Slavic charmers. Spring equinox holiday in different countries and traditions

1. Astronomy.

« On Magpie, day and night are measured.

"Winter ends, spring begins."

Day spring equinox an annual recurring astronomical and geographical date associated with a number of interesting natural phenomena and processes.

On this day Earth, revolving around an imaginary axis passing through the poles, while simultaneously moving around the sun, is in such a position with respect to the Sun, when the sun's rays, carrying thermal energy, fall vertically on the equator, and the imaginary axis of the Earth is in a central position with respect to the Sun, i.e. occupies a strictly vertical position. Both hemispheres, from the equator to the poles, heat up relatively equally.

The Earth is in this position twice a year. March 21 is the spring equinox and September 23 is the autumn equinox. These days, light and darkness, day and night are divided equally by 12 hours. (Of course, this is strictly mathematical. In fact, on the day of the spring (autumn) equinox, the day is still a little longer than the night, due to atmospheric refraction, which "raises" the luminaries above the horizon).

The seasons of the hemispheres change, if in the southern hemisphere it is autumn, then in the northern hemisphere it is spring, and vice versa. Astronomical spring begins in the northern hemisphere of the Earth on the day of the vernal equinox, and astronomical autumn sets in in the southern hemisphere. In Russia, this is the most convenient period for evening observations.

This day is significant because The sun rises exactly in the east and sets exactly to the west.

The transition of the Sun from the southern hemisphere to the northern marks not

only new astronomical year but also the arrival of spring. From an astronomical point of view, spring begins on March 21 and continues until June 22 - the day of the summer solstice.

This day has long been endowed with special magical properties.

It was the Equinox Day that astrologers and esotericists even chose as their unofficial professional holiday.

On March 21, the Majestic Sun announces the onset of the astrological NewYear. The day of the vernal equinox - truly great holiday Earthlings.

On this day, the paths of the Earth and the Sun intersect, creating a kind of "stairway to heaven." The vernal equinox is the intersection point of the equatorial plane with the ecliptic plane.

Only on the days of the equinoxes, the rays of the Sun fall on the Earth at a right angle to the axis of its rotation. At these moments relative to the Earth, the energy of a person changes like water in a vessel in which they put electric wires and applied voltage. The human body is filled with strength and heat. It is important at the same time that the water and the vessel are clean - therefore, fasting is recommended on the eve of the holiday.

In many countries of the world, the spring equinox is celebrated solemn holiday calling it by different names. In Asian countries, for example, this is Navruz holiday, Vedic India also honors this period as a special festival.

2. The holiday of the vernal equinox among the Slavs "Magpie (Saraki)".

Starting from the spring solstice, the day became equal to the night, and later - more than it. This development of events showed our ancestors that winter with its snowstorms and

burning frost forever (for a while) left frozen and pale people.

An increasing number of spring, sunny and happy days instilled confidence in the sun and warmth in the soul of a person.

The spring equinox is, first of all, the holiday of the young Sun, awakening the icy Earth from a long sleep. The energy of spring is aimed at physical and spiritual birth, the replacement of the old with the new.

· The number 40 among the Slavs. Name Magpie.

According to Adamovich's book "The Magic of Still Water"

1). Trial, trial, initiation, death: 40=4(earthly number)*10(cosmic number).

to the east Slavic tradition"the number" forty "according to V. Ya. Propp should not, of course, be taken literally; forty is an epic number denoting a multitude in general" . The number forty means trial, trial, initiation, death. Forty days is six weeks, six weeks the dead man washes himself, six weeks he wipes himself.

Associated with four and ten (Slavic name four by ten").

Four - integrity, totality, completeness, earth order, rational, measure, relativity, justice. The earthly number means the division of the world horizontally (four seasons, four cardinal points).

Ten is the number of the cosmos. This is the basis and turning point of the whole account. Means something comprehensive, law, order.

2). 13 (number lunar months per year) x 3 (the number of worlds in the Slavic universe) + 1 (the supreme god) = 40.

3). Number of harmful forces (sinisters), enemies: 40=5*8

40 (forty) in Slavic mythology associated with the number of evil spirits, enemies. It is also a composite number consisting of the interaction of the following numbers: 5 (remembrance of ancestors) x 8 (composition of the soul) = 40; The number forty is associated in Slavic fairy tales with the number of the enemy - the army of forty kings, forty princes. "This makes it possible to assume a certain mystical meaning the number forty as a number that determines the specific amount of harmful forces used in Slavic magic.

In Russia, this system has been preserved in the form of forty fevers. “The fever is divided into stonefly and post-fall, and it is considered 40 types: purulent (dung), podtynnitsa (pretend to be sleeping under a tyn), godwit (on a spin), etc.”

Legends have been preserved in which the relationship between the supreme god, mainly described in the form of an old man, and robbers with forty harmful forces is considered.

DZED GO TO PALYANACHKA

(in Belarusian)

Jump dzed to the palyanachka

I let the horse go to papaska,

And he lay down on the addykhanniyka.

I went to the dzedushka sorak molai,

Forty molai, a mustache of a robber;.

I want a dzeda full of pick up,

Iago conica; drive the herd.

And the old jodzia is not cured,

To the raw oak prarabaetstsa.

Knot an oak by a verkhushka,

I will jump the oak to the damp earth.

The damp earth trembled, -

Forty Molays smirked:

- Oh, you are a dzedushka, dear father,

- Don't be afraid of palon brothers

I tvaygo konika herd gnats,

And budzem tsyabe hellish name.

(in Russian)

Grandfather came to the meadow

And put the horse on the grass

And he lay down resting

And forty fellows came to grandfather

Forty fellows, all robbers

They want a grandfather full to take,

Drive his horse into the herd.

And the old grandfather rests,

Approaching the damp oak

Taking the oak by the top,

He bent the oak to the damp earth.

The damp earth shook,

Forty fellows overturned:

Oh, you are grandfather, dear father,

Yes, we will not take you in full,

And drive your horse into the herd,

And we will call you father

Russian epic "Three trips of Ilya Muromets" (forty thousand robbers).

The number forty and the name of this holiday are indicated by a pagan tradition, which mentions what exactly so many dark forces fetter the earth throughout the winter. On this day, from the very morning, our ancestors had to break 40 planks, break 40 shoelaces, symbolizing the forces that froze Mother Earth. By such actions, a person showed that he is stronger than evil Spirits, that Spring and warmth fully support him.

4). 40-day period of disappearance of the Pleiades from the sky.

Apparently, at the beginning this holiday had another name - Velikden (great day), which later began to denote the Christian holiday of Easter.

The feast of Passover itself has Jewish, and through them, Babylonian roots. The meaning of forty days "goes back, apparently, to the forty-day period of the disappearance of the Pleiades from the sky. It was a time of rains, storms and floods and was considered dangerous. The return of the Pleiades was accompanied by jubilation. At the same time, a bundle of forty reeds was burned, symbolizing the forty-day domination of evil forces.

Analyzing the Slavic tradition, it should be noted that the "Pleiades" ("Constellation - a duck's nest", Stozhary, Volosozhary; Belarusian names -Sta, Stka, Stca, Reshata, Reshatn) in the Slavic tradition are associated with the god Veles, who ruled the World of Navi (World of Ancestors). According to the constellation Pleiades, in which seven, nine or twelve stars were distinguished, the time was determined at night, especially in autumn.1

The Slavs considered the Pleiades as a place of residence for the souls of the dead awaiting judgment. “With tko (beads) - geta th candles, yakiya garats in heaven, where the righteous souls of people go. Here the righteous souls of the hell of the sinners are atsyayutsya.

The Pleiades disappeared from the sky for exactly 40 days from February 11 to March 22.

In ancient times, it was believed that on the days of the equinox, the souls of the ancestors fly to the homes of their relatives, incarnating in birds. Therefore, at this time it is customary to commemorate the ancestors.

Traditionally celebrated withl Avyanami days of remembrance of the dead on were called "Dzyads" The timing of the celebration of all 5 main Dzyads is in a certain way connected with the constellation Pleiades.

The celebration of Nava Grandfathers is tied to the astronomical appearance of the Pleiades - March 22 /

5). Christian background.

His Christian background based on the fact that on this day forty Sebastian warriors were punished with death. It happened in 313 in the Armenian city of Sebaste. One of the local commanders, Agrikaliy, before one of their campaigns, decided to make a sacrifice to the pagan gods. But the soldiers, who were Christians, refused to participate in these actions. For this, the angry chief put all forty warriors in prison, and then decided to test and torture them. IN hard frost they were stripped and taken out onto the ice of the lake to break the will of the sufferers and force them to renounce Christ. One of the warriors hesitated in spirit and ran ashore, but immediately fell dead. At this time, the ice in the lake melted, and bright crowns appeared above the heads of the martyrs. Then one of the guards believed in Christ and, joining the Christian soldiers, together with them on the next day received cruel execution. They were beaten to death with sticks and their bodies burned. The Church, for their courage and steadfast faith in the one God, every year remembers them on March 22.

Among Christians, "galeps" (pies) were associated with forty martyrs and thoughts of Great Lent, which lasts forty days.

On Magpie, day and night are measured, winter ends, spring begins.

Forty forty birds fly to magpies.

On the Forty Martyrs, forty forty birds carry spring.

On the Magpie, the magpie puts 40 sticks on the nest.

A sandpiper flew to the Forty Saints from across the sea, bringing spring from captivity.

The Slavs everywhere had a belief that on this day from warm countries

forty different birds arrive, and the first of them is a lark. “It happens,” the old peasants assure, “that larks arrive even earlier, only those unlucky ones: they will fly in and can freeze. And that lark that flies to the magpie, and that real one, he will not die. The one who first saw him and heard his song was given a bird roll from the whole village.

On Magpies they usually baked “larks” cookies, in most cases with outstretched wings, as if flying, and with tufts. Birds were handed out to children, and they ran screaming and ringing with laughter. call the larks, and with them the spring.

To do this, baked larks were planted on long sticks and ran out with them to the hillocks, or the birds were planted on poles, wattle sticks, etc. and, huddled together, they shouted with all their strength:

Larks, come

Take away the winter to the student,

Bring the warmth of spring:

We are sick of winter

We ate all the bread!

Adults called spring on the hillocks, stoneflies sang. Children with "larks" climbed on the leads, roofs, trees. Where there were no hills, the rites of the meeting of spring usually took place on the first thaw. They considered, fortunately, thawed patches, "if you count up to forty, then you won't know grief in the spring."

After baked birds, they usually ate them, and their heads were given to cattle or givenmother with the words: “Like a lark flew high, so that your flax was high. What a head my lark has, so that the flax was big-headed.

Or cookies were handed out to children with the words “Larks flew in, sat on their heads” - thereby blessing the children. The guys crumbled this cookie, scattering it on 4 sides for birds to feed.

With the help of such birds, a family seeder was selected. To do this, a coin was baked into the lark, and men, regardless of age, pulled out a baked bird for themselves. Whoever drew lots, scattered the first handfuls of grains at the time of the beginning of sowing.

In Belarus, the main treat during this holiday is a kind of galepa pies. "40 pieces are baked. And instead of larks, storks (beechles) were often baked - Belarusians considered the arrival of storks to be the beginning of spring, in the southern regions they baked waders. (Buns go back to the rite of meeting spring , and even now they resemble a bird with outstretched wings.And this word itself was called a wagtail bird).

From that day on, it was believed that the new year was fully within its rights. On the night of March 22, mothers kept their children awake, luring them to listen to silence, waiting for a special sound that resounds in the world when "the year breaks."

Signs:

If there was a frosty day on Magpies, they said that you need to wait ahead forty frosts.

If there was still snow on the roofs of houses up to Soroca, then there will be snow on Dobroveshchenna (late March - early April), and in some places it will lie up to Yury (late April - early May).

A lot of signs are connected with Magpies among the people.

For example, an early flood predicts a quick and early spring. Also importance had the arrival of long-awaited birds. If they arrived, then spring will soon arrive at a permanent place of residence. People say that birds bring real, warm spring on their wings.

From March 22 until Zosima the beekeeper (April 30), forty morning frosts are considered.

If matinees from this day continue constantly, then the summer will be warm.

DZYADY

Based on the book by Adamovich G.E. "Slavic healing"

The main holiday of Belarusians since the time of Adam Mickiewicz, according to V.D. Lіtsvі nk, are considered "Dzyady", since they simultaneously symbolized not only the "death" of nature, but also the inevitable cessation of the life path and the transition "to the other world", and the ancestors, of each person.

Commemorative days have existed among Belarusians since paganism, with the advent of Christianity in the Slavic lands, they rarely changed their image, while maintaining ancient traditions and incorporating the features of a new religion. in Catholic and Orthodox Church there are specially designated days for commemoration of the dead, but they do not coincide with the traditionally celebrated days of commemoration of the dead by Belarusians - “Dzyady”, which also have the name of memorial Saturdays.

“Whoever you don’t respect, there is a villager there.”

“Dzyady” is a special holiday, and the belief that on this day the souls of ancestors descend to earth to see how they are respected, how the heirs take care of the inheritance left by them, demanded strict behavior from Belarusians on this day, restrictions in certain actions.

"Dzyady", throughout the year, was celebrated before every significant religious holiday. The main dzyads, the celebration of which was held throughout Belarus, were five times and they were subdivided according to the seasons. For every “dzyady”, the hostess prepares a lot of food, so that there is more of it: the least from five dishes, and the richest people celebrated 7,9,11,13,15, so that there is only an unpaired number of dishes on the table.

"Dzyady" was preceded by a day that in the eastern, northern and western regions of Belarus was called "women". Perhaps in ancient times the days of commemoration of the ancestors were held in two days, in accordance with the sex of the dead.

2. Spring - "happyі tsa”, “velikodnye”, on Saturday after April 1;

The timing of the celebration of dzyads is somehow connected with the constellation Pleiades.

Literature:

1. Adamovich G.E. Introduction to Slavic magic. – Minsk, 2000.

2. Aidasheva G.A. Russian rites. Spring. - M .: LLC "Publishing house Scriptorium 2000", 2004. - 80 p.

3. Kotova I.N. , Kotova A.S. Russian rituals and traditions. Folk kula. - St. Petersburg: "Parity", 2006.- 249p.

4. Poletye: Slavic calendar-amulet for 2007. Compiled by S. Ermakov. - M .: Publishing house "Ladoga-100", 2006. -12s. Lead project.

The astronomical essence of the holiday

The day of the spring equinox... It sounds mysterious and mysterious. Even in the name itself, mysticism is felt. Perhaps that is why some people associate mysterious events and a number of superstitions with this day. In fact key concept This phrase - equinox - means the moment when the center of the sun crosses the celestial equator. This phenomenon occurs in spring and autumn. The spring equinox usually falls on March 20 (sometimes on March 21 if the year is a leap year). On this day, the sun moves from the southern hemisphere to the northern. This course of events is typical for the northern hemisphere, in the southern hemisphere the day of the spring equinox falls on September 20th. During the equinox, the day is almost equal to the night throughout the Earth. On this day, sunrise defines exactly east, and sunset defines west.

tropical year

The time interval between the equinoxes of one season is called the tropical year, which includes 365 days. It is for this reason that the Spring Equinox Day is a holiday. Many nations consider it the beginning of the year, and therefore the celebration of the New Year in Afghanistan, Iran and almost all countries of the Great Silk Road falls on this day.

Ancient Slavs

The day of the spring equinox was a great holiday among the Slavs. It was called in those distant times "Kamoeditsa" and was celebrated for two weeks before this day. The highlight of the holiday was the burning of an effigy of Madder (as the Slavs called Winter) and seeing off winter. Also at this time, they solemnly met spring and celebrated the Old Slavic New Year. The life of the Slavs was difficult and they spent almost all their time in labor. The day of the spring equinox gave them the opportunity to rest, since work during these two weeks was considered a sin. At this time, they were gaining strength for the new agricultural year, since it was believed that, starting from this day, spring comes into its own and nature awakens. In the days of Kamoeditsa, the Slavs performed the main mystical and religious rites with songs and dances. They praised the sun, which melts the snow and warms everything around. The sun was for them the beginning of a new life, a source of new strength. Honor heavenly body was taken with special unleavened cakes. The day of the vernal equinox was also among the ancient Slavs the day of veneration of the great Bear god. On this day, at sunrise, before breakfast, they gathered in a long procession and with traditional songs and dances went into the forest to bring the Honey Beast, as they called the bear, special sacrifices in the form of pancakes. They laid out the brought pancakes on stumps and only upon returning home did they begin to celebrate this event with festive feasts.

All over the world

For many centuries this day was celebrated as a great holiday in China, Egypt and India. It is with the day of the spring equinox that many myths and legends are associated. To this day, some peoples have kept this holiday even in their calendars. In many Muslim countries, it is called "Navruz" and is celebrated on March 21st. It is not only preserved in the calendar, but declared an official public holiday and is a day off. different names wears this day (for example, in Japan it is called "Shumbun No Hi" and is considered the day of love for nature). But no matter what name he is called, he is still one of the significant days of the year.

Our ancestors were pagans, and therefore they had four main holidays that could not be missed in any case: the day of the spring equinox Mokoeditsa, the day summer solstice Kupail, the day of the autumn equinox Veresen and the day of the winter solstice Yule-solstice. On the day of the vernal equinox, there are several rites that have become obligatory on this day in order to get the blessing of the gods and the year was successful.

What is Komeditsa?

The comedian is one of ancient holidays among the ancient Slavs, which existed back in the days of the Druids and Magi, but after the 16th century this day began to be called the day of the vernal equinox. According to the modern calendar, Komoyeditsu is celebrated from March 20 to 21, i.e. on the day when astronomical spring begins and the night becomes shorter than the day. But now this great holiday is celebrated only for 2 days, and according to old legends, Komoyeditsu was celebrated for as long as two weeks.

Komoyeditsa was celebrated for 14 days, and at that time the Slavs said goodbye to winter and burned the effigy of Madder (Winter) in order to solemnly welcome spring and the Old Slavic New Year began.

The vernal equinox

At this moment, the whole world seems to freeze, because day is equal to night, which means that we are in perfect balance between light and darkness. After long period winter calm, the sun again does not take its eyes off us, which means the time has come for accomplishments. The sun in the pagan culture of the Slavs is a deity, Yarilo. He wakes up again after a long sleep and turns his gaze to the people. According to ancient legends, all Slavs are the children of Yaril, and therefore they could turn to him with requests. It is for this reason that many themselves wished to take part in the rite of the day of the solstice.

spiritual cleansing ritual

Since spring is a time for self-improvement and awakening after a long cold winter, then the human spirit must be reborn again. For this, the Slavs had a rite of spiritual purification, preparation for which should begin a week before the spring equinox. To do this, you need to remember all the insults and injustices that you caused to your loved ones or just acquaintances, and write it down on a piece of paper. This individual list, which you will write throughout the week, is aimed at restoring harmony between people using sincere forgiveness and the return of old debts. In the same week, all items from the list should be tried to be corrected: ask for forgiveness after a quarrel, repay a debt, etc. Accordingly, it is made new list deeds that you have done with good intentions in order to cleanse yourself of filth. During the holiday, you should bring exactly the list where you wrote your good deeds, and you will need to throw it into the fire, in order to symbolically confirm spiritual cleansing.

Bonfire Ritual

Honoring the return of the Sun is an integral part of the spring equinox, for the Sun is the highest deity, the heavenly father and the giver of life to everyone. Therefore, he should be met with bread and salt, and an incredible feast should also be held. Bonfires on this day are the most important part of the celebration, because fire is a reflection of heavenly fire, true solar heat.

The most important thing in bonfires on the day of the vernal equinox is ignition from a ray of the sun. The beam was caught with a lens and then directed to a pile of collected dry brushwood. Only such a fire retained its divine power and was able to give people the energy of the sun.

There is also a belief that such a fire has some magic power and therefore it can be used to purify the aura. From here came the custom of jumping over the fire on Kupail. Most of all, children were taught to jump over the fire, for the one who jumps over the heavenly fire will be cleansed of filth and gain strength. The little kids who jumped over the fire will grow up to be real heroes, and the girls will give birth to new heroes when their time comes. Who among the young wanted to change his fate, he had to jump over the fire, and only then he could start everything anew.

Why is pancake a symbol of the spring equinox?

Pancake in its shape resembles the sun, and therefore it was the main treat on the day of the spring equinox, the holiday of Komoyeditsy. The Slavs believed that together with a pancake they eat a piece of the sun, God's blessing. Cheesecakes were also an edible symbol of celebration.

The meaning of Komoyeditsa for the Slavs

In those days there were no weekdays and weekends. Everyone worked from morning till night tending the fields, herding livestock, fishing and hunting. But when the holiday of the spring equinox came, then a week before the start of Komoyeditsa and a week after, people had fun as best they could, because then the field that had cooled down after last year's harvest was waiting for them again. Over time, unfortunately, the pagan meaning of the Komoyeditsy holiday was lost, and yet until the 16th century in Rus', the celebration of the New Year began precisely in the spring, when winter receded and the world began to wake up after a long sleep.

Is this the holiday we know?

If you rummage through a lot of literature and articles on the Internet, you can stumble upon dozens of versions of the interpretation of the spring equinox holiday. And this is not strange, because after the adoption of Christianity in Rus', the clergy tried in every way to eradicate paganism from people, and having failed to completely stifle the faith of the Slavs, they simply replaced pagan holiday his. In the 16th century, instead of the Old Slavic Komoyeditsa, the Christian church adopted the holiday of Cheese Week (Maslenitsa). The church simply stole this holiday from the Old Believers, and brazenly perverted its ancient customs, turning it into Shrovetide.

Not only that Slavic holiday was stolen, so the clergy, due to the fact that Maslenitsa fell during Lent, postponed the date of the celebration to another day. Although it is impossible to transfer the real Komoyeditsa, because it is strictly connected with the astronomical spring. As a result, Maslenitsa is celebrated a week before Lent, and the time of the celebration itself was shifted from two weeks to one. As a result, it is up to a person to decide how to relate to the Shrovetide holiday, because everything depends on the perception of the celebrant.

Holiday in Russia day of spring equinox will be Thursday March 21, 2019. The fourth day of the week will not be an ordinary day, because. daylight hours day coincides with the night. For most of the inhabitants of our planet, the vernal equinox (Vernal Equinox) is special day with their own traditions and customs.
The question of when the spring equinox will be cannot be clearly answered, because. There is no clear date when the day is completely equal to the night. Each year has its own date. This is due to the fact that our calendar has a leap year.

By lunar calendar March 21, 2019 the day passes in the phase " Full moon Day 15 Moon in the zodiac sign Libra auspicious time for stability and tranquility. If you have important things planned and you need to make a serious decision, it is better to postpone it all to another day. Get involved in learning today: An interesting book in hand, will benefit. Make time for yourself.

Signs for the spring equinox

Ancient people believed that day of spring equinox you can determine what the weather will be like coming year- and if equinox day was frosty, which meant that the heat would not come soon. People said that they would still have “forty frosts” ahead of them.

IN Ancient Rus' they tried to celebrate this celebration with all the scope and fun. People thought that the merrier they would celebrate the day of the equinox, the more successful and fruitful the year would be.

The ancient Slavs walked the earth, and tried to find forty thawed patches. This, in their opinion, would mean that happiness would smile at them this spring.

IN equinox day people tried not to let into their minds bad thoughts. They were convinced that everything they think about can come true, since thoughts on this day had a special power.

In this regard, they also believed that if you make a wish and think about it on the day of the equinox, then this wish must certainly come true.

Traditions of Ancient Rus'

The ancient Slavs have this magical holiday called Magpie Day. Russian people believed that a huge number of representatives of the feathered world returned to the equinox from the south. And, according to them, it was forty birds. So he was called the day of the Magpie. The first to return was the lark, so it was the symbol of this holiday.

According to tradition, on the day of the equinox, the housewives even baked cookies in the shape of a bird. To the one who was the first lucky enough to see the symbol of the holiday, the lark flying in, each villager had to give a cookie baked for that day. The remaining cookies were treated to village children so that they would attract other larks to each house, carrying, according to the beliefs existing at that time, spring, wealth and happiness. The kids attached special dolls called Martinichki to the sticks, as well as donated cookies. Then they raced with these sticks to the nearest hill and sang songs, thus inviting spring to the village.

The elders of the villages sang stoneflies on the hills. If there was no peak near the village, this action was performed in places where the snow melted and there was open land.

That night in the village, almost everyone was awake, and the women were given the duty to listen, into the surrounding silence, in order to hear a magical and elusive sound, which, according to the beliefs of ancient people, means that “the year is breaking”.

And the ancient Slavs believed that on the equinoxes the supreme deity of the Sun descends to the earth to people in order to see how they live. And just then, all people had the opportunity to ask for help from this pagan God.

Fortune telling on the day of the spring equinox

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Hello, friends!

Do you want me to show you a photo that shows how one of the most ancient gods of Mexico descends to Earth? No? But I'll show you anyway (found on the National Geographic website). Here it is, on the left. See the snake crawling up the steps of the pyramid? Take a closer look - this is Kukulkan (the Mayan solar deity).

Twice a year Kukulkan descends from heaven, this happens on the days of spring and autumnal equinoxes. So it was thousands of years ago, and so it is to this day. You say - I deceived you and there is nothing there but the play of light and shadow? What is it just the rays of the sun on the ancient pyramid?

Exactly. Rays. Sun. The topic of this article is the day of the vernal equinox, its symbolism, traditions and history. After all, not only the Mayans emphasized the “behavior of the Sun” these days, but almost all nationalities.

And the traditions of celebrating the equinoxes (as well as the solstices) are still alive (however, I already wrote about the Celtic holidays of the Wheel of the Year, which are tied to these astronomical phenomena). But why were these events so important to people?

What is the spring equinox

I would like to start with a definition. Well, probably everyone knows that the equinox (any) is such a period in the life of our planet when day and night become almost equal to each other (but the day is still a little longer). Have you ever wondered what is actually happening at this moment?

Yes, in everything, as always, the Sun is “guilty”. Without this star, there would be NOTHING. Not only day and night, winter and summer, but, in general, nothing alive. Including the person. So here it is:

The sun, moving along the ecliptic, at this moment crosses the celestial equator and passes from the southern hemisphere of the celestial sphere to the northern one. Since that time, astronomical spring has come there, and autumn has come to the Southern Hemisphere.

And now it becomes clear why people took the vernal equinox so seriously - this is the beginning of spring. Already the actual start. From this moment the snow melts, the buds swell, the animals wake up and the birds return. This day is considered the Day of the awakening of the bear, symbolizing the forces of nature. The goddess Spring comes into the world, nature awakens. A new agricultural year and a new life cycle begins.

By the way, many people still celebrate the days of equinoxes and solstices. For example, crowds of people gather at Stonehenge and Chichen Itza to greet the sun.

Equinox Dates (March)

Like the solstices, the equinoxes do not always occur on the same day. This is due to errors in the calendar. The numbers fluctuate from March 19 to March 22, however, the “official” day was, after all, March 21 (literally “12th day before the April kalends”). But in practice, everything is different - the dates for each year have already been calculated, up to hours and minutes, we just have to look at this data.

Celebration traditions

In the traditions of ancient peoples, this is the most Holy holiday in a year. Very often this day acted as the day of the New Year. However, this is still the case in some countries. For example, in:

Afghanistan

Tajikistan,

Kazakhstan,

Almost all countries Silk Road and so on.

Since everything is just being laid on this day, a person should try to arrange everything the way he would like in the future. If this is not possible literally, then it is done at least symbolically. Then the desire will strive to be realized.

It was necessary to get rid of dirt and debris so that nothing would interfere during the year.
It was necessary to be generous and distribute gifts and treats. Then material well-being won't disappear.
But the most important thing that this day can give is love and joy. Therefore, our ancestors tried to spend this time having fun:
They also told fortunes and made love wishes. It was believed that they must certainly be fulfilled.
Well, of course, follow the signs.

In many places traditional dish this holiday is the food is rounded. As a rule, tortillas, pancakes and eggs. In Japan, red rice balls. And the Slavs, of course, have pancakes. This emphasizes the special solar nature of this time. And the egg is considered the birth of a new stage of life.

The world tree of this day is the birch, and the flower is the snowdrop.. People tried to bring birch branches and snowdrop flowers into the house, this would attract special luck for the whole year. And if on March 20 they didn’t have time to do all the things, then the next week was just right for this.

Spring equinox in different nations

At different peoples This holiday is called differently, but always filled with the same meaning.

ancient monuments

The spring equinox is one of the four days of the year when magic can come into our lives. It is no coincidence that all peoples throughout the earth believed in this, as evidenced by the ancient monuments of megalithic culture and not only them.

In fact, there are many. But I chose from the Wonders of the World (or almost miracles, both ancient and new). To emphasize the full scale of the worship of the Sun.
1. ancient temples of Osiris at Giza, indicate sunset at the equinox, temples of Isis(ibid.), point to the rising of the sun at the equinox.
2. A Great sphinx, looks exactly at sunrise on that day.
3. The temple in Jerusalem is somewhat similar to the temples in Giza, there sunlight on the equinox, it fell freely along the open passage and eventually fell into the holy of holies.
4. IN St. Peter's Basilica in Rome at sunrise on the spring equinox, the rays of the rising sun penetrated through all the doors and illuminated the high altar.
5. "Sun hitching post" (a strange granite structure, presumably an ancient clock) in Machu Picchu also reflected the days of the equinoxes in a special way.
6. Well, of course pyramid at Chichen Itza which I mentioned at the very beginning of the article.
Some more facts

Before finishing the article, I will tell you a few more facts about the Spring Equinox. And at the same time I will note that about Slavic and Celtic holidays we will talk separately. There will be articles, and in order not to miss them, subscribe to site updates.
That's all for today. Take care of yourself. And ... with spring to you, friends!

P.S. For those interested in astronomy and its manifestations in ancient architecture, I highly recommend Joseph Norman Lockyer's The Dawn of Astronomy. Planets and stars in the myths of ancient peoples. While writing the article, I read it.