed. Shrovetide is characterized by many conditionally symbolic actions associated with the expectation of a future harvest and livestock offspring.

A number of ceremonial moments show that Shrovetide festivities were associated with appeals to the sun, "going for the summer." The whole structure of the holiday, its plot and attributes were designed to help the sun to prevail over winter - the season of cold, darkness and temporary death of nature. Hence the special significance of solar signs during the holiday: the image of the sun in the form of a rolling burning wheel, pancakes, horseback riding in a circle. All ritual actions are aimed at helping the sun in its fight against cold and winter: primitive people, as it were, did not believe that the sun would certainly make its circle, it had to be helped. The "help" of a person was expressed in seven-leaf magic - the image of a circle or circular motion.

Pancakes, which are obligatory for Shrovetide, not only symbolize the ever-appearing sun, but are also an ancient ritual funeral food for all Eastern Slavs. The cult of ancestors is associated with the custom of leaving the first baked pancakes outside the window to be pecked by birds.

In some places the first pancake was given to the beggars so that they would commemorate the dead.

Many families started baking pancakes on Monday. The night before, when the stars appeared, the eldest woman in the family quietly went out from the others to the river, lake or well and called for the moon to look out the window and blow on the dough.

This was reflected in the texts of some so-called Shrovetide songs:

month, you, month,

Your golden horns!

Look out the window

Blow on steam!

Each housewife had her own pancake recipe and kept it a secret from her neighbors. Usually pancakes were baked from buckwheat or wheat flour, large, in the whole pan or with a tea saucer, thin and light. They were served with sour cream, eggs, caviar, etc.

Maslenitsa is the most cheerful, reckless holiday, expected by everyone with great impatience. Maslenitsa was called honest, wide, cheerful. They also called her Lady Maslenitsa, Madame Maslenitsa.

Already from Saturday on the eve of the holiday, they began to celebrate the “small oil dish”. On this day, children rode down the mountains with special excitement. There was a sign: whoever rides further, his family will have longer flax. On the last Sunday before Shrovetide, it was customary to pay visits to relatives, friends, neighbors and invite everyone to visit Shrovetide.

Shrovetide week was literally overflowing with celebratory affairs. Ritual and theatrical performances, traditional games and amusements filled all days to capacity. In many regions of Russia, it was customary to make an effigy of Maslenitsa out of straw, dress it up in a woman's dress and carry it through the streets. Then the scarecrow was placed somewhere in a conspicuous place: it was here that the Maslenitsa entertainments were mainly held.

An atmosphere of general joy and fun reigned at Shrovetide. Each day of the holiday had its own name, certain actions, rules of conduct, customs, etc. were assigned to each.

The first day - Monday - was called the "meeting of Shrove Tuesday". She was expected and greeted like a living being. Children in the morning went outside to build snowy mountains. At the same time, they lamented quickly: “He called, called honest Semik a wide carnival to visit him in the yard. Are you my soul, carnival, quail bones, your paper body, your sugary lips, your sweet speech! Come to visit me in the wide yard on the mountains to ride, roll in pancakes, amuse your heart”, “Are you my Shrovetide, red beauty, fair-haired braid, thirty brothers sister, forty grandmothers granddaughter. Come to my tesovy house to enjoy speech, amuse your soul, have fun with your body!

Russian people began the meeting of Shrovetide with a visit to their relatives. In the morning, the father-in-law and mother-in-law sent the daughter-in-law for a day to her father and mother, and in the evening they themselves came to visit the matchmakers. Here, behind a circular bowl, it was agreed how and where to spend time. Whom to call for a visit when riding through the streets in troikas.

By the first day of Shrovetide, public mountains, swings, hanging and round, booths for buffoons were arranged. Not to go to the mountains, not to ride on a swing, not to make fun of buffoons, not to have fun in the old days meant only one thing - to be sick, weak, to live in bitter misfortune.

On the days of the holiday, the mother-in-law was obliged to teach her daughter-in-law to bake pancakes, because the newlyweds celebrate the first Maslenitsa with their family. If there is no mother-in-law, then the mother-in-law comes to the son-in-law's house and teaches her daughter to bake pancakes. In the old days, the son-in-law and daughter had to personally invite her to “teach the mind.” This invitation was considered by our ancestors a great honor, all neighbors and relatives spoke about it. The invited mother-in-law was obliged to send in the evening everything necessary for baking pancakes: a tagan, frying pans, a ladle and a tub in which the dough was placed. The father-in-law sent a bag of buckwheat or millet flour and cow's butter. The son-in-law's disregard for these customs was considered a great offense.

The second day of the holiday - Tuesday - was called "tricks". Girls and fellows were invited to flirting to visit each other in the mountains, ride, eat pancakes. To this day, the brothers were making mountains for the sisters in the middle of the courtyard. Parents sent a "call" to relatives and friends to invite their daughters and sons with the words: "We have mountains ready and pancakes baked - please favor." The messengers were greeted with honor and greetings, treated to wine and pancakes and released with an order: "Bow to the owner and hostess with children, with all household members."

The third day of Shrovetide - Wednesday - was called "gourmet". On this day, mothers-in-law invited their sons-in-law to pancakes. The mocking Russian people composed several songs about a caring mother-in-law (“Like a mother-in-law baked pancakes about a son-in-law”, “Like a mother-in-law’s head hurts”, “Like a son-in-law is tired, he said “thank you” to her) that only single guys sang in the evening, with this playing out everything that was sung in these songs.

"Wide" Thursday is the culmination of the holiday, its "revelry", a turning point. On this day, skating continued, through the streets, Shrovetide rites and fisticuffs took place. Entire trains were made for skiing. They chose a huge sleigh, put a pole in the middle, and a wheel was tied to the pole. Behind these sledges was a train with singing and playing. In the old days, in some places they carried a tree decorated with patches and bells on a sleigh. Honest Maslenitsa sat nearby, accompanied by jesters and songwriters.

Fisticuffs began in the morning and ended in the evening. At first, there were fights "on his own", i.e. one on one, and then “wall to wall”.

Friday - "Teschina evenings": the holiday is still in full swing, but is already beginning to move towards its end

On this day, sons-in-law treated their mother-in-laws to pancakes. In the old days, the son-in-law was obliged to personally invite the mother-in-law the evening before, and then, in the morning, send elegant messengers for her. The more there were, the more honors were given to the mother-in-law. Usually they performed these duties as a friend or matchmaker and received gifts from both sides for their efforts.

Saturday - "sister-in-law gatherings." On this day, the young daughter-in-law invited her relatives to her place. If her sisters-in-law were still girls, the daughter-in-law called her girl friends; if they were married, then all married relatives with the whole train were invited, while the newlywed daughter-in-law was obliged to give gifts to her sister-in-law.

In many provinces, on Saturday, children built a snow town with towers and gates on rivers, ponds, fields. Then they were divided in half: some guarded the town, others had to take it with a fight and destroy it. Adults also took part in this game. After the capture of the town, general fun began, then everyone went home with songs.

The last day of Shrovetide - Sunday - is called "seeing off", "tselovnik", "forgiveness Sunday".

Forgiveness Sunday is celebrated 50 days before Easter. On the day of forgiveness, it is customary to repent of the sins committed on the days of the holiday (and not only these days) and ask each other for forgiveness for the voluntary or involuntary offenses caused. This is the special Christian meaning of the forgiven Sunday: before the Great 48-day fast, each person must be cleansed and forgiven by all people, and he himself must forgive all those close to him.

Forgiveness was asked from both the living and the dead: in the morning everyone went to the cemetery and commemorated their parents. On the way back, they went to the church, asked for forgiveness and absolution from (priests.

The newlyweds went to their relatives to give gifts to father-in-law, mother-in-law, matchmakers and boyfriends for wedding gifts. Everyone asked for forgiveness from all relatives and friends. At the same time, people said to each other: “Forgive me, perhaps I’ll be guilty of something before you,” after which a low bow and a kiss followed.

There was another ritual custom - burning an effigy of Maslenitsa. On Forgiveness Sunday, young people took out a stuffed Maslenitsa to a rye field with the song "It's full, winter, winter." Saying goodbye to Maslenitsa, they sang:

Shrovetide, deceiver,

Cheated, tricked

Brought to the post

She ran away.

Shrovetide, come back

Show yourself in the New Year.

Shrovetide, goodbye

Come that year!

Finally, Maslenitsa was set on fire with bundles of straw, throwing them up or scattering them across the field. The magical meaning of such a rite has its origins in ancient beliefs, fire has always cleansed and protected. Now the fire was called to melt the snow, to bring spring closer.

Thus, in this last winter holiday we find a mixture of pagan and Christian rites. The image of Maslenitsa in the form of a straw stuffed animal (or a wooden idol), buffoon games, burning a scarecrow or throwing it into the water belong to pagan rites, while everyone's requests for forgiveness on the eve of Great Lent, "farewell to the dead" at the cemetery personify Christian ideas. Some researchers consider the ritual of burning an effigy a symbol of the eternal triumph of Christianity over paganism.

spring holidays

The arrival of spring in the popular mind was associated with the awakening of nature after a winter sleep and, in general, with the revival of life. On March 22, on the day of the vernal equinox and the beginning of astronomical spring, Magpies were celebrated in Russia. There was a belief that it was on this day that forty birds, forty pichugs return to their homeland and the magpie begins to build a nest. By this day, housewives baked spring birdies - larks from the dough. Throwing them up, the children sang incantations - short inviting songs, called ("gooked") spring.

The arrival of spring, the arrival of birds, the appearance of the first greenery and flowers have always caused joy and creative enthusiasm among the people. After the winter trials, there was hope for a good spring and summer, for a rich harvest. And so the people have always celebrated the arrival of spring with bright, beautiful rituals and holidays. Spring has been eagerly awaited. When she was late, the girls climbed the hillocks and sang stoneflies:

Bless, mother

call spring,

call spring,

See off the winter!

Finally, she came, long-awaited. She was greeted with songs and round dances. April 7 people celebrated a Christian holiday Annunciation. On this day, every Orthodox considered it a sin to do something. The Russian people had a belief that this custom was somehow violated by the cuckoo, having tried to make a nest for itself, and was punished for this: now it can never have a native nest and is forced to throw its eggs into strangers.

The Annunciation - a Christian holiday - is one of the twelve. It is based on the gospel tradition of how the archangel Gabriel brought the good news to the virgin Mary about the coming birth of the divine baby Jesus Christ in her.

The Christian religion emphasizes that on this day the beginning of the mysterious communication of God and man is laid. Hence the special significance of the holiday for believers.

The Feast of the Annunciation coincides in time with the beginning of spring sowing: many of its rites are associated with an appeal to the Mother of God with prayers for a good plentiful harvest, warm summer, etc.

There is a belief among the people that the Mother of God on this day sows all the fields of the earth from a heavenly height.

The main Christian holiday is Easter -"feast of holidays". It is celebrated by the Christian Church in honor of the resurrection of Jesus Christ crucified on the cross.

Easter is one of the so-called moving holidays. The date of its celebration is constantly changing and depends on the lunar calendar. Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox. To determine the day of the celebration of Easter, special tables are compiled - paschalia. Easter has its roots in the distant past. Initially, it was a spring holiday of pastoral, and then agricultural tribes.

Easter is preceded by a seven-week Great Lent. Its last week is called Passion Week and is dedicated to remembrances of the passions (sufferings) of Christ. In the old days, preparations were made for Easter all over Russia: they cleaned, washed, cleaned dwellings, baked Easter cakes, dyed eggs, preparing for a big celebration.

Thursday in Holy Week is called Maundy Thursday. On this day, church services are devoted to memories of the Last Supper. The night of Great Saturday was usually a magnificent sight wherever there were Orthodox churches: to the sounds of the gospel (a special type of bell ringing), the procession began. In Moscow, a solemn service on Easter night was held in the Assumption Cathedral in the presence of the tsar.

On the Sabbath day, Easter cake and Easter are supposed to be blessed in the temple. Kulich is Easter rich bread baked with sweets, apples and berries. Easter is a ritual food that is mixed with cottage cheese, sugar, eggs, raisins, butter. If the Easter cake is round, then Easter has a tetrahedral shape, symbolizing the Holy Sepulcher. And on the walls of the form, patterns and letters are carved, symbolizing the feast of the Resurrection. Having consecrated the Easter cake, the hostess quickly went home. It was believed that the bread would grow as quickly as the hostess returns home. Pieces of Easter cake were never thrown away, dried and carefully stored.

At Easter, the sun plays. Its pure, beneficent rays bring us purification and joy. That is why, in the old days, the whole village went out at noon to watch how “the sun plays”, asking him for a good harvest, for good health.

The people have preserved many customs and rituals associated with the celebration of Easter. On Easter, everyone goes to visit each other, christen, wish the owners happiness and prosperity, present each other with painted eggs and Easter cakes.

From Bright Sunday, festive festivities begin, which used to last the entire Bright Week. On Easter, all men who wish are allowed to climb the bell tower and ring the bells. Therefore, this day is always filled with the solemn call of the bells.

With the Bright Week, the first spring round dances, games and outdoor festivities begin. Preparations are underway for weddings that are being held on Krasnaya Gorka.

The Russian people have always respected their ancestors, deified them. One of these days of commemoration of the departed people was Radunitsa. Easter week passed, and the following Tuesday was celebrated as a memorial day. Easter cakes, colored eggs were taken with them to the cemetery.

According to popular belief, the souls of our ancestors in these days of spring rise above the earth and invisibly touch the treats that we bring to please them. Memories of relatives, loved ones, rejoicing about your kind, caring so that the souls of your ancestors do not despise your kind, and symbolizes Radunitsa - spring commemoration. The very word "please" contains the meaning of trouble, effort from the bottom of the heart. To rejoice is to bake, to take care. The people believed that, arranging a spring commemoration, we both delight the souls of our ancestors, and bake, take care of them.

The height of the spring festivities falls on Red hill. Krasnaya Gorka starts from Fomin Sunday. This is one of the folk holidays of the Red Spring; in this day our ancestors met spring, walked with songs along the streets, danced round dances, played, stoneflies sang. The betrothed were married on Krasnaya Gorka, weddings were played.

The name of the holiday is due to the fact that the sun begins to shine brighter, coloring the hillocks thawed from snow in a reddish color. Mountains and hillocks were always revered by the ancient Slavs, endowed with magical properties: mountains, according to legend, are the cradle of mankind, the abode of the gods. The dead have been buried in the mountains for a long time. Hence the custom after mass on this day to go to the cemetery: commemorate the dead, put in order and decorate the graves with flowers.

The holidays began with the sunrise, when the youth went out to the hill or hillock illuminated by the sun. Under the leadership of a round dance, holding round bread in one hand and a red egg in the other, they danced and welcomed spring. Grooms and brides walked in festive attire, looking at each other.

The celebration of Krasnaya Gorka was accompanied by various ceremonies, among which we can single out the vyunish rites. The youth gathered in Fomino on Sunday after dinner and went in crowds to houses where weddings had been played the day before. She was treated, presented with eggs, pies and Easter cakes. After that, the boys and girls danced again, choosing from their midst a beautiful girl, symbolizing spring. She was decorated with greenery, flowers, a wreath of fresh flowers was put on her head. Round dances, vines, wreaths symbolized the return of the sun, a new circle in life and in nature.

The sun shone brighter, the earth was covered with lush green vegetation, and on Thursday, the seventh week after Easter, a holiday was celebrated in Russia. Semik(hence the name comes from). Semitsky rites originate in the pagan beliefs of the ancient Slavs, who revered nature and the spirits of vegetation. To this day, the custom has been preserved to decorate the dwelling with fresh greenery and fragrant herbs, branches and young birch trees, etc.

Semik marked the end of spring and the beginning of summer. The ritual of the holiday is based on the cult of vegetation. Another name of Semik - Green Christmastide - has also been preserved. They coped in groves, forests, on the banks of rivers, where young people sang, danced, wove wreaths, curled birches, etc. until late at night.

A cheerful crowd often went to the river to throw wreaths: the girl whose wreath was the first to sail to the shore would be the first to marry, but if the wreath spun in one place, its owner was destined to sit “in girls” for another year.

These predictions served for fun, relaxation, jokes and fun. At the same time, they gave ground for reflection on their fate. Old women explained to young girls what the various positions of the wreaths meant, taught them to read how fate would turn out, thereby pushing them to make certain decisions.

Curling a birch is a ritual that came from ancient times. The girls believed that in this way they bind themselves tightly with the beloved guy. They also wondered about the future or wished a speedy recovery to their loved ones. It was believed that birch branches in these days had great healing power. An infusion of birch leaves was also considered healing. Birch branches protected the huts of our ancestors from unclean spirits. Until now, peasants stick branches of Semitskaya birch into the corners of houses so that purity and a healing spirit are transferred to the walls.

It was Semitsky Thursday that was the day when they predicted what to be. (If the curled birch branches did not wither before the Trinity, this meant that the plan would certainly come true).

Russian people call Semik honest, like Shrovetide, considering it one of the three main summer holidays, which is confirmed by the words of the old "Trinity" song:

As we have three holidays in a year:

The first holiday - Semik honest,

Another holiday - Trinity Day,

And the third holiday is Bathing.

N.P. Stepanov in his book "Folk Holidays in Holy Russia" recalls the famous commander A.V. Suvorov, “who, despite all his greatness, in Semik gathered guests with whom he dined in a birch grove under curly green birches intertwined with multi-colored ribbons, while singing folk songs. After dinner, he played round dances not only with the girls, but also with the soldiers, he played burners, running around like a young man.

On Sunday after Semik in Russia, it was universally celebrated Trinity or Pentecost.

2 Stepanov N.P. Folk holidays in Holy Russia. - M., 1992.-S. 52-53.

For all Slavs, Saturday on the eve of the Trinity is the traditional day of commemoration of the dead (in the Orthodox calendar it is called “parental Saturday”): on this day it is customary to visit a cemetery, order prayers, and burn memorial bonfires. Sometimes young men and women dance round the "Sabbath bonfires". In these games, one can guess the ritual of purification by fire, common in antiquity, closely associated with the cults of the earth and ancestors. So, in the ancient rituals, the memory of the departed and the joyful meeting of spring shoots, the festive hymn to the nurse-earth and everything that lives and grows on it, were combined.

Trinity is celebrated on the fiftieth day after Easter, hence its second name.

The Christian meaning of the Trinity holiday is based on the biblical story about the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles on the 50th day after the Resurrection of Christ, after which they began to understand all languages. In the Christian religion, this is interpreted as the desire of Christ to carry his teachings to all peoples of the earth in all languages.

The first day of Pentecost, Sunday, the church dedicates to honoring the Most Holy Trinity. This day is popularly called Trinity Day; the next day, Monday, is dedicated to the Holy Spirit, which is why it is called Spirits Day. These days solemn divine services are performed in churches.

On the feast of the Trinity, it is customary to decorate temples and dwellings with branches and flowers, and to stand in the service with flowers.

In Russia, the Trinity has absorbed those customs and rituals that are characteristic of the Semik holiday. Since ancient times, the Trinity was accompanied by curling wreaths, divination, boating, etc.

The Russian birch has become the symbol of the holiday. Decorating a birch tree, wringing and curling wreaths, decorating the windows of houses with fresh birch branches, collecting medicinal herbs these days - all these customs originate in the beliefs of the ancient Slavs.

The feast of the Trinity is celebrated by the entire Christian world. And almost everywhere it is not only a church holiday, but also a national holiday. In the Trinity rituals, ancient customs associated with the celebration of the flowering of nature, the arrival of warmth and light on earth can be traced everywhere. Rituals are also performed, the main purpose of which is to ensure the future harvest, health, well-being of all people, a good offspring of livestock, etc.

On this day, festive processions, dances and round dances, rituals of blessing people, fields, greenery and grass are arranged. Rites associated with water are very common on the Trinity. Jokingly pouring water on each other is an echo of the magical ritual of making rain. Also popular are boat rides decorated with greenery and flowers, as well as pilgrimages to holy springs. The custom of consecrating water has been known for a long time, while Trinity water is also credited with strength and healing properties (it is sprinkled with crops, irrigated gardens, providing a future harvest.)

Semik and Trinity - holidays with dances, noisy merry processions, with the choice of a Trinity bride, etc. The Trinity bride at the head of the festive procession makes a round of the village or city, sometimes participates in the rite of blessing fields and springs.

Ivan Kupala- the next big summer folk festival. The Kupala week, celebrated by the ancient Slavs, coincided in time with the day of the summer solstice. The holiday was dedicated to the sun and was associated with the ancient cults of the Slavs - the cult of fire and water. On this day, according to tradition, they made fires, swam in the warmed rivers, poured water on each other.

After the adoption of Christianity in Russia on this day (June 24), the feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist (John the Baptist), who, according to legend, baptized Jesus Christ, began to be celebrated. Due to the fact that the celebration of the Kupala week coincided with this church holiday, its new name “The Feast of Ivan Kupala” was approved among the people.

Medicinal plants are also collected on Ivan Kupala, which, according to legend, are filled with special healing powers. The meaning of the word "Kupala" is interpreted in different ways. Some researchers consider it to be derived from the word "kopny" (cumulative, joint, connected). Others explain its origin from the word "kupa" (pile, bale). In some regions of Russia, the hearth as a place in which a fire is kindled is called a "bathing room".

In ancient Slavic mythology, Kupalo was considered the deity of earthly fruits. Before the harvest of bread, sacrifices were made to him. At the same time, Kupala is an angry, hot deity, seething with anger, rage, it serves as a symbol of fire. According to popular belief, the sun rides on three horses on this day: silver, gold and diamond; it rejoices and scatters fiery arrows across the sky. People believe that the sun "plays" five times a year: at Christmas, at Epiphany, at the Annunciation, at Easter and on the day of Ivan Kupala. At the same time, the sound of the word “kupalo” coincides with the word “bath”, immerse in water. It is no coincidence that ritual bathing, dousing with water are indispensable attributes of the holiday. On this day, at dawn, it was customary to bathe in the river, wash yourself with dew - magical, healing powers were attributed to such actions.

Of the summer holidays, Ivan Kupala's day is the most cheerful and cheerful; the whole population took part in it, and the tradition required the active inclusion of everyone in all rituals, the obligatory observance of customs.

Signs related to this holiday have survived to this day: “The dew is strong on Ivan - for the harvest of cucumbers”, “It is starry on Ivanovo at night - there will be many mushrooms”, “If there is a thunderstorm on Ivanov’s day, then there will be few nuts and they will be empty” .

Ivanovo rains caused the farmer both joy and anxiety at the same time: they are very necessary for bread and are already dangerous for grass just before haymaking.

On the eve of Ivan Kupala, peasant women always washed “kvashenka” at the well or on the river - tubs in which they prepare dough for baking bread.

One of the fairly common Kupala rites is pouring water on everyone you meet and cross. Village guys dress in old linen and go with buckets and jugs to the river, where they fill them with water, go through the village, dousing everyone, making an exception only for old people and youngsters. But most readily, of course, girls are poured over. In turn, the girls try to take revenge on the guys and also run to the river for water. The matter ends with the fact that the youth, soaked to the skin, rushes in a crowd to swim in the river.

The main feature of the Kupala night is the cleansing bonfires. Having obtained a “living fire” by friction from a tree, bonfires were lit, undoubtedly having a symbolic meaning, to the singing of special Kupala songs. Birch bark was thrown into the fire so that it burned more cheerfully and brighter. Boys and girls in festive attire usually gathered around the fires, where they danced, and, holding hands, jumped in pairs over these fires, thinking that this would save them from all evils, diseases, and grief. Judging by a successful or awkward jump, they predicted future happiness or misfortune, early or late marriage. “The fire cleanses from all filth of the flesh and spirit,” wrote one of the ethnographers of the 19th century, “and the whole Russian village jumps over Ivan Kupala.” Popular belief says: whoever jumps higher over the Kupala fire, the ear of bread will be born higher. Livestock was driven through the Kupala fire to protect it from pestilence. In Kupala bonfires, mothers burned Old shirts taken from sick children, so that the diseases themselves would burn with them.

Youth, teenagers, children, jumping over the fires, arranged noisy fun games. Be sure to play in the burners. The participants lined up in pairs one after another and sang in chorus:

Burn, burn brightly, so that it does not go out.

Look at the sky, the birds are flying

The bells are ringing:

Ding dong, ding dong

- Run away quickly!

At the last words, the first couple, without separating their hands, ran forward, and the driver tried to catch up with them. During the game, different choruses were performed, each locality has its own, for example:

Stop, burn in place

Burn, don't burn

On the sides of the eyes

Shoot less.

And look at the sky

There are cranes

And we took the legs!

There are trumpeters

Yes, they eat kalachi.

- One, two, do not crow

And run like fire.

According to the beliefs of the peasants, on Kupala, the shortest night of the year, which is considered a “terrible night”, you can’t sleep, as all evil spirits come to life and become especially active (witches, werewolves, mermaids, snakes, etc.)

The day of Ivan Kupala is associated with numerous customs and signs related to the plant world, which have found their expression in Russian proverbs and sayings. (“Ivan Kupala - good herbs”, Midsummer Day came to collect grass). Some herbs and flowers are harvested during the day, some at night, and some only by morning dew. When the girls tear the herbs, they say, "Mother Earth, bless me, take the herbs."

Herbs and flowers collected on Ivan's Day are dried and protected, considering them to be very healing compared to those collected at other times. They fumigate the sick with them, fight evil spirits, they are thrown into a flooded stove during a thunderstorm to protect the house from a lightning strike, and they are also used to “ignite” love or to “dry out”.

On the day of Ivan Kupala, girls curl wreaths of herbs, put them on the water in the evening, watching how and where they will swim. Mature women, being present at the same time, help to interpret certain provisions of the wreath, thereby pushing the girls to make this or that decision.

The main symbol of the holiday was the fern flower. According to legend, this fiery flower appears only on the night of Ivan Kupala. The one who manages to find a fern flower and pick it will become the ruler of the forest, will rule the paths in the forest, own treasures underground, the most beautiful girls will love him, etc. The main ritual elements of this day are immersion in water, traditional bathing, kindling fires ("bathrooms"), a joint (double) meal. The preparation of votive porridge in huge cauldrons also had a symbolic meaning. A joint ritual meal symbolized the unity of people, abundance, prosperity, fertility of the earth, etc. On this day, bathhouses were heated, laying grass and flowers on the floor. They steamed with brooms from Bogorodsk grass, fern, chamomile, Ivan da Marya, buttercup, wormwood, mint and other herbs to expel bodily impurities.

Bathing in the rivers, reckless fun, washing off one's anguish, grief, illness, the evil eye - all this was fanned by ancient paganism, the custom of worshiping fire and water.

Most of the ancient rites are only partially preserved. Therefore, the value is what still survived. And we need to preserve its past for the people.

Next big summer holiday - Ilyin's day, celebrated on July 20 of the Old Style (August 2 of the New Style) in honor of Elijah the Prophet, one of the most revered Christian saints. Ilyin's day served as a guide for seasonal agricultural work, the end of haymaking and the beginning of harvest is associated with it. It was these household moments that made Ilyin's day a significant celebration for the peasants. On the folk calendar until the beginning of the 20th century, this day was symbolized by the image of the wheel. A wheel with six spokes as a talisman against a thunderstorm was common among both Russians and Belarusians and Ukrainians. Such signs in the 19th century were often carved on the berths (skates of the huts).

The sign in the form of a six-sided wheel is found in the clay calendar of the 4th century, and therefore, long before the introduction of the official cult of Perun. It is quite understandable why the day of veneration of this powerful deity and all its subsequent transformations fell on July 20th. By this time, summer was approaching its hot and stormy period. The crops were almost ready for harvest. But a heavy downpour, lightning or hail was enough for everything to perish.

Therefore, on Ilyin's day, rituals were performed to preserve and protect both the crop and the person himself.

What was the appearance of Elijah the prophet in the popular imagination, and what rituals are associated with his day? In various genres of folklore, he appears in different ways. In some, mainly in ritual poetry, he is merciful: he takes care of the harvest, livestock, and people's health. This side of his appearance is clearly seen in the Belarusian ritual folklore: in generous songs, carols, stubble songs, as well as in incantations. In them, Elijah the prophet is the giver of all blessings and favors. In other genres, for example, in most legendary tales, in laments, stories based on beliefs, he appears in his formidable appearance of a thunderer, punishing and unmerciful.

Biblical legend and apocryphal legends, inscriptions on icons, and later popular prints created the idea of ​​Elijah the Prophet as a “fiery”, “obese” thunderer who threw lightning. Hearing thunder, people said that it was Elijah the prophet riding around the sky in a fiery chariot.

... Already on the tone of the fiery chariot,

Above the prophets, the prophet, with a strike, thunders,

Our father is showing up.

Under him is a white, brave horse,

And this horse is not simple,

The good horse has a pearly tail

And a gilded mane,

studded with large pearls

In his eyes is a margarite stone,

Fire-flame burns from his mouth.

Ilya is considered by the people the owner of the rain. “Ilya holds thunderstorms,” says the proverb. The church legend also contributed to the idea of ​​Elijah the Prophet as a rain-bearer. The church adopted the popular belief. For a long time, on Ilyin's day and a week after it, religious processions were made with prayers for rain and a bucket. In Novgorod in the old days there were churches of Ilya Wet and Dry. During a drought, a religious procession was made with prayers for rain to the first church, and with a request for dry, clear weather - to another. In pre-Petrine Russia, the tsars themselves took part in the visits to Ilya Dry and Wet. The churches of Dry and Wet Elijah were built not only in Novgorod, but also in Moscow, Pskov and other cities. Since in many areas Ilyin's day falls, as it were, on the boundary between summer and autumn, many proverbs, sayings, and observations are associated with it, marking this fact. For example: “Before Ilya, a man bathes, and says goodbye to Ilya with water.”

There are many popular explanations why you can’t swim after Ilyin’s day: from Ilyin’s day, the water becomes colder because “Ilya throws a piece of ice” into it (he who violates this prohibition will certainly get sick).

With Ilyin's day, according to popular expression, the summer "red" days ended and the turn to autumn began. "Prophet Elijah ends summer - life is stinging." The first morning colds appear, the nights lengthen: “Before Ilya, at least undress - after Ilya, put on a zipun,” says the proverb.

Many agricultural tips and signs related to the harvesting of bread, the upcoming winter sowing, and the ripening of vegetables are associated with Ilya’s Day (“Cover the cabbage with a pot on Ilya so that it is white.”)

Most of the Ilyinsky agricultural customs and rituals relate to the harvest. Ilya was most often associated with one of the oldest agricultural rites - “beard curling”, which was common in the past both in Russia and in many European countries. The initial meaning of this rite is to ensure the harvest for the next year: “Here you are, Ilya, a beard, freaks of rye, oats, barley and wheat.”

One of the most striking rites of Ilyin's day is a collective meal with the burial of a ram or a bull (the rite is also common among many peoples of Europe). It originates in pre-Christian cults and has a very specific magical purpose - to ensure the harvest, the fertility of livestock, and the well-being of the family. The stabbing ritual could be different, but basically it consisted of the following. The peasants gathered with all their parishes to the church and drove all the cattle there. The priest sprinkled the animals with holy water. After mass, an animal was chosen and bought by the whole world for the money collected “from every soul”. He was slaughtered, the meat was boiled in a common cauldron and distributed to those present.

Along with the "bull-killer" on the day of Elijah the prophet, beer was brewed from grains collected from the villagers. In some places, beer brewing took place together with the “bullboy”, in others it existed on its own. The celebration was accompanied by games and round dances. At the same time, young people made gifts to girls, often presenting small icons. Ilya was considered the patron saint of happiness and love.

However, it would be wrong to see in Ilya only an ally and a protector. In folk stories, fairy tales, legends and beliefs, Ilya acts as a formidable messenger of God's wrath, unmerciful, jealously caring about his veneration. The punitive function of Elijah is closely connected with the cleansing one. According to popular beliefs, he is called upon to cleanse the earth of all evil spirits, chasing and destroying evil spirits, punishing people for bad deeds (“Thunderstorm thunders over all dark forces”).

Its miraculous power was also extended to the natural phenomena associated with Elijah's Day: they washed their faces with Elijah's rain, believing that it protects against all sorts of "enemy spells".

The variety of traditions and customs of Ilyin's Day, which is a kind of symbol of a responsible period of agricultural activity, is reflected in folklore, primarily in proverbs and sayings, well-aimed words, signs, etc. They in a peculiar form embodied the results of centuries of experience and practical wisdom of the peasant, related to this period of the year.

In August, the Russian people celebrate three spasa- a holiday dedicated to the All-Merciful Savior (Savior): August 1 (14) - honey Savior (Savior on the water), August 6 (19) - apple Savior (Savior on the mountain), August 16 (29) - walnut Savior (Savior on the canvas ). There is a well-known saying:

“The first Savior is to stand on the water, the second Savior is to eat apples, the third Savior is to sell canvases.”

The first Savior is called honey because starting from this day, according to popular belief, bees no longer take honey from flowers. On this day, Russian people went to visit each other, tried the first new honey. From August 6, they began to collect and eat apples and fruits all over Russia, which were consecrated in churches that day. Until that day, it was impossible to eat apples. The days following the apple Savior are called "gourmet". “On the second Savior, even a beggar will eat an apple,” the people say. The custom was carefully observed to share apples and other fruits with all the poor. Since that time, they began to fully harvest garden and horticultural crops. Summer was coming to an end.

autumn holidays

Seeing off the summer began with Semyonov day - from 1 (14) September. The custom to meet autumn was widespread in Russia. In time, it coincided with the Indian summer. Celebrated in mid-September Osenins. Early in the morning, women went to the banks of a river or pond, met Mother Osenina with round oatmeal bread.

A wonderful tradition among the Russian people was the so-called "cabbage" or "cabbage", when after picking cabbage, the owners invited people to visit. Neighbors came to the house, congratulated the owners on a good harvest, then chopped cabbage with special songs dedicated to this event, salted it. Joint work has always been more successful, happier, and more successful.

At the end of work, a common meal was arranged, for which beer was brewed in advance and pies with cabbage were baked. During this meal, the women promised to always help each other and be together in sorrow and in joy.

So work and life, weekdays and holidays were closely intertwined with each other, contributing to the rallying of people, their unity.

Among the autumn agricultural holidays, the beginning of the harvest should be noted - zipper, and its ending dozhinki.

Zazhinki and dozhinki are the most important agricultural holidays. Many researchers of Russian life tell about how they were carried out in Russia. “In the morning, zazhinshchiks and zazhinshitsy went out to their pens,” A.A. writes in his work. Corinthian, - the field was blooming, full of peasant shirts and women's scarves, ... songs of zazhnivny echoed from boundary to boundary. At each paddock, the hostess herself walked ahead of all the others with bread and salt and a candle.

The first compressed sheaf - “zazhinochny” - was called the “birthday sheaf” and an individual was placed from others; in the evening the zazhinnitsa took him, walked with him ahead of her family, carried him into the hut and put the birthday man in the red corner of the hut. This sheaf stood up to the very dozhinki... For dozhinki in the villages they organized a "worldly clubbing", ... they baked a pie from new flour ... and celebrated the end of the harvest, accompanying them with special rituals dedicated to that. The reapers went around all the harvested fields and collected the ears that remained uncut. Of the latter, a wreath was twisted, intertwined with wildflowers. This wreath was put on the head of a beautiful young girl, and then everyone went with songs to the village. On the way, the crowd increased with oncoming peasants. Ahead of all was a boy with the last sheaf in his hands.

Usually dozhinki fall during the celebration of the three Spas. By this time, the rye harvest is over. The hosts, who finished the harvest, carried the last sheaf to the church, where they consecrated it. Winter fields were sown with such grains sprinkled with holy water.

The last compressed sheaf, decorated with ribbons, patches, flowers, was also placed under the icon, where it stood until the very Intercession. According to legend, the sheaf had magical powers, promised prosperity, protecting from hunger. On the day of the Intercession, he was solemnly taken out into the yard and fed with special spells to pets so that they would not get sick. Cattle fed in this way were considered prepared for a long and harsh winter. From that day on, she was no longer driven out to pasture, as the cold set in.

Other rituals for the end of the harvest include the custom of leaving several uncompressed ears of corn on the strip, which they tied in a knot (“wrung the beard”). Then they were pressed to the ground with the words: "Ilya on his beard, so that the saint does not leave us next year without a harvest."

A kind of milestone between autumn and winter was a holiday Protection of the Holy Mother of God, which was celebrated on October 1 (14). “On Pokrov before lunch - autumn, after lunch - winter,” the people said.

Cover - one of the religious holidays especially revered by Orthodox believers. In the old church books there is a story about the miraculous appearance of the Mother of God, which occurred on October 1, 910. They describe in detail and colorfully how before the end of the all-night service, at four o'clock in the morning, a local holy fool named Andrew saw that he was standing in the air above the heads of the worshipers The Mother of God, accompanied by a retinue of angels and saints. She spread a white veil over the parishioners and prayed for the salvation of the whole world, for the deliverance of people from hunger, the flood, fire, the sword and the invasion of enemies. When the service was over, holy fool Andrew told the people about his vision, and the news of the miracle spread. In honor of this miraculous phenomenon, the Russian Church established a special holiday - the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos. The Virgin Mary, the mother of the God-man Jesus Christ, according to Christian teaching, played an important role in saving the world.

According to popular beliefs, the Mother of God was the patroness of farmers. It was to her that the Russian man turned with a prayer for the harvest. It was from her that he expected help in hard peasant labor. The very image of the earthly woman Mary, who gave birth to a divine son and sacrificed him for the salvation of people, was close and understandable to believers, especially women. It was to the Mother of God that they turned with their troubles, worries, aspirations.

The festive church service on the day of the Intercession is structured in such a way as to convince the faithful of the mercy and intercession of the Mother of God, in her ability to protect people from troubles and comfort them in grief. The divine service on the Feast of the Intercession is dedicated to revealing her image as the all-powerful patroness of this world and as a spiritual person who unites heavenly and earthly forces around herself.

By the time of the celebration of the Intercession, autumn field work was over, and the peasants solemnly celebrated these events. The national harvest festival merged with the Christian one.

A lot of beliefs are connected with the Feast of the Intercession, rooted in ancient times. Let's get acquainted with some of them. “The Pokrov will come, he will cover the girl’s head,” the old people say, and the girls, in turn, secretly pray: “Father Pokrov, cover the earth with snow, and cover the young with a veil!” or “Protection, Holy Mother of God, cover my poor head with a pearl kokoshnik!”. The girls spend the whole day of the holiday in their own circle, arranging a merry feast in a simple-hearted confidence that "if you spend Pokrov merrily, you will find a sweet friend."

Thus, we examined the main calendar holidays, winter, spring, summer and autumn, which reflected the nature of the Russian people, their beliefs, customs and traditions. Over the centuries, they, of course, have undergone some changes associated with certain historical events, the change of eras. But the main meanings and meanings of these holidays are still important for our people.

Literature

Almazov S.F., Pitersky P.Ya. Holidays of the Orthodox Church. M, 1962.

Afanasiev A.N. Poetic views of the Slavs on nature.

Bazhenova A. Solar gods of the Slavs. Saratov, 1953.

Belov V.I. Lad: Essays on folk aesthetics. Arkhangelsk, 1985.

Bible. Gospel (any edition).

The Great Guide to the Bible. M., 1993.

Braginskaya N.V. Calendar // Myths of the peoples of the world. M., 1980. T. 1.S.614.

Beletskaya N.N. Pagan symbolism of Slavic archaic rituals. M., 1978.

Vinogradova L.N. Winter calendar poetry of the Western and Eastern Slavs: the genesis and typology of caroling. M., 1982. Gromyko M. M. The world of the Russian village M., 1991.

Zhigulsky K. Holiday and culture. M., 1985

Zabelin I. Russian people, its customs, rituals, legends, superstitions and poetry. M., 1992.

Zelenin D.K. East Slavic ethnography. M., 1991.

Zemtsovsky I.I. Poetry of peasant holidays. M., 1970.

Ivleva L.M. Mummers in Russian traditional culture. SPb., 1994.

Calendar customs and rituals in the countries of foreign Europe. Winter holidays. M., 1973. Spring holidays. M., 1977. Summer and autumn holidays. M., 1978.

All year round. Russian agricultural calendar / Comp. A. F. Nekrylova. M., 1989.

Folk calendar. M., 1992.

Nekrylova A.F. Russian folk city holidays, amusements and spectacles. Late 18th - early 20th century. L, 1988.

Poetry of peasant holidays / Comp. Zemtsovsky I.I.M., 1973.

Festive services and church celebrations in Moscow. M., 1995.

Propp V. Ya. Russian Agrarian Holidays: An Experience of Historical and Ethnographic Research. L., 1967.

Propp V.Ya. Russian agricultural holidays. L., 1963.

Rozhnova P. Radonitsa. M., 1991.

Russians: Historical and ethnographic atlas. T. 1-2. M., 1967 -1970.

Rybakov E.A. The paganism of the ancient Slavs. M., 1994.

Sakharov I.P. Tales of the Russian people. M., 1990.

Seleshnikov S. I. History of the calendar and chronology. M., 1977.

Snegirev I.M. Russian folk holidays and superstitious

rites. M., 1990.

Sokolova V.K. Spring-summer calendar rites of Russians,

Ukrainians, Belarusians of the 19th - early 20th centuries. M., 1979.

Sokolova Z.P. The cult of animals in religions. M., 1972.

Stepanov N.P. Folk holidays in Holy Russia. M., 1992.

Tereshchenko A. Life of the Russian people. SPb., 1996.

Tokarev S. A. Folk customs of the calendar cycle - samples

Russian folk choreography. M., 1984.

Chicherov V. I. The winter period of the Russian folk agricultural calendar of the 16th-19th centuries. M., 1957. Shmelev I. Summer of the Lord. M., 1989. Ethnography of the Eastern Slavs: Essays on traditional culture. M., 1987.

Yudin V. Days of glory. Pages of the folk Christian calendar. Saratov, 1992.

Chapter 4. Artistic traditions of family holidays and rituals

Calendar holidays are associated with the change of seasons, with the cycle of nature. Another group of holidays and rituals - family and household, is dedicated to the most important milestones of another cycle - the cycle of human life, reflects a person's life from birth to death, traditional life and family traditions.

These include: homeland, christening, name day, housewarming, weddings, funerals. It should be noted that family and calendar holidays and rituals are closely related to each other. Many scientists believe that once agricultural and family rituals, especially wedding rituals, were a single whole, having one common task - to achieve well-being in the family, a good harvest. Not by chance great similarity is seen in calendar and wedding songs of an incantatory nature. A number of songs are performed at the calendar celebration and at the wedding. It is often possible to observe the transformation of agrarian-calendar rituals into family rituals (for example, bathing a newborn in a trough with cereal grains, meeting the young mother-in-law after the crown in a turned-out fur coat, ritual dishes of christening and funeral meals, etc.).

At the same time, confinement to the most striking events in the personal life of each person, and not constantly recurring dates due to the change of seasons, and, accordingly, other functions and other content make it possible to single out family holidays and rituals into a separate group. The sequence of carrying out is objectively set by the very life of a person. Therefore, we will begin our acquaintance with family and household holidays by considering maternity rituals.

Scenario of a thematic conversation for elementary school students "Let's talk about winter folk holidays."

Matveeva Svetlana Nikolaevna, primary school teacher, MBOU "Secondary School No. 9"
Ulyanovsk.
Description of work: I bring to your attention a thematic conversation with primary school students about winter folk holidays, which can be used both at extracurricular activities and classes for schoolchildren, and at class hours. This material will be useful for elementary school teachers, after-school educators, kindergarten teachers, educators of children's health camps and sanatoriums. Thematic conversation is focused on students of primary school age, possibly on preschoolers of preparatory groups.
Target: familiarity with the winter folk holidays.
Tasks:
- clarify children's knowledge about winter folk holidays;
- broaden the horizons of younger students;
- to develop cognitive interest and creative abilities of children;
- to cultivate respect for the history of their people, for traditions.

Event progress

Teacher: Good afternoon, children and dear adults! But did you know that from Christmas to Maslenitsa itself, in Russia, winter holidays were cheerfully celebrated. What holidays do you know?
The children answer.
Teacher: The most beloved and famous folk holidays in Russia, of course, are the snowy and frosty Christmas, Christmas time, Epiphany and many others.
It's no secret that all Russian folk holidays without exception are filled with traditions, rituals and rituals.
Today we will learn about the tradition of mummers, carols, Christmas divination, as well as the tradition of celebrating holidays and much more.
Here are some winter holidays:
December 12 - (Kolyada Day)
December 25 - (Christmas)
December 31 - January 1 (New Year)
December 25 - January 6 (Svyatki)

Teacher: All modern holidays have their roots in paganism.
For example, Kolyada Day among the ancient Slavs, it was 7 thousand years BC, it fell on the day of the winter solstice. Teacher Kolyada, according to legend, descended from the sky, giving the idea of ​​a sacred calendar, spoke about the change of day and night, and explained how time moves.
The winter solstice marked both the beginning of a new life and the renewal of nature. Adults and children jumped over the fire, danced round dances, the boys competed in strength and ingenuity. Daylight was increasing, which means that spring was just around the corner.
It is even known that in the 16th century in Russia a special ceremony was associated with the winter solstice. So the bell warden of the Moscow Cathedral, who was responsible for the chiming of the clock, came to bow to the tsar, reported that from now on the sun turned to summer, now the day was increasing, and the night was shortening. For this good news, the king rewarded the headman with money.
At this time, another multi-day winter holiday was celebrated - Christmas time (or Christmas carols). It began in the last days of December and ended in early January. Christmas time was accompanied by magical rites, carols were sung on the eve of Christmas, mummers walked around the villages, festive feasts were held in every house, girls guessed at their betrothed.
Special songs with wishes for a rich harvest, health, peace and harmony in the family were called - carols. The indispensable participants of the Christmas holidays were, of course, mummers. Whom only did not dress up.
Teacher: solve riddles and find out.
Sample riddles:
My outfit is colorful
My cap is sharp
My jokes and laughter
They cheer everyone up.
(Parsley).

He sucks his paw
Sleeps all winter long.
But when spring comes
Waking up from sleep
And let's roar in the forest ...
Everyone calls him...
(Bear).

The wedge flies curly to the south,
Not wanting to meet the blizzard.
Flying around the floor of the earth
Rushing into the distance...
(Cranes).

Teacher: Dressed up as bears, cranes, parsley and others. The mummers, within reasonable limits, were allowed everything, but only so as not to offend the owners of the house.
Perhaps one of the most important Christian holidays is Nativity. It was believed that if on Christmas a happy person enters the house first, then the whole year happiness will not leave its walls. Christmas was accompanied by colorful folk customs and festivities. These are Carols, and walking with a star, and campaigns of mummers. It was here that both paganism and Christianity coexisted peacefully.
Sample carols:
carol, carol,
Give me the pie.
Give a damn
pig leg,
A little bit of everything.
Carry, do not shake -
Come on, don't break!

Go-go-go, goat,
Go-go, gray
Oh, lyuli, lyuli -
Go-go gray.

We don't go by ourselves.
Oh, lyuli, lyuli
We have a goat.
Oh, lyuli, lyuli...

Like our goat
Yes, from Moscow.
Oh, lyuli, lyuli...
Yes, from Moscow.
Oh, lyuli, lyuli
With red braids.
Oh, lyuli, lyuli...
With red braids
With goats.
Oh, lyuli, lyuli...
don't go goat
Under Mikhailovka.
Oh, lyuli, lyuli...
Like in Mikhailovka
All tenants are archers.
Oh, lyuli, lyuli...
Shot a goat
In the right ear.
Oh, lyuli, lyuli...
From the right ear
Yushka flowed.
Oh, lyuli, lyuli...
Lamentations
- Oh, the goat fell, the darling fell!
- How? Did the goat fall?
So give her some fat. For the goat to get up.
Here is our goat
I got up and went.
Oh, lyuli, lyuli...

Christmas carol came
Christmas Eve!
The carol has come
Open the gate.
Give me a cow
Butterhead!
And God forbid that
Who is in this house!
The rye is thick for him,
Rye is stingy!
Him with an ear of octopus,
From the grain of his carpet,
Half-grain pie.
The Lord would give you
And live, and be,
And wealth;
And create for you, Lord,
Even better than that!

Get off the stove
Serve the rolls.
You are a good uncle!
Give money to pass!
Give out - don't give out
Will wait,
Stand at the gate!
golden head,
Silk beard!
You give me a pie
For the Feast of Christ
A pie, at least fresh
though sour,
Yes, wheat!
Cut thicker
Give me more!
One hundred cows for you
Half a hundred bulls!
I would milk you a bucket
All sour cream!
(In preliminary preparation, children sing some carols).
Teacher: Kolyada- the god of celebrations and peace. Kolyada is perhaps one of the most beautiful ancient Christmas ceremonies, accompanied by a round of houses at Christmas with songs, congratulations and wishes of wealth, good health, and a good harvest.
carols- These are costumed processions with a star and chants, which are still held in the countryside.
On the eve of the day, children, and adults, were going to carol under the windows of rich peasants, called the owner in songs, repeated the name of Kolyada and asked for money, sweets, etc. songs and music. Kolyada is the deity of fun, so he was called out, crowds of young people called him on New Year's holidays.

Ovsen, where are you going? Bridges to bridge!
Who to ride? Kolyada sovereign!
What should he ride?
On a sunny pig!
What to drive?
Piglet!

Teacher: The last day of Christmas - Schedrets, famous for its lavish gifts and festive feast. The evening was popularly called generous, or rich, which is associated with the custom of preparing a rich festive table, where, unlike the Christmas evening, there were always meat dishes. The composition of the mummers is the same as in Kolyada. Carolers approached a house or a crowd of people and sang: "Generous evening! Good evening!". In carol songs, as a rule, they praised the owners, and each by name, and wished well-being in every possible way. If they entered the house, they did a symbolic sowing with grain, wishing the owners happiness, health, and a good harvest:
We sow snow, we sow,
Happy New Year!
Ugly wheat,
Peas, lentils!
Stacks on the field
On the table - pies!
Happy New Year,
With all kind!
To be healthy
Lived for many years!

Teacher: Then the carolers began "to torment carols", that is, to beg the owners for gifts, complained that “went from afar”, “the goat’s legs hurt” etc. The owners resisted, laughed it off. Then the mummers began to sing generous songs, some containing joking threats. It was considered a great shame not to give gifts to carolers. The mummers could also send comic curses to such greedy owners:
Give them, Svarozha, on the back!
Smash them, Father Perun!
An empty bag for them, a leaky pot!

Carol, carol!
And sometimes carols
Christmas Eve
Kolyada has come
Brought Christmas.

Teacher: What do you think, what else was sung about in carols?
The children answer.
Teacher: They wished the owner and the mistress a harvest, the girl and the guy - to get married and marry. "Kolyada" - the god of festivities. He was depicted in the form of a solar disk with the face of a baby, since on holy days "the sun turned to the summer." Cookies, which were treated to the mummers, also had to be round (the symbol of the solar disk). Folk performers sang loudly, in a tense timbre, to hear the echo.
Sample carols:
Carol, carol!
And sometimes carols
Christmas Eve
Kolyada has come
Brought Christmas.

carol, carol,
You give me a pie
Or a slice of bread
Or half the money
Or a chicken with a crest,
Rooster with a comb!
Open, owners, chests,
Take out the patches!
Let's go for a penny
To carolers!

Teacher: Traditionally, children started round dances, and carried a star on a stick or on a pole. When the door was opened, they first showered the hosts with grain. If the hosts, to whom the children came, showed greed, then the participants in the carol could also perform mischievous carols.
Sample naughty carols:
Don't give me a pie -
We are the cow by the horns.
Do not give kvass -
We are a pig by the temple.
Do not give a pancake -
We are the host in Pinka.
Serve, don't break
Don't snack!
Don't give me a pie -
Let's take the cow by the horns!

Who will not give a pie -
Therefore, a bunt is born,
Who will not give meat -
That's why the cat is in the window,
Blind eyes.

Give you Lord
One cow
Yes, and that comel,
milked with tar,
Resin would filter.

Teacher: Everything that the owners gave to the children: money, sweets, etc., the carolers put in a bag and thanked with songs and poems. Having collected a full bag of gifts, carolers went home to meet the first Veles day (New Year) in the family circle.
Sample verses and songs:
Good evening good people!
May the holiday be merry!
Happy New Year
We wish you happiness and joy!
Good evening, good evening
Good people to health!
New Year's Eve generous evening
All of you - happiness and health!

Teacher: There were even tips that were important to follow during Christmas time.
Here are some sample tips:
1. Be in a good mood all the time, wish happiness to all people, and also radiate love and joy.
2. During this period, utter abundance should reign in the house: tables are richly and tasty set, which will ensure prosperity next year, a rich harvest, good profit.
3. Spend more time with friends, relatives, then you will be together all year.
4. Invite as many people as possible to visit and welcome them - then the world will be open to you.
5. Give and receive gifts.
6. Do not be stingy and do not regret anything, then the Universe will not regret anything for you.
7. Doing good deeds, helping other people, showing charity, caring for nature - this will come back to you.
8. Do not refuse help at this time, especially for children.

Winter is not always happy with snowy weather now, but with the approach of New Year's celebrations, the mood still rises in anticipation of carnivals, a noisy feast, fireworks and gifts. At the end of the year, the calendar makes us happy with a whole series of interesting holidays that take several weeks. If we add to them the Catholic Christmas with the Chinese New Year, and our people love to have fun on any suitable occasion, then you can have fun in clubs and fun feasts until spring. But here we list the traditional Russian winter holidays that have become folk for the Eastern Slavs. Knowing history will help you better prepare for the upcoming fun and will give you the opportunity to show off your erudition in the company if disputes on this fascinating topic accidentally come up.

Winter holiday traditions

Many kings and emperors, trying to look like reformers, began to reshape the calendars, forbid the old celebrations and introduce their own in their place. Sometimes such undertakings were forgotten after the death of dictators, but in other cases, interesting ideas took root, especially when they fell on fertile ground. The Slavs have always been famous for their ability to walk with all their heart, so the new desire of Tsar Peter was not particularly opposed, and from 1699 the tradition of decorating green Christmas trees on New Year's Eve gradually became nationwide. European innovations on the date of the event very successfully coincided with the Great winter Christmas time ( January 7 - January 19). The new main winter holiday of the country was in many ways reminiscent of Christmas games, when people dressed up as devils, animals and other creatures, collected treats from local residents, and walked through the streets with songs and carols.

For Christians, in the first place among the New Year's winter holidays, of course, is Christmas. They begin to meet him back in ( January 6), when you should commemorate the deceased at the Lenten table in the circle of the closest people. January 7 it was already allowed to hold colorful processions with a star in carnival costumes. Thus, the old rites successfully merged with Christian traditions, and the people had the opportunity to noisily spend the winter holidays, following the customs of their ancestors, without violating the new laws.

(13th of January) is a consequence of the Leninist reforms, when the Bolsheviks rigidly transferred the country from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, moving all winter holidays by as much as 13 days. Naturally, the people adopted such innovations in a peculiar way, starting to celebrate them, both in the old and in the newly introduced style. In the Christian calendar, the Old New Year falls on the commemoration of St. Melania and Vasil, which has always been reflected in folk rituals. For example, in Ukrainian villages, a guy was dressed up as Melanka, and a beautiful girl was dressed up as Vasil, and they, in the company of dressed-up gypsies, a goat, a bear, a grandfather, a woman and other characters, went around the whole village with special song songs.

Epiphany Christmas Eve ( January 18) marked the preparation for a big holiday - the Great Blessing of Water. It was necessary to fast, eat vegetable pancakes, porridge, kutya, honey pancakes. On the Epiphany of the Lord Baptism ( January 19) people flocked to the reservoirs, where services were held near the cruciform polynya (Jordan). By the way, bathing in it, even in the cold, was considered a good thing for health, because at the same time, the body is completely cleansed of sins.

We think that our short review can be completed here, although after Epiphany there are many more interesting dates. You can describe for a long time what winter holidays are, mentioning, for example, the cheerful Tatyana's day ( The 25th of January) or Valentine's Day ( The 14th of February), but the format of the article simply does not fit such a large material. We wish you a joyful New Year celebrations in the new and old style!

Introduction

One of the twelve church holidays, the first of those that fall on the cold season, is the Entry into the Temple of the Virgin, celebrated on December 4th. But that's how it was officially called. The people in the name of the holiday retained only the first word - "introduction", and even rethought it. All folk proverbs and signs connect the Introduction not with the Mother of God, but with the beginning of the Russian winter. It was believed that it was on this day that she comes into her own: "The Introduction has come - the winter has come", "If the snow falls before the Introduction, it will melt anyway, and if after the Introduction, winter will fall!" By the way, according to the weather on this day, the weather was predicted for all other winter holidays.

On Introduction to antiquity, a toboggan run was tried. If it was not established, it was believed that there was no winter yet: what kind of winter would come through the frozen black mud? The right to "renew" the winter road on a sled was granted, according to custom, to the newlyweds. Their departure for a walk was arranged solemnly: the sleigh was selected painted, light, multi-colored carpets and decorated with paper flowers. Horses must be well groomed. The young husband, girded with a bright sash, famously ruled, shouting for a view of the already briskly fleeing blacks or browns. And the young wife sat silently in the sleigh, with dignity demonstrating her beauty and beautiful outfits to the oncoming ones ... This rite was called - "to show the young."

In Moscow, a sledge fair was traditionally held on the Introduction. On this day, many sledges filled the Lubyanka for many decades. Sledges were for every taste: light "singles" and more solid "pairs" and "triples". Sledges are everyday and festive, often decorated with very intricate carvings and paintings. Such sledges were made by Galician masters.

However, it was important not only to make the sled, but also skillfully, dashingly sell it. Experienced barkers found an approach to each buyer, did not skimp on the praise of their product, shouted out advertising "paradise" verses, improvising on the go:

And here are the sled scooters,
decorated, rich,
decorated, gilded,
trimmed with morocco!

Or another, in modern terms, "slogan":

It's gone, gone, move, ford,
In shorts, in races, in pursuit, in pursuit!
And who managed - the first grade faked!

Goods were sold "with a bang": it was difficult to drive through winter Moscow 100-150 years ago on wheels. And on the sled - just right. Only the snow creaks under the skids!

Catherine's festivities

On December 7, on the day of St. Catherine, or, as she was called in Russia, Katerina the sleigh, they organized sleigh races. The whole village gathered on some hillock, and the young guys and men tried to "outcome" each other on a snow-covered road, winding around the surrounding fields. The audience cheered furiously, often moving from verbal arguments in defense of their pet to fisticuffs. And the girls evaluated possible suitors at these races: their prowess, skill, strength, and prosperity - the "right" man has a good horse!

Buy, tyatenko, skate,
golden legs,
I will ride the girls
On the big track!

Evening "under Catherine" was considered the best for divination and divination. The girls put a piece of bread under the pillow before going to bed and asked: what will be the betrothed? If the bread is stale by morning, the husband will get it with a tough and tough character, if it crumbles, life in marriage generally promises to be unsuccessful ... Having gathered together, the girls often sang:

Darling wooed, rode,
Broke three sleds
Married all the rich
And I did not pass!

Or here's another ditty:

Will it come true
This year?
The golden crown will be put on
On my head?

New Year and Christmas tree

New Year in Russia (and in general in Europe), as you guys already know, was not always celebrated on the night of January 1st. Once upon a time, the countdown of the new year began on March 1. The memory of this time is preserved in the names of some months. September, for example, in Latin means "seventh", October - "eighth", November - "ninth", and December (remember?) - "tenth" ... And what place do they occupy in the line of months today?

With the adoption of Christianity, the Julian calendar came to Russia. The church began to keep the chronology "from the creation of the world" (5508 BC) and moved the beginning of the new year to September 1. There was a fair amount of confusion, and in 1342 Metropolitan Theognosy simply canceled the March New Year. And after another two and a half centuries, the great reformer Emperor Peter I, who cared about everything, ordered to meet the new, 1700 year from the Nativity of Christ on January 1. The will of the emperor is the law, and therefore - even with a creak and grumbling! - Russia switched to a new calendar for itself, began to celebrate the New Year four months later than the usual date.

All the same Peter I ordered to decorate the houses and streets of cities with spruce and pine garlands for the New Year, to launch rockets and fireworks, to have fun "until you drop." (True, in the old days in Moscow, spruce branches tied over the door of a house meant that it was a tavern!) But the New Year tree, which all boys and girls love today (and adults too!), appeared in Russia much later.

At the end of the first quarter of the 19th century, along with other customs of the Germans who moved to Russia, the custom of decorating a Christmas tree brought from the forest came to us. The first Christmas trees in Russia, already decorated with toys and sweets, were sold in ... pastry shops! But then everything gradually fell into place: Christmas tree bazaars were noisy in Moscow, where everyone could choose a green tree both to taste and to afford it.

Russian Christmas trees for the public, in all likelihood, a Moscow invention. In 1851, in the Great Hall of the Noble Assembly (now the Column Hall of the House of Unions), at a children's holiday organized in favor of women's private schools, the first common Christmas tree in Russia was decorated. After the Bolsheviks came to power in the mid-1920s, the Christmas tree (like the holidays themselves - Christmas and New Year) was declared a "bourgeois relic". Only in 1935 did the authorities return the old custom to the people. Since then, in addition to home holidays, they arrange, for example, in the Kremlin, the House of Unions, "the main Christmas trees" - with performances, songs and dances. Christmas trees for them were always chosen the tallest and most slender. But in recent years, when society has thought about preserving Nature, children are increasingly leading New Year's round dances around an artificial tree ...

And what does the New Year smell like? "Christmas tree!" - remembering his childhood, everyone will say. A green tree, brought in from the frost and thawed, gradually fills the house with a coniferous aroma, conquers every corner of it. But the smell of the New Year, guys, is not only the freshness of the winter forest, the fragrance of resinous needles. It is mixed with a slight smell of dust from toys that have lain for a year in a closet or a dark pantry - paper hares and crackers, boxes with golden balls and silver cones. The bitter smell of tangerines, candy aroma, stuffy smell of candle wax are added to the spicy smell of resin...

Many songs have been composed about the New Year, but for a hundred years now the most famous among them has been the simple song "A Christmas Tree Was Born in the Forest." The history of this song is very interesting. Once upon a time there lived in Moscow a young schoolteacher Raisa Kudasheva (1878-1964), who wrote poetry. “I didn’t want to be famous, but I couldn’t help but write,” Raisa Adamovna later recalled. And in 1903, she brought the poem "Herringbone" to the editorial office of the magazine "Baby". The editor-in-chief liked the poem so much that he immediately ordered to replace some story in the already finished Christmas issue with these verses:

The Forest Raised a Christmas Tree,
She grew up in the forest
Slim in winter and summer
Green was.
The blizzard sang a song to her:
"Sleep, Christmas tree, bye-bye!"
Frost covered with snow:
"Look, do not freeze! .."

However, is it worth repeating familiar words to everyone? After all, each of us knows them from early childhood! But what happened to the poem then, more than a hundred years ago? And this is what happened: the agronomist L.K. saw these lines in the journal. Beckman, who composed music in his spare time. He sat down at the piano - and the song turned out! Since the amateur composer did not know musical notation, his wife, Professor of the Moscow Conservatory, Elena Alexandrovna Bekman-Shcherbina, recorded the melody. Neither the writer nor his wife knew anything about the author of the words. Didn't know that her poems became a song, and Raisa Kudasheva. Only many, many years later, she accidentally heard on the train how a little girl sang "Yolochka". Here is such a story!

Vasiliev evening

This day, when the name day is celebrated by Vasily and Vasilisa, today falls on the eve of the Old New Year, that is, on January 13th. In former times, it was also called "rich evening" or Avsen (Ovsen, Usen) and celebrated by singing carols. The mummers with games and songs went from house to house with a bag, where they put the treats they asked for from the owners:

We sow, we sow, we sow
Congratulations on the day of Christ,
With cattle, with a belly,
With little kids - little kids!
How many branches are on a bush,
How many kids you would have!
Merry Christmas,
Owner with hostess!

If you look into ancient, pre-Christian Russian history, then among the many gods of that time you can also find Avsen (in those centuries he had a different name, and "Avsen" was borrowed from the Germans: translated from German it is "sowing"), the patron saint of the first shoots. Why does the spring deity celebrate his day in the dead of winter? Recall that once in Russia, the new year began on March 1. So then Avsen was on the calendar to the point! And after Peter I ordered to celebrate the New Year on January 1, Avsen found another day for himself - he became a winter holiday, but he retained some spring habits. Even in the last century, mummers threw several grains of bread on the floor during carols in Vasiliev evening in every house. These old women always raised the grains and stored them until the spring sowing. So, maybe the very name of the holiday - Avsen (Avsen) - is the expectation of spring?

Christmas

The feast of the Nativity of Christ is one of the most important holidays of the Christian calendar. For those of you guys who want to know its history and rituals, the best thing to do is to consult the "Bible". Several editions of the Children's Bible have been published in recent decades. And there is also a great book by Selma Lagerlöf (the writer you know from the tale of the boy Niels traveling with wild geese), called "Legends of Christ." Read them. Christmas in Russia is celebrated after the New Year - on January 7th. And in the rest of the Christian world - December 25th. The fact is that in Russia the New Year is celebrated according to the Gregorian calendar generally accepted today, and the church holiday of Christmas is celebrated according to the Julian calendar, which was used by our great-grandmothers and great-grandfathers until 1918. The Julian calendar "lags behind" its younger counterpart: the difference between them in the 20th and 21st centuries is exactly 13 days.

In Russia, Christmas is still slightly inferior in solemnity to Easter, but in the West, Christmas is the main holiday of the year. In Russia, as in the rest of the world, Christmas tree lights are lit on this day, and children and adults give gifts to each other. After all, the more gifts and good wishes, the better!

Baptism

Remember, V.A. Zhukovsky: "Once on the Epiphany evening, the girls were guessing ..." How did the girls guess, and why did they do it on the "Epiphany evening"? Well, you all know about fortune-telling: many people still believe that stars, reflections in mirrors, twigs and nuts thrown at random, melted wax, various signs help to know the future. The holy week before the feast of Epiphany, which falls today on January 19, has always been considered the best time for fortune-telling! Both science and the church consider divination to be superstition. But among the people the ancient customs hold fast! Many folk signs are associated with Epiphany, according to which they determined what the year would be like: “On Epiphany, snow flakes - for the harvest”, “If dogs bark a lot at Epiphany, there will be a lot of beast and game”, “If the night is starry on Epiphany, wait for the harvest of red berries".

The very same feast of the Baptism of the Lord, or Theophany, is a Christian, church. The main event of Baptism is the blessing of water. On the night before Epiphany, a hole is made in one of the reservoirs at a designated place - Jordan. The priest plunges the cross into it - sanctifies it, after which they bathe in the Jordan, take water from it. This custom has long existed in Moscow. In the old days, the Jordan was usually made in the ice of the Moscow River. Nowadays, the river practically does not freeze, and therefore in recent years, when this ancient custom has been revived, many Muscovites come to Jordan, carved into the ice of one of the lakes of Serebryany Bor. Blessing of water also takes place in every Orthodox church, but the cross is lowered into a vessel filled with water.

On January 19, Epiphany frosts were traditionally expected in Russia. They were the second in January after Christmas frosts. It was believed that before the end of the month we would have another drop in temperature - Afanasiev frosts (January 31). "Athanasius the clematis has come - take care of your cheeks and nose!" - said the people. But the industrial twentieth century mixed up all the pages of the national calendar: due to climate change, winters became warmer, slushier. And the frosts predicted by folk signs do not come every year ...

Candlemas

The church holiday of the Presentation of the Lord is celebrated on February 15, on the fortieth day after Christmas. On this day, according to the narration of the Evangelist Luke, the Mother of God with the Christ Child in her arms came to the Temple in Jerusalem...

In Russia, Christian beliefs are usually closely intertwined with folk, dating back to the times of paganism. "Winter and summer meet at the Presentation Day," people used to say. On this day, it was believed, Winter and Summer are arguing, fighting: who goes forward, and who goes back ... Candlemas frosts are associated with Candlemas. But there are also Sretensky thaws - it doesn’t happen year after year! "What is the weather on the Meeting, such will be the spring", "If snow sweeps across the road, then it will be late spring, and if it does not sweep, it will be early." So, guys, note: will folk signs coincide with real life this year or not?

Pancake week

This holiday is considered the most cheerful holiday in Russia. It is even called the "riotous Maslenitsa", then the "wide Maslenitsa". They even came up with a saying about Maslenitsa: "Not life, but Maslenitsa."

Shrovetide, or Cheese Week (as it is called in church calendars), mixed everything in its customs: ancient Roman masquerades (saturnalia - in honor of the god Saturn), when men dressed up in women's clothes, and women in men's clothes, dressed up as monsters and animals, putting on twisted animal skins...

One of the foreigners, describing the Russian Maslenitsa about three hundred years ago, explains its name in this way: “Maslenitsa is so named because Russians are allowed to eat cow butter during this week, because during fasting they use hemp instead of cow butter for food ... At that time when everyone, with heartfelt repentance, had to prepare for the contemplation of the sufferings of Christ, these erring people betray their souls to the devil... Gluttony, drunkenness, depravity and murder continue day and night (the author probably meant fisticuffs)... All the time they bake pies, kalachi and the like; they invite guests to their place and get drunk on honey, wine and vodka to the point of insensibility ... "

Frightened by the breadth of Russian nature, the foreign writer did not remember other ancient customs and pastimes on Maslenitsa: skiing downhill on a sleigh, sleigh and just on birch bark, "runners" on skis and skates (more precisely, it was like modern skates) ...

The main thing in the Russian Maslenitsa, of course, is pancakes. They bake all week. The first pancake was once placed on the dormer window, remembering the souls of the parents. Pancakes, according to scientists, are more ancient than bread: even the biblical king David distributed "mlyny skuvratnye" ("pancakes from a frying pan") on the occasion of the holiday. The pancake is a pagan symbol of the sun, which is why it is round. Pancakes in Russia are loved and eaten in abundance (especially on Maslenitsa): with caviar, and with red fish, and with honey, and with sour cream, and with jam ... Didn't we forget anything with you? In a word, pancakes are very tasty!

In Moscow, in the old days, sleigh rides on Maslenitsa were very popular. They usually start at 12 noon on Monday. Muscovites loved to ride on a sledge on the ice of the Moskva River and the Neglinnaya River, which at that time flowed through the very center of the city, near the walls of the Kremlin (the Alexander Garden is now located at this place). But the most crowded rides took place on the Thursday of Cheese Week. On Red Square and the banks of the Moskva River and the Neglinka, huge snow and ice slides were arranged. There is a legend that one such snow hill for several years in a row in the 18th century was built with his own money for Muscovites by the famous robber and, at the same time, the detective Vanka Kain. Like it or not, it is not known for certain, but the high slope of the Moskva River near the Kremlin was popularly called Kainova Gora for many years ...

The most famous masquerade procession in Moscow was the Solemn Masquerade on the occasion of the Treaty of Nystadt, concluded in 1721 by Emperor Peter I. It was an unprecedented spectacle for Moscow at that time. It took place on the fourth day of Maslenitsa and started from the village of Vsesvyatsky (now there is the Sokol metro station). The procession was attended by many sea vessels (moving by land) and about a hundred sledges. At the signal of the rocket, the carnival "train" moved to the Triumphal Gate. On one of the ships, which was carrying 16 horses, Peter himself was seated in the uniform of a naval captain with generals and naval officers ... Having passed the Triumphal Gate, the procession headed for the Kremlin, but reached it only in the evening. The holiday lasted four days and ended with cannon fire and fireworks.

After Maslenitsa, Great Lent begins, which lasts 40 days, until Easter itself.

AND WHAT INSTEAD OF THE CHRISTMAS?

There are countries where Christmas trees do not grow. How do children celebrate the New Year there? What trees decorate? It is customary for the Chinese to have a small tangerine tree in the house - the Tree of Light, and cut daffodils on the table. In Nicaragua, on New Year's Eve, rooms are decorated with branches of a coffee tree with red fruits. And in Australia, where the New Year falls at the very height of summer, a metrosideros tree is set up for children, strewn with scarlet flowers at this time. Every Vietnamese will definitely give a friend a sprig of a blossoming peach tree on New Year's Eve, and a Japanese will attach a sprig of pine at the entrance to the dwelling.

HOW DO YOU CELEBRATE THE NEW YEAR?

You know how the New Year is celebrated in Russia. And in other countries? In Germany, in the last minutes of the old year, people of all ages jump on chairs, sofas, tables, and with the last strike of the clock, together, with joyful cries, "jump" into the coming year. In Hungary, on New Year's Eve, it is customary to blow and whistle: the sounds of pipes and whistles, according to existing belief, drive away evil spirits, and the year will do without the intervention of evil spirits. In Brazil, the arrival of the New Year is celebrated with cannon shots. Spaniards and Cubans on New Year's Eve eat a grape with every stroke of the clock. With the last stroke of the clock, the Panamanians begin to shout, beat the drums, press the car horns ...

Without holidays, life is boring and monotonous. Holidays are created so that we can feel the fullness of life, have fun and escape from routine worries. Winter would be especially dreary without holidays - because of the frost and darkness in the evenings, you can’t clear up much, and the TV is already disgusted! Therefore, in winter there are so many fun holidays: New Year and Christmas and the Epiphany of the Lord.

New Year's permutations or when does the New Year come?

The most beloved and long-awaited winter holiday for everyone has been and will be the New Year. Children are impatiently counting down the days until New Year's Eve in the hope of receiving gifts, and adults are in a hurry to get rid of the burden of problems accumulated over the past year. Celebrating the onset of the New Year on the night of December 31, many of us do not even think that this wonderful holiday was postponed several times. But in pagan times, the onset of the New Year was symbolically associated with the vernal equinox and they saw off the old year on March 22. Since 998, the year began on March 1, and this was due to the introduction of a new chronology (in connection with the Baptism of Russia) and the adoption of the Julian calendar. Over time, the New Year began to be celebrated on September 1. The idea was that by September the crop was harvested, which means that we can sum up the results of the past year. In 1699, Peter I approved a new date - January 1, and founded the tradition of waiting for the arrival of the New Year noisily and cheerfully.

Traditions of a festive feast for the New Year

To celebrate the New Year, it is customary to invite close friends and beloved relatives to visit. Traditional New Year's festivities continue until the morning. On New Year's Eve, gifts are placed under the Christmas tree for everyone, without exception - both children and adults.

A mandatory attribute of the New Year celebration is a decorated Christmas tree. The forest guest is decorated not only with glass balls and garlands, but also with various “sweets” wrapped in foil - tangerines, sweets, apples, nuts. Spruce branches or wreaths are hung on the doors. Create a festive atmosphere and lit candles everywhere.

Mandatory guests of the New Year's Eve should be Santa Claus and the Snow Maiden. By the way, it is desirable to put symbolic images of these fairy-tale characters under the Christmas tree.

According to tradition, 12 different dishes should be presented on the table in the New Year. However, the Soviet period of history made its own adjustments and now it is impossible to imagine the New Year's table without Olivier salad, Soviet Champagne and tangerine.

On New Year's Eve, it is customary to arrange with dressing up or putting on masquerade masks. In order not to be bored, you can come up with funny contests and games at the New Year's table.

The New Year enters into legal rights at midnight on December 31 under the deafening chimes. In the last moments of the outgoing year, it is customary to accept congratulations from the incumbent president. And to the sound of glasses of champagne, you need to try to make a wish - if you have time, then it will definitely come true.

It is impossible to miss the onset of the New Year - fireworks illuminating everything around and exploding firecrackers will notify everyone about the accomplished event.

A little about Christmas

While the New Year is a lush and noisy holiday, with absolutely no restrictions on food or games, it is a quiet and modest holiday. On Christmas Eve, i.e. On January 6, fasting ends, and the meal begins no earlier than the rising of the first star. For a meal on the Holy evening, you need to prepare 12 dishes, always lean, and, of course, kutya. Kutya was always cooked from wheat, rice, barley or peas and seasoned with sweet uzvar with honey, dried fruits, poppy seeds, etc.

But on Christmas (January 7) they were already preparing a festive dinner and the whole family sat down at the table. According to tradition, a bunch of hay is symbolically placed on the table as a reminder that Jesus was born in a cattle shed. Meat and fish dishes are already being prepared for the meal, but kutya should become the central dish of the evening. Traditionally, the celebration begins with kutya, because according to popular belief, one who ate at least one spoonful of kutya on Christmas will be healthy and successful in the coming year.

It is very difficult for modern people to observe the age-old traditions of organizing that other holiday. Constant employment, stress and haste do not allow you to allocate enough time to prepare the necessary 12 dishes or the same kutya. However, the holidays are just created in order to stop your run for a minute, give your loved ones your love and feel involved in the traditions of your people.

Celebrate the Baptism of the Lord

The Baptism of the Lord is celebrated on the night of January 18-19. Due to the fact that church baptism was a very important and significant event for true Christians, the baptism of the Savior Jesus Christ in the Jordan River acquired a special scale. Therefore, Baptism is the main church holiday, on which all Christians try to repent of the sins committed during the year.

Purification of the soul occurs through swimming in the winter hole. First, a service dedicated to the Baptism of Christ is performed in the church, and then all the priests and people who come to the church make a procession to a nearby reservoir. A polynya is cut through and the priest blesses the water according to all church canons. After consecration, the water becomes healing and three times dipping in ice water helps to cleanse the soul and heal from ailments. Holy water is recommended to be collected and sprinkled on the house, given as a medicine to sick people or used as a remedy for various love spells, the evil eye, etc.

On Epiphany Christmas Eve, it is customary to cook lean porridge and vegetables for dinner. The evening on the eve of Epiphany has long been famous for festivities, fortune-telling and other sacraments. For example, on Epiphany it was customary to choose a bride, baptize children and marry.

Epiphany ends the cycle of winter holidays, and winter begins to gradually give up its positions. Despite the fact that Epiphany frosts are the strongest, the people knew that winter was raging in the end.