Winter Christmas time in Rus': rites, history and what Veles Christmas time is. Christmas time - traditions, customs, signs The original way of divination at Christmas time

Christmas time is a period of national winter holidays. In 2020, Christmas time begins on January 6 (on Christmas Eve, from the moment the first star rises in the sky) and ends on January 18 (on Epiphany Christmas Eve, after the blessing of Epiphany water). These holidays are called among the Slavs "from the star to the water." The name "Svyatki" comes from the verb "to sanctify". Orthodox Christians during this period sanctify (glorify) Jesus Christ.

history of the holiday

The first mention of Svyatki dates back to the 4th century. During this period, Greek Christians organized festivities for two weeks after Christmas. In Rus', after the adoption of Christianity during the Christmas period, pagan rites of disguise, divination, and dancing were preserved. The Orthodox Church at first did not support Slavic pagan rituals. Then representatives of the clergy came up with a "solution to the problem" - the tradition of dipping into an ice-hole on a river or lake in the form of a cross for Epiphany. Such a rite helped to wash away the sins that were committed at Christmas time.

Traditions and rituals of the holiday

At Christmas time, people go to churches for services, perform the sacrament of communion. These days it is customary to show mercy: visit hospitals and orphanages, give alms to the poor, make charitable contributions. For young people, this period is associated with folk festivals. In the countryside, ancient traditions are honored: they carol, tell fortunes about the future and the betrothed.

6th January. January 6 is Christmas Eve. On this day, after the first star rises in the sky, which symbolizes the Star of Bethlehem, Christmas time begins.

The hostesses prepare 12 Lenten dishes for the festive dinner, which personify the 12 apostles. Kutya (sochivo) is considered the main dish. The main drink of the festive table is an uzvar of dried fruits, rose hips and honey. Kutia and uzvar symbolize eternal life, the birth and death of Jesus Christ. Kutya is a dish used to commemorate the dead, and uzvar is prepared in honor of the birth of children.

After dinner, believers go to temples for an all-night vigil. At divine services on Christmas Eve, festive hymns are sung, bread, wheat, wine and oil (oil) are consecrated. At the end of the service, the parishioners are anointed.

On the evening of January 6, young people arrange caroling. Carolers dress up in skins, paint their faces, go from house to house and sing ritual songs in which they glorify Jesus Christ, members of the family of the owner of the house. For this they are presented with sweets and money.

On the evening of January 6, Christmas divination begins. On Christmas night, it is customary to tell fortunes and make wishes.

Jan. 7. January 7th is Christmas Day. On the morning of this day, people return home from night services. Those who have kept the 40-day Advent fast begin breaking the fast. The hostesses set up a festive table, which includes fast dishes (containing meat and eggs). On January 7, people relax, go to visit each other.

13th of January. January 13 is celebrated Vasiliev evening. On this day, people read prayers to the Lord Jesus Christ. Hostesses prepare kutia, dumplings, festive meat and fish dishes for a festive dinner, bake pancakes, pies, pies. In the corner of the room, a sheaf of ears of straw is set up - didukh, which is burned after Christmas holidays. There is a tradition among young people to be generous (caroling). Schedrovalniks go from house to house and sing ritual songs. For this, the owners reward them with money and sweets. On Vasiliev evening, young girls gather in companies and arrange Christmas fortune-telling. On the night of January 14, it is customary to make wishes.

January 14th. January 14 is the Old New Year. On the morning of this day, young guys go from house to house, sow grain from their sleeves and sing sowing songs. After January 14, people clean Christmas trees and Christmas decorations in their homes.

January 18th. January 18 is Epiphany evening. On this holiday, believers attend the Divine Liturgy. In the temples, a great consecration of water is held, which the parishioners bring home, sprinkle their dwellings with it and store it all year round. On Epiphany evening, believers adhere to strict fasting. They are taken for food only after the first star has risen in the sky. On the tables there are necessarily juicy and uzvar.

People believe that on the night of January 18-19, evil spirits rule the earth. To protect themselves from evil spirits, on this day they draw crosses on the doors of houses, sheds and gates with chalk.

Divination for Christmas time

Fortune-telling is a favorite entertainment during Christmas time. With the help of magical rituals, people are trying to look into the future and find out what events to expect in the near future. Unmarried girls try to find out the date of the wedding or the name of the future groom. To perform rituals, they use special attributes: water, candles, mirrors, rings, needles, household items.

Signs and beliefs

• During the holy season, hunters should refrain from hunting, otherwise misfortune may happen.
• From Christmas Eve (January 6) to the Old New Year (January 14), housewives are not allowed to sweep rubbish from the hut. Then it is necessary to sweep all the garbage into a heap, take it out into the yard and burn it so that the year passes in peace and prosperity.
• At dinner on Christmas Eve (January 6), you need to taste all the dishes that are on the table so that there is prosperity and satiety in the house.
• If the weather is warm at Christmas (January 7), then the spring will be cold.
• If on Vasiliev evening (January 13) the hostess managed to cook crumbly and tasty kutya, then the whole year will be accompanied by good luck and happiness.

During Christmas time, an atmosphere of magic reigns on earth. During this period, dreams and magical rituals acquire a special meaning. People try to have fun every Christmas day. On these holidays, they go sledding and skating, attend holiday fairs, visit each other.

What date is Christmas time in 2021, 2022, 2023

Christmas time among the Slavs was always celebrated, and after the Baptism of Rus', pagan culture and Christian mixed up. Because of this situation, during this period they wondered, and caroled that the church condemned, and prayed, and went to the temple, and much more.

From ancient times, Christmas time was divided into three holidays - Christmas, Old New Year and Epiphany. The whole celebration could drag on for several days, and each of them was accompanied by its own special traditions, beliefs, customs and rituals. Well, let's look at each of them.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve, or as it is also called Holy Evening, is celebrated on January 6, when the first star appears. On the eve of Holy Evening, 4 days, all Orthodox Christians observe a strict Christmas fast, and it ends on Christmas Eve. In addition to intensive preparation for Christmas, on this day it was customary to visit the temple, where our ancestors took communion, confessed, and prayed. When the liturgy ended, the clergy usually brought a candle to the center of the temple and read the troparion to the Nativity of Christ.

Also read: Christmas divination from Christmas to Epiphany

Celebrating the holiday after the first star was not just. According to legend, when Christ was born, the Magi saw the brightest star, and this was a sign that a king was born. Therefore, they decided to go to him and present gifts that can only be given to the king - gold, lebanon and myrrh.

Christmas Eve Traditions

The celebration began with a gala dinner. A new white tablecloth was necessarily laid on the table, and hay was placed under it, which lay until the Generous (Vasiliev) evening. Dinner was quite plentiful - dishes of meat, fish, pickles, pies, pancakes and more. Also, special cookies in the form of goats, cockerels, cows and other animals were baked for the holiday.

By the way, the name of this holiday appeared for a reason. Before the appearance of the first star, only the so-called sochivo could be eaten - soaked grains of wheat, to which various fruits and honey were added. Today this tradition has changed a lot - instead of sochi we cook kutya and not from soaked grains of wheat, but from rice.

In addition to the sheaf of hay that was placed under the tablecloth, the same sheaf (or Didukh) was placed in a vase on the most honorable place on the table, on which Lenten dishes were already generously displayed. In general, the tradition of making the Christmas didukh was quite solemn and somewhat reminiscent of the establishment of a festive fir tree today.

Also read: Christmas divination on wax

And after the first star appeared, they always lit the first candle and set it on the table. At the end of the festive meal, all the treats were not removed, but left for the deceased relatives. After all, according to beliefs, they also came to the holiday.

On Holy Evening, the owner of the house shared prosvir or a slice of bread soaked in honey with each member of the family. Handing this delicacy, he always said congratulations and wishes of all the best.

As we have already mentioned, most of the time was devoted to preparing for Christmas. Therefore, even before dawn, it was necessary to burn seven logs and cook twelve dishes for Christmas.

Nativity

There is no need to talk about the history of Christmas, because everyone knows it almost from the cradle. And how the Virgin Mary and her husband went to Bethlehem, and how King Herod persecuted them, and how the baby was miraculously saved. And after Christianity appeared, this day began to be celebrated in many countries of the world. Moreover, each culture has its own distinctive and unusual traditions. It is worth noting that most often such customs also have pagan roots, but now we will tell you about everything in order.

Traditions for Christmas

On the night of January 6-7, the whole family tried not to sleep and in the houses they made sure that the Christmas candle did not go out. And the service in honor of Christmas was not held in the morning, as on all Orthodox holidays, but at night. Even the children tried not to sleep and they carried some of the treats that were left after Christmas Eve to their grandparents. In the morning, they didn’t leave the house once again, only married couples definitely needed to visit their parents, while telling all their friends that they were “bringing dinner to grandfather.”

Special attention should be paid to the Christmas dinner. As you know, there must be 12 dishes on the table according to the number of apostles. At Christmas, the richest table is usually laid, in addition to these twelve dishes, the hostesses also prepared meat dishes, many pies, jelly, uzvar, baked bread. And the main dish at the feast was pork. In general, the table was bursting with an abundance of various treats. Another tradition was to put a lucky coin in a festive cake. Whoever she comes across will not know grief all year and will definitely catch luck by the tail.

Also read: simple divination for Christmas time

Until the evening, the streets were usually empty before, people spent this holiday at home at the family table. But after the festive meal, the villages and villages became noticeably livelier, because they began to carol. Married couples usually sat at home like this or simply went to visit someone's home, but unmarried and unmarried young people gathered at the temple or school, where they first chose Bereza, that is, the most important one who led the caroling. And then all the rest - latkovy - he collected lard and sausages, a bread-bearer, a treasurer, a star (wears a star), ringers, dancers, violinists. After that, they went caroling and this process could last several nights in a row, until they visited every house in the village.

And, of course, it was not without guesswork. To do this, as usual, the girls gathered after the festive festivities with someone alone and began to guess at the betrothed.

old New Year

The Old New Year is another interesting feature in Slavic culture. In another way, it is also called Generous Evening, and all because, just like on Christmas Eve on January 14, they prepared kutya, but now not so lean, butter or lard could be added there.

On the night of January 13-14, it was believed that all evil spirits would come to Earth, which is why the second week of Christmas time was considered terrible. And in order to ward off evil spirits, at night, teenage girls went to deliver kutya to their homes, that is, they are generous and all this is necessarily accompanied by songs, otherwise you can’t drive away evil spirits. And the next morning the guys went to sow at home. After all, according to the sign, it was the man who was supposed to enter the house on January 14 first. Then the whole year will pass happy, carefree and joyful.

On the evening of the Old New Year, the whole family also gathered at the festive table, after which everyone solemnly went out into the courtyard to burn Didukh. They immediately threw old clothes into the same fire and tried to put on new ones. It was considered a symbol of renewal, good change and getting rid of old problems.

On the Generous Evening, kutya was prepared in a special way. For this, the whole family gathered at exactly 2 o'clock in the morning. After that, the oldest woman in the family always brought cereal, and the eldest man brought water. Then they stoked the stove, while touching the cereal with water until it was flooded was in no case possible. The woman stirred the still raw porridge, pronouncing special words, and put it in the oven with a bow. On this day, dumplings are also made by the whole family, and in one of them, or maybe several, there is a surprise. For the meal, everyone must be in clean clothes, and even better in new ones. But after dinner, families usually went to visit their neighbors to ask their forgiveness.

Another tradition that is associated with this holiday is matchmaking, or more precisely, the guy who was denied marriage can try his luck again and propose to the same girl twice.

Epiphany

This holiday was also called before the hungry kutya, because until the priest sanctified the water it was impossible to eat. This is the last holiday of Christmas time, and on this day the festive kutya was prepared for the last time. At Epiphany, a liturgy was performed from the very morning, after which everyone hurried to the nearest reservoir to bless the water. On Christmas Eve, it was customary to put aside one spoonful of three dishes in a separate pot, which were eaten on Epiphany by the one who was the last to come from the river.

But old women and young girls were in a hurry to collect snow from stacks that day, each for their own purposes. Grandmothers believed that the Epiphany snow could bleach their linen, and the girls wanted to whiten their skin with it. Before the festive dinner, the owner of the house always took a festive kutya and brought it to the window, referring to the winter frost: "since the frost does not go into the house, let it not go to the harvest either."

Signs for Christmas

On Sechelnik during the meal, everyone tried to behave with restraint and talk as little as possible, otherwise the year would be extremely unsuccessful. And they tried not to put unmarried and unmarried young people on the corner of the table, otherwise they would never find their family.

If it snowed on Christmas Eve, then this year there will be a good harvest, and the capital in the family will only grow.

And when it's frosty and cold at Christmas, then families will only have harmony, love and mutual understanding.

So that the house always had something to eat and no one was left hungry, our ancestors tried to eat at least one spoonful of each dish. At the same time, it was also impossible to eat everything at once, because then there would be hunger all year.

If the porridge on the Old New Year turned out to be crumbly and tasty, then the year will pass successfully and happily, but if on the contrary, they tried to throw it away as quickly as possible, otherwise trouble in the family would not be avoided.

You can’t lend anything on the Old New Year, otherwise you will spend the whole year as a debtor.

Probably never like at Epiphany they rejoiced at cloudy and wet weather, because it portends a good and plentiful harvest in summer. But if on the contrary - on December 19 the weather was clear and warm, then many were upset, because the summer would then be dry, which means the harvest would be poor.

If there are many stars in the sky at Baptism, then this speaks not only of a good harvest, but also of a rich offspring of livestock. The fact that in the coming year there will be a plentiful harvest is also evidenced by a lot of snow on this day.

Christmas time is a time that every year fills the hearts of each of us with joy. After all, at this time we all become a little kinder, a little happier and a little happier. Take advantage of the customs and traditions of Christmas time, and you can plunge into the festive atmosphere and learn more about ancient Slavic customs.

Christmas sheaf - didukh

"Didukh to the house - trouble from home" - this is an old Ukrainian saying, which in one phrase reveals the meaning of didukh - a Christmas sheaf. It was customary for our ancestors to set up and decorate a Christmas didukh, a sheaf of unthreshed ears of wheat, in every house on the eve of Christmas, in addition to the Christmas tree. Since ancient times, our ancestors believed that the spirits of grandfathers, great-grandfathers, patrons of the house, reside in the didukh.

Popular beliefs connect the tradition of making didukhs with the birth of Jesus Christ. When Jesus was born, it was very cold in the barn, so Joseph blocked the gap in the wall with a sheaf of straw. It is this sheaf that symbolizes the didukh.

This attribute of Christmas was taken out of the house only on the eve of the Old New Year, which was celebrated on January 13th. In some regions, accompanied by songs and dances, it was customary to burn didukh on the road. In other places, only part of the sheaf was burned, and from the spikelets they made a “sprinkler”, with which they consecrated the house. Our ancestors believed that if you sprinkle the house with holy water, the next year will be fruitful.

Holy Evening or Christmas Eve

The evening before Christmas is called Christmas Eve or Holy Evening. Every family waits in awe for the first star to appear in the sky. According to traditions, it is at this time that one should sit down at the pre-Christmas table. From the very morning, all housewives prepare 12 Lenten dishes for dinner.

12 dishes that every housewife prepares for Christmas Eve symbolize the number of months in a year and the apostles of Christ. Dishes are placed on a table covered with a white tablecloth and covered with hay, which reminds us of the manger in which the Son of God was born. Heads of garlic are placed at the corners of the table, which protect the whole family from evil spirits.

One of the main dishes of the Holy evening is kutia. It is customary to cook it from crushed wheat and poppy seeds and season it with honey, raisins, and nuts. In addition, the table should have uzvar (dried fruit compote), dumplings with potatoes or cabbage, lean borscht with mushroom ears, lean cabbage rolls from grated potatoes, herring, mushroom sauce, beans, peas, stewed cabbage, lampukhi (doughnuts). The meal must begin with prayer. After dinner, the housewives do not remove the dishes from the table, because they believe that the spirits of their ancestors will come to the house at night to have dinner.

Bright Christmas holiday

The celebration begins with a trip to the Christmas service at the church, and then the whole family gathers for a festive breakfast. In the evening, it's time for carols, and delicious dishes are put on the table - boiled pork, homemade sausage, blood, jelly. Sweets are served for dessert - puff cakes with a variety of fillings: poppy seeds, cherries, prunes, cream, meringue. Similar to the Slavic traditions of celebrating Christmas are the customs of other peoples of the world.

For example, when Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians prepare 12 dishes for the Holy evening, which symbolize the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ, the Czechs serve 12 types of cakes on the table, which represent 12 months. In Venezuela, grapes are shared and 12 grapes are eaten, while making wishes for each month of the year. During the Holy Supper, Ukrainians share church prosphora, and Poles share a rebate.

On this bright day, all the streets and houses are filled with fun and sonorous singing - there are nativity scenes with bells and a Christmas star (children dressed as angels, the devil, warriors, death), carols sound, concerts, festivals and fairs are held, nativity scene dramas are played out. Shops are placed in churches and houses - models depicting the Bethlehem stable on the night of the Nativity of Christ. Mandatory elements of the shopka are the figures of Jesus Christ, the Mother of God and St. Joseph, as well as shepherds and three kings.

Carols are mostly young people and children. It used to be a kind of entertainment for young people. And actually, what prevents you today from congratulating your neighbors in the stairwell with laudatory carols on the day of Holy Christmas? In our world, where people are so divided, sometimes simple human communication is not enough. Treat your neighbors with your own “cooked” carols, and they will surely give you something tasty in return or even invite you for tea.

During the Christmas holidays, you can enjoy all sorts of goodies, the most popular of which are donuts. Since ancient times, they have been a sweet symbol of Christmas and a traditional dish on the festive table. Each housewife, as a rule, has her own secret of their preparation. Most often they are baked with poppy seeds, cherry or rose jam. Some housewives on Christmas Eve like to play tricks on guests and put all kinds of symbolic fillings in donuts.

So, according to legend, whoever comes across a pampukh stuffed with salt will spend the whole year in hard work. If instead of poppy the hostess poured pepper, you should prepare for surprises in the new year. Whoever tries pampukh with a penny inside will get rich. And the filling of honey indicates love or an imminent wedding.

Old New Year

From time immemorial, it was believed that Christmas time is the most favorable time to look into the future. Accordingly, it is on these days, starting from Christmas and ending with the Baptism of the Lord, that it is customary to guess. The girls gather on the night of the Old New Year and try to predict their fate - they leave the house at midnight and ask the name of the first person they meet. According to popular beliefs, the name of the passerby is the name of the betrothed. By his appearance and clothes, you can predict the beauty and wealth of the future husband.

Also, girls guess with matches. To do this, two matches are inserted on the sides of the matchbox and set on fire. If the burnt heads are facing each other, the lovers are destined to be together. In order to find out what kind of life to expect this year, various objects are placed in a saucer, bowl or felt boot. Girls must choose one of the "vessels". If ash gets inside, then a bad life awaits the fortuneteller, sugar - a “sweet” life, a ring - marriage, an onion - tears, a glass - a fun life, a golden ring - wealth.

Baptism of the Lord

Christmas time ends with the feast of the Epiphany of the Lord. On the eve of January 18, the whole family gathers at the table. At the table, as during the Holy Supper, only Lenten dishes are served, and hungry, or poor, kutya is also prepared. Churches bless the water. It is believed that on this night she is gaining special healing power.

Epiphany water protects from any disasters and heals wounds. It is strictly forbidden, while pouring holy water or taking it, to quarrel, swear, allow bad thoughts, and do bad deeds. From this, the collected holy water loses the property of holiness. Coming home in the morning after a nightly church service, people sprinkle every corner of their homes with holy water. It is believed that order and peace will reign in a sprinkled house.

For a long time, on Epiphany evening it was customary to go from house to house and be generous. Young guys and girls sang generosity, wishing good and well-being, and the owners gave them small money for this. Having plunged into the festive atmosphere, none of us will remain indifferent to Christmas traditions. Everyone can forget about their problems. After all, Christmas exists for this - to inspire faith and hope for a better future.

Trinity, Green Christmas time and Semik are holidays that refer to the beginning of the summer period. In Slavic traditions, they played a very important role, and until now, these days, nature around us has a very special energy.

Trinity is included in the list of 12 main Orthodox holidays, and Green Christmas time and Semik are folk dates that are tied to the Trinity and are inextricably linked with it in the memory of the people.

Trinity in 2016

Trinity is the most important holiday for every Christian. The people also call this day Pentecost, since according to church tradition it is celebrated on the 50th day after Easter. Although Jesus gave up his earthly life at Passover, he still remained on earth with his disciples, giving them advice and guidance until the 40th day after his death. After that, his soul went to where it was originally prepared for a place - next to the Father and the Holy Spirit. This day is known in the church calendar as the Ascension of the Lord.

Trinity in 2016 will be celebrated June 19. It is on this day that the clergy and all believers will pay tribute to the triune union of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. On Trinity, people go to church, decorate their house, clean up and invite guests. Guests and family joining is almost a mandatory rule, since with this gesture we show love for our neighbors. This holiday calls for mutual understanding, kindness and responsiveness. No one is perfect, but on days like Trinity, absolutely everyone can admit their mistakes and ask for forgiveness for what they did. The Trinity teaches us to put ourselves in the place of another person, trying to understand his essence. This is a holiday of piety, which helps to find a bright beginning in oneself.

On June 19, the church advises to visit the temple or read prayers at home. Also on the Trinity, it is customary to clear the gardens of weeds and collect medicinal herbs. There are certain trinity divination, which we told you about earlier. This is the only day of summer when many divination is not forbidden by the church.

Semik in 2016

June 16, on the seventh Thursday after Easter, Semik or Mermaid Day is celebrated. This is an ancient Slavic holiday that has preserved its traditions to this day, carrying them through time. Another name for the holiday is Maundy Thursday, the Trinity of the Dead. Usually the church does not express indignation about this holiday, despite the fact that it is pre-Christian. Naturally, it is not in the church calendar, and not a word is said about it in the churches. However, many people go to cemeteries on this day to honor the memory of deceased relatives.

Initially, the purpose of the holiday was to commemorate the dead who died a violent death, committed suicide, drowned or remained unknown after death.

The official Christian memorial service in churches is held on Trinity Saturday, and on Thursday people always commemorate those who have not been honored with the opportunity to be buried according to all the rules of God. Previously, this was an obligatory ceremony in Rus', during which people came to a specially designated place in the cemetery and commemorated those who died without church honors.

Green Christmas time 2016

Green Christmas time includes many Christian church and folk holidays, combined into a whole holiday complex. The series of holidays begins with Mid-Midday, which means the passage of half the way to the Trinity. Next comes the Ascension of the Lord, then the national holiday Semik, and then the Trinity and Trinity week. Green Christmas time ends before Petrovsky post.

This period represents the meeting of the summer season and farewell to spring. Christmas time will begin in 2016 on May 25, and end on June 26. The main symbol of the festive cycle is the birch. Since ancient times, it has symbolized victory over cold and snow.

During this period from May 25 to June 26, girls in Rus' usually looked after their groom. Folk signs and traditions tell us that people believed in mermaids, who made riddles for people who disappeared in the forest, sitting on trees. Those who did not guess were waiting for death. At Green Christmas time people walked and had as much fun as possible, because after them, according to custom, a rather serious Petrovsky fast comes.

We wish you happy holidays and good mood in the coming days. May God be near you and hear your evening and morning prayers, protecting you every minute. Honor church and folk traditions that are almost 2000 years old. This is a tribute to history, a gift from the ancestors. Happy summer to you and don't forget to press the buttons and

09.06.2016 06:15

Trinity is one of the most revered and beloved holidays among the people. If done right, this...

In Russia, winter Christmas time has come - a cheerful folk-Christian festive period that lasts from Christmas to Epiphany.

When are Christmas holidays

Christmas time, which in Rus' was also called carols, is celebrated for 12 whole days, as they say, “from the star to the water”, that is, from the appearance of the first star on the eve of the Nativity of Christ and until the feast of the Epiphany, when the rite of consecration of water is performed. The holiday has pagan, folk roots, but is closely connected with the Christian tradition.

history of the holiday

The first Christians began to celebrate the twelve days after the Nativity of Christ from ancient times. For the first time, the celebration of Christmas time was mentioned in the first century AD. However, already at the same time when the holiday became Christian, the tradition of Christmas divination and the fulfillment of other superstitions inherited from pagan times, never approved by the church, appeared. Christmas fortune-telling and other pastimes not approved by the church were so popular during this period that the authorities even issued special prohibition laws. So, in the Russian Empire there was a special law that forbade “on the eve of the Nativity of Christ and during Christmas time, starting games according to old idolatrous traditions and, dressing up in idol robes, perform dances in the streets and sing seductive songs.”

Christmas rites

At Svyatki there were and still remain in different places their own local traditions, somewhat different from each other. Among the most famous Christmas pastimes is walking around the houses of mummers, when young people, dressed up in different, sometimes frightening costumes, sing and dance, receiving food and money as a reward. At the same time, Christmas mummers are far from being as blissful as those who participate in Christmas carols. Christmas costumes and masks are sometimes frightening, and songs and dances are sometimes indecent.
In Rus', traditional costumes and masks were in use at Christmas time - for example, “goat”, “stork”, “devil”, etc. Mostly young guys went in masks, girls, if they participated in carols, behaved more modestly, and did not hide their faces. Sometimes the mummers covered their faces with hair, panicles, bast, pulled fur hats low over their eyes, etc. Or they smeared their faces with soot, tar, beets, sprinkled with flour. It was believed that the mummers who walked around the yards were messengers from another world, images of the souls of dead ancestors. Therefore, the owners coaxed the mummers with food and money, as if paying off evil spirits.

Christmas festivities are vividly shown in the film by Alexander Mitta "The Tale of How Tsar Peter the Black Married".

The expulsion of Christmas time

In some regions of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, the rite of expelling Christmas time (kutya, carols), timed to coincide with the end of the Christmas period before Epiphany, has still been preserved. So, in Ukraine it was customary to burn Christmas straw or garbage accumulated during the Christmas season. This rite is called "fire dida" or "fire diduha".

The burning of straw or hay on Epiphany Christmas Eve was also very common in Russia - it was called "seeing off Christmas time": a burning sheaf was driven around the village on a cart with joyful cries.

There are other Christmas rituals - lighting candles, gatherings, songs and dances, collecting money for widows, etc. Mostly in villages and cities, this time was spent merrily, winter fun and entertainment were in use, the table was varied, since fasting restrictions were no longer in effect, it was not customary to work at that time. Including at that time, hunting and, in general, any killing of animals was under a strict ban.

Christmas proverbs and sayings

Wolves get married at Christmas time.

From Christmas to Epiphany, it is a sin to hunt animals and birds: trouble will happen to the hunter.

One kutya for people, another for thinness (cattle), and the third for harvest.

Christmas time has passed, it's a pity to leave, Maslenitsa has come - it's time to ride

Wet Christmas time (that is, thaw) - little harvest.

Yasnye Svyatki are full barns.

Christmas divination

Christmas fortune-telling was common among the Slavic peoples during the winter Christmas time from Christmas Eve to Epiphany.

The most favorable for fortune-telling were considered Rozhdestvensky (January 6), Vasilyevsky (January 13) and Epiphany (January 18) evenings. The ancients believed that these days are critical, the most dangerous periods, when the Christmas spirits are especially strong.

There were two main themes in fortune-telling at Christmas time: fortune-telling about fate (about marriage, family, well-being) and about the future harvest.

Christmas fortune-telling was one of the main entertainments for girls thinking about marriage and about a mummer-betrothed - a future husband. These divinations are described in Vasily Zhukovsky's ballad "Svetlana" and in Alexander Pushkin's poem "Eugene Onegin".

Read more about the methods of divination at Christmas time in the material of the Federal News Agency.