Description of the traditions of the Russian people. The most interesting traditions and rituals of the Russian people
Old Russian rituals originate in pagan times. Even Christianity could not destroy their power. Many traditions have survived to our times.
How did Old Russian rituals appear?
The most important Old Russian rituals are associated with elemental forces, or rather with their natural mystical side. The basis of the life of every peasant was hard labor on the land, so most traditions were associated with appeasing rain, sun and harvest.
During the seasons, a certain amount was used to improve the crop and protect livestock. Among the most important sacraments, baptism and communion are in first place.
Caroling is a ritual of the Christmas holidays, during which ritual participants receive treats for singing special songs in the homes of relatives and friends. It was believed that during Christmas time, the sun receives a huge amount of energy to awaken the earth and nature.
Now caroling has remained a tradition associated with Slavic history, both in Ukraine and Belarus. Fortune telling is considered one of the components of the ritual. Many experts in the mystical sphere claim that during this period the most accurate predictions can be obtained.
The end of March is considered the equinox period, during which Maslenitsa rituals are held. As the personification of the pagan god Yarilo, pancakes are considered a traditional dish of this holiday.
Not a single Maslenitsa will be considered complete without burning an effigy on the last day of the celebration. The doll symbolizes the end of severe cold weather and the arrival of spring. At the end of the burning, Maslenitsa transfers its energy to the fields, giving them fertility.
In mythology, he is considered a powerful deity associated with the worship of the power of the Sun. In early times it was held on the day of the summer solstice, but over time it was associated with the birthday of John the Baptist. All ritual activities take place at night.
The symbol of the ritual is considered to be flower wreaths, which are used for fortune telling. On this day, unmarried girls throw their wreath down the river to find their betrothed.
There is a belief that on this night a rare fern flower blooms, indicating ancient treasures and treasures. However, it is almost impossible for an ordinary person to find it. An invariable part of the holiday was chants, round dances around the fire and jumping over the fire. This helps clear away negativity and improve health. In addition, separate events are held.
Among all kinds of ancient customs, you can stumble upon quite strange and incomprehensible rituals:
- Daughtership
This was the name of the intimate relationship between the father-in-law and his son’s wife. Officially this was not approved and was considered a minor sin. Fathers tried to send their sons away under any pretext for a long time, so that their daughter-in-law would not have the opportunity to refuse. Nowadays, law enforcement agencies deal with such things, but in those days there was no one to complain to.
- Sin of the dump
Nowadays this sin can be observed in special films produced in Germany, and many years ago it was staged in Russian villages. After the traditional activities, the couples left to look for fern flowers. But this was just an excuse to retire and indulge in carnal pleasures.
- Gasky
The custom is known from the words of the traveler Roccolini. All the young people of the village gathered in one house, sang songs and danced to the fire. When the light went out, everyone began to indulge in carnal pleasures with the first one that came to hand. It is unknown whether the traveler himself participated in such a ritual.
- Overbaking
The ritual was used in cases of the birth of a premature baby in the family. If the mother’s body could not provide the necessary strength to the baby, then it should have been baked. The newborn was wrapped in unleavened dough, leaving only one nose, and baked, pronouncing special words. Of course, the oven had to be warm, then the bundle was laid out on the table. It was believed that this cleanses the baby from diseases.
- Scarier than pregnant women
Our ancestors were very sensitive to childbirth. They believed that during pregnancy, the child crosses a difficult path to the world of the living. The birth process itself is very difficult, and the midwives made it even harder. Near the woman in labor they rattled loudly and shot, so that when the mother was frightened it would be easier for the child to come out into the world.
- Salting
In addition to Rus', such a ritual was performed in France and England. It involved adding strength to children from salt. The child was completely rubbed with salt and wrapped in cloth; wealthier people buried him completely in it. All the skin could peel off from the child, but at the same time he became healthier.
- Dead Man's Rite
Otherwise, this ritual is called a wedding. In ancient times, a white dress and veil were considered funeral clothing. Marriage is associated with the new birth of a woman, but for a new birth one must die. This is where the belief comes from that the bride should be mourned as if she were dead. When handing over the ransom, the groom seemed to be looking for her in the world of the dead and bringing her to the light. The bride's friends acted as guardians of the afterlife.
1. Introduction
2. Holidays and rituals
· New Year
Celebrating the New Year in pagan Rus'.
Celebrating the New Year after the Baptism of Rus'
Innovations of Peter I in the celebration of the New Year
New Year under Soviet rule. Change of calendar.
old New Year
New Year in the Orthodox Church
· Christmas post
About the history of the establishment of fasting and its significance
How to eat during the Nativity Fast
· Christmas
Christmas in the first centuries
Victory of the new holiday
How Christmas was celebrated in Rus'
Nativity image
History of spruce decoration
Christmas wreath
Christmas candles
Christmas presents
Christmas on a silver platter
· Maslenitsa
· Christian Easter
· Agrafena Bathing suit and Ivan Kupala
· Wedding ceremony
Variety of Russian weddings
The figurative basis of a Russian wedding
Word and subject environment in a Russian wedding. Wedding poetry
Wedding clothes and accessories
3. Conclusion
4. List of used literature
5. Application
Target:
To study the interaction of pagan and Christian traditions in the worldview of the Russian people
Expand and consolidate your knowledge on this topic
Tasks:
1. Gaining knowledge about the folk calendar and its constituent seasonal holidays and rituals.
2. Systematization of information about Russian holidays.
3. The difference between the traditions and customs of the Russian people and the traditions and customs of other people
Relevance of the topic:
1. Trace the trends in the development of folk culture and its influence on human everyday life.
2. Find out which of the traditions have lost their relevance and disappeared, and which have reached us. Assume further development of existing traditions.
3. Trace how elements of different cultural eras are combined
In the life and culture of any nation there are many phenomena that are complex in their historical origin and functions. One of the most striking and revealing phenomena of this kind are folk customs and traditions. In order to understand their origins, it is necessary, first of all, to study the history of the people, their culture, come into contact with their life and way of life, and try to understand their soul and character. Any customs and traditions fundamentally reflect the life of a particular group of people, and they arise as a result of empirical and spiritual knowledge of the surrounding reality. In other words, customs and traditions are those valuable pearls in the ocean of people’s lives that they have collected over the centuries as a result of practical and spiritual comprehension of reality. Whatever tradition or custom we take, having examined its roots, we, as a rule, come to the conclusion that it is vitally justified and that behind the form, which sometimes seems pretentious and archaic to us, there is a living rational grain. The customs and traditions of any people are their “dowry” when joining the huge family of humanity living on planet Earth.
Each ethnic group enriches and improves it with its existence.
This work will discuss the customs and traditions of the Russian people. Why not all of Russia? The reason is quite understandable: to try to present the traditions of all the peoples of Russia, squeezing all the information into the narrow framework of this work, means to embrace the immensity. Therefore, it would be quite reasonable to consider the culture of the Russian people and, accordingly, explore it more deeply. In this regard, it is very important to familiarize yourself, at least briefly, with the history and geography of a given people and their country, since the historical approach makes it possible to uncover layers in a complex set of folk customs, find the primary core in them, determine its material roots and its original functions. It is thanks to the historical approach that one can determine the real place of religious beliefs and church rituals, the place of magic and superstition in folk customs and traditions. Generally speaking, only from a historical perspective can the essence of any holiday as such be understood.
The topic of customs and traditions of the Russian people, like any people inhabiting the Earth, is unusually broad and multifaceted. But it can also be divided into more specific and narrow topics in order to understand the essence of each separately and thereby present all the material in a more accessible way. These are topics such as New Year, Christmas, Christmastide, Maslenitsa, Ivan Kupala, their connection with the cult of vegetation and the sun; family and marriage customs; modern customs.
So, let's set out to find out how the geography and history of Russia influenced its culture; observe the origins of customs and traditions, what has changed in them over time, and under the influence of which these changes occurred.
Considering the traditions and customs of the Russian people, we can understand what are the features of their culture.
National culture is the national memory of a people, what distinguishes a given people from others, protects a person from depersonalization, allows him to feel the connection of times and generations, receive spiritual support and support in life.
Both the calendar and human life are associated with folk customs, as well as church sacraments, rituals and holidays.
In Rus', the calendar was called a monthly calendar. The month book covered the entire year of peasant life, “describing” day by day, month after month, where each day had its own holidays or weekdays, customs and superstitions, traditions and rituals, natural signs and phenomena.
The folk calendar was an agricultural calendar, which was reflected in the names of the months, folk signs, rituals and customs. Even the determination of the timing and duration of the seasons is associated with real climatic conditions. Hence the discrepancy in the names of the months in different areas.
For example, both October and November can be called leaf fall.
The folk calendar is a kind of encyclopedia of peasant life with its holidays and everyday life. It includes knowledge of nature, agricultural experience, rituals, and norms of social life.
The folk calendar is a fusion of pagan and Christian principles, folk Orthodoxy. With the establishment of Christianity, pagan holidays were prohibited, received a new interpretation, or were moved from their time. In addition to those assigned to certain dates in the calendar, movable holidays of the Easter cycle appeared.
Rituals dedicated to major holidays included a large number of different works of folk art: songs, sentences, round dances, games, dances, dramatic scenes, masks, folk costumes, and unique props.
Every national holiday in Russia is accompanied by rituals and songs. Their origin, content and purpose differ from church celebrations.
Most of the folk holidays arose during the times of the deepest paganism, when various government decrees, trade transactions, etc. were combined with liturgical rites.
Where there was bargaining, there was judgment and reprisal and a solemn holiday. Obviously, these customs can be explained by Germanic influence, where the priests were at the same time judges, and the area that was reserved for the gathering of the people was considered sacred and was always located near the river and roads.
Such communication of pagans at gatherings, where they prayed to the gods, discussed business, settled litigation with the help of priests, was completely forgotten, since it lay at the basis of the life of the people and was preserved in their memory. When Christianity replaced paganism, pagan rituals came to an end.
Many of them, which are not part of direct pagan worship, have survived to this day in the form of entertainment, customs, and festivities. Some of them gradually became an integral part of the Christian rite. The meaning of some holidays over time ceased to be clear, and our famous Russian historians, chronographers and ethnographers found it difficult to determine their nature.
Holidays are an integral part of every person's life.
There are several types of holidays: family, religious, calendar, state.
Family holidays are: birthdays, weddings, housewarmings. On days like these, the whole family gets together.
Calendar or public holidays are New Year, Defender of the Fatherland Day, International Women's Day, World Spring and Labor Day, Victory Day, Children's Day, Russian Independence Day and others.
Religious holidays - Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Maslenitsa and others.
For residents of Russian cities, New Year is the main winter holiday and is celebrated on January 1. However, there are exceptions among city residents who do not celebrate the New Year. A real holiday for a believer is the Nativity of Christ. And before it is the strict Nativity Fast, which lasts 40 days. It begins on November 28 and ends only on January 6, in the evening, with the rising of the first star. There are even villages where all residents do not celebrate the New Year or celebrate it on January 13 (January 1, Julian style), after Lent and Christmas.
Now let's return to the history of New Year celebrations in Rus'
The celebration of the New Year in Rus' has the same complex fate as its history itself. First of all, all changes in the celebration of the new year were associated with the most important historical events that affected the entire state and each person individually. There is no doubt that folk tradition, even after officially introduced changes in the calendar, preserved ancient customs for a long time.
Celebrating the New Year in pagan Rus'.
How the New Year was celebrated in pagan ancient Rus' is one of the unresolved and controversial issues in historical science. No affirmative answer was found at what time the year began.
The beginning of the New Year celebration should be sought in ancient times. Thus, among ancient peoples, the New Year usually coincided with the beginning of the revival of nature and was mainly confined to the month of March.
In Rus' there was a proleta for a long time, i.e. the first three months, and the summer month began in March. In honor of him, they celebrated Ausen, Ovsen or Tusen, which later moved to the new year. Summer itself in ancient times consisted of the current three spring and three summer months - the last six months included winter time. The transition from autumn to winter was blurred like the transition from summer to autumn. Presumably, initially in Rus' the New Year was celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox on March 22. Maslenitsa and New Year were celebrated on the same day. Winter has been driven away, which means a new year has arrived.
Celebrating the New Year after the Baptism of Rus'
Together with Christianity in Rus' (988 - Baptism of Rus'), a new chronology appeared - from the creation of the world, as well as a new European calendar - the Julian, with a fixed name for the months. March 1st was considered the beginning of the new year
According to one version, at the end of the 15th century, and according to another in 1348, the Orthodox Church moved the beginning of the year to September 1, which corresponded to the definitions of the Council of Nicaea. The transfer must be put in connection with the growing importance of the Christian Church in the state life of ancient Rus'. The strengthening of Orthodoxy in medieval Rus', the establishment of Christianity as a religious ideology, naturally causes the use of “holy scripture” as a source of reform introduced into the existing calendar. The reform of the calendar system was carried out in Rus' without taking into account the working life of the people, without establishing a connection with agricultural work. The September New Year was approved by the church, following the word of the Holy Scriptures; Having established and substantiated it with a biblical legend, the Russian Orthodox Church has preserved this New Year's date until modern times as an ecclesiastical parallel to the civil New Year. In the Old Testament church, the month of September was celebrated annually, to commemorate peace from all worldly worries.
Thus, the New Year began on the first of September. This day became the feast of Simeon the First Stylite, which is still celebrated by our church and known among the common people under the name Semyon of the Summer Conductor, because on this day summer ended and the new year began. It was a solemn day of celebration for us, and the subject of analysis of urgent conditions, collection of quitrents, taxes and personal courts.
Innovations of Peter I in the celebration of the New Year
In 1699, Peter I issued a decree according to which January 1 was considered the beginning of the year. This was done following the example of all Christian peoples who lived not according to the Julian, but according to the Gregorian calendar. Peter I could not completely transfer Rus' to the new Gregorian calendar, since the church lived according to the Julian calendar. However, the Tsar in Russia changed the calendar. If earlier years were counted from the creation of the world, now chronology starts from the Nativity of Christ. In a personal decree, he announced: “Now the year of Christ is one thousand six hundred and ninety-nine, and from next January, on the 1st day, the new year 1700 and a new century will begin.” It should be noted that the new chronology existed for a long time together with the old one - in the decree of 1699 it was allowed to write two dates in documents - from the Creation of the world and from the Nativity of Christ.
The implementation of this reform of the Great Tsar, which was so important, began with the fact that it was forbidden to celebrate in any way September 1, and on December 15, 1699, the beating of drums announced something important to the people who poured in crowds to Krasnaya square. A high platform was built here, on which the royal clerk loudly read the decree that Peter Vasilyevich commands “from now on, summers should be counted in orders and in all matters and fortresses written from the 1st of January from the Nativity of Christ.”
The Tsar steadily ensured that our New Year holiday was no worse and no poorer than in other European countries.
In Peter's decree it was written: "...On large and thorough streets for noble people and at houses of deliberate spiritual and secular rank in front of the gates, make some decorations from trees and branches of pine and juniper... and for poor people, at least a tree or branch for the gate or place it over your temple..." The decree did not talk specifically about the Christmas tree, but about trees in general. At first they were decorated with nuts, sweets, fruits and even vegetables, and they began to decorate the Christmas tree much later, from the middle of the last century.
The first day of the New Year 1700 began with a parade on Red Square in Moscow. And in the evening the sky lit up with the bright lights of festive fireworks. It was from January 1, 1700 that folk New Year's fun and merriment gained recognition, and the celebration of the New Year began to have a secular (not church) character. As a sign of the national holiday, cannons were fired, and in the evening, multi-colored fireworks, never seen before, flashed in the dark sky. People had fun, sang, danced, congratulated each other and gave New Year's gifts.
New Year under Soviet rule. Change of calendar.
After the October Revolution of 1917, the country's government raised the question of calendar reform, since most European countries had long switched to the Gregorian calendar, adopted by Pope Gregory XIII back in 1582, and Russia still lived according to the Julian calendar.
On January 24, 1918, the Council of People's Commissars adopted the "Decree on the introduction of the Western European calendar in the Russian Republic." Signed V.I. Lenin published the document the next day and came into force on February 1, 1918. It said, in particular: “...The first day after January 31 of this year should not be considered February 1, but February 14, the second day should be considered 15 -m, etc." Thus, Russian Christmas shifted from December 25 to January 7, and the New Year holiday also shifted.
Contradictions immediately arose with Orthodox holidays, because, having changed the dates of civil holidays, the government did not touch church holidays, and Christians continued to live according to the Julian calendar. Now Christmas was celebrated not before, but after the New Year. But this did not bother the new government at all. On the contrary, it was beneficial to destroy the foundations of Christian culture. The new government introduced its own, new, socialist holidays.
In 1929, Christmas was cancelled. With it, the Christmas tree, which was called a “priestly” custom, was also abolished. New Year was cancelled. However, at the end of 1935, an article by Pavel Petrovich Postyshev “Let's organize a good Christmas tree for the children for the New Year!” appeared in the Pravda newspaper. Society, which had not yet forgotten the beautiful and bright holiday, reacted quite quickly - Christmas trees and Christmas tree decorations appeared on sale. Pioneers and Komsomol members took upon themselves the organization and holding of New Year trees in schools, orphanages and clubs. On December 31, 1935, the Christmas tree re-entered the homes of our compatriots and became a holiday of “joyful and happy childhood in our country” - a wonderful New Year’s holiday that continues to delight us today.
old New Year
I would like to return once again to the change of calendars and explain the Old New Year hairdryer in our country.
The very name of this holiday indicates its connection with the old style of the calendar, according to which Russia lived until 1918, and switched to a new style by decree of V.I. Lenin. The so-called Old Style is a calendar introduced by the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar (Julian calendar). The new style is a reform of the Julian calendar, undertaken on the initiative of Pope Gregory XIII (Gregorian, or new style). From an astronomical point of view, the Julian calendar was not accurate and allowed for errors that accumulated over the years, resulting in serious deviations of the calendar from the true movement of the Sun. Therefore, the Gregorian reform was to some extent necessary
The difference between the old and new styles in the 20th century was already plus 13 days! Accordingly, the day that was January 1 in the old style became January 14 in the new calendar. And the modern night from January 13 to 14 in pre-revolutionary times was New Year's Eve. Thus, by celebrating the Old New Year, we are, as it were, joining history and making a tribute to time.
New Year in the Orthodox Church
Surprisingly, the Orthodox Church lives according to the Julian calendar.
In 1923, on the initiative of the Patriarch of Constantinople, a meeting of the Orthodox Churches was held, at which a decision was made to correct the Julian calendar. Due to historical circumstances, the Russian Orthodox Church was unable to take part in it.
Having learned about the meeting in Constantinople, Patriarch Tikhon nevertheless issued a decree on the transition to the “New Julian” calendar. But this caused protests and unrest among the church people. Therefore, the resolution was canceled less than a month later.
The Russian Orthodox Church states that at present it does not face the question of changing the calendar style to Gregorian. “The overwhelming majority of believers are committed to preserving the existing calendar. The Julian calendar is dear to our church people and is one of the cultural features of our life,” said Archpriest Nikolai Balashov, secretary for inter-Orthodox relations of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate.
The Orthodox New Year is celebrated on September 14 according to today's calendar or September 1 according to the Julian calendar. In honor of the Orthodox New Year, prayer services are held in churches for the New Year.
Thus, the New Year is a family holiday, celebrated by many peoples in accordance with the accepted calendar, which occurs at the moment of transition from the last day of the year to the first day of the next year. It turns out that the New Year holiday is the oldest of all existing holidays. It has entered our everyday life forever, becoming a traditional holiday for all people on earth.
The Nativity Fast is the last multi-day fast of the year. It begins on November 15 (28 according to the new style) and continues until December 25 (January 7), lasts forty days and therefore is called in the Church Charter, like Lent, Lent. Since the beginning of the fast falls on the day of remembrance of St. Apostle Philip (November 14, Art.), then this fast is also called Philip's.
About the history of the establishment of fasting and its significance
The establishment of the Nativity Fast, like other multi-day fasts, dates back to the ancient times of Christianity. Already in the 5th–6th centuries, many Western church writers mentioned it. The core from which the Nativity Fast grew was the fast on the eve of the Feast of Epiphany, which was celebrated in the Church at least from the 3rd century and in the 4th century was divided into the holidays of the Nativity of Christ and the Epiphany.
Initially, the Nativity Fast lasted seven days for some Christians, and longer for others. As a professor at the Moscow Theological Academy wrote:
I.D. Mansvetov, “a hint of this unequal duration is contained in the ancient Typics themselves, where the Nativity Fast is divided into two periods: until December 6 - more lenient in relation to abstinence... and the other - from December 6 until the holiday itself” ( Op. op. p. 71).
The Nativity fast begins on November 15 (in the XX–XXI centuries - November 28 according to the new style) and lasts until December 25 (in the XX–XXI centuries - January 7 according to the new style), lasts forty days and therefore is called in the Typikon, like Lent , Pentecostal. Since the beginning of the fast falls on the day of remembrance of St. Apostle Philip (November 14, old style), this post is sometimes called Philip's.
According to the blzh. Simeon of Thessalonica, “the fast of the Nativity Pentecost depicts the fast of Moses, who, having fasted for forty days and forty nights, received the words of God inscribed on stone tablets. And we, fasting for forty days, contemplate and accept the living Word from the Virgin, not inscribed on stones, but incarnate and born, and we partake of His Divine flesh.”
The Nativity Fast was established so that on the day of the Nativity of Christ we purify ourselves with repentance, prayer and fasting, so that with a pure heart, soul and body we can reverently meet the Son of God who appeared in the world and so that, in addition to the usual gifts and sacrifices, we offer Him our pure heart and a desire to follow His teaching.
How to eat during the Nativity Fast
The Charter of the Church teaches what one should abstain from during fasting: “All those who fast piously must strictly observe the regulations on the quality of food, that is, abstain during fasting from certain foodstuffs (that is, food, food - Ed.), not as bad (and not this will happen), but as inappropriate for fasting and prohibited by the Church. The foodstuffs that one must abstain from during fasting are: meat, cheese, cow’s butter, milk, eggs, and sometimes fish, depending on the difference in the holy fasts.”
The rules of abstinence prescribed by the Church during the Nativity Fast are as strict as during the Apostolic (Petrov) Fast. In addition, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday of the Nativity Fast, the charter prohibits fish, wine and oil, and it is allowed to eat food without oil (dry eating) only after Vespers. On other days - Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday - it is allowed to eat food with vegetable oil.
During the Nativity Fast, fish is allowed on Saturdays and Sundays and on great holidays, for example, on the Feast of the Entry into the Temple of the Blessed Virgin Mary, on temple holidays and on the days of great saints, if these days fall on Tuesday or Thursday. If holidays fall on Wednesday or Friday, then fasting is permitted only for wine and oil.
From December 20 to December 24 (old style, i.e. - in the 20th–21st centuries - from January 2 to 6 of the new style), fasting intensifies, and on these days, even on Saturday and Sunday, fish are not blessed.
While we fast physically, at the same time we need to fast spiritually. “As we fast, brethren, physically, let us also fast spiritually, let us resolve every union of unrighteousness,” commands the Holy Church.
Physical fasting without spiritual fasting does not bring anything to the salvation of the soul; on the contrary, it can be spiritually harmful if a person, abstaining from food, becomes imbued with the consciousness of his own superiority due to the fact that he is fasting. True fasting is associated with prayer, repentance, abstinence from passions and vices, the eradication of evil deeds, forgiveness of insults, abstinence from married life, the exclusion of entertainment and entertainment events, and watching television. Fasting is not a goal, but a means - a means to humble your flesh and cleanse yourself of sins. Without prayer and repentance, fasting becomes just a diet.
The essence of fasting is expressed in the church hymn: “By fasting from food, my soul, and not being cleansed from passions, you rejoice in vain in not eating, for if you do not have the desire for correction, then you will be hated by God as a liar, and you will become like evil demons, never eating." In other words, the main thing in fasting is not the quality of food, but the fight against passions.
Christmas in the first centuries
In ancient times, it was believed that the date of Christmas was January 6 according to the old style, or the 19th according to the new style. How did the early Christians arrive at this date? We consider Christ as the Son of Man to be the “second Adam.” In the sense that if the first Adam was the culprit of the fall of the human race, then the second became the Redeemer of people, the source of our salvation. At the same time, the Ancient Church came to the conclusion that Christ was born on the same day on which the first Adam was created. That is, on the sixth day of the first month of the year. Now on this day we celebrate the day of Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord. In ancient times, this holiday was called Epiphany and included Epiphany-Epiphany and Christmas.
However, over time, many came to the conclusion that the celebration of such an important holiday as Christmas should be assigned to a separate day. Moreover, along with the opinion that the Nativity of Christ falls on the creation of Adam, there has long been a belief in the Church that Christ had to be on earth for the full number of years, as a perfect number. Many holy fathers - Hippolytus of Rome, St. Augustine and, finally, St. John Chrysostom - believed that Christ was conceived on the same day on which he suffered, therefore, on the Jewish Passover, which fell on March 25 in the year of his death. Counting 9 months from here, we get the date for the Nativity of Christ on December 25 (old style).
And although it is impossible to establish the day of Christmas with absolute accuracy, the opinion that Christ spent a full number of years on earth from the moment of conception to the crucifixion is based on a careful study of the Gospel. Firstly, we know when the Angel informed Elder Zechariah about the birth of John the Baptist. This happened during Zechariah's ministry in Solomon's Temple. All the priests in Judea were divided by King David into 24 orders, which served in turn. Zechariah belonged to the Avian order, the 8th in a row, the time of service of which was at the end of August - the first half of September. Soon “after these days,” that is, around the end of September, Zechariah conceives John the Baptist. The church celebrates this event on September 23. In the 6th month after this, that is, in March, the Angel of the Lord announced to the Most Holy Theotokos about the immaculate conception of the Son. The Annunciation in the Orthodox Church is celebrated on March 25 (old style). Christmas time, therefore, turns out to be the end of December according to the old style.
At first, this belief apparently prevailed in the West. And there is a special explanation for this. The fact is that in the Roman Empire, on December 25, there was a celebration dedicated to the renewal of the world - the Day of the Sun. On the day when the daylight hours began to increase, the pagans had fun, remembering the god Mithras, and drank themselves into unconsciousness. Christians were also captivated by these celebrations, just as now in Russia few people safely pass the New Year celebrations that fall during Lent. And then the local clergy, wanting to help their flock overcome adherence to this pagan tradition, decided to move Christmas to the Day of the Sun itself. Moreover, in the New Testament Jesus Christ is called the “Sun of Truth.”
Do you want to worship the sun? - Roman saints asked the laity. - So worship, but not the created luminary, but the One who gives us true light and joy - the immortal Sun, Jesus Christ.
Victory of the new holiday
The dream of making Christmas a separate holiday in the Eastern Church became urgent by the middle of the fourth century. At that time, heresies were rampant, which imposed the idea that God did not take a human form, that Christ did not come into the world in flesh and blood, but, like the three angels at the Oak of Mamre, was woven from other, higher energies.
Then the Orthodox realized how little attention they had hitherto paid to the Nativity of Christ. St. John Chrysostom’s heart especially ached about this. In a speech delivered on December 20, 388, he asked the faithful to prepare for the celebration of Christmas on December 25. The saint said that in the West, Christmas has been celebrated for a long time, and it is time for the entire Orthodox world to adopt this good custom. This speech won over the wavering, and over the next half century Christmas triumphed throughout the Christian world. In Jerusalem, for example, on this day the entire community, led by the bishop, went to Bethlehem, prayed in a cave at night, and returned home to celebrate Christmas in the morning. The celebrations lasted eight days.
After the new Gregorian calendar was compiled in the West, Catholics and Protestants began to celebrate Christmas two weeks earlier than the Orthodox. In the 20th century, under the influence of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the Orthodox Churches of Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt began to celebrate Christmas according to the Gregorian calendar. Together with the Russian Church, Christmas in the old style is celebrated by the Jerusalem, Serbian, Georgian Churches and the monasteries of Athos. Fortunately, according to the late Patriarch Diodorus of Jerusalem, “Old Calendarists” make up 4/5 of the total number of Orthodox Christians.
How Christmas was celebrated in Rus'
Christmas Eve - Christmas Eve - was celebrated modestly both in the palaces of Russian emperors and in the huts of peasants. But the next day, the fun and revelry began - Christmastide. Many people mistakenly consider all kinds of fortune-telling and mummers to be among the traditions of celebrating Christmas. Indeed, there were those who told fortunes, dressed up as bears, pigs and various evil spirits, and scared children and girls. To be more convincing, scary masks were made from various materials. But these traditions are pagan relics. The Church has always opposed such phenomena, which have nothing to do with Christianity.
True Christmas traditions include glorification. On the feast of the Nativity of Christ, when the good news for the liturgy was heard, the patriarch himself with the entire spiritual synclite came to glorify Christ and congratulate the sovereign in his chambers; From there everyone went with the cross and holy water to the queen and other members of the royal family. As for the origin of the rite of glorification, we can assume that it dates back to Christian antiquity; its beginning can be seen in those congratulations that at one time were brought to Emperor Constantine the Great by his singers, while singing the kontakion for the Nativity of Christ: “Today a virgin gives birth to the Most Essential.” The tradition of glorification was very widespread among the people. Young people and children walked from house to house or stopped under the windows and glorified the born Christ, and also wished the owners goodness and prosperity in songs and jokes. The hosts gave treats to the participants of such congratulation concerts, competing in generosity and hospitality. It was considered bad manners to refuse food to the praisers, and the artists even took large bags with them to collect sweet trophies.
In the 16th century, the nativity scene became an integral part of worship. This is what the puppet theater was called in the old days, showing the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. The law of the nativity scene prohibited the display of dolls of the Mother of God and the Infant of God; they were always replaced with an icon. But the wise men, shepherds and other characters worshiping the newborn Jesus could be portrayed with the help of dolls and actors.
Nativity image
Over the centuries, legends, folk spiritual poems and traditions have been added to the brief Gospel stories about the Nativity of Christ. It is in this ancient apocryphal literature that a detailed description of the den (cave) in which the Holy Family was located is found, and it speaks of the wretched conditions that accompanied the birth of Jesus Christ.
These folk ideas were reflected in icon painting and in popular popular prints, which depicted not only a manger with the Holy Child, but also animals - an ox and a donkey. In the 9th century, the image of the painting of the Nativity of Christ was finally formed. This painting depicts a cave, in the depths of which there is a manger. In this manger lies the Infant God, Jesus Christ, from whom radiance emanates. The Mother of God reclines not far from the manger. Joseph sits further from the manger, on the other side, dozing or thoughtful.
In the book “Four Menaions” by Dmitry Rostovsky it is reported that an ox and a donkey were tied to the manger. According to apocryphal legends, Joseph of Nazareth brought these animals with him. The Virgin Mary rode a donkey. And Joseph took the ox with him in order to sell it and use the proceeds to pay the royal tax and feed the Holy Family while they were on the road and in Bethlehem. Therefore, very often these animals appear in drawings and icons depicting the Nativity of Christ. They stand next to the manger and with their warm breath warm the Divine Infant from the cold of the winter night. Also, the image of a donkey allegorically symbolizes perseverance and the ability to achieve a goal. And the image of an ox symbolizes humility and hard work.
Here it should be noted that the manger in its original meaning is a feeding trough where feed for livestock was placed. And this word, associated with the birth of the Infant God, has become so ingrained in our language as a symbolic designation of children's institutions for infants that no atheistic propaganda could remove it from use.
History of spruce decoration
The custom of decorating a Christmas tree came to us from Germany. The first written mention of the Christmas tree dates back to the 16th century. In the German city of Strasbourg, both poor people and noble families decorated their spruce trees with colored paper, fruits and sweets in winter. Gradually this tradition spread throughout Europe. In 1699, Peter I ordered to decorate their houses with pine, spruce and juniper branches. And only in the 30s of the 19th century, Christmas trees appeared in the capital in the houses of St. Petersburg Germans. And they began to put up Christmas trees publicly in the capital only in 1852. By the end of the 19th century, Christmas trees became the main decoration of both city and country houses and in the 20th century they were inseparable from the winter holidays. But the history of the Christmas tree in Russia was by no means cloudless. In 1916, the war with Germany had not yet ended, and the Holy Synod banned the Christmas tree as an enemy, German idea. The Bolsheviks who came to power secretly extended this ban. Nothing should have reminded of the great Christian holiday. But in 1935, the custom of decorating the Christmas tree returned to our homes. True, for the majority of non-believing Soviet people, the tree returned not as a Christmas tree, but as a New Year's tree.
Christmas wreath
The Advent wreath is of Lutheran origin. This is an evergreen wreath with four candles. The first candle is lit on Sunday four weeks before Christmas as a symbol of the light that will come into the world with the birth of Christ. Every next Sunday another candle is lit. On the last Sunday before Christmas, all four candles are lit to illuminate the place where the wreath is located, perhaps the altar of a church or the dining table.
Christmas candles
Light was an important component of pagan winter holidays. With the help of candles and fires they drove out the forces of darkness and cold. Wax candles were distributed to the Romans on the holiday of Saturnalia. In Christianity, candles are considered an additional symbol of the importance of Jesus as the Light of the world. In Victorian England, merchants gave candles to their regular customers every year. In many countries, Christmas candles signify the victory of light over darkness. The candles on the tree of heaven gave birth to our all-loved Christmas tree.
Christmas presents
This tradition has many roots. Saint Nicholas is traditionally considered the giver of gifts. In Rome there was a tradition of giving gifts to children on the occasion of Saturnalia. The gift giver can be Jesus himself, Santa Claus, Befana (Italian female Santa Claus), Christmas gnomes, and various saints. According to an old Finnish tradition, gifts are distributed around homes by an invisible man.
Christmas on a silver platter
Christmas Eve is called "Christmas Eve", or "sochechnik", and this word comes from the ritual food eaten on this day - sochiva (or watering). Sochivo - porridge made from red wheat or barley, rye, buckwheat, peas, lentils, mixed with honey and almond and poppy juice; that is, this is kutia - a ritual funeral dish. The number of dishes was also ritual - 12 (according to the number of apostles). The table was prepared in abundance: pancakes, fish dishes, aspic, jelly from pork and beef legs, suckling pig stuffed with porridge, pork head with horseradish, homemade pork sausage, roast. honey gingerbread and, of course, roast goose. Food on Christmas Eve could not be taken until the first star, in memory of the Star of Bethlehem, which announced the Nativity of the Savior to the Magi. And with the onset of dusk, when the first star lit up, they sat down at the table and shared the wafers, wishing each other all the best and brightest. Christmas is a holiday when the whole family gathers together at a common table.
Thus, Christmas is one of the most important Christian holidays, established in honor of the birth in the flesh of Jesus Christ from the Virgin Mary. It is no coincidence that it is very popular in our country and loved by many residents.
Christmastide, holy evenings, are usually called so in Russia, and not only in our fatherland, but also abroad, days of celebration, days of fun and days of the sacred celebration of the Nativity of Christ, starting on December 25 and usually ending on January 5 of the following year. This celebration corresponds to the holy nights of the Germans (Weihnaechen). In other dialects, simply “Christmas time” (Swatki) means holidays. In Little Russia, Poland, and Belarus, many holidays are known under the name of Christmastide (swiatki), such as Green Christmastide, that is, Trinity Week. Therefore, Professor Snegirev concludes that both the name itself and most of the folk games moved to the north from the south and west of Russia. If we started with Christmastide, it is because there is not a single celebration in Rus' that would be accompanied by such a rich selection of customs, rituals and signs as Christmastide. At Christmastide we meet, or see, a strange mixture of customs from pagan rites, mixed with some Christian memories of the Savior of the World. It is indisputable that pagan rituals, and not otherwise, include: fortune telling, games, dresses, etc., which express their inventive side of celebration, which has absolutely nothing to do with Christian goals and the mood of the spirit, as well as glorification, that is, the walking of children, and sometimes adults with a star, sometimes with races, a nativity scene and similar objects. Meanwhile, the word “Christmastide” itself represents the concept of the meaning of the holiness of days due to the joyful event for Christians. But from ancient times, from the time immemorial of paganism, customs and rituals entered into these solemn days, and at present these customs are not eradicated, but exist in different types and forms, more or less changed. Christmastide, as holidays adopted from the Hellenes (Greeks); we see the same confirmation of Kolyads from the Hellenes in Rule 62 of Stoglav. However, Professor Snegirev testifies that the Holy Fathers, when speaking about the Hellenes, had in mind any pagan peoples, as opposed to the Orthodox Greeks and Jews. History says that this custom existed in the Roman Empire, in Egypt, among the Greeks and Indians. So, for example, Egyptian priests, celebrating the rebirth of Osiris or the New Year, dressed in masks and costumes corresponding to the deities, walked along the streets of the city. Bareilles and hieroglyphs in Memphis and Thebes indicate that such masquerades were performed on the New Year and were considered a sacred rite. In the same way, similar rituals were performed by the Persians on the birthday of Mithra, and by the Indians Perun-Tsongol and Ugada. The Romans called these holidays days of the sun. In vain did Constantine the Great, Tertullian, St. John Chrysostom and Pope Zachary rebelled against Christmas magic and crazy games (kalends) - the customs of fortune telling and straining still remained, although in a rather modified form. Even Emperor Peter I himself, upon returning to Russia from a trip, dressed Zotov as a pope, and his other favorites as cardinals, deacons and masters of ceremonies, and, accompanied by a choir of singers on Christmastide, went with them to the boyars’ houses to glorify them. In the book of the Helmsman, on the basis of Chapter XXII, verse 5 of Deuteronomy, the mentioned re-dressing is prohibited. It is known that Moses, as a legislator, destroyer of paganism and its rituals among the chosen people, prohibiting the worship of idols, also forbade re-dressing, as the Egyptian priests did. Among the Scandinavians (inhabitants of what is now Sweden), Christmastide was known as the Iola, or Yule, holiday, the most important and longest of all. This holiday was celebrated in honor of Thor in Norway in winter, and in Denmark in honor of Odin for the blessed harvest and the speedy return of the sun. The holiday usually began at midnight on January 4, and it lasted for three whole weeks. The first three days were devoted to charity and celebration, then the last days were spent in fun and feasting. Among the ancient Anglo-Saxons, the longest and darkest night preceded the birthday of Freyer, or the Sun, and was called Mother's Night, since this night was revered as the mother of the sun or solar year. At this time, according to the beliefs of the northern peoples, the spirit of Ylevetten appeared in the form of a black-faced youth with a woman's bandage on his head, wrapped in a long black cloak. In this form, it’s as if he appears at home at night, like a betrothed-mummer among Russians at Christmastide, and accepts gifts. This belief has now turned into amusement throughout the north, already devoid of any superstitious meaning. The same role is represented by Phillia in the Germanic north. In England, a few days before the Nativity of Christ, in most cities night singing and music begin in the streets. In Holland, eight nights before the holiday and eight after the holiday, the night watchman, after announcing the morning, adds a funny song, the content of which is advice during the holidays to eat porridge with raisins and add sugar to it to make it sweeter. In general, the Christmas holidays, despite the cold winter season, breathe fun, just like Christmas Eve. However, Christmas Eve in Russia is less fun, because it is a fast day, a day of preparation for the holiday. The common people always have a wealth of funny tales on the occasion of this day, and the night before Christmas witnesses many superstitious observations. In England there is a belief that if you enter a barn at the stroke of midnight, you will find all the cattle on their knees. Many are convinced that on Christmas Eve all the bees sing in the hives, welcoming the day of celebration. This belief is widespread throughout Catholic and Protestant Europe. In the evening, women never leave tows on the spinning wheels, lest the devil decide to sit down to work instead. Young girls give this a different interpretation: they say that if they don’t finish spinning the tow on the eve of Christmas, the spinning wheel will come for them to church at the wedding and their husbands will think that they are God knows what lazy people. In this, the girls salt the unspun tow in order to protect it from the devil’s tricks. If the threads remain on the reel, they are not removed, as usual, but cut. In Scotland, livestock are fed the last handful of compressed bread on Christmas Day to protect them from illness. In England, in the old days, there was a custom: on Christmas Day, serve a boar's head in vinegar and with lemon in the mouth. At the same time, a song befitting a celebration was sung. In Germany, during the so-called sacred nights, in our opinion holy evenings, or Christmastide, they tell fortunes, arrange a Christmas tree for children, try in every way to find out the future for the year and believe that on the eve of the Nativity of Christ, cattle speak. Even earlier, the story of the birth of Jesus Christ was presented there in person. In addition, as has already been said now and has become stronger in our Russia, in the Saxon village of Scholbeck, according to Kranz, men of all ages celebrated Compline of the Nativity of Christ with women in the churchyard of St. Magna in disorderly dances with indecent songs, at least such songs that are not characteristic of such a highly solemn day.
Maslenitsa is an ancient Slavic holiday that came to us from pagan culture and survived after the adoption of Christianity. The Church included Maslenitsa among its holidays, calling it Cheese or Meat Week, since Maslenitsa falls on the week preceding Lent.
According to one version, the name “Maslenitsa” arose because this week, according to Orthodox custom, meat was already excluded from food, and dairy products could still be consumed.
Maslenitsa is the most cheerful and satisfying folk holiday, lasting a whole week. The people always loved him and affectionately called him “killer whale”, “sugar mouth”, “kisser”, “honest Maslenitsa”, “cheerful”, “quail”, “perebukha”, “overeating”, “yasochka”.
An integral part of the holiday was horse riding, on which they put on the best harness. Guys who were getting married bought sleds especially for this ride. All the young couples certainly took part in the skating. Just as widespread as festive horse riding was youth riding from the icy mountains. Among the customs of rural youth on Maslenitsa were also jumping over a fire and taking a snowy town.
In the 18th and 19th centuries. The central place in the celebration was occupied by the peasant Maslenitsa comedy, in which the characters from the mummers took part - “Maslenitsa”, “Voevoda”, etc. The plot for them was Maslenitsa itself, with its abundant treats before the upcoming fast, with its farewells and the promise to return next year . Often some real local events were included in the performance.
Maslenitsa has retained the character of a folk festival for many centuries. All Maslenitsa traditions are aimed at driving away winter and waking up nature from sleep. Maslenitsa was celebrated with majestic songs on the snow slides. The symbol of Maslenitsa was a straw effigy, dressed in women's clothes, with whom they had fun, and then buried or burned at the stake along with a pancake, which the effigy held in its hand.
Pancakes are the main treat and symbol of Maslenitsa. They are baked every day from Monday, but especially many from Thursday to Sunday. The tradition of baking pancakes has been in Rus' since the times of worship of pagan gods. After all, it was the sun god Yarilo who was called upon to drive away winter, and the round, ruddy pancake is very similar to the summer sun.
Each housewife traditionally had her own special recipe for making pancakes, which was passed down from generation to generation through the female line. Pancakes were baked mainly from wheat, buckwheat, oatmeal, and corn flour, adding millet or semolina porridge, potatoes, pumpkin, apples, and cream.
In Rus' there was a custom: the first pancake was always for the repose; it was, as a rule, given to a beggar to remember all the deceased or placed on the window. Pancakes were eaten with sour cream, eggs, caviar and other tasty seasonings from morning to evening, alternating with other dishes.
The whole week of Maslenitsa was called nothing less than “honest, broad, cheerful, noblewoman-Maslenitsa, lady Maslenitsa.” Until now, each day of the week has its own name, which indicates what needs to be done on that day. On the Sunday before Maslenitsa, traditionally, they paid visits to relatives, friends, neighbors, and also invited guests. Since it was forbidden to eat meat during Maslenitsa week, the last Sunday before Maslenitsa was called “meat Sunday,” on which the father-in-law went to call his son-in-law to “finish the meat.”
Monday is the “meeting” of the holiday. On this day, ice slides were set up and rolled out. In the morning, the children made a straw effigy of Maslenitsa, dressed it up and carried it through the streets together. There were swings and tables with sweets.
Tuesday - "flirt". Fun games begin on this day. In the morning, the girls and young men rode on the icy mountains and ate pancakes. The guys were looking for brides, and the girls? grooms (and weddings took place only after Easter).
Wednesday is a “gourmet”. In first place among the treats, of course, are pancakes.
Thursday - "go wild". On this day, to help the sun drive away winter, people traditionally organize horseback riding “in the sun,” that is, clockwise around the village. The main thing for the male half on Thursday is defense or taking the snowy town.
Friday is “mother-in-law’s evening,” when the son-in-law goes “to his mother-in-law for pancakes.”
Saturday - "sister-in-law's get-togethers." On this day they go to visit all their relatives and treat themselves to pancakes.
Sunday is the final “forgiveness day,” when they ask forgiveness from relatives and friends for offenses and after that, as a rule, they sing and dance merrily, thereby seeing off the great Maslenitsa. On this day, a straw effigy is burned on a huge bonfire, personifying the passing winter. They place him in the center of the fire pit and say goodbye to him with jokes, songs, and dances. They scold winter for the frosts and winter hunger and thank them for the fun winter activities. After this, the effigy is set on fire amid cheerful cheers and songs. When winter burns down, the holiday ends with the final fun: young people jump over the fire. This competition in dexterity ends the Maslenitsa holiday. 1 Farewell to Maslenitsa ended on the first day of Lent - Clean Monday, which was considered a day of cleansing from sin and savory food. On Clean Monday they always washed in the bathhouse, and women washed the dishes and “steamed” dairy utensils, cleaning them from fat and remnants of the milk.
Indeed, Maslenitsa has become our favorite holiday since childhood, with which the most pleasant memories are associated. Also, it is no coincidence that many jokes, jokes, songs, proverbs and sayings are associated with the days of Maslenitsa: “It’s not buttery without a pancake,” “Ride in the mountains, roll in pancakes,” “It’s not life, it’s Maslenitsa,” “Maslenitsa is a mess, you save your money.” , “At least pawn everything from yourself, but celebrate Maslenitsa”, “It’s not all Maslenitsa, but there will be Great Lent”, “Maslenitsa is afraid of bitter radishes and steamed turnips.”
The word “Passover” translated from Hebrew means “passing, deliverance.” Jews, celebrating the Old Testament Passover, remembered the liberation of their ancestors from Egyptian slavery. Christians, celebrating Easter of the New Testament, celebrate the deliverance of all humanity through Christ from the power of the devil, victory over death and the granting of us eternal life with God.
According to the importance of the benefits we received through the resurrection of Christ, Easter is the Feast of Feasts and the Triumph of Feasts.
Since ancient times, the bright holiday of Easter has been revered in Rus' as a day of universal equality, love and mercy. Before Easter, they baked Easter cakes, made Easter cakes, washed, cleaned, and cleaned. Young people and children tried to prepare the best and most beautifully painted eggs for the Great Day. At Easter, people greeted each other with the words: “Christ is risen! “Truly he is risen!”, they kissed three times and presented each other with beautiful Easter eggs.
Painted eggs are an inevitable part of the Easter breaking of the fast. There are many legends about the origin of Easter eggs. According to one of them, drops of the blood of the Crucified Christ, falling to the ground, took the form of chicken eggs and became hard as stone. The hot tears of the Mother of God, sobbing at the foot of the Cross, fell on these blood-red eggs and left traces on them in the form of beautiful patterns and colored specks. When Christ was taken down from the Cross and laid in the tomb, believers collected His tears and shared them among themselves. And when the joyful news of the Resurrection spread among them, they greeted each other: “Christ is risen,” and at the same time passed Christ’s tears from hand to hand. After the Resurrection, this custom was strictly observed by the first Christians, and the sign of the greatest miracle - the tear-egg - was strictly kept by them and served as the subject of a joyful gift on the day of the Holy Resurrection. Later, when people began to sin more, Christ’s tears melted and were carried away along with streams and rivers into the sea, turning the sea waves bloody... But the very custom of Easter eggs was preserved even after that...
On Easter, the Easter table was set for the whole day. In addition to real abundance, the Easter table had to demonstrate true beauty. Family and friends gathered behind him, who had not seen each other for a long time, because it was not customary to visit during Lent. Postcards were sent to distant relatives and friends.
After lunch, people sat at tables and played various games, went outside, and congratulated each other. We spent the day fun and festive.
Easter is celebrated for 40 days - in memory of Christ's forty-day stay on earth after the resurrection. During the forty days of Easter, and especially during the first, Bright Week, they visit each other and give colored eggs and Easter cakes. With Easter, cheerful festivities of young people always began: they swung on swings, danced in circles, and sang stoneflies.
A feature of the Easter festival was considered to be the sincere performance of good deeds. The more human actions were performed, the more spiritual sins could be gotten rid of.
The celebration of Easter begins with the Easter Service, which takes place on the night from Saturday to Sunday. The Easter service is distinguished by its grandeur and extraordinary solemnity. Believers take Easter cakes, colored eggs and other food with them to the Easter service to bless them during the Easter service.
In conclusion, I would like to agree that Easter is the main holiday of the liturgical year, which is deeply respected by all residents of our large and great country. 1
The summer solstice is one of the significant turning points of the year. Since ancient times, all the peoples of the Earth celebrated the peak of summer at the end of June. We have such a holiday.
However, this holiday was inherent not only to the Russian people. In Lithuania it is known as Lado, in Poland - as Sobotki, in Ukraine - Kupalo or Kupaylo. From the Carpathians to the north of Rus', on the night of June 23-24, everyone celebrated this mystical, mysterious, but at the same time wild and cheerful holiday of Ivan Kupala. True, due to the lag of the Julian calendar from the now accepted Gregorian calendar, a change in style and other calendar difficulties, the “crown of summer” began to be celebrated two weeks after the solstice itself...
Our ancient ancestors had a deity named Kupala, personifying summer fertility. In his honor, in the evenings they sang songs and jumped over the fire. This ritual action turned into an annual celebration of the summer solstice, mixing pagan and Christian traditions.
The deity Kupala began to be called Ivan after the baptism of Rus', when he was replaced by none other than John the Baptist (more precisely, his popular image), whose Christmas was celebrated on June 24.
Agrafena the Bathing Suit, Ivan Kupala following her, one of the most revered, most important, most riotous holidays of the year, as well as “Peter and Paul” going on a few days later merged into one big holiday, filled with great meaning for the Russian people and therefore including many ritual actions, rules and prohibitions, songs, sentences, all kinds of signs, fortune telling, legends, beliefs
According to the most popular version of the "Bathroom" of St. Agrafena is called because the day of her memory falls on the eve of Ivan Kupala - but many rituals and customs associated with this day suggest that St. Agrafena received her epithet without any relation to Kupala.
On Agrafena it was mandatory to wash and steam in the baths. Usually, it was on the day of Agrafena that the Bathers prepared brooms for the whole year.
On the night of Agrafena on Midsummer's Day, there was a custom: men sent their wives to “roll out the rye” (that is, crush the rye, lying around the strip), which was supposed to bring a considerable harvest.
Perhaps the most important event of Agrafena Bathing Day was the collection of herbs for medicinal and healing purposes. “Dashing men and women take off their shirts in the dead of midnight and until dawn they dig roots or look for treasure in treasured places,” it is written in one of the books of the early 19th century. It was believed that on this night the trees move from place to place and talk to each other through the rustling of leaves; animals and even herbs talk, which are filled with special, miraculous power that night.
Before sunrise, Ivan da Marya picked flowers. If you put them in the corners of the hut, then the thief will not approach the house: the brother and sister (the yellow and purple colors of the plant) will talk, and the thief will think that the owner and the mistress are talking.
In many places, it was customary to arrange a bathhouse and knit brooms not on Agrafena, but on Midsummer's Day. After the bath, the girls threw a broom over themselves into the river: if you drown, you will die this year. In the Vologda region, recently calved cows were dressed with brooms made from various herbs and branches of various trees; they wondered about their future - they threw brooms over their heads or threw them from the roof of the baths, they looked: if the broom falls with its top towards the churchyard, then the thrower will soon die; Kostroma girls paid attention to where the butt of the broom fell - that’s where they got married.
They also guessed like this: they collected 12 herbs (thistles and ferns are a must!), put them under the pillow at night so that the betrothed would dream: “Betrothed-mummer, come to my garden for a walk!”
You could pick flowers at midnight and put them under your pillow; In the morning I had to check if I had twelve different herbs. If you have enough, you will get married this year.
Many Kupala beliefs are associated with water. Early in the morning the women “scoop up the dew”; To do this, take a clean tablecloth and a ladle, with which they go to the meadow. Here the tablecloth is dragged along the wet grass, and then squeezed into a ladle and the face and hands are washed with this dew to drive away any illness and to keep the face clean. Kupala dew also serves for cleanliness in the house: it is sprinkled on the beds and walls of the house so that there are no bugs and cockroaches, and so that evil spirits “do not mock the house.”
In the morning on Midsummer's Day, swimming is a national custom, and only in some regions did peasants consider such bathing dangerous, since on Midsummer's Day the merman himself is considered the birthday boy, who cannot stand it when people interfere in his kingdom, and takes revenge on them by drowning everyone careless. In some places it is believed that only after Ivan's Day, respectable Christians can swim in rivers, lakes and ponds, since Ivan sanctifies them and pacifies various water evil spirits.
By the way, there are many beliefs associated with unclean, witch powers. It was believed that witches also celebrated their holiday on Ivan Kupala, trying to cause as much harm to people as possible. The witches allegedly keep water boiled with the ashes of the Kupala fire. And having sprinkled herself with this water, the witch can fly wherever she pleases...
One of the fairly common Kupala rituals is pouring water on everything that comes and goes. So, in the Oryol province, village boys dressed in old and dirty clothes and went with buckets to the river to fill them with the muddiest water, or even just liquid mud, and walked through the village, dousing everyone and everyone, making an exception only for old people and young people . (In some places in those parts, they say, this sweet custom has been preserved to this day.) But, of course, the girls got the worst of it: the guys even broke into houses, dragged the girls out into the street by force, and here they doused them from head to toe. In turn, the girls tried to take revenge on the guys.
It ended with young people, dirty, wet, with clothes stuck to their bodies, rushing to the river and here, choosing a secluded place, away from the stern eyes of their elders, they swam together, “and,” as the 19th-century ethnographer notes, “of course, the boys too and the girls remain in their clothes."
It is impossible to imagine a Kupala night without cleansing bonfires. They danced around them, jumped over them: whoever is more successful and taller will be happier: “Fire cleanses from all filth of the flesh and spirit!..” It is also believed that fire strengthens feelings - and therefore they jumped in pairs.
In some places, livestock was driven through the Kupala fire to protect it from pestilence. In the Kupala bonfires, mothers burned the shirts taken from sick children, so that the illnesses themselves would be burned along with this linen.
Young people and teenagers jumped over the fires and organized noisy fun games, fights, and races. We certainly played burners.
Well, after jumping and playing enough - how can you help but take a swim! And although Kupala is considered a holiday of purification, often after swimming together, young couples begin a love relationship - no matter what ethnographers say. However, according to legends, a child conceived on the night of Kupala will be born healthy, beautiful and happy.
This is how the holiday of Ivan Kupala passed - in riotous rituals, fortune telling and other funny and cute pranks.
Variety of Russian weddings
The Russian folk wedding is extremely diverse and forms its own local variants in different areas, reflecting the peculiarities of the life of the Eastern Slavs even in the pre-Christian period. Typical differences made it possible to identify three main geographical areas of Russian weddings: Central Russian, Northern Russian and Southern Russian.
The South Russian wedding is close to the Ukrainian and, apparently, to the original ancient Slavic. Its distinguishing feature is the absence of lamentations and a general cheerful tone. The main poetic genre of a South Russian wedding is songs. The Northern Russian wedding is dramatic, so its main genre is lamentation. They were performed throughout the ceremony. A bathhouse was mandatory, with which the bachelorette party ended.
The Northern Russian wedding was celebrated in Pomerania, in the Arkhangelsk, Olonetsk, St. Petersburg, Vyatka, Novgorod, Pskov, and Perm provinces. The most typical wedding ceremony was the Central Russian type. It covered a huge geographical area, the central axis of which ran along the line Moscow - Ryazan - Nizhny Novgorod.
Weddings of the Central Russian type, in addition to those mentioned above, were also played in Tula, Tambov, Penza, Kursk, Kaluga, Oryol, Simbirsk, Samara and other provinces. The poetry of the Central Russian wedding combined songs and lamentations, but songs predominated. They created a rich emotional and psychological palette of feelings and experiences, the poles of which were cheerful and sad tones.
But at the same time, a wedding is not an arbitrary set of songs, lamentations and ritual actions, but always a certain, historically established integrity. Therefore, in this work we will consider the main, most characteristic features that link together all types of Russian weddings. It is these features that will help to analyze the Russian wedding ceremony most fully and holistically.
Over time, a Russian wedding has developed a time frame that determined the main and most favorable days for marriage. Weddings were never held during fasting (with rare exceptions). Weddings were also avoided on fasting days of the week (Wednesday, Friday), and Maslenitsa week was also excluded from weddings. There was even a saying: “To get married on Maslenitsa is to become intermarried with misfortune...” They also tried to avoid the month of May, so as not to suffer for the rest of their lives.
Along with the days considered unfavorable for weddings, in Rus' there were periods during which the majority of weddings took place. These are, first of all, autumn and winter meat-eaters. The autumn meat-eater began with the Assumption (August 28) and continued until the Nativity (Filippov) fast (November 27).
Among the peasants, this period was shortened. Weddings began to be celebrated on Intercession (October 14) - by this time all major agricultural work was completed. The winter meat-eating period began from Christmas (January 7) and lasted until Maslenitsa (lasted from 5 to 8 weeks). This period was called “svadebnik” or “wedding”, since it was the most wedding of the year. The wedding began on the second or third day after baptism, since on great holidays, according to church regulations, priests could not perform weddings.
In the spring and summer, weddings began to be celebrated from Krasnaya Gorka (the first Sunday after Easter) until Trinity. In the summer there was another meat-eater, it began on Peter's Day (July 12) and continued until the Savior (August 14). At this time, it was also customary to have weddings (see 11.).
The Russian wedding cycle is traditionally divided into several stages:
Pre-wedding rituals include introductions, viewings of brides, and maiden fortune telling.
Pre-wedding rituals are matchmaking, bridesmaids, collusion, bachelorette party, groom's gatherings.
Wedding ceremonies are the departure, the wedding train, the wedding, the wedding feast.
Post-wedding rituals are the second day rituals, the visits.
The figurative basis of a Russian wedding
The wedding ceremony contains numerous symbols and allegories, the meaning of which is partially lost in time and exists only as a ritual.
Central Russian weddings are characterized by the “Christmas tree” ritual. The top or fluffy branch of a Christmas tree or other tree, called a beauty, decorated with ribbons, beads, lighted candles, etc., sometimes with a doll attached to it, stood on the table in front of the bride. The tree symbolized the youth and beauty of the bride, to which she said goodbye forever. The ancient, long-forgotten meaning was that the sacrificial duty of the initiated girl was redirected to the tree: instead of her, the tree that was originally accepted into her circle of kin (substitute sacrifice) died.
A wedding tree is known among most Slavic peoples as an obligatory attribute; at the same time, the Eastern Slavs have a wide variety of objects called beauty. These are not only plants (spruce, pine, birch, apple tree, cherry, viburnum, mint), but also girlish beauty and a girl’s headdress.
Since the marriage couple had to consist of representatives of different clans, the wedding included rituals that signified the transition of the bride from her clan to her husband’s clan. Connected with this is the worship of the stove - the sacred place of the home. All important tasks (for example, taking out beauty) began literally from the stove. In her husband’s house, the young woman bowed to the stove three times and only then to the icons, etc.
The flora of a Russian wedding is associated with ancient animistic ideas. All wedding participants were decorated with fresh or artificial flowers. Flowers and berries were embroidered on wedding clothes and towels.
The fauna of the wedding ritual dates back to ancient Slavic totems. In many elements of the ritual one can see the cult of the bear, which ensures wealth and fertility. In some places, a fried pig's head was an attribute of the wedding feast, and they often dressed up as a bull. Images of birds were associated with the bride (primarily the chicken had fertile power).
The wedding ritual of the Eastern Slavs had a pronounced agrarian, agricultural character. The cult of water was associated with the idea of fertility. In a Northern Russian wedding, it was manifested in the bathing ritual that ended the bachelorette party; for a Central Russian wedding, a post-wedding dousing is typical. When pouring, the woman - the mother - was identified with the mother - the damp earth.
In pre- and post-marital rituals, the newlyweds were sprinkled with hops, oats, sunflower seeds or any other grain. Actions are known not only with grain, but also with ears of corn, with sauerkraut. The cult of bread manifested itself, first of all, as a celebration of the loaf, which played a large role throughout the entire wedding ceremony.
The ancient Slavic cult of the sun is associated with agricultural magic. According to the ideas of the ancients, love relationships between people were generated by the supernatural participation of heavenly bodies. The supreme representative of those entering into marriage and all other participants in the wedding was the sun. The month, moon, stars and dawn appeared next to him. The image of the sun carried the bride’s wedding wreath, which played a unique role in the wedding ceremony.
Since ancient times, weddings have been imbued with magic, all types of it were used. The purpose of productive magic was to ensure the well-being of the bride and groom, the strength and large number of children of their future family, as well as to obtain a rich harvest and a good offspring of livestock.
Apotropaic magic manifested itself in various amulets aimed at protecting young people from everything bad. This was achieved through allegorical speech, the ringing of bells, a pungent smell and taste, dressing up of the newlyweds, covering the bride, as well as a wide variety of objects - amulets (for example, a belt, a towel, etc.). Thus, the figurative basis of the Russian wedding reflects the pagan ideas of the Slavs, their close connection and interaction with the surrounding natural world.
Word and subject environment in a Russian wedding
Wedding poetry
The verbal, primarily poetic (verse) design of the wedding had a deep psychologism, depicting the feelings of the bride and groom and their development throughout the ceremony. The role of the bride was especially difficult psychologically. Folklore painted a rich palette of her emotional states. The first half of the wedding ceremony, while the bride was still in her parents' house, was filled with drama and was accompanied by sad, elegiac works. At the feast (in the groom's house), the emotional tone changed sharply: in folklore, the idealization of the participants in the feast prevailed, and fun sparkled.
As mentioned earlier, for a wedding of the Northern Russian type, the main folklore genre was lamentations. They expressed only one feeling - sadness. The psychological characteristics of songs are much broader, therefore, in a Central Russian wedding, the depiction of the bride’s experiences was more dialectical, moving and diverse. Wedding songs are the most significant, best-preserved cycle of family ritual poetry.
Each episode of the wedding had its own poetic devices. Matchmaking was conducted in a conventional poetic and allegorical manner. The matchmakers called themselves “hunters”, “fishermen”, the bride - “marten”, “white fish”. During the matchmaking, the bride's friends could already sing songs: ritual and lyrical, in which the theme of the girl's loss of her will began to be developed.
Conspiracy songs depicted the transition of a girl and a young man from the free state of “youth” and “girlhood” to the position of a bride and groom (“At the table, table, oak table ...”). Paired images appear in the songs - symbols from the natural world, for example, “Kalinushka” and “nightingale” (“On the mountain there was a viburnum in a bush...”).
The motive of the taken away maiden will is developed (the bride is depicted through the symbols of a pecked “berry”, a caught “fish”, a shot “kuna”, a trampled “grass”, a broken “grape twig”, a broken “birch tree”). Ritual songs performed at a gathering, at a bachelorette party, or on the morning of a wedding day could celebrate the upcoming, ongoing, or already completed ritual of unbraiding the braid (for examples, see the appendix). Conspiracy songs began to depict the young people in the position of a bride and groom, idealizing their relationship. In such songs there was no monologue form; they were a story or dialogue.
If the bride was an orphan, then a lament was performed in which the daughter “invites” her parents to watch her “orphan wedding.” Songs often contain the plot of crossing or transporting a bride across a water barrier, associated with the ancient understanding of a wedding as an initiation (“Across the river lay a bird cherry tree...”). The bachelorette party was full of ritual and lyrical songs (see the appendix for examples).
In the morning, the bride woke up her friends with a song in which she reported about her “bad dream”: “cursed woman’s life” had crept up on her. While the bride was dressing and waiting for the groom's wedding train, they sang lyrical songs that expressed the extreme degree of her sorrowful experiences. Ritual songs were also filled with deep lyricism; in them, marriage was depicted as an inevitable event (“Mother! Why is there dust in the field?”). The bride's transition from one home to another was depicted as a difficult, insurmountable path. On such a journey (from her home to the church, and then to the new home), the bride is accompanied not by relatives, but mainly by her future husband (“Lyubushka was still walking from tower to tower…” see appendix).
The appearance of the wedding train and all the guests is depicted in songs through hyperbole. At this time, scenes were played out in the house, which were based on the ransom of the bride or her double - the “maiden beauty”. Their execution was facilitated by wedding sentences, which were of a ritual nature. The sentences also had another function: they defuse the difficult psychological situation associated with the bride’s departure from her parents’ home.
The most solemn moment of the wedding was the feast. Here they sang only funny songs and danced. The ritual of glorification had a vibrant artistic development. Great songs were sung to the newlyweds, the wedding party and all the guests, and the igresses (singers) were given gifts for this. The stingy ones sang parodic magnificence—corruption songs that could have been sung just for laughs.
The images of the bride and groom in songs of praise poetically revealed various symbols from the natural world. Groom - “clear falcon”, “black horse”; bride - “strawberry-berry”, “viburnum-raspberry”, “currant berry”. The symbols could also be paired: “dove” and “darling”, “grapes” and “berry”. Portraits played an important role in songs of praise. Compared to the songs performed in the bride’s house, the opposition between one’s own and someone else’s family changed diametrically. Now the father’s family has become a “stranger,” so the bride doesn’t want to eat her father’s bread: it’s bitter and smells like wormwood; and I want to eat Ivanov’s bread: it’s sweet, it smells like honey (“Grapes are growing in the garden...” see appendix).
In songs of greatness, a general scheme for creating an image can be seen: a person’s appearance, his clothing, wealth, good spiritual qualities (for an example, see the appendix).
Great songs can be compared to hymns; they are characterized by solemn intonation and high vocabulary. All this was achieved using traditional folklore means. Yu. G. Kruglov noted that all artistic means “are used in strict accordance with the poetic content of glorified songs - they serve to strengthen, emphasize the most beautiful features of the appearance of the one being glorified, the most noble features of his character, the most magnificent attitude of those singing towards him, that is , serve the basic principle of the poetic content of great songs - idealization.”
The purpose of the corrugating songs performed at the moment of honoring the guests is to create a caricature. Their main technique is grotesque. Portraits in such songs are satirical, they exaggerate the ugly. This is facilitated by reduced vocabulary. Corruption songs achieved not only a humorous goal, but also ridiculed drunkenness, greed, stupidity, laziness, deception, and boasting.
All works of wedding folklore used an abundance of artistic means: epithets, comparisons, symbols, hyperboles, repetitions, words in an affectionate form (with diminutive suffixes), synonyms, allegories, appeals, exclamations, etc. Wedding folklore affirmed an ideal, sublime world, living according to the laws of goodness and beauty. Examples of wedding poetry can be found in the appendix.
Wedding clothes and accessories
Unlike texts, the execution of which in all regions of Russia had specific nuances, the objective world of a Russian wedding was more unified. Since it is not possible to consider all the items involved in the wedding ceremony, we will focus only on some of the most important and mandatory ones.
Wedding Dress.
The white dress on the bride symbolizes purity and innocence. But white is also the color of mourning, the color of the past, the color of memory and oblivion. Another “mourning white” color was red. “Don’t sew me, mother, a red sundress...” sang the daughter, who did not want to leave her home to strangers. Therefore, historians are inclined to believe that the white or red dress of the bride is the “mournful” dress of a girl who “died” for her former family. Throughout the wedding, the bride changed her outfit several times. She wore different dresses at the bachelorette party, the wedding, after the wedding at the groom's house and on the second day of the wedding.
Headdress.
In a peasant environment, the bride's headdress was a wreath of different flowers with ribbons. The girls did it before the wedding, bringing their ribbons. Sometimes wreaths were bought or even transferred from one wedding to another. To avoid damage, the bride went to the crown covered with a large scarf or blanket so that her face was not visible. A cross was often put on top of the scarf; it went down from the head to the back.
The bride was not allowed to be seen by anyone, and violation of the ban was believed to lead to all sorts of misfortunes and even untimely death. For this reason, the bride put on a veil, and the newlyweds took each other’s hands exclusively through a scarf, and also did not eat or drink throughout the wedding.
Since pagan times, the custom has been preserved to say goodbye to the braid when getting married, and to braid the young wife two braids instead of one, moreover, laying the strands one under the other, and not on top. If a girl ran away with her beloved against the will of her parents, the young husband cut off the girl’s braid and presented it to the newly-made father-in-law and mother-in-law along with the ransom for “kidnapping” the girl. In any case, a married woman had to cover her hair with a headdress or scarf (so that the power contained in it would not harm the new family).
Ring.
During the betrothal ceremony, the groom and his relatives came to the bride’s house, everyone gave each other gifts, and the bride and groom exchanged wedding rings. All the action was accompanied by songs.
The ring is one of the oldest jewelry. Like any closed circle, the ring symbolizes integrity, which is why it, like the bracelet, is used as an attribute of marriage. The engagement ring should be smooth without any nicks to make married life smooth.
Over time, the Russian wedding has transformed. Some rituals were lost and new ones appeared, which could be an interpretation of an earlier ritual or were even borrowed from other religions. There are known periods in the history of the Russian people in which the traditional wedding ceremony was “thrown away” and was replaced by state registration of marriage. But after some time, the wedding ceremony was “reborn” again, having undergone significant changes. First of all, it was reoriented to the urban environment, due to which the clothes of the bride and groom changed, a wedding cake appeared instead of the traditional loaf, wedding poetry practically “disappeared”, and many details of wedding rituals were lost. The rest practically changed their meaning and began to play the role of entertainment, amuse the audience, and also make the wedding spectacular and colorful. From being the content of life, a wedding has turned into a prestigious event.
But still, the complete sequence of the wedding ceremony has been preserved to this day.
In modern wedding guides, the authors adhere to the original Russian wedding cycle, but at the same time only the name of the ritual and its meaning may be preserved, while the execution itself is very conditional. 1
In general, over time, morals became softer, primitive savagery gave way to, albeit peculiar, civilization. The Middle Ages in Rus' can be called the period of formation of wedding traditions. Even now, so many centuries later, it is rare for a wedding to take place without a traditional loaf, without a veil, and it is certainly difficult to imagine a wedding without the exchange of rings. Alas, for the majority, traditional wedding rituals have become more of a theatrical performance than a belief in their meaning, but still these wedding traditions continue to exist, being an integral part of Russian culture.
Studying materials about the customs and traditions of the Russian people, it is clearly visible that in their fundamental principles they are all pagan. The traditions of ancestors are the basis of human intelligence and morality. Over the course of a long history, the Russian people have accumulated rich experience in the field of training and education of the younger generation, developed unique customs and traditions, rules, norms and principles of human behavior.
Indeed, different peoples have their own heritage and customs, formed over centuries or even millennia. Customs are the face of a people, by looking at which we can immediately recognize what kind of people they are. Customs are those unwritten rules that people follow every day in their smallest household chores and most important social activities.
Since time immemorial there has been a reverent attitude towards traditions. Even after the adoption of Christianity, Russians retained many of their ancient folk customs, only combining them with religious ones. And today, thousands of years later, it is no longer easy to discover the line where ancient culture ends in Russian customs and where Christian culture begins.
Ancient customs are the treasure of the Ukrainian people and culture. Although all these movements, rituals and words that make up folk customs, at first glance, do not have any meaning in a person’s life, they breathe on the heart of each of us with the charms of our native element and are a life-giving balm for the soul, which fills it with powerful strength.
Herodotus believed: “If all the peoples in the world were allowed to choose the best customs and morals of all, then each nation, having carefully examined them, would choose its own. Thus, each nation is convinced that its own customs and way of life are in some way the best. "
This wonderful idea, expressed 25 centuries ago, still amazes with its depth and accuracy. It is still relevant today. Herodotus expressed the idea of the equivalence of the customs of different peoples and the need to respect them.
Every nation loves its customs and values them very highly. No wonder there is a proverb: “Respect yourself and others will respect you!” It can be interpreted more broadly, applying it to an entire people. After all, if the people themselves do not pass on their customs from generation to generation, and do not instill in their youth the reverence and respect they deserve, then in a few decades they will simply lose their culture, and therefore the respect of other peoples. Customs and traditions influence history and international relations.
1. Stepanov N.P. Folk holidays in Holy Rus'. M.: Russian rarity, 1992
2. Klimishin I.A. Calendar and chronology. M.: Nauka, 1990.
3. Nekrylova A.F. All year round. Russian agricultural calendar. M.: Pravda, 1989.
4. Pankeev I.A. Complete encyclopedia of the life of the Russian people. Tt. 1, 2. M.:
OLma-Press, 1998.
4. Yudin A.V. Russian folk spiritual culture Moscow “Higher School” 1999.
5. Chistova K.V. and Bernshtam T.A. Russian folk wedding ceremony Leningrad “Science” 1978
6. .www.kultura-portal.ru
7. www.pascha.ru
8. http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter
9. Orthodox holidays, Publishing House of the Belarusian Orthodox Church. Minsk. - P. 240.
10. Brun, V., Tinke, M. History from antiquity to modern times. - M., 2003.
11. The World Tree // Myths of the peoples of the world: Encyclopedia: In 2 volumes/ Ed. A.S.Tokareva.-M., 2003. - vol.1.
12. Fine motifs in Russian folk embroidery: Museum of Folk Art. - M., 1990.
13. Isenko, I.P. Russian people: Textbook. Manual. - M.: MGUK, 2004.
14. Komissarzhevsky, F.F. History of holidays. - Minsk: Modern writer, 2000.
15. Korotkova M.V. Culture of everyday life: History of rituals. - M., 2002.
16. Lebedeva, A.A. Russian family and social life.-M., 1999.-336p.
17. Lebedeva, N.I., Maslova G.S. Russian peasant clothing 19th - early. 20th century, Russian // Historical and ethnographic atlas. M., -1997.P.252-322.
18. Lipinskaya, V.A. Folk traditions in material culture. M., 1987. Ethnography of the Eastern Slavs. M., -1997, pp. 287-291.
11. Maslova, G.S. East Slavic traditional customs and rituals. – M., 2001.
19. Tereshchenko, A.V. Life of the Russian people. - M.: Terraknizhny Club, 2001. 20 17. Titova, A.V. Magic and symbolism of Russian folk life: Textbook. Allowance / AGIIiK. - Barnaul, 2000.
20. Kostomarov, N.I. Home life and customs of peoples. - M., 2003.
21. www.kultura-portal.ru
Annex 1
Russian wedding songs
Ancient Russian wedding songs are varied. They are performed at different moments of the wedding celebration. Before the wedding, the girl gathers her friends for a bachelorette party. At the wedding itself, the girl first says goodbye to her family, then presents her new relatives with gifts that she prepared with her own hands: embroidered towels, knitting.
Great songs are sung to the bride, groom, matchmaker, groomsmen and guests. At a wedding, not only sad songs about a girl’s separation from her family are performed, but also many funny, comic songs.
In the evening, evening
In the evening, evening,
Oh, what in the evening, evening,
Yes, it was dark twilight.
The falcon flew in, young and clear,
The falcon flew in, young and clear,
Yes, he sat on the window,
Yes, to the silver pier,
Yes to the golden edge.
Like no one sees the falcon,
Yes, how can no one perceive the clear.
Saw a clear falcon
Yes, Ustinina’s mother,
She told her daughter:
Are you my dear child?
Take notice of the falcon,
The flying falcon is clear,
Good fellow visiting.
My Empress,
How your tongue turns back,
How lips dissolve
I often remember
My heart is breaking.
My heart is already sick,
The zealous one is quite offended.
For me, for a young girl,
The playful little legs were cut off,
The white hands fell down,
The clear eyes are clouded,
My head rolled off my shoulders.
Wedding poetry
Wedding poetry is distinguished by its genre diversity: magnifications, lamentations, so-called “coril” songs, in which both lamentations and magnifications are synthesized, comic songs, dance choruses with humorous content and recitative patter, spell songs. The latter are associated with the ritual of sprinkling the newlyweds with hawt and hops: “May life be a good life, and may a cheerful head come from hops.”
Wedding threesome
Harnessing the horses
With this ringing song.
And a wreath of scarlet ribbons
Bright under the arc.
The guests will scream at us
This evening: Bitter!
And he will rush you and me
Wedding threesome!
The long journey has begun
What's around the bend?
Guess here, don’t guess -
You won't find the answer.
Well, the guests are screaming,
What strength there is: Bitter!
Will fly past troubles
Wedding threesome!
May many years pass
Let's just not forget
Oaths of our word,
And the flight of horses.
In the meantime they are screaming
Our guests: Bitter!
And we are fortunately lucky
Wedding threesome!
Stepanov N.P. Folk holidays in Holy Rus'. M.: Russian rarity, 1992
1 Kostomarov, N.I. Home life and customs of peoples. - M., 2003.
2Yudin A.V. Russian folk spiritual culture Moscow “Higher School” 1999.
Lebedeva, A.A. Russian family and social life.-M., 1999.-336p.
The Russian people have a very rich culture, interesting folklore and a long history of existence. And therefore, the traditions and rituals of the Russian people are extremely interesting and multifaceted.
Russian people
These rituals passed from generation to generation, practically unchanged. And today they also remain popular. Let's talk in more detail about the traditions of the Russian people, the most famous folk rituals and fascinating holidays.
National traditions in everyday life
What about everyday life?
Since Russian people have always paid special attention to their everyday life, family and home, those traditions and rituals that directly relate to this area are especially interesting. Moreover, most of them are associated with the birth of children, with christenings, weddings, and also funerals.
And the most interesting thing is that we still adhere to many traditions - for example, most expectant mothers become very superstitious and are afraid to cut their hair, sew or knit, hang clothes on a line, etc. Women can also remember ancient Russian traditions immediately after giving birth - which is why, for example, it is not customary to show a newborn child to strangers for forty days.
As for the rite of christening, it appeared quite a long time ago - just when the Russian people moved from paganism to Christianity. Moreover, washing the baby in holy water, as well as giving him a new name, have always been integral components of the rite in question. As for weddings, for example, many ancient traditions that have always been observed during their holding are still alive. This applies, for example, to the tradition of giving a ransom for a bride or kidnapping her. Well, besides, competitions have always been held at weddings.
Traditions of the Russian people associated with holidays
Holidays
It should be noted that modern Russians have many original, distinctive holidays that are not celebrated anywhere else in the world (or are celebrated, but in a completely different way). This applies, for example, to Easter, Christmas and Epiphany, as well as such famous pagan holidays as Ivan Kupala and Maslenitsa. We know how to celebrate them from our ancestors, and all traditions are observed by our contemporaries quite accurately, which allows us to speak about the clear preservation of the traditions of the Russian people.
Consider, for example, the famous holiday of Ivan Kupala, in which Christianity and paganism are closely intertwined. It should be noted that even before the proclamation of Christianity in Rus', our ancestors had a fertility deity under the name Kupalo. It was he who was revered by the Russian people when they had fun in the evenings, sang songs and jumped over fires. And after some time, this holiday became an annual event - and it was timed to coincide with the summer solstice. And today, every person who is interested in folk traditions and rituals of ancient ancestors knows what is customary to do on this holiday, and takes part in its celebration with pleasure.
Well, as for such a pagan holiday as Maslenitsa, it is also very controversial. On the one hand, Maslenitsa has always been considered a day of remembrance of the dead (which is why, in essence, we cook pancakes for Maslenitsa). But at the same time, this particular holiday, in the understanding of many of our ancestors, is associated with the onset of spring. It is not for nothing that on this day it is customary to burn a straw effigy, which personifies the passing winter. And always on Maslenitsa people had fun, sang songs, entertained each other and took part in various competitions.
As for Christmas, this, as everyone knows, is a church holiday that is celebrated in honor of the birth of Jesus Christ. It is celebrated in many countries of the modern world, but Orthodox Christmas does not coincide with Catholic Christmas, and our compatriots celebrate the holiday differently from foreigners. And besides, a very interesting time for Russian men and women (especially women) comes immediately after Christmas. We are talking about Christmastide.
In fact, Christmastide is a pagan holiday. These days, our distant ancestors put on homemade masquerade costumes in order to deceive evil spirits, who supposedly acquired special power during Christmas time and became a real threat to people. In addition, it was customary to have fun on Christmastide - this was also done in order to scare away dark forces. And of course, at all times on Christmastide they used to tell fortunes (mostly girls did this) and sow (as a rule, boys did sowing).
A little more information about Russian rituals and customs
Things to remember
Many ancient rituals and customs of the Russian people are directly related to death and burial. After all, the process of sending the deceased on his last journey was previously given no less importance than, for example, organizing weddings or christenings. For example, in Slavic villages the eyes of the dead were always covered with large copper coins (nickels). It was believed that otherwise the deceased might begin to look for someone else to take with him to the grave.
In addition, today everyone knows the saying “They don’t speak ill of the dead,” but not everyone knows where it came from. Let us note that this phrase entered the life of our ancestors many years ago, when it was still believed that the souls of the dead were invisibly present next to the living and could cruelly take revenge for all the words that offended them.
However, Russian people also had traditions that were not associated with the dead - we are talking, for example, about being the first to let a cat into the house during a housewarming party (an animal that, in fact, symbolizes a brownie). And besides, it was because of the brownie that it was not customary to say hello or goodbye through the threshold - they say, the power of this good spirit extends only to the living space, but behind the threshold completely different forces dominate, which can easily ruin your relationship with a person.
We still adhere to many ancient traditions today. For example, we hang a horseshoe over the threshold of a house, transferring it under the protection of Dazhbog the Sun. We cover mirrors if someone dies. We decorate our house with branches and leaves for Trinity, etc. And all this is evidence of our inextricable connection with our ancestors, our ability to appreciate our history and folklore.
This neutral word was used to describe sexual intercourse between father-in-law and daughter-in-law. Not that it was approved, but it was considered a very minor sin. Often fathers married their sons at 12-13 years old to girls 16-17 years old. In the meantime, the guys were catching up with their young wives in development, dad was working off conjugal duties for them. A completely win-win option was to send your son to work for six months, or even better, to the army for 20 years. Then the daughter-in-law, remaining in her husband’s family, had practically no chance of refusing her father-in-law. If she resisted, she did the hardest and dirtiest work and put up with the constant nagging of the “starshak” (as the head of the family was called). Nowadays law enforcement agencies would talk to the elder, but then there was nowhere to complain.
Sin of the dump
Nowadays this can only be seen in special films, mainly made in Germany. And before this was done in Russian villages on Ivan Kupala. This holiday combines pagan and Christian traditions. So, after dancing around the fire, the couples went to look for fern flowers in the forest. Just so you understand, fern does not bloom, it reproduces by spores. This is only an excuse for young people to go into the forest and indulge in carnal pleasures. Moreover, such connections did not oblige either boys or girls to anything.
Gasky
This custom, which can also be called a sin, is described by the Italian traveler Roccolini. All the youth of the village gathered in the big house. They sang and danced in the light of a torch. And when the torch went out, they indulged in blind lovemaking with the one who happened to be nearby. Then the torch was lit, and the fun and dancing continued again. And so on until dawn. On the night when Roccolini arrived on the Gaski, the torch went out and came on 5 times. Whether the traveler himself took part in the Russian folk ritual, history is silent.
Overbaking
This ritual has nothing to do with sex, you can relax. It was customary to “over-bake” a premature or weak child in an oven. Not into kebab, of course, but rather into bread. It was believed that if the baby was not “prepared” in the womb, then it was necessary to bake it yourself. To gain strength and get stronger. The baby was wrapped in a special rye dough prepared in water. Only the nostrils were left to breathe. They tied him to a bread shovel and, saying secret words, sent him into the oven for some time. Of course, the oven was not hot, but warm. No one was going to serve the child to the table. They tried to burn away diseases with this ritual. Whether this helped - history is silent.
Scaring pregnant women
Our ancestors treated childbirth with special trepidation. It was believed that at this moment the child passes from the world of the dead to the world of the living. The process itself is already difficult for a woman, and the midwives tried to make it completely unbearable. A specially trained grandmother positioned herself between the legs of the woman in labor and persuaded the pelvic bones to move apart. If this did not help, then they began to scare the expectant mother, rattled pots, and could fire a gun near her. They also loved to induce vomiting in women in labor. It was believed that when she vomits, the child goes more willingly. To do this, they shoved her own braid into her mouth or stuck her fingers into her mouth.
Salting
This wild ritual was used not only in some regions of Rus', but also in France, Armenia and other countries. It was believed that a newborn baby needed to gain strength from salt. This was apparently an alternative to overbaking. The child was coated with fine salt, including his ears and eyes. Probably to hear and see well after that. Then they wrapped them in rags and kept them there for a couple of hours, not paying attention to the inhuman screams.
Those who were richer literally buried the child in salt. Cases are described when, after such a health procedure, all the skin peeled off the baby. But that’s okay, but then he’ll be healthy.
Dead Man's Rite
This terrible ceremony is nothing more than a wedding. Those bride's outfits, which we now consider ceremonial, were called funeral by our ancestors. A white robe, a veil, which was used to cover the face of a dead man so that he would not accidentally open his eyes and look at someone alive. The entire ceremony of marriage was perceived as the new birth of a girl. And in order to be born, you must first die. A white doll was put on the young woman's head (a headdress like that of nuns). They were usually buried in it. This is where the custom of mourning the bride comes from, which is still practiced in some villages in the outback. But now they are crying that the girl is leaving home, but before they were crying about her “death.”
The ransom ritual also arose for a reason. By doing this, the groom tries to find the bride in the world of the dead and bring her into the world. Bridesmaids in this case were perceived as guardians of the afterlife. Therefore, if you are suddenly invited to bargain with the groom on the spit-stained stairs at the entrance, remember where this tradition comes from and do not agree.
The culture of the peoples of Russia is one of the most diverse in the world. More than 190 peoples live on its territory, each of which individually has its own unique culture, and the greater the number, the more noticeable the contribution of this people to the culture of the whole country.
The Russian population is the largest in Russia - it amounts to 111 million people. The top three most numerous nationalities are completed by Tatars and Ukrainians.
Russian culture
Russian culture has a huge historical and cultural heritage and dominates the state.
Orthodoxy is the most widespread religion among the Russian people, which had a huge influence on the development of the moral culture of the peoples of Russia.
The second largest religion, although incomparably inferior to Orthodoxy, is Protestantism.
Russian housing
A traditional Russian dwelling is considered to be a hut, built of logs, with a gable roof. The entrance was a porch; a stove and cellar were built in the house.
There are still many huts in Russia, for example, in the city of Vyatka, Arbazhsky district, Kirov region. There is an opportunity to visit the unique Museum of Russian Hut in the village of Kochemirovo, Kadomsky District, Ryazan Region, where you can see not only a real hut, but also household items, a stove, a loom and other elements of Russian culture.
Russian national costume
In general, men's folk costume consisted of a shirt with an embroidered collar, trousers, bast shoes or boots. The shirt was worn untucked and secured with a fabric belt. A caftan was worn as outerwear.
Women's folk costume consisted of a long embroidered shirt with long sleeves, a sundress or skirt with a frill, and a woolen skirt on top - a poneva. Married women wore a headdress called a warrior. The festive headdress was a kokoshnik.
In everyday life, Russian folk costumes are no longer worn. The best examples of this clothing can be seen in ethnographic museums, as well as at various dance competitions and festivals of Russian culture.
Traditional Russian cuisine
Russian cuisine is famous for its first courses - cabbage soup, solyanka, ukha, rassolnik, okroshka. Porridge was usually prepared as a second course. “Soup cabbage soup and porridge are our food,” they have long said.
Very often cottage cheese is used in dishes, especially when preparing pies, cheesecakes and cheesecakes.
It is popular to prepare various pickles and marinades.
You can try Russian dishes in numerous restaurants of Russian cuisine, which are found almost everywhere both in Russia and abroad.
Family traditions and spiritual values of the Russian people
Family has always been the main and unconditional value for a Russian person. Therefore, since ancient times it was important to remember one’s family. The connection with the ancestors was sacred. Children are often given names in honor of their grandparents, sons are named after their fathers - this is a way of showing respect to relatives.
Previously, the profession was often passed on from father to son, but now this tradition has almost died out.
An important tradition is the inheritance of things and family heirlooms. This is how things accompany a family from generation to generation and acquire their own history.
Both religious and secular holidays are celebrated.
The most widely celebrated public holiday in Russia is the New Year holiday. Many people also celebrate the Old New Year on January 14th.
The following holidays are also celebrated: Defender of the Fatherland Day, International Women's Day, Victory Day, Workers' Solidarity Day ("May" holidays on May 1-2), Constitution Day.
The largest Orthodox holidays are Easter and Christmas.
Not so massively, but the following Orthodox holidays are also celebrated: Epiphany, Transfiguration of the Lord (Apple Savior), Honey Savior, Trinity and others.
Russian folk culture and the Maslenitsa holiday, which lasts a whole week until Lent, are practically inseparable from each other. This holiday has its roots in paganism, but is now celebrated everywhere by Orthodox people. Maslenitsa also symbolizes farewell to winter. The calling card of the holiday table is pancakes.
Ukrainian culture
The number of Ukrainians in the Russian Federation is approximately 1 million 928 thousand people - this is the third largest number among the total population, and therefore Ukrainian culture is an important component of the culture of the peoples of Russia.
Traditional Ukrainian housing
Ukrainian hut is an important component of Ukrainian traditional culture. A typical Ukrainian house was wooden, small in size, with a hipped roof made of straw. The hut had to be whitewashed inside and out.
There are such huts in Russia, for example, in the Orenburg region, in the western and central regions of Ukraine, in Kazakhstan, but almost always the thatched roof is replaced with slate or covered with roofing felt.
Ukrainian folk costume
The men's suit consists of a linen shirt and trousers. The Ukrainian shirt is characterized by an embroidered slit in the front; they wear it tucked into their pants, belted with a sash.
The basis for a woman's outfit is a long shirt. The hem of the shirt and sleeves were always embroidered. On top they put on a corset, yupka or andarak.
The most famous element of traditional Ukrainian clothing is vyshyvanka - a men's or women's shirt, distinguished by complex and varied embroidery.
Ukrainian folk costumes are no longer worn, but they can be seen in museums and at festivals of Ukrainian folk culture. But embroidered shirts are still in use and are even gaining more and more popularity - Ukrainians of all ages love to wear them, both as a festive outfit and as an element of their everyday wardrobe.
The most famous Ukrainian dish is red borscht made from beets and cabbage.
The most popular product in Ukrainian cooking is lard - it is used to prepare many dishes, eaten separately, salted, fried and smoked.
Wheat flour products are widely used. National dishes include dumplings, dumplings, verguns, and lemishki.
Ukrainian cuisine is loved and popular not only among Ukrainians, but also among many other residents of Russia - it is not difficult to find a restaurant serving Ukrainian cuisine in large cities.
The family values of Ukrainians and Russians are largely identical. The same applies to religion - Orthodox Christianity occupies a large part among the religions of Ukrainians living in Russia; Traditional holidays are almost no different.
Tatar culture
Representatives of the Tatar ethnic group in Russia number approximately 5 million 310 thousand people - this is 3.72% of the total population of the country.
Tatar religion
The main religion of the Tatars is Sunni Islam. At the same time, there is a small part of the Kryashen Tatars, whose religion is Orthodoxy.
Tatar mosques can be seen in many cities of Russia, for example, the Moscow Historical Mosque, the St. Petersburg Cathedral Mosque, the Perm Cathedral Mosque, the Izhevsk Cathedral Mosque and others.
Traditional Tatar housing
Tatar housing was a four-walled log house, fenced on the front side and set back from the street, with a vestibule. Inside, the room was divided into women's and men's parts, the women's part was also a kitchen. Houses were decorated with bright paintings, especially the gates.
In Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan, many such estates remain, not only as architectural monuments, but also as residential buildings.
The costume may differ depending on the subgroup of the Tatars, but the clothing of the Volga Tatars had a great influence on the uniform image of the national costume. It consists of a shirt-dress and trousers, for both women and men, and a robe was often used as outerwear. The headdress for men was a skullcap, for women - a velvet cap.
Such costumes are no longer worn in their original form, but some elements of clothing are still in use, for example, scarves and ichigs. You can see traditional clothing in ethnographic museums and thematic exhibitions.
Traditional Tatar cuisine
A distinctive feature of this cuisine is that its development was influenced not only by Tatar ethnic traditions. From different cultures, Tatar cuisine has absorbed bal-mai, dumplings, pilaf, baklava, tea and other various dishes.
Tatar cuisine boasts a variety of flour products, among them: echpochmak, kystyby, kabartma, sansa, kyimak.
Milk is often consumed, but most often in processed form - cottage cheese, katyk, sour cream, syuzme, eremchek.
A lot of restaurants throughout Russia offer a menu of Tatar cuisine, and the best choice, of course, is in the capital of Tatarstan - Kazan.
Family traditions and spiritual values of the Tatars
Creating a family has always been the highest value among the Tatar people. Marriage is considered a sacred duty.
The moral and spiritual culture of the peoples of Russia is in one way or another connected with religious culture, and the peculiarities of Muslim marriage lie in the fact that it is inextricably linked with the religious culture of Muslims. For example, the Koran prohibits marrying an atheist or agnostic woman; Marriage with a representative of another religion is not very much approved.
Nowadays Tatars meet and marry mostly without family intervention, but previously the most common marriage was through matchmaking - the groom’s relatives went to the bride’s parents and proposed.
The Tatar family is a family of the patriarchal type; a married woman was completely under the power of her husband and supported by him. The number of children in a family sometimes exceeded six. The spouses lived with the husband's parents; living with the bride's parents was shameful.
Unquestioning obedience and respect for elders is another important feature of the Tatar mentality.
Tatar holidays
The Tatar culture of celebration includes Islamic, original Tatar, and all-Russian public holidays.
Major religious holidays are considered to be Eid al-Fitr - the holiday of breaking the fast, in honor of the end of the month of fasting - Ramadan, and Kurban Bayram - the holiday of sacrifice.
Until now, the Tatars celebrate both kargatuy, or karga butkasy - a folk holiday of spring, and sabantuy - a holiday marking the completion of spring agricultural work.
The culture of each people of Russia is unique, and together they represent an amazing puzzle, which will be incomplete if any part is removed. Our task is to know and appreciate this cultural heritage.
