What do they do for a generous evening. Holy evening before Christmas: history, traditions, omens and divination. Do not be angry, my dear
Oh, gray-haired and zozulechka.
Generous evening, good evening,
Kind people to health "I!
Tonight is an amazing evening - wonderful. An evening when the whole family should get together and talk about love to each other. My parents were from real large Ukrainian rural families, there were four of us with our parents, and since the 90s, our holy evening was very solemn and Christianly correct. However, this post will not be joyful and festive, for example, the senile memoirs of a forty-year-old aunt about her original family, only I don’t have much good memories of then and my memoirs will not sparkle with champagne splashes.
The tradition of holy evening in the family was started by Babunya, actually her name was Pasha, Paraskeva, but I found out about this already as a teenager, all my life she was for me and for the whole family of Babunya and somehow I didn’t even think that she also should have a passport name. Grandma was from a very wealthy Kurkul family from the Kirovograd land. Almost completely the family was destroyed during the revolution, some were shot on the spot, some were driven to Siberia, for their unwillingness to join the collective farm.
Her mother, my great-grandmother, was saved only because she fled with her beggar loved one to the Cherkasy region. She ran away because her rich, by local standards, relatives in life would not have passed off as a poor lad, but it turned out that she saved her life thanks to this. Despite the active construction of non-religious socialism, Babunya was brought up in a very Orthodox spirit, and when in the 90s my mother moved her parents closer to her, from a village in the Cherkassy region, where there was no church, to a village in the Kiev region, where there was a church, Babunya immediately became a parishioner and new traditions began to appear in the family, including the Holy Vechir.
The whole family, if possible, came to Babuna's before Christmas. Three daughters and an older son, with children. Lenten dishes were prepared - 12 pieces, despite the fact that only Babunya and my mother were fasting. Yes, it was somewhere funny, because the peasants themselves, for a lenten dinner, very well leaned on moonshine, in the production of which both Babunya and my mother were craftsmen. They drove it not for sale, but for themselves, for domestic consumption, so to speak, and as a national currency, of course, but here, too, you can’t slip a tractor driver into a plowed garden, they needed high-quality and high-grade products.
The last holy evening at Babuni's was no longer fun. A couple of weeks before Christmas, my mother went to Khmelnitsky to buy new goods (she already had a small shop at that time), and Babunya helped with the housework and came in the evening to milk the cow. And at home the father, decently drunk. And the farm is not fed, as we said, it's not hurt. She was already over 70, and despite her cheerfulness and good health for her age, she became grouchy and intolerant. She knew that my father was an inadequate despot and a very cruel person, but she did not appreciate to what extent. She began to reprimand him, wound up and her father beat her. This for an elderly respected woman, the mother of four children who idolized her, was so obviously unacceptable that the next day she had a stroke. So in 2004, our holy evening was next to the recumbent Babunya. She died three months after the stroke.
Then my mother took over the baton, but my uncle and aunts no longer came to us for the holy evening, but only we, my mother's four children, gathered at home. Me - with different husbands and a daughter, the youngest brother with his wife and two more brothers so easy.
In 2006, my mother also died. The family fell apart and everyone was on their own. But my little family will also have a holy evening today. A daughter with a girlfriend and an older godson will arrive. We will not cook kutya, but we will make rice with seafood - both tasty and, as it were, kutya. There will also be no 12 Lenten dishes - we did not fast and are not going to create a claim. We won’t plant grandfather and we won’t sing generous songs either. Moreover, we will not let generous people into the apartment. “Bad, doctor, summer” (c) Well, yes, we have such a holy party, but we will be together, we will once again tell each other how we love and appreciate ourselves, and it seems to me that this is the meaning of this evening - to love and be loved and not hide it.
Good evening to you, my lord,
Cover the tables with kilims,
Oh, rejoice, earth, the Son of God was born.
And put rolls with hot wheat,
Oh, rejoice, earth, the Son of God was born.
Bo come to you three holidays to visit,
Oh, rejoice, earth, the Son of God was born.
Oh, the first holiday is the Feast of Christ,
Oh, rejoice, earth, the Son of God was born.
And another holiday - St. Basil,
Oh, rejoice, earth, the Son of God was born.
And the third feast is Holy Vodokhrescha,
Oh, rejoice, earth, the Son of God was born.
And what is the first holiday for you,
Oh, rejoice, earth, the Son of God was born.
How about another holiday for you to be happy,
Oh, rejoice, earth, the Son of God was born.
And what is the third holiday for all of us share,
Oh, rejoice, earth, the Son of God was born.
According to the already established tradition, on the night of January 13-14, the Old New Year is celebrated, which is preceded by the "Generous Evening" - a folk holiday of the Slavs; evening on the eve of the Old New Year. Among Ukrainians, Belarusians and in the south of Russia, the name "" is more common, in central Russia and in the north - "Vasiliev evening". Its celebration comes from an ancient, probably pre-Christian custom. According to the Christian calendar, this is also the day of St. Melania (Melanka, Malanka, Milanka).
Someone, following the rules of New Year's Eve, prepares for this in full - puts on carnival costumes, sets the festive table. And some people don't care. And, nevertheless, there is a holiday, which means that we will tell its history, traditions and share recipes for the New Year's table.
history of the holiday
Since ancient times, the New Year has been considered the brightest and most cheerful holiday: firstly, a rather strict fast ended after Christmas, and secondly, on this holiday all insults and misunderstandings were forgiven and a new life cycle began.
And because the New Year is a fun holiday, and we will never miss the moment to celebrate it twice. Thanks to the change of the Julian calendar to the Gregorian, from January 13 to 14, you can once again feel the magic of New Year's Eve.
The holiday began to be celebrated after 1918, when a new chronology was introduced, and took root, probably, because of the desire to extend the New Year holidays, after the traditional hype of December 31 - January 1 had already died down. In addition, the modern New Year falls on the Christmas fast, when the Orthodox do not want to accompany the celebration with a plentiful fast meal.
Quite another thing is the “Generous Evening” of the Old New Year, when the tables are bursting with all sorts of culinary hearty delights. According to folk tradition, this night is associated with St. Basil the Great, the patron saint of pig breeding, and with St. Melania (Melanka, Malanka).
Unlike Christmas and Epiphany, these days were not important in the religious calendar, so there are almost no church motifs in their rituals. In the Soviet period, a holiday in honor of grandfather Vasily and Baba Malanka was held only in the villages of Bukovina and Galicia, but since the 80s, the traditions of the Generous Evening began to revive.
Basil the Great was considered the patron of pig breeding, so the obligatory dish of a generous feast was baked "Caesarian", the name of which in the people turned into "Caesarean" pig, which was fried whole, often stuffed with porridge. It was believed that this fried meat can only be broken, and not cut with a knife. The dish symbolized the fertility of the land and the fertility of livestock. Later, when not every family could afford to eat a baked pig, the traditional preparation of pork jelly became an echo of the tradition.
Traditions and signs: what not to do on a Generous Evening and the Old New Year
As already noted, New Year's Eve was called "Generous Evening". The celebration is associated with a pre-Christian pagan custom. The day before the New Year is dedicated to St. Milania (Melanki or Malanki) and Basil. And it was called Generous because the kutya prepared on this day, unlike the Christmas one, could be seasoned with lard, butter, cream or milk.
In the New Year, it is customary to cook a lot of dishes, believing that the more dishes on the table, the more generous the next year promised to be.
Pork dishes must be on the New Year's table. After all, Basil, who became a saint in Christianity, was the patron saint of pigs. In addition, this animal has traditionally been considered a symbol of fertility and prosperity.
But eating poultry and fish on New Year's Eve was a bad omen, because it was believed that happiness would “fly away” or “float away” from home.
The girls also baked ceremonial buns - balabushkas, according to which they guessed at the betrothed. Balabushki were laid out on a bench and a hungry dog was launched, whose balabushka he grabs first, that girl will be the first to marry. Dumplings were also served with "surprises": different unusual "fillings" were added inside each dumpling. If someone comes across flour - this is for torment, beans - for children, a button - for renewal, sugar - for a good life, salt - for a difficult life, pepper - for surprises, a rope - for the road, a penny - for money.
It is considered a good omen if an even number of guests gather at the table. If this does not work out, the hosts must put an empty plate. When everyone starts eating, you can’t get up from the table, the hostess should have everything at hand.
It is very important that the clothes on this day be thoroughly laundered and clean. And after dinner, it was necessary to go to the neighbors and ask one from one for forgiveness for possible guilt in order to celebrate the New Year in peace and harmony.
The celebration was usually merry, and the guests sat until midnight. The youth went to congratulate everyone and sow wheat, wishing a generous New Year. A very good sign when the grains fall not only on the parquet or carpet, but also on the hosts (like holy water) - then you should bow politely. The owners gave the posipalnik something as a gift, and the grains scattered by it were carefully collected, stored until spring and mixed with other seeds when sowing.
And on the morning of New Year's Day, a man should enter the house first, this foreshadowed happiness. On January 14, it is generally not advisable for women to visit. Also, on January 14, you can’t lend money, because then you yourself will need money for a whole year.
celebration
As noted above, on this day, in the morning, they begin to prepare the second ritual kutya - generous. Unlike lean (for Kolyada), it can be seasoned with squirrel (meat and lard). For a rich evening, kutya is put on pokuti (in the red corner). In addition, housewives bake pancakes, pies and dumplings with cottage cheese to thank those who are generous and sowing.
In the evening and until midnight, generous people go around the houses. According to a long tradition, New Year's detours of the sowers, as well as Christmas carolers, take place after sunset, that is, when all evil spirits rule. Teenage girls, alone or together, run around the neighbors to show their generosity.
Groups of guys also go to Melanki. It's called "driving Melanka". Guys in masks express good wishes, amuse with songs, dances, playful skits. One of them is usually dressed in women's clothes and is called Melanka.
According to an old custom, disguised, having finished the ritual detour, in the morning they go to the crossroads to burn “Grandfather”, or “Didukh”, - sheaves, straw that stood ready from the Holy evening until the New Year, then jumped over the fire. This is a rite of purification from communication with evil spirits.
And the next day, at dawn, they go to sow grain. Grain is taken in a mitten or in a bag. First they go to the godfathers and other relatives and friends. Entering the house, the sower sows grain and greets everyone with a Happy New Year.
I send you this, I send you, I congratulate you with New Rock!
For happiness, for health, and for Novy Rik,
Shchob spoiled better, lower torik, -
Zhito, wheat and all kinds of arable land,
Hemp pid lay on the great tow.
Be healthy with New Rock and Vasil!
Give, God!
The first sowing on the New Year brings happiness to the house. According to folk beliefs, it was considered important who would be the first guest in the house in the new year. It was a good sign if the first guest was a guy from a respected large family with a good household. Worse, if the first guest is a girl or woman of childbearing age. And it was considered quite a misfortune if the first guest was a widow, an old maid, an old man or a cripple. Therefore, girls, as a rule, do not sow, and if they take part, they either do not enter the house or enter after the guys.
Belief and Divination
Many everyday rituals are associated with generous kutia. So, in order to settle some kind of conflict, the neighbors went to each other to put up, in order to "celebrate the New Year in peace and harmony." The guys who before that “received pumpkins” (refusal) sent matchmakers for the second time with the hope of consent.
In the evening on this day, the girls guess.
Under the old customs, when the girls began to guess, the guys stole doors or gates from their houses, no matter how the owners resisted. To return the stolen, the girl's father had to put up a magarych.
Different regions of Ukraine have their own types of divination. Here are some of them:
* they go out into the street, and which animal they meet first will be narrowed: if a dog, then bad, but a dog's life, a sheep - quiet and obedient, and the like;
* three heaps of grain are poured at the gate, and in the morning they check: if untouched, then family life will be happy, and vice versa;
* they put a comb under the pillow and, going to bed, they say: “The betrothed-mummer, comb my head!”. Whoever dreams, he will have to marry;
* before going to bed, they put several fragments of a broom in a plate of water, saying: “Narrowed-mummers, transport across the bridge.” If in the morning the fragments are attached to the crown, then the girl will become engaged to the one who she dreamed about.
Recipes for the festive table for "Generous Evening"
Caesarean pig
Ingredients:
- gutted suckling pig - 1 pc. (weighing about 5kg)
- buckwheat porridge - 400 gr.
- dried mushrooms - 50 gr.
- honey - 150 gr.
- garlic - 1 head
- onion - 1 pc.
- spices for pork
Cooking method:
Soak the piglet in a mixture of water and milk (1:1) in the cold.
Remove the eyes (cut in a circle with a sirloin knife), salt the outside and plentifully from the inside.
Prepare marinade from honey, crushed garlic and spices. Grate the pig outside and inside. Marinate 3-4 hours.
Soak the mushrooms for an hour, boil and fry them with onions. Separately, boil the porridge and mix it with mushrooms.
Before baking, tightly fill the belly of the piglet with porridge and fasten it with wooden skewers, put it on a baking sheet wrapped in foil. Wrap the piglet, ears and hooves with foil and cover the back with it.
Pour 2 cups of water into a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour in preheated to 200 gr. oven. After an hour, remove the foil from the back and bake for 3 hours, pouring the resulting juice over the piglet. If there is not enough juice, pour honey water with spices.
The piglet is ready when clear juice is released when the meat is pierced.
Another invariable attribute of Vasiliev's evening is porridge.
Several signs were associated with her, according to which they wondered what year the family was expecting. If porridge is poured onto the stove from the pan or pot in which it is cooked or the dishes crack, then the year will be unfavorable for the family. Such porridge was thrown along with the pot into the hole. If the porridge was red, full, it foreshadowed happiness for the whole house, a future harvest and a talented daughter.
On the old New Year it was accepted stock up on pies with various fillings, cheesecakes, chanegs(cheese, potatoes, carrots). This is due to the fact that on New Year's Eve and January 14, youth companies "led Malanka" around the huts. The youth sang special carols, in which they prophesied wealth, a rich harvest and health to their owners. For this, it was customary to treat guests and give snacks.
Top 3 toppings for Vasiliev pies
Meat filling
To prepare this dish you will need Ingredients:
Filling:
- meat (pulp) - 300 gr.
- oil - 20 gr.
- onion - 1 pc.
- flour - 5 gr.
- salt, ground black pepper - to taste
- greenery.
Cooking method:
Pass the raw meat through a meat grinder, put on a greased frying pan with a layer of no more than 3-4 cm and simmer on the stove or in the oven until cooked. Drain the resulting meat juice and prepare a red main sauce from it.
Pass the meat again through a meat grinder, lightly fry, add browned onions, salt, black pepper, sauce and mix everything well.
Sauerkraut Stuffing
To prepare this dish you will need Ingredients:
- sauerkraut - 1 kg
- dried mushrooms - 100 gr.
Cooking method:
Simmer the finely chopped cabbage until cooked under the lid.
Boil the mushrooms in boiling water for about 40 minutes, drain the water.
Separately fried onions mixed with boiled mushrooms, salt, pepper and fry for 4 minutes. Mix cabbage with mushrooms.
Curd filling
To prepare this dish you will need Ingredients:
- cottage cheese - 500 gr.
- egg - 2 pcs.
- sugar - 50 gr.
- butter - 100 gr.
- vanilla - to taste
- raisins - 100 gr.
- candied fruits - to taste.
Cooking method:
Pass the cottage cheese through a sieve and mix it with the eggs. Add the rest of the ingredients and put into the dough.
Shchedrivka
shchedryk bucket
Shchedryk bucket,
Give me a dumpling
Porridge breast,
Kіltse kovbaski,
Not only that -
Give more fat;
More of that trishka -
give cakes;
(Abo) give the cowbass,
(I will) carry home,
A) how to give the gut,
Then let's go into silence!
Shchedryk, shchedryk, shchedryvochka
Shchedryk, Shchedryk, Shchedryvochka,
The swallow came,
I began to twitter,
Viklikati Lord:
- See, see, Lord,
Look at the cat
There the sheep were crouching
And the lambs were born.
In you the goods are all good,
You will be a mother to the world of pennies.
Want not a penny, then half,
There is a black-browed woman in you.
Shchedryk, Shchedryk, Shchedryvochka,
The swallow has arrived.
Shchedryk is kind,
I'm not dead
Give me milk
Which is bigger!
What a generous
That pampushka
What a generous
That's a dumpling.
Generous evening, good evening,
Kind people to health.
And sir, like a gentleman.
Lord, like viburnum.
And children, like flowers.
Generous evening, good evening,
Kind people to health!
At our clinic
Tits swim.
And you, young people,
Bake burners,
Take out the oven
Give us a pie.
Generous evening, good evening,
Kind people to health!
And behind this word, be healthy to us,
Possibly panonka, my lord,
Not by himself, by the master,
With the master of that and with the children.
Vіnchuєmo to you happiness, health,
Happiness, health and new rock,
And new rock and old age!
Oh lord, lord
Let melanochka into the house,
Melanochka walk cleanly,
Do not mess up anything in the hut.
How to mess up, then pomie,
Їsti call that nakri.
Good evening!
I sow, sow, sow,
With New Rock you are blown!
On that new river,
It’s better to give birth,
Lower Torik!
I sow, sow, sow,
I don't pass your house
With Novim rock I go to hati,
I wish you may win:
Soby the children are all healthy,
Take the porridge, everything is ready,
Sob you will have fun with them,
And we want pennies pіvmіha!
I sow, sow, sow
I sow, sow, sow,
With New Rock you are blown!
On that new river,
Shchob gave birth more beautifully,
Lower Torik!
I sow, sow, sow
I sow, sow, sow,
I don't pass your house
With Novim rock I go to hati,
I wish you may win:
So that the children are all healthy,
If everything is ready for porridge,
Sob you will have fun with them.
And we have pennies from pivmіha!
Shchedryk-Petryk,
Give me a dumpling!
a spoonful of porridge,
Top sausages.
It's not enough
Give me a piece of fat.
Take it out quickly
Don't freeze the kids!
How many donkeys
So many pigs for you;
How many trees
So many cows;
How many candles
So many sheep.
Happiness to you
owner with hostess
Great health
Happy New Year,
With all kind!
Carol, carol!
Flew in a round dance
christmas after new year,
Soon the Baptism
Great, sacred
It's within reach of him,
It's time to guess
When Christmas time comes
Girls are always wondering
To know your fate
And find your love
Happy Christmas to all,
Betrothed to all noble!
Let all things become holy
So that your life is wonderful.
Happy holiday today
Let the events that please you come.
Let the winter days cheer you up
And Christmas time will hurry to every house.
Carol merrily with friends, generously,
So that grayness suddenly disappears from life.
We celebrate Christmas
We give gifts to everyone.
And we wish you success
To have a lot of laughter.
Congratulations, hugs
Everything will be fine - we know.
So that there is a lot of fortune
To live a very long time.
At today's Christmas time,
Tell us carols.
We'll give you candy
Feed your kids.
Today is fun
The girls gathered to guess
Christmas time has come,
We won't waste time!
Whom the mirror will show
Ali is married already
There, knock on the window,
Will take me away!
Here come the holidays
We will guess, play,
And with great excitement
Summon spirits!
We wish on this day
To avoid laziness.
So that evil spirits do not stick,
Didn't take away the mood!
We will tell fortunes at Christmas time,
Let's play snowballs
We learn the name of the betrothed,
Let's be happy and funny!
On this holiday, we are waiting for a miracle,
Treats on the table
We wish you all the best
And love in your destiny!
Such a wonderful Christmas holiday,
He fills the soul with light
The heart is lost in conjectures -
So the girl guesses herself.
Let everyone have this day
Hopes and dreams come true
Joy will come, the shadow will disappear,
The heart is filled with a smile!
Earlier, the first recording of the Christmas folk song "Shchedryk" in the composer's musical arrangement was posted on the Web. Nikolai Leontovich. The recording was made in New York in 1922 by the Ukrainian National Choir under the direction of Oleksandr Koshyts.
Basketball Shchedryk / NBA Christmas Carol of the Bells
Even if you do not like to eat kutya, you must definitely cook it on January 13th. Because it is this dish that is traditional in the celebration of the Old New Year.
And how to change the taste of kutia so that all household members will eat it with great pleasure, the culinary editors of the site will tell you.
Secrets of Kutia
Our ancestors believed that on Melanka (and on January 13 the Orthodox Church celebrates the day of remembrance of St. Melania) it is necessary to lay a rich table and put kutya. And if mainly meat and hearty dishes, festive pastries were put on the table, then kutya was supposed to crown these treats. That is, it had to be the most delicious! After all, it was with her that the festive meal began.
Each ingredient that was added to kutya had its own symbolic meaning: poppy seeds are wealth, butter is family well-being, raisins are joyful events, sweets and chocolate are good luck, etc. And even if you do not believe in such symbolism of products, then by talking about them in a playful way at the table, you will certainly cheer up all the guests.
Kutya was usually made from wheat. But if you know that your household does not like this product, then you can cook a traditional dish of rice, barley or wheat groats.
How to cook rich kutya with milk
Ingredients: wheat - 200 g, milk - 300 ml, honey - 1 tablespoon, poppy seeds - 50 g, dried fruits - 150 g.
How to cook:first let's make a knot. In the evening, dry fruits are washed well, poured with cold water and left overnight. In the morning, without draining the water, put on the fire and bring the uzvar to a boil. Turn off the fire and leave to infuse.
Pour wheat grains with cold water and leave for 3-4 hours. Then drain the remaining water, add milk and cook over low heat until tender.
Pour the wheat into a beautiful vase, add honey, poppy seeds and uzvar. We mix. Kutya is ready.
How to change the taste of kutya
To make kutya tastier, grind poppy seeds in a coffee grinder.
Also, kutya can be cooked without milk, but on water. But then add butter or cream to the finished dish.
Don't forget to decorate with kutya. Candied fruits, fresh fruits and chopped chocolate will look especially impressive on it.
And if you want to impress your soulmate with the taste of kutya, add 1-2 tbsp to the dish. l. cognac or rum. The taste will be simply divine. But, of course, such kutya should not be given to children.
Also, be sure to know And .
Hello dear readers!
An amazing holiday is approaching - Christmas, and with it come the customs and rituals that we inherited from our ancestors. Christmas Eve, the holy evening before Christmas, the generous evening - this is how we call the period from 6 to 7 January. Where did traditions come from, and how to celebrate this day in your family?
Paganism and Christianity in a strange way absorbed each other in Rus'. Probably, there is no country in the world where the pagan customs of the ancestors would be so alive in the subconscious of the people.
On January 7, we go to church, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ in a new style. And in the evening, on January 6, we pay tribute to the Slavic traditions, sitting down to the holy supper, singing carols, wondering ... But many of the Christmas Eve "rules" that we try to observe are not approved by the church and are considered sinful. Why?
Of course, the church is not against the holy supper, the lighting of a candle, the unification of the family at a common table with the first star. The Holy Fathers dated this ancient custom to the lines from the Gospel, where it was said that the Magi were informed of the birth of the Mission by the first star that appeared in the sky.
She led them to the manger, in which Mary gave birth to a baby. From here it was customary in Catholic countries to decorate the home with Christmas scenes, to make theatrical performances on this topic.
The Inquisition in Western Europe literally “burned out” the remnants of ancient paganism. Christmas tree, Santa Claus, gifts - that's all that's left of those times.
There was no inquisition in Russia, but paganism and Christianity fought for a long time for a place in people's minds. They are wonderfully intertwined in the national consciousness. Yes, we officially celebrate the Nativity of the Messiah, but we unconsciously transfer the entire entourage of this holiday from pre-Christian times.
The evening of January 6 among the ancient Slavs is the holiday of the annual Kol. One cycle ended and another began. On this day, it was customary to glorify the outgoing Kolo Svarog and Saint Iriy, in which the souls of ancestors live. Let's revive our folk memory and remember how the ancient Slavs celebrated Christmas Eve.
Return to the past
On January 6, all relatives were to come to the house of their parents or the oldest in the family. 12 dishes were laid on the table, necessarily fasting (later the Christian tradition equated this number with the number of the apostles of Jesus), i.e. without butter, sour cream and meat. These could be:
- vareniki;
- cabbage rolls;
- porridge;
- fish;
- borsch;
- pies.
It was possible to drink only with uzvar (dried fruit compote). The table was sprinkled with hay - a symbol of well-being, and then covered with a tablecloth and dishes were placed.
The main dishes were kutya (sweet porridge made from wheat grains) and round kalach (kolo, symbolizing the annual cycle). All day we tried to fast and not eat anything. The exceptions were small children and the elderly. They tried to reward the poor with food.
Another indispensable guest of the holiday was Didukh - a sheaf of wheat, which was placed in the corner of the hut. It symbolized Iriy - the heavenly country where the ancestors lived. The Slavs believed that on this day they come to a festive supper.
With the first star, the family sat down at the table. Before meals, prayers were said (today we read "Our Father") and sang ritual songs - carols. Nowadays, they have turned into song congratulations that young people sing, congratulating neighbors, friends, acquaintances.
The glorification of the god Rod or Dazhd-god was replaced by the glorification of Christ and the Virgin Mary. Many of the carols remained completely unchanged.
Since pagan times, there has been a tradition to dress up in unusual costumes and go caroling from house to house. Festive clothes could be decorated with artificial flowers, wreaths, bows. So our ancestors tried to scare away evil spirits.
There was a belief: if the carolers did not look into someone's house, the owners would have a bad year. Therefore, the doors were always opened to guests, they were presented with food and money. Those who drove out carolers were doomed to failure.
Sitting at the table, it was not customary to talk much. It was impossible to put a spoon on the table until the meal was over. All dishes had to be tasted at least a little, so that the year would not be hungry. But you can’t eat everything put on the table, otherwise the year will be empty.
Some signs are also connected with the holy supper. For example, a girl or a guy could not sit on the corner of the table: family happiness would not take place. This is quite understandable: the corner among the Slavs was considered a concentration of strength and energy, which could interfere with a successful marriage.
A lit candle was an obligatory attribute on the table. But if today it is a church candle in honor of the born Christ, in ancient times it was lit in memory of the ancestors. It was customary to treat with bread and honey - this was the duty of the owner.
The rest gratefully accepted the treat. Relatives who could not come to dinner were given a supper. Even pets were treated to something tasty so that they would not be angry with the owner.
After the meal, the dishes were left until the morning. It was believed that the souls of the ancestors also come to the supper. All food was removed only in the morning.
Signs and fortune-telling were of great importance, because as you meet the next year, so it will be. The Slavs believed that at the turn of the cycles, the future could open up to a person.
How to guess?
Signs, perhaps, are the most harmless fortune-telling. They were born from people's observations and were mainly associated with natural phenomena, because the harvest and the well-being of the family largely depended on the weather.
- If on Holy evening the sky was a starry sky, then chickens will rush and spoil peas.
- If ice is frozen on the trees, there will be a harvest of fruits and nuts.
- If there is a lot of snow, wait for the apple harvest.
- If the moon shines brightly, expect good melons.
- If the sky is clear and clear at Christmas, a good harvest should be expected.
- It was necessary to pull out a blade of grass from a haystack: if it is long, the year will be fruitful, if it is short, expect hunger.
- After dinner, the spoon had to be tied with a spikelet of rye. This amulet was needed so that the cows would not be lost in the herd.
- On the night of January 6th to 7th, it is worth keeping a dream book with you. All dreams on this night are considered prophetic, especially on the growing moon.
The girls on the Holy evening were guessing at the groom. There are many such divinations that have survived to this day.
On mirrors
The most terrible fortune-telling, because it is believed that on this night in the mirror you can see not only the future husband, but also evil spirits. You need to put two mirrors opposite each other and light 2 candles. A mirror corridor should form in the mirror.
There should be no animals in the room, those present should be quiet and not look in the mirror. The girl peers into the mirror corridor, where she should see her fiancé.
On a boot
A boot was thrown over the gate. In which direction he falls, the bridegroom will be from there.
Addressed
The girls went out into the street and asked the name of the first man passing by. His name will have to match the name of the future husband.
On coffee grounds or on wax
Brewed cool coffee and drank. If fortune-telling was carried out on wax, they lit a candle and dripped melted wax into a bowl of cold water. Figures made from wax or coffee grounds were interpreted as predictions of the future.
And today, for the sake of interest, the girls are going to guess at the groom. Who knows, maybe our ancestors really had the ability to magic and passed on their knowledge to us?
I am sure that today you have learned a lot of interesting information about the holy evening before Christmas. I wish you a fun and tasty feast, carolers in the house and a good year.
See you soon, friends!
After the day of the winter solstice, our ancestors began to celebrate Kolyada. The celebration lasted from December 22 to December 31. And then came Shchedrets - Generous Evening, which is traditionally celebrated after Kolyada - on December 31 or from December 31 to January 1. Generous and gave gifts to everyone, and fulfilled dreams. Shchedrovki are part of the Great Winter Christmas time, which are celebrated from December 24 to January 5. Right in the middle of the Christmas time, dividing the holidays into light and dark Christmas time, Shchedrets passes. A rich table, a big feast on this day meant well-being in the coming year.
Audio release of the broadcast
http://sun-helps.myjino.ru/sop/20181228_sop.mp3At present, almost no one remembers Shchedrets, since on December 31 the New Year holiday begins all over the world. Since the New Year is a new holiday that does not have deep roots and traditions of its own, it borrowed many features from Shchedrets. Perhaps for this reason he is popularly loved.
For many, it remains incomprehensible why on New Year's Eve it is customary to set the table in such a way that it breaks, and eyes widen from the abundance of products? There is no such tradition on any other day of the year, so why on New Year's Eve, we buy up all the grocery stores and cook a lot of delicious dishes?
The answer here lies precisely in the historical roots of the holiday, which since ancient times was called Shchedrets. The very name "Shchedrets" - "generous" tells us that on this holiday it is customary to set a generous table, not to skimp on gifts and good deeds. A plentiful and rich table in the old days was called generous, fat, fat. People believed that a rich table would provide a good harvest and prosperity for the whole year.
Before sitting at the festive table, it was necessary to entertain the people with special songs - generosity, which also brought good luck and prosperity.
As on Kolyada, on this day, costumed carolers went from house to house, sang lavish songs or lavish songs and accepted treats from the owners. On Shchedrovka it is also customary to feed the brownies and the spirits of the Ancestors. Separate dishes were set for them, invited to the table.
An elegant Christmas tree in the house or in the courtyard of the house has also come down to our days and suggests that in ancient times it was an essential attribute of generosity. Various sources tell about the meaning of El, as an image of the World Tree of the Rusichs. Also, the Christmas tree was a symbol of the other world. It was believed that the souls of the dead rest on the branches of this tree. Bringing into the house the Christmas tree, which was beautifully decorated, the Russian people invited their Ancestors to the house, who celebrated Shchedrets on a par with the living. The Russians greatly revered their Family, and therefore they were strong - by the strength of the entire Family.
We recommend that you, dear listeners, listen to the wisdom of our ancestors. After all, they lived in harmony with nature and space, lived according to the Sun, which gives life to the whole Earth. Therefore, the main holidays were celebrated on the days of the solstice and equinox. And the time immediately before and after the main solar holidays has also always been considered special. The new solar year is celebrated on the winter solstice. And the first 12 days after the winter solstice lay the program for the next 12 months - so they must be carried out with special attention. And in order for the whole year to be successful and rich - let's remember the traditions of the Generous Evening.
