Winter holidays: from origins to modern times. Main Russian folk holidays Message about any winter holiday

Christmas time:

Christmas time is the two weeks of winter holidays between Christmas and Epiphany, from December 25/January 7 to January 6/19 of the following year. Originally, Christmastide was a pagan holiday. After all, before the adoption of Christianity in Rus', Christmastide was a festival in honor of the supreme god of heaven, Belbog. He was also called Svyatovit, hence the name “Svyatki”. Christmastide in ancient times was not a fun activity like it is now. Christmas rituals at that time were not only fortune-telling about the future, but also spells for the whole year. Our ancestors believed in the magical power of rituals and believed that the harvest, success in hunting, the well-being of the next year, and therefore the lives of people depended on the correctness of their implementation.

With the adoption of Christianity, Christmastide did not disappear, but “adapted” to the church calendar. They took place between the holidays of Christmas and Epiphany, but the pagan nature was preserved in various rituals, fortune telling, and signs.

“Once upon a time, Kolyada was not perceived as a mummer. Kolyada was a deity, and one of the most influential. They called carols and called. The days before the New Year were dedicated to Kolyada, and games were organized in her honor. It is believed that Kolyada was recognized by the Slavs as the deity of fun, which is why they called him and called him on New Year’s festivities Strizhev A. Folk calendar - M.: Nauka, 1993 - p. 75".

The celebration of Kolyada, with its joy and optimism, expressed the faith of ancient Russian pagans in the inevitability of the victory of good principles over the forces of evil. To help Kolyada ward off evil spirits, those celebrating his day burned bonfires. They sang and danced around them. After the adoption of Christianity, the optimism and life-affirmation of the Kolyada celebrations received new content in the celebration of the Nativity of Christ, and ritual pagan customs turned into a fun game at Christmastide. These days, just like in ancient times, bonfires were lit, boys and girls, and sometimes young married men and married women, acted as carolers. To do this, they gathered in a small group and walked around peasant houses. This group was led by a fur-bearer with a large bag.

Carolers went around the houses of peasants, calling themselves “difficult guests”, bringing the owner of the house the good news that Jesus Christ was born. They called on the owner to greet them with dignity and allow them to call Kolyada under the window, i.e. sing special benevolent songs called carols.

After singing the songs, they asked the owners for a reward. In rare cases, when the owners refused to listen to the carolers, they reproached them for greed. In general, they took the arrival of the carolers very seriously, gladly accepted all the dignifications and wishes, and tried to give them gifts as generously as possible.

“Difficult guests” put the gifts in a bag and went to the next house. In large villages and hamlets, 5-10 groups of carolers came to each house. Caroling was known throughout Russia, but was distinguished by its local originality. Thus, in the central zone of European Russia, as well as in the Volga region, the songs of carolers were addressed to all family members and were accompanied by exclamations of “Osen, Tausen, Usen” or “Kolyada”, which gave the name to the ritual itself - “Click Osen”, “Click Kolyada”.

In different parts of Russia, caroling took place in different ways. So. For example, in the northern provinces of European Russia, caroling took on a slightly different form. Here carol songs were aimed at glorifying each family member living in the house. The carolers began with songs under the window, and the ritual itself ended in the hut with a traditional request for alms.

As a result, the ritual of caroling consisted of a kind of exchange of gifts, gift for gift. The carolers “gave” prosperity to the peasant house for the whole year, and the owners gave them kozulki, as well as pies, cheesecakes, beer, and money. It is worth saying that in many areas of Russia, bread products were considered the main gift. On the eve of Christmas, kozulki were baked especially for distribution to carolers. Carol songs have always been varied. And this diversity depended on in which region, in which region the caroling took place.

The rite of caroling is considered an ancient rite, which was known not only to the Russians, but also to other Slavic peoples. For the ancient Slavs, the arrival of carolers was perceived as a return from another world of deceased ancestors to the homes of their descendants. Therefore, gifting them served as something of a sacrifice in the hope of help and protection in the coming year.

b) Glorification of our kings. Although in Russia there was no Western holiday, the journey of the three kings, but since the time of Alexei Mikhailovich, it was introduced for sovereigns to go to praise even their subjects on Christmastide. The glorification began at noon of the holiday as follows: Russian common holidays. M., 1837, p. 56.. The procession is preceded by two officials with drums in their hands and striking them with sticks wrapped in cloth. The king follows them with all the clergy and a crowd of princes and boyars. They ride on a sleigh and visit the noblest nobles of the court.

Upon entering someone’s house, they sing: “We praise you to God” and congratulate you on the New Year. Then the owner brings the king a gift of money and treats him and his retinue. After the treat, they go to another nobleman. Those who shied away from glorification were punished with a whip and batogs. Under Empress Elizabeth Petrovna in Rus', on the Nativity of Christ, court singers were given a dacha (salary) under the title of glorified.

c) New Year. In ancient times, the New Year was most often associated with spring - the beginning of the rebirth of nature. In Rus', since the introduction of Christianity, the New Year was celebrated on March 1. In 1343, the Moscow Council decided to count the new year, according to the Greek church calendar, from September 1, but the custom of celebrating the New Year in the spring turned out to be so tenacious that the calculation from March continued for about 150 years, and only in 1492 at the Moscow Council it was finally decided to count year from September 1st. This resolution of the council was approved by Grand Duke Ivan III Vasilyevich, and everyone had to comply with it. Celebrating the New Year in September continued for more than two hundred years, the last time in 1698.

The very next year, Peter I, returning from his first trip to Europe, began to break old customs. It began with the tsar’s categorical prohibition to celebrate September 1st in a festive way, even at home. Night watchmen with large sticks in their hands, seeing the light between the cracks of the shutters, strictly ordered to “put out the lights.” And only on December 15, a drumbeat was heard across Moscow - a sign that an important royal decree was about to be announced.

And indeed, on a high platform on Red Square, the clerk loudly read the decree “On the celebration of the New Year”, that the “great sovereign” ordered “from now on, summers should be counted in orders and written in all affairs and fortresses” not in the old way from September 1 , and from January 1.

The change in chronology was called “a good and useful deed,” and it was further reported that “as a sign of a good beginning and a new centenary century,” it should be celebrated in Moscow on January 1, 1700 as follows: “On large thoroughfares and noble streets and at houses of deliberate spiritual and worldly in front of the gates, make some decorations from trees and branches of pine, spruce, juniper, fire small cannons and rifles, launch rockets, as many as you can, and light fires. And for poor people, each one should at least place a tree or a branch on his gate or over his temple.” At the end of the decree it was said: “And so that the future general is ready by the 1st of 1700. And that decoration will stand until the 7th of the same year. Yes, on the 1st day of January, as a sign of joy, congratulate each other on the new year and the centenary, and do this when the fiery fun begins on Big Red Square and there is shooting.”

The implementation of this decree was strictly monitored. Peter I himself began the celebration on Red Square by firing the first rocket. The next day, the king received congratulations on the New Year and arranged a magnificent feast in the palace. It is curious that the decree did not provide for the presentation of gifts on New Year's Day, although this tradition, of course, had long-standing, deep roots.

Baptism:

Epiphany is a major Christian holiday, commemorating the day when Jesus Christ was declared by a voice from heaven (Epiphany) to be the Savior, the Messiah and was baptized in the waters of the Jordan by John the Baptist. Christmastide ends with the feast of Epiphany. The holiday began on the evening of January 18, when all Orthodox Christians celebrated Epiphany Eve.

Epiphany Christmas Eve is a strict fast, preparation before the great Orthodox holiday called the Epiphany of the Lord. On the day of Epiphany, the blessing of water is held. It is believed that consecrated water does not spoil throughout the year and has healing and miraculous properties.

Our pagan ancestors worshiped the elements. And if at Christmas they worshiped all-destroying fire, then Baptism was dedicated to water - the eternal nurse and benefactor. The veneration of water was connected with the memory of the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Palestinian River Jordan. The feast of the Epiphany is called water crossings, water baptisms. Despite the severe frosts at that time, brave people swam in the ice hole to wash away their sins.

The people still retain the belief that on the night of Epiphany, before the dawn, the sky opens and requires a special rise in a prayerful mood. To drive out damage, the evil eye and all other demonic presences during the hours of Epiphany Christmas Eve, it was customary to put crosses with chalk on the doors and windows of houses and outbuildings.

On Epiphany Christmas Eve, the girls baked pies and went out with them into the frosty night to call for their betrothed.

Maslenitsa:

Russian people celebrated Maslenitsa even when there was no Christianity in Rus'. The holiday marked the farewell of winter and the welcome of spring and was associated with the name of the god of fertility and cattle breeding Veles. After the baptism of Rus', it became customary to celebrate Maslenitsa seven weeks before Easter, followed by Lent. And during Maslenitsa itself, which lasts seven days, people do not eat meat. They eat it for the last time on the last Sunday - Meat Sunday - before the national holiday. And since Maslenitsa crowns spring, the warmth of the sun, we couldn’t do without pancakes, which the ancients considered a symbol of the sun - just as round, yellow and always hot.

It was necessary to wrap at least 10 pancakes, or rather, one and a half to two elbows - this is the equivalent that pancakes were measured in the old days. After the pancakes, the fun began: skiing from the mountains, fist fights, songs and dances. Not going down the slides, not swinging on the swings, not laughing at the jesters in those days meant living in trouble.

As you know, Maslenitsa lasts seven days. Each day of this week has its own name and is given meaning.

Monday - Meeting. Slides, swings, booths for buffoons were set up, and tables with food were set up. Moreover, on the first day only children skied from the mountains. In the morning, the children made a doll from straw and dressed it up. On the same day, children walked from house to house singing, thereby asking the residents for a gift.

Tuesday - Flirting. The second day was spent having fun with young couples who had sealed their relationship by marriage a week or two weeks ago. Now the time has come for the newlyweds to ride from the mountains. Those couples whose whole village was partying at their wedding were simply obliged to slide down the mountain. Driving down the mountains served as a kind of sign. The further you roll, the more flax you will grow. The unmarried had their own fate: young people looked for brides for themselves, and girls looked at their betrotheds. It was not without fortune-telling. For example, a girl had to take one of the first pancakes, go out and treat it to the first guy she met and ask his name in order to find out the name of her betrothed.

Wednesday - Gourmets. On this day, mothers-in-law invited their sons-in-law for pancakes. Hence the expression “to your mother-in-law for pancakes.” The newlyweds dressed as if for a wedding. On Wednesday, unmarried guys and simple girls rode the hill, and the whole village was on the lips of jokes about the guys who didn’t manage to get a wife this year.

Thursday - Take a walk. On Thursday, a lot of people gathered, fist fights took place, and snowy towns were captured. People dressed up in costumes. And finally, the effigy of Maslenitsa was raised up the mountain.

Friday - Mother-in-law's evening. In the evening, the son-in-law had to invite his mother-in-law to his place. In response, his mother-in-law sent him everything that pancakes were made from and with. And her son-in-law had to bake pancakes for her.

Saturday - Sister-in-law's gatherings or Farewell. On the sixth day, the daughter-in-law invited her relatives to her place. On the same day, the dressed straw effigy of Maslenitsa was carried to the end of the village and there, on a large bonfire, it was burned. They sang and danced around the fire.

Sunday - Forgiveness Sunday. Everyone was preparing for Lent, so they sought to be cleansed of sins and asked each other for forgiveness and heard in response: “God will forgive, and I forgive.” People went to cemeteries and left pancakes on the graves. It was believed that the very first pancake on Maslenitsa is “for the repose of parental souls.”

In this last winter holiday, ending winter, we see a mixture of pagan and Christian elements, the customs of the old and the new. So, for example, the personification of Maslenitsa in the form of a man, a straw effigy or a wooden idol, buffoon games, burning scarecrows, throwing them into water belong to pagan rituals. Meanwhile, saying goodbye to people on the eve of Lent, going to the cemetery to say goodbye to the dead belongs to the new rites of a peace-loving Christian. However, burning effigies and throwing them into water is also attributed to the beginning of Christianity, as a remembrance of the eternal triumph of Christianity over paganism.

The twelfth holiday of the Orthodox calendar, celebrated on the fiftieth day after Easter, on the tenth day of the Ascension. Other names for the Trinity are the day of the Holy Trinity, Pentecost, the day of the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles. On this day, the Orthodox Church remembers the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and honors the Holy Trinity. The event described in the New Testament book “The Acts of the Holy Apostles” has a direct connection with the doctrine of the Trinity - one of the main tenets of the Christian faith. According to this teaching, God exists in three unmerged and inseparable persons: the Father - the beginningless principle, the Son - the logos and the Holy Spirit - the life-giving principle.

Holy Week

spring

The seventh and last week before Easter, lasting 6 days, starting on Monday and ending on Saturday before Easter Sunday. The meaning of the holiday is preparation for Easter. Traditions during the holiday: cleaning the house, obligatory bathing, remembering ancestors, setting up a swing, painting eggs, baking Easter cakes. According to popular beliefs, colored eggs have magical powers; for example, if you put the shell on a fire, the smoke from this egg can heal a person from night blindness; they also believe that such an egg can heal a bad tooth. Signs for this holiday: if you heat a stove with aspen wood on Maundy Thursday, then sorcerers will come to ask for ash; parsley sown on Good Friday gives a double harvest.

Popular name for the holiday Transfiguration of the Lord among the Eastern Slavs, celebrated on August 19, and even before this holiday it is forbidden to eat apples and various dishes made from apples, but on the holiday it is necessary to do the opposite - pick as many apples as possible and consecrate them. The purpose of the holiday is the blessing of apples, seeing off the sun at sunset with songs. Apple Spa has another name - the first autumn, that is, the meeting of autumn. According to tradition, you first treat all your relatives and friends with apples, then orphans and the poor, as a remembrance of your ancestors who have fallen asleep in eternal sleep, and only then eat the apples yourself. In the evening, after the holiday, everyone went out onto the field to celebrate the sunset together with songs, and with it the summer.

Christmastide

winter

Slavic folk holiday complex, celebrated from January 6 to January 19. Christmas time is oversaturated with various magical rituals, fortune telling, signs, customs and prohibitions. The purpose of the holiday: folk festivities, caroling, sowing, mummering, erotic games, ritual outrages of youth, fortune telling for the betrothed, visiting, rituals for well-being and fertility. Holiday sayings: on Christmastide, wolves get married, from Christmas to Epiphany it is a sin to hunt animals and birds - misfortune will happen to the hunter. According to popular beliefs, the presence of spirits among living people, invisible to the ordinary eye, made it possible to look into one’s future, which explains the numerous forms of Christmas fortune-telling.

Epiphany Christmas Eve

spring

This holiday of the Orthodox Church is one of the twelve. On this day, the baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist (Baptist) in the Jordan River is remembered and the Great Blessing of Water is performed. It is also a preparation evening before a major Orthodox holiday called Epiphany or Epiphany. Epiphany water is tasted on an empty stomach, a spoonful at a time, a little at a time. Orthodox Christians keep it in the Red Corner, next to the icons. In addition, a drop of shrine sanctifies the sea. You can take ordinary, unconsecrated water and add a drop of Epiphany water to it, and it will all be sanctified.

People's Orthodox holiday, celebrated on July 8. Holiday traditions: swim without looking back, because... It was believed that on this day the last mermaids leave the shores into the depths of the reservoirs and fall asleep. After the Kupala games, betrothed couples were determined, and this day patronized family and love, in addition, in the old days, weddings were held from this day until Peter the Great. The first mowing is the day of all evil spirits such as witches, mermaids, werewolves and many others. Celebrated on July 8 (June 25, old style). Peter and Fevronia are Orthodox patrons of family and marriage. According to the calendar of East Slavic folk holidays, which correlates with the Orthodox calendar, this is the day of the first mowing. It was believed that on this day the last mermaids leave the shores into the depths of the reservoirs, so it was already safe to swim. In the Russian Federation, since 2008, July 8 is celebrated as the Day of Family, Love and Fidelity. Sayings: there are forty hot days ahead, after Ivan there is no need for zhupan, if it rains on this day, there will be a good harvest of honey, pigs and mice eat hay - to bad mowing.

A traditional holiday among the Eastern and Southern Slavs, celebrated on August 2. The traditions of the holiday include: collective meals, slaughter of a bull or ram. The holiday has pagan roots, since at first it was the holiday of the thunder god Perun, but with the adoption of Christianity among the Slavs, instead of the image of Perun, the image of Elijah the prophet arose, which is where the name of the holiday actually comes from. Sayings at the holiday: Ilya keeps thunderstorms, Ilya holds and brings down rain with a word, Ilya gives bread, not swords against Ilya, but he burns heaps with heavenly fire. From Ilya's day, according to folk legends, bad weather began, and it was also forbidden to swim.

Palm Week

spring

Passion Week. The main folk rituals of the week are associated with willow and fall on Saturday and Sunday. There is a legend associated with this week, which says that the willow was once a woman, and she had so many children that the woman argued with Mother Earth herself that she was more fertile than the Earth. Mother Earth got angry and turned the woman into a willow. There is a belief on this holiday that a consecrated willow can stop a summer thunderstorm, and thrown into a flame can help in a fire. Holiday traditions: blessing of the willow, beating with willow branches, calls for spring.

A traditional holiday of pagan origin among the Slavic peoples, associated with the winter solstice. Celebration date - on the night from January 6 to January 7. The meaning of the holiday is the turning of the sun from winter to summer. Celebration - caroling, mummering, Christmas games, fortune telling, family meals. According to popular belief, Mother Earth could only open up because of a lie, a false oath, or perjury.

Maslenitsa

spring

Slavic traditional holiday celebrated during the week before Lent. The purpose of the holiday is to say goodbye to winter. Traditions: baking pancakes, visiting, having feasts, sledding and sledding, dressing up, burning or burying an effigy of Maslenitsa. Celebrated from Meat Saturday to Forgiveness Sunday. The fertility of people in the popular consciousness was inextricably linked with the fertility of the land and the fertility of livestock; the third side of Maslenitsa - the funeral - is connected with the stimulation of fertility.

Easter

spring

The oldest Christian holiday, the main holiday of the liturgical year. Established in honor of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon, which occurs no earlier than the conventional day vernal equinox March 21. Traditions: blessing of colored eggs and Easter cakes, welcome kissing. Most Easter traditions originate in worship. The scope of Easter folk festivities is associated with breaking the fast after Great Lent, a time of abstinence, when all holidays, including family ones, were transferred to the celebration of Easter. At the end of the 19th century, it became a tradition in Russia to send Easter open letters with colorful drawings to those relatives and friends with whom you cannot share Christ on Easter as the main holiday.

Holiday of the Eastern Slavs, which starts September 14. The essence of the holiday is a celebration of the approach of autumn: the day before summer ended and the new year began. On this day, rituals are performed: housewarming, sitting, lighting a fire, tonsure ceremony, funeral of flies, the legend of sparrows. Semyonov's day is considered happy, so it is advised to celebrate housewarming. Signs: Semyon sees off summer, brings on Indian summer; on Semyon - the last thunderstorm; On Semyon, the grain crops were not harvested - they were considered lost; if geese fly away on Semyon-day, wait for early winter.

Clean Monday

spring

The first day of Fedorov's Week and Lent. On this day, everyone forgives each other and begins the day with a clear conscience and a pure soul. This is a day of very strict fasting as well as on subsequent days. The name of the holiday comes from the desire to spend the first day of Lent clean. On this holiday, during the first Lenten Great Compline, they begin to read the Great Penitential Canon of St. Andrew of Crete and other prayers of repentance. At the end of the 19th century, most of the oil revelers, despite strict fasting, “rinsed their mouths” or got drunk on this day. Since this is a day of fasting, all that can be eaten or drunk on this day is: some black bread with salt and water or unsweetened tea. The prayer of Ephraim the Syrian “Lord and Master of my life” will continue to be offered on all days of Great Lent.

One of the holidays of the Eastern Slavs, celebrated on October 14. The meaning of the holiday is the final onset of autumn; on this day the meeting of Autumn and Winter used to be celebrated. People say that from Pokrov, goblin stop wandering through the forests (they are also called forest masters). On the eve of this holiday, young village girls burn their old straw beds, and old women burn their old bast shoes, worn out throughout the summer. Russian people, celebrating days dedicated to the Mother of God, expected help from Her.

Orthodox holiday, celebrated on August 14. The essence of the holiday is the small blessing of water. The traditions of the holiday are the beginning of the collection of honey, its consecration and the “widow's help” meal. The holiday is celebrated in honor of the Origin of the trees of the Holy Cross at the end of the 14th century. The meaning of the holiday is the first day of the Dormition Lent. The honey savior is also called the “Savior on the Water”, this is because of the small consecration of water. According to tradition, it was on this day in Rus' that new wells were blessed and old ones were cleaned. This holiday is called “Honey Spas” because on this day the beehives are usually filled to capacity and beekeepers go to collect the honey harvest.

Summer holiday of pagan origin, celebrated from July 6 to 7. The holiday is associated with the summer solstice. Traditions: burning fires and jumping over them, dancing in circles, weaving wreaths, collecting herbs. The holiday begins the evening before. The name of the holiday comes from the name of John the Baptist (the epithet of John is translated as “bather, immerser”). The main feature of Ivan Kupala is the cleansing bonfires; in order to be cleansed of the evil spirits inside a person, he would have to jump over these bonfires.

Red hill

spring

Spring holiday among the Eastern Slavs, which celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Celebrations on this day include: spring maiden round dances, a meal with scrambled eggs, and youth games. The Red Hill symbolizes the full arrival of spring; this is the holiday that celebrates this time of year. In addition to the fact that Red Hill symbolizes the arrival of spring, the holiday also symbolizes the meeting of boys and girls, because spring is the beginning of a new life for all nature. At the Krasnaya Gorka holiday there is one proverb that says: “Whoever gets married on Krasnaya Gorka will never get divorced.”

The history of most Russian folk holidays is very complex; they originated in ancient times, when the Slavs knew nothing about writing or even Christianity. After baptism, some of them were banned, while others were transformed and were not persecuted. For example, Komoeditsa becomes, and the holiday of the Sun turned into Kupala. Orthodoxy greatly changed the life of Russian people, but he tried to adapt to the changes in his own way, which led to the emergence of new signs, spells, songs, and fortune telling. Purely Christian Russian holidays began to acquire folk customs, in many ways similar to pagan rituals.

Main Russian folk holidays and traditions

With the onset of cold weather, commoners could relax, there was an opportunity to calmly play weddings, organize mass celebrations, and go on visits. Maybe that’s why there are so many winter Russian folk holidays. The most real cheerful Slavic complex is, which is celebrated from January 6 to January 19. Over the course of two weeks, large-scale games take place, with caroling, sowing, and visiting. There are many rituals that have nothing to do with Christianity, such as fortune telling or rituals that are supposed to increase fertility.

Epiphany Christmas Eve precedes the festival of Epiphany (18.01) and is also called Hungry Kutya. The strictest fast was observed; one should abstain from food until the first star appeared. At the evening service, people bless water and then, with the help of ears of corn, consecrate their home, barn, and all corners of the estate with it, so that the family avoids illness and prosperity comes to the house.

Many Russian folk spring holidays are directly related to Easter. Preparations for the Resurrection of Christ took place during Holy Week. The house had to be cleaned, people had to bathe, paint eggs and bake Easter cakes, and dead relatives had to be remembered. Easter itself turned into an event of enormous significance for the people. Near the church, Easter cakes, eggs, and various dishes were blessed; people were allowed to break their fast and take a walk after the strictest fast. It was imperative to christen yourself when meeting and congratulate distant relatives with postcards and letters.

Summer Russian folk holidays are no less revered. Trinity celebrated in June on the 50th day after the Resurrection of Christ. The seventh week had its own mystical meaning and was also called “Russian week”. Its other popular name is Green Christmastide. Girls were supposed to weave wreaths and wish fortune on Trinity Day; if they swam well, then they could expect a quick marriage. Bouquets and branches were blessed in churches, and then houses were decorated with greenery. Later they were not thrown away, but dried and stored as strong amulets.

It was considered a pleasant and expected event Honey Spas(14.08) from which the collection of the sweet product began. According to tradition, on this day it was recommended to bless wells and clean old springs. For Orthodox Christians, this event is the beginning of the Dormition Lent.

Now Elijah's day(2.08) is dedicated to a Christian prophet, but some original folk traditions testify about the deep Slavic roots of the holiday. In fact, for the ancestors, this saint replaced the formidable Perun. It is not for nothing that there is still a belief that Ilya controls thunderstorms and rain. After this holiday, it was not recommended to swim in the river.

On Apple Spas(19.08) the blessing of apples was carried out and it was allowed to eat them; before this day, people were forbidden to eat sweet fruits. It was best to first treat the poor and orphans with apples, thus remembering their ancestors, and only then treat themselves. In fact, this Russian folk holiday meant welcoming autumn. Before sunset on Yablochny Spas, people went out into nature with a song to see off the sun and the passing warm summer.

Without holidays, life is boring and monotonous. Holidays are created so that we can feel the fullness of life, have fun and take a break from routine worries. Winter would be especially dreary without the holidays - because of the frost and darkness you won’t be able to get out much in the evenings, and you’re already tired of TV! That’s why there are so many happy holidays in winter: New Year, Christmas and Epiphany.

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

The most beloved and long-awaited winter holiday for everyone has been and will be the New Year. Children are eagerly counting down the days until New Year's Eve in the hope of receiving gifts, and adults are rushing to get rid of the burden of problems that have accumulated over the past year. Celebrating the New Year on the night of December 31, many of us don’t even think that this wonderful holiday has been postponed several times. But in pagan times, the onset of the New Year was symbolically associated with the spring equinox and the old year was celebrated on March 22. Since 998, the year began on March 1, and this was due to the introduction of a new chronology (in connection with the Baptism of Rus') and the adoption of the Julian calendar. Over time, the New Year began to be celebrated on September 1. The idea was that by September the harvest had been harvested, which meant that the results of the past year could be summed up. In 1699, Peter I approved a new date - January 1 and founded the tradition of awaiting the arrival of the New Year noisily and cheerfully.

Traditions of the festive feast for the New Year

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

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

The obligatory guests of New Year's Eve should be Father Frost and Snow Maiden. By the way, it is advisable to place symbolic images of these fairy-tale characters under the Christmas tree.

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

On New Year's Eve, it is customary to celebrate dressing up or putting on masquerade masks. To avoid getting bored, you can come up with fun competitions and games at the New Year's table.

The New Year comes into law at midnight on December 31st with the deafening chimes. In the last moments of the outgoing year, it is customary to accept congratulations from the current president. And while the glasses of champagne are clinking, you need to try to make a wish - if you have time, then it will definitely come true.

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

A little about Christmas celebrations

While the New Year is a magnificent and noisy holiday, which does not provide for absolutely no restrictions on food or games, it is a quiet and modest holiday. On Christmas Eve, that is. On January 6, the fast ends, and the meal begins no earlier than the rising of the first star. For the meal on Holy Evening, you need to prepare 12 dishes, necessarily lenten, and, of course, kutya. Kutya was always cooked from wheat, rice, barley or peas and seasoned with sweet uzvar with honey, dried fruits, poppy seeds, etc.

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

It is very difficult for modern people to observe the age-old traditions of organizing this particular holiday. Constant employment, stress and haste do not allow us to allocate enough time to prepare the required 12 dishes or the same kutia. However, holidays are precisely designed to stop your running for a moment, give your loved ones your love and feel involved in the traditions of your people.

Celebrating the Epiphany of the Lord

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

Purification of the soul occurs through swimming in a winter ice hole. First, a service dedicated to the Baptism of Christ is held in the church, and then all the priests and people who come to the church make a religious procession to a nearby reservoir. A hole is cut and the priest blesses the water according to all church canons. After consecration, the water becomes healing and plunging into ice water three times helps cleanse the soul and heal from illnesses. It is recommended to collect holy water and sprinkle it around the house, give it as medicine to sick people, or use it as a remedy for various love spells, the evil eye, etc.

On Epiphany Eve it is customary to cook lean porridge and vegetables for dinner. The evening before Epiphany has long been famous for folk festivities, fortune telling and other sacraments. For example, on Epiphany it was customary to choose a bride, baptize children and enter into marriages.

Epiphany ends the cycle of winter holidays, and winter begins to gradually lose ground. Despite the fact that the Epiphany frosts are the most severe, the people knew that winter was finally falling.

For our ancestors, who lived in ancient times in Rus', holidays were an important part of both family and social life. For many centuries, the Russian people honored and sacredly preserved their traditions, passed on from father to son in every generation.

The daily life of an ordinary Russian person in those days was difficult and dedicated to the hard work of obtaining his daily bread, so holidays were a special event for him, a kind of sacred day, when the life of the entire community merged with their sacred values, the spirits of their ancestors and their covenants.

Traditional Russian holidays included a complete ban on any daily activity (mowing, plowing, chopping wood, sewing, weaving, cleaning, etc.). During the holiday, all people had to dress in festive clothes, rejoice and have fun, conduct only joyful, pleasant conversations; failure to comply with these rules was subject to a fine or even punishment in the form of lashing.

Each season played its own specific role in the life of a Russian person. The winter period, free from work on the land, was especially famous for its festivities, noisy fun and games.

The main Russian holidays in Rus':

Winter

On January 7 (December 25), the Russian Orthodox people celebrated Christmas. This holiday, dedicated to the birth of God's son Jesus Christ in Bethlehem, ends the Nativity fast, which lasts for 40 days. In anticipation of it, people prepared to come to him with clean souls and bodies: they washed and cleaned their homes, went to the bathhouse, put on clean holiday clothes, helped the poor and needy, and distributed alms. On January 6, on Christmas Eve, the whole family gathered at a large festive table, where the obligatory first course was the ritual porridge kutya or sochivo. They started dinner after the first star appeared, eating silently and solemnly. After Christmas came the so-called holy days, which lasted until Epiphany, during which it was customary to go from house to house and glorify Jesus Christ with prayers and chants.

Christmastide (Holiday week)

Holidays among the ancient Slavs, and then turned into church celebrations, the days of Christmastide, begin from the first star on Christmas Eve until the holiday of Epiphany, the blessing of water (“from the star to the water”). The first week of Christmastide is called Christmastide Week, associated with Slavic mythology associated with the turn of winter to summer, there is more sun, less darkness. During this week, in the evenings, called holy evenings, holiness was often violated by mythological rituals of fortune-telling, which was not welcomed by the church, and during the day, magicians dressed in clothes with flags and musical instruments walked the streets, entered houses and amused the people.

On January 19, Orthodox Epiphany was celebrated, dedicated to the sacrament of the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan River. On this day, the Great Blessing of Water was performed in all churches and temples; all water in reservoirs and wells was considered holy and had unique healing properties. Our ancestors believed that holy water could not spoil and kept it in the red corner under the icons, and believed that this was the best cure for all ailments, both physical and spiritual. On rivers, lakes and other bodies of water, they made a special ice hole in the shape of a cross called a Jordan, swimming in which was considered a godly and healing activity that relieved illnesses and all sorts of misfortunes for the whole year.

At the very end of winter, when, according to the beliefs of our ancestors, the Red Spring, with the help of warmth and light, drove away the cold and cold, the Maslenitsa holiday began, known for its free joy, which lasted for a whole week on the eve of Lent. At this time, it was customary to bake pancakes, which were considered a symbol of the sun, go to visit each other, have fun and dress up, sled down the hills, and on the final Forgiveness Sunday, burn and bury a scarecrow symbol of the defeated winter.

Spring

On this feast of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, although in Orthodoxy there is no forefeast, since Holy Week begins next, believers bring willow branches to the church (in the Slavic they replaced palm branches), which are sprinkled with holy water at Matins after the all-night vigil. Then the Orthodox decorate icons in their homes with consecrated willow trees.

Holy Easter was considered the greatest holiday of all Christian people in Rus'; on this day the resurrection of Jesus Christ and his transition from death on Earth to life in heaven was revered. People cleaned and decorated their houses, put on festive clothes, made sure to attend Easter services in churches and temples, went to visit each other, treating each other to Easter colored eggs and Easter cakes after Lent. When meeting people they said “Christ is Risen!”, in response they should say “Truly He is Risen!” and kiss three times.

The first Sunday after Easter was called Krasnaya Gorka or Fomin's Day (on behalf of the Apostle Thomas, who did not believe in the resurrection of Christ), it was a symbol of the arrival of spring and the long-awaited warmth. On this holiday, folk festivities began at night and lasted the whole day, young people danced in circles, rode on swings, young guys met and got to know girls. Festive tables were set with abundant food: fried eggs, loaves in the shape of the sun.

Summer

One of the most significant holidays of the summer was Ivan Kupala or Midsummer's Day, named after John the Baptist and celebrated on the day from July 6 to 7, the summer solstice. This holiday has ethnic origins and deep pagan roots. On this day, people burn large bonfires, jump over them, symbolizing the cleansing of the body and spirit from sinful thoughts and actions, dance in circles, weave beautiful wreaths of flowers and meadow herbs, set them adrift and tell fortunes about their betrothed.

One of the national holidays revered since ancient times, which is associated with many beliefs, signs and prohibitions. On the eve of the holiday, ritual cookies were baked on Thursday and Friday and field work was stopped. And on Elijah’s day itself it was strictly forbidden to carry out any household work; it was believed that it would not bring results. A “brotherhood” was held, all residents of nearby villages were invited to a common meal, and after the refreshments they ended with folk festivities with songs and dances. And most importantly, Ilya’s day is considered the border between summer and autumn, when the water becomes cold, the evenings are cool, and the first signs of autumn gilding appear on the trees.

In the middle of the last summer month, namely August 14 (1), Orthodox Christians celebrated the holiday of the Honey Savior (saved from the word savior), which honored the death of the seven Maccabean martyrs, who were martyred for their Christian faith by the ancient Syrian king Antiochus. The houses were sprinkled with poppy seeds, protecting them from evil spirits; the first honeycombs, collected on this day, when the bees stopped collecting nectar, were taken to the temple for consecration. This day symbolized farewell to summer, after which the days became shorter, the nights longer, and the weather cooler.

On August 19 (6), Apple Day or the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord began; among our ancestors it was one of the very first harvest festivals, symbolizing the beginning of autumn and the withering of nature. Only with its onset could the ancient Slavs eat apples from the new harvest, which were necessarily consecrated in the church. The festive tables were set and they began to eat grapes and pears.

The last, Third Spas (Bread or Nut) was celebrated on August 29 (16), on this day the harvest season ended and housewives could bake bread from the new grain harvest. Festive loaves were blessed in churches, and nuts were also brought there, which were just ripe at that time. Finishing the harvest, farmers always knitted the last “birthday sheaf”.

Autumn

One of the most revered autumn holidays that came to the ancient Slavs from Byzantium was Intercession Day, celebrated on October 14 (1). The holiday is dedicated to an event that occurred in the 10th century in Constantinople, when the city was besieged by the Saracens, and the townspeople brought prayers for help to the Holy Mother of God in temples and churches. The Blessed Virgin Mary heard their requests and, removing the veil from their heads, hid them from their enemies and saved the city. At this time, the harvesting work was completely completed, preparations for winter began, round dances and festivities ended, and gatherings with handicrafts, chants and conversations began. On this day, tables were set with treats, gifts were brought to the poor and orphans, attendance at church services was obligatory, and the time for wedding celebrations began. Marriage during the Intercession was considered particularly happy, rich and long-lasting.