Russians and their traditions. Age-old traditions of the Russian people
Our country is huge, it is inhabited by many different people who may differ from each other in height and physique, eye shape and skin color, folklore traditions. Even an ordinary average student can give examples of the peoples of Russia, and there is nothing surprising in this, since the native land is studied in all educational institutions of the Russian Federation.
This article is aimed at revealing the most unknown and at the same time really interesting data about the customs and traditions of the peoples of Russia. The reader will receive a lot of useful facts, thanks to which it will later become easier for him to understand those who, like him, are called Russians.
In fact, the peculiarities of the peoples of Russia (at least some of them, for example, those living in the Far North) cannot but surprise even the most sophisticated and experienced travelers. We will talk about this and much more in this article.
The ethnic composition of the peoples of Russia. general information
How large and vast our country is, so diverse and powerful is the population living in it. Not without reason in the days of the Soviet Union in the passports was the line "Nationality". The Union collapsed, and yet the Russian Federation still remains a multinational state, where more than a hundred peoples live under one sky.
According to regular population censuses, it can be argued that indigenous Russian peoples make up about 90% of the population, of which 81% are Russians. How many peoples live in Russia? Ethnographers argue that it will not be possible to answer this question unequivocally, and in their reports they, as a rule, unite the indigenous peoples of the country into groups whose proximity is expressed not only geographically, but also culturally and historically. In total, there are more than 180 historical communities in the country. The religions of the peoples of Russia are also taken into account in the selection.
With such an abundance of representatives of the ethnic group of a vast country, one cannot but pay attention to very small peoples, whose culture and way of life are often on the verge of extinction. The inexorable facts in most cases point precisely to the fact that the number of nationalities, about which most of us have not even heard, is gradually declining. That is why the government of our country made a completely logical decision to tell the younger generation about the customs and traditions of the peoples of Russia from the primary grades of a comprehensive school. At first, all this is presented in the form of fairy tales and legends, and a little later, from grades 7-8, students get to know life and culture in more detail.
Little-known inhabitants of a huge country
There are such representatives of the peoples of Russia that you have not even heard of. Don't believe? And in vain. Although I must say that in fact there are few of them. The description of the peoples of Russia, who managed to preserve their culture, traditions, and most importantly, their faith and way of life, deserve special attention.
Vodlozers
Not everyone knows that lake people or the so-called water lakers live in Karelia today. True, only five villages have survived to this day, while the inhabitants number no more than 550 people. Their forefathers were immigrants from Moscow and Novgorod. Despite this, Slavic customs are still honored in Vodlozero. For example, the path to the forest is ordered, if you do not first appease its owner - the goblin. Each hunter must make an offering: take the dead animal as a gift.
family
Examples of the peoples of Russia will be incomplete if we do not mention the family ones. Their way of life, as it were, personifies the life of pre-Petrine times. These representatives of the peoples of Russia are considered Old Believers who once settled in Transbaikalia. The name of the nation comes from the word "family". According to the 2010 census, the population is 2,500. Their unique culture is still primordial, that is, little has changed since the time of their ancestors. Every year scientists from all over the world come to these places to study the crafts of the peoples of Russia. By the way, not everyone knows that the village family houses are more than 250 years old today.
Russian Ustintsy
The nationality owes its appearance. Settlers from the Cossacks and Pomors once created their own sub-ethnic group here. Despite the difficult living conditions, they, albeit partially, managed to preserve their culture and language.
Chaldons
That is how the Siberians called the first Russian settlers of the 16th century. Their descendants bear the same name. Today, the way of chaldons is very similar to the life of the Slavs before the establishment of princely power. Their uniqueness is also expressed in the fact that the language, appearance, culture are completely different from either Slavic or Mongoloid. Sadly, chaldons, like other small peoples, are gradually dying out.
Tundra Peasants
They are considered descendants of the Eastern Pomors. These are very friendly people who actively come into contact with others. They are characterized by unique culture, faith and traditions. True, in 2010, only 8 people considered themselves to be tundra peasants.
Disappearing peoples of the country: Khanty and Mansi
Kindred peoples, Khanty and Mansi, were once the greatest hunters. The fame of their courage and courage reached Moscow itself. Today, both peoples are represented by residents of the Khanty-Mansiysk Okrug. Initially, the territory near the Ob River basin belonged to the Khanty. The Mansi tribes began to populate it only at the end of the 19th century, after which the active advancement of peoples to the northern and eastern parts of the region began. It is no coincidence that their faith, culture, way of life was built on the basis of unity with nature, because the Khanty and Mansi led a predominantly taiga way of life.
These representatives of the peoples of Russia did not have a clear distinction between animals and humans. Nature and animals have always come first. Thus, the peoples were forbidden to settle near places inhabited by the beast, and too narrow nets were not used in fishing.
Almost every animal was revered. So, according to their beliefs, the she-bear gave birth to the first woman, and the Great Bear gave the fire; elk - a symbol of well-being and strength; and they owe it to the beaver that it was thanks to him that the Khanty came to the sources of the Vasyugan River. Today, scientists are concerned that oil developments can negatively affect not only the beaver population, but also the way of life of an entire people.
Eskimos are the proud inhabitants of the north
The Eskimos firmly settled on the territory of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. This is perhaps the most eastern people of our country, the origin of which remains controversial to this day. Animal hunting was the main activity. Until the middle of the 19th century, a spear with a tip and a swivel bone harpoon were the main tools for hunting.
Citing examples of the peoples of Russia, it should be noted that the Eskimos were almost not affected by Christianity. They believed in spirits, changes in the human condition, natural phenomena. Sila was considered the creator of the world - the creator and owner, who monitors the order and respect for the rites of the ancestors. Sedna sent prey to the Eskimos. Spirits that bring misfortune and illness were depicted as dwarfs or, conversely, giants. The shaman lived in almost every settlement. As an intermediary between man and evil spirits, he entered into peaceful alliances, and for some time the Eskimos lived in peace and tranquility.
Whenever the fishing was successful, fishing holidays were held. Celebrations were also organized to mark the beginning or end of the hunting season. Rich folklore, extraordinary Arctic culture (bone carving and engraving) once again prove the uniqueness of the Eskimos. The property of the peoples of Russia, including them, can be seen in the capital's ethnographic museums.
Famous reindeer herders of Russia - Koryaks
Talking about how many peoples live in Russia at the moment, one cannot fail to mention the Koryaks living in Kamchatka, and this people still has features of the Okhotsk culture that existed in the first millennium of the new era. Everything changed radically in the 17th century, when the formation of Koryak-Russian ties began. Collectivism is the basis of the life of this people.
Their worldview is associated with animism. This means that for quite a long time they animated everything around: stones, plants, the Universe. Shamanism also took place in their customs. Worship of sacred places, sacrifices, cult objects - all this underlies the culture of the Koryaks.
All Koryak holidays were and remain seasonal. In the spring, reindeer herders celebrate the holiday of the horns (Kilvei), and in the fall, the day of slaughtering the elk. In families where twins were born, a wolf festival was held, since newborns were considered relatives of these predators. At all events, active imitation of animals was clearly observed: in dancing, singing. In recent years, a policy has been pursued to preserve the heritage and heritage of the unique Koryak people.
Tofalars - a disappearing people of the Irkutsk region
The description of the peoples of Russia is impossible without the Tofalars, an ethnic group numbering more than 700 people, which is deployed on the territory of the Irkutsk region. Despite the fact that the majority of Tofalars are Orthodox, shamanism persists to this day.
The main activities of these people are hunting and reindeer herding. Once a favorite drink was elk milk, which was drunk boiled or added to tea. Until the Tofalars became a settled people, their dwelling was a conical tent. In recent times, the purity of the people is lost. However, the culture of the ancient Tofalars has survived to this day.
Original and proud people - Archins
Today, the Archins are a small ethnic group, which, during the 1959 census, were classified as Avars. Despite this fact, the originality and conservative lifestyle of this people made it possible to preserve their language. Modern Archins revere their culture, many of them have a higher education. However, in schools, teaching is conducted only in the Avar language.
The fact that the Archins speak the Avar language once again proves their belonging to a large, socially significant nation. The life of the people is not subject to global changes. Young people do not want to leave the villages, and mixed marriages are a rarity. Although, of course, the gradual loss of traditions occurs.
How many peoples in Russia, so many traditions. For example, celebrating a celebration, the Archins do not decorate a Christmas tree, but put on fur coats and sheepskin hats and begin to dance lezginka to the accompaniment of zurna, drum and kumuza.
The last of the Vod people
Let us continue to give examples of the peoples of Russia. The population of the Vod people is barely 100 people. They live on the territory of the modern Leningrad region.
Vod - Orthodox. However, despite this, remnants of paganism still take place: for example, at the beginning of the 20th century, animalism was traced - the worship of trees and stones. Rites were performed according to calendar days. On the eve of the holiday of Ivan Kupala, bonfires were kindled, and the girls began to guess. Collective feasts and ritual fishing were organized on the site. The first fish caught was fried and then lowered back into the water. The choice of a partner for the driver fell entirely on the young. Matchmaking, unlike the current one, was divided into two stages: in fact, matchmaking, when the bride and groom exchanged pledges, and tobacco, when the matchmakers already smoked tobacco and ate pies.
During the preparations for the wedding, ritual lamentations could often be heard. It is curious that the wedding until the 19th century was "two-pointed": after the wedding, the groom went to celebrate with his guests, in fact, the bride did the same. And until the middle of the 19th century, during the wedding ceremony, the bride shaved her hair on her head, as if symbolizing the transition to a new stage - the stage of married life.
Nivkhs - residents of the Khabarovsk Territory
Nivkhs are a people located on the territory of the Khabarovsk Territory. The number is more than 4500 people. It seems that this is not so much, if we take into account how many peoples live in Russia at the moment, however, everything, as they say, is known in comparison, for example, with the Vod people. Nivkhs speak both Nivkh and Russian. It is believed that they are the descendants of the ancient population on Sakhalin.
Fishing, hunting and gathering are considered traditional crafts. In addition, dog breeding was one of the main occupations of the Nivkhs. They not only used dogs as a vehicle, but also ate them, and sewed clothes from dog skins.
The official religion is Orthodoxy. Nevertheless, traditional beliefs persisted until the middle of the 20th century. For example, the bear cult. The bear festival was accompanied by the slaughter of an animal grown in a cage. Careful attitude to nature, rational use of its gifts in the blood of the Nivkhs. Rich folklore, arts and crafts, medicine to this day are passed from mouth to mouth.
Indigenous peoples of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug
Fewer people than the Selkups cannot be found in the entire North. According to the latest census, their number is only 1,700 people. The name of this people comes directly from the ethnic group and is translated as "forest man". Traditionally, the Selkups are engaged in fishing and hunting, as well as reindeer herding. Until the 17th century, that is, until Russian merchants mastered sales, handicrafts and weaving actively developed.
1. Introduction
2. Holidays and rituals
· New Year
Celebration of the New Year in pagan Rus'.
Celebration of the new year after the baptism of Rus'
Innovations of Peter I in the celebration of the new year
New Year under Soviet rule. Calendar change.
old New Year
New Year in the Orthodox Church
· Christmas post
On the history of fasting and its significance
How to eat on Christmas Day
· Christmas
Christmas in the first centuries
New holiday victory
How was Christmas celebrated in Rus'?
Picture of Christmas
History of spruce decoration
Christmas wreath
Christmas candles
Christmas presents
Christmas on a platter
· Maslenitsa
Easter Christian
Agrafena Bathing suit yes Ivan Kupala
・Wedding Ceremony
Variety of Russian weddings
The figurative basis of the Russian wedding
Word and object environment in the Russian wedding. wedding poetry
Wedding clothes and accessories
3. Conclusion
4. List of used literature
5. Application
Target:
To study the interaction of pagan and Christian traditions in the worldview of the Russian people
Expand and consolidate your knowledge on the topic
Tasks:
1. Gaining knowledge about the folk calendar and its constituent seasonal holidays and rituals.
2. Systematization of information about Russian holidays.
3. The difference between the traditions and customs of the Russian people from the traditions and customs of another people
Relevance of the topic:
1. To trace the trends in the development of folk culture and its influence on the daily life of a person.
2. Find out which of the traditions have lost their relevance and disappeared, and which have come down to us. Assume the further development of existing traditions.
3. Track how elements of different cultural eras are combined
In the life and culture of any people there are many phenomena that are complex in their historical origin and functions. One of the most striking and revealing phenomena of this kind are folk customs and traditions. In order to understand their origins, it is necessary, first of all, to study the history of the people, its culture, get in touch with its life and way of life, try to understand its soul and character. Any customs and traditions basically reflect the life of a particular group of people, and they arise as a result of empirical and spiritual knowledge of the surrounding reality. In other words, customs and traditions are those valuable pearls in the ocean of people's lives that they have collected over the centuries as a result of practical and spiritual comprehension of reality. Whatever tradition or custom we take, after examining its roots, we, as a rule, come to the conclusion that it is vitally justified and behind the form, which sometimes seems to us pretentious and archaic, hides a living rational kernel. The customs and traditions of any nation are its “dowry” when joining the huge family of humanity living on planet Earth.
Each ethnic group enriches and improves it by its existence.
In this work we will talk about the customs and traditions of the Russian people. Why not all of Russia? The reason is quite understandable: to try to present the traditions of all the peoples of Russia, squeezing all the information into the narrow framework of this work, means to embrace the immensity. Therefore, it would be quite reasonable to consider the culture of the Russian people and, accordingly, explore it more deeply. In this regard, it is very important to get acquainted, at least briefly, with the history and geography of a given people and its country, since the historical approach makes it possible to reveal layers in a complex set of folk customs, find the primary core in them, determine its material roots and its initial functions. It is thanks to the historical approach that one can determine the real place of religious beliefs and church rites, the place of magic and superstition in folk customs and traditions. Generally speaking, only from a historical point of view can the essence of any holiday as such be understood.
The theme of the customs and traditions of the Russian people, as well as of any people inhabiting the Earth, is unusually broad and multifaceted. But it also lends itself to division into more specific and narrow topics in order to delve into the essence of each separately and thereby present all the material more easily. These are such themes as the New Year, Christmas, Christmas time, Shrovetide, Ivan Kupala, their connection with the cult of vegetation and the sun; family and marriage customs; modern customs.
So, let's set ourselves the goal of finding out how the geography and history of Russia influenced its culture; observe the origins of customs and traditions, what has changed in them over time, and under the influence of what these changes have occurred.
Considering the traditions and customs of the Russian people, we can understand what are the features of their culture.
National culture is the national memory of the people, what distinguishes this people among others, keeps a person from depersonalization, allows him to feel the connection of times and generations, receive spiritual support and life support.
Folk customs, as well as church sacraments, rituals and holidays are connected both with the calendar and with human life.
In Rus', the calendar was called the calendar. The Monthly Book covered the entire year of peasant life, “describing” by day month after month, where each day corresponded to its own holidays or weekdays, customs and superstitions, traditions and rituals, natural signs and phenomena.
The folk calendar was an agricultural calendar, which was reflected in the names of the months, folk signs, rituals and customs. Even the determination of the timing and duration of the seasons is associated with real climatic conditions. Hence the discrepancy between the names of the months in different areas.
For example, both October and November can be called leaf fall.
The folk calendar is a kind of encyclopedia of peasant life with its holidays and weekdays. It includes knowledge of nature, agricultural experience, rituals, norms of social life.
The folk calendar is a fusion of pagan and Christian principles, folk orthodoxy. With the establishment of Christianity, pagan holidays were banned, reinterpreted, or moved from their time. In addition to those fixed to certain dates in the calendar, mobile holidays of the Easter cycle appeared.
Ceremonies dedicated to major holidays included a large number of different works of folk art: songs, sentences, round dances, games, dances, dramatic scenes, masks, folk costumes, original props.
Every national holiday in Russia is accompanied by rituals and songs. Their origin, content and purpose differ from church celebrations.
Most of the national holidays arose during the time of the deepest paganism, when various government decrees, trade operations, and so on were combined with liturgical rites.
Where there was bargaining, there were trials and reprisals and a solemn feast. Obviously, these customs can be explained by German influence, where the priests were at the same time judges, and the area that was set aside for the assembly of the people was considered sacred and was always located near the river and roads.
Such communication of the pagans at gatherings, where they prayed to the gods, conferred about business, sorted out lawsuits with the help of priests, was completely forgotten, since it was the basis of the life of the people and was preserved in their memory. When Christianity replaced paganism, the pagan rites were put to an end.
Many of them, which are not part of the direct pagan worship, have survived to this day in the form of entertainment, customs, and festivities. Some of them gradually became an integral part of the Christian rite. The meaning of some of the holidays ceased to be clear over time, and our famous Russian historians, chronographers and ethnographers found it difficult to determine their nature.
Holidays are an integral part of everyone's life.
There are several types of holidays: family, religious, calendar, state.
Family holidays are: birthdays, weddings, housewarmings. On such days the whole family gathers together.
Calendar or public holidays are New Year, Defender of the Fatherland Day, International Women's Day, World Spring and Labor Day, Victory Day, Children's Day, Independence Day of Russia and others.
Religious holidays - Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Shrovetide and others.
For residents of Russian cities, the New Year is the main winter holiday and is celebrated on January 1. However, there are exceptions among urban residents who do not celebrate the New Year. The real holiday for the believer is Christmas. And in front of him is a strict Christmas fast, which lasts 40 days. It begins on November 28 and ends only on January 6, in the evening, with the rising of the first star. There are even villages, settlements where all residents do not celebrate the New Year or celebrate it on January 13 (January 1 according to the Julian style), after Lent and Christmas.
And now back to the history of the celebration of the New Year in Rus'
The celebration of the New Year in Rus' has the same difficult fate as its history itself. First of all, all the changes in the celebration of the new year were associated with the most important historical events that affected the entire state and each person individually. There is no doubt that the folk tradition, even after the officially introduced changes in the calendar, preserved ancient customs for a long time.
Celebration of the New Year in pagan Rus'.
How the New Year was celebrated in pagan ancient Rus' is one of the unresolved and controversial issues in historical science. No affirmative answer was found from what time the countdown of the year began.
The beginning of the celebration of the new year should be sought in ancient times. So among the ancient peoples, the new year usually coincided with the beginning of the revival of nature and was mainly timed to coincide with the month of March.
In Rus', there was a span for a long time, i.e. the first three months, and the summer month began in March. In honor of him, they celebrated avsen, ovsen or tusen, which later passed to the new year. Summer itself in antiquity consisted of the present three spring and three summer months - the last six months concluded winter time. The transition from autumn to winter was blurred like the transition from summer to autumn. Presumably, initially in Rus', the New Year was celebrated on the day of the spring equinox on March 22. Maslenitsa and New Year were celebrated on the same day. Winter is over and it means the new year has arrived.
Celebration of the new year after the baptism of Rus'
Together with Christianity in Rus' (988 - the Baptism of Rus'), a new chronology appeared - from the creation of the world, and a new European calendar - Julian, with a fixed name of the months. March 1st is considered the start of the new year.
According to one version at the end of the 15th century, and according to another in 1348, the Orthodox Church moved the beginning of the year to September 1, which corresponded to the definitions of the Council of Nicaea. The transfer must be put in connection with the growing importance of the Christian Church in the state life of ancient Rus'. The strengthening of Orthodoxy in medieval Rus', the establishment of Christianity as a religious ideology, naturally causes the use of "Holy Scripture" as a source of reform introduced into the existing calendar. The reform of the calendar system was carried out in Rus' without taking into account the working life of the people, without establishing a connection with agricultural work. The September New Year was approved by the church, which followed the word of the Holy Scriptures; having established and substantiated it with a biblical legend, the Russian Orthodox Church has preserved this New Year's date right up to the present as a church parallel to the civil new year. In the Old Testament church, the month of September was celebrated annually, in commemoration of rest from all worldly worries.
Thus, the new year began to lead from the first of September. This day became the feast of Simeon the First Stylite, which is still celebrated by our church and known to the common people under the name of Semyon the Summer Guide, because this day summer ended and the new year began. It was our solemn day of celebration, and the subject of parsing urgent conditions, collecting dues, taxes and personal courts.
Innovations of Peter I in the celebration of the new year
In 1699, Peter I issued a decree according to which January 1 was considered the beginning of the year. This was done following the example of all Christian peoples who lived not according to the Julian, but according to the Gregorian calendar. Peter I could not completely transfer Rus' to the new Gregorian calendar, since the church lived according to the Julian. However, the tsar in Russia changed the chronology. If earlier the years were counted from the creation of the world, now the chronology has gone from the Nativity of Christ. In a nominal decree, he announced: “Now one thousand six hundred and ninety-nine comes from the Nativity of Christ, and from the next January, from the 1st, a new year 1700 will come, together with a new centennial century.” It should be noted that the new chronology existed for a long time along with the old one - in the decree of 1699 it was allowed to write two dates in documents - from the Creation of the world and from the Nativity of Christ.
The implementation of this reform of the Great Tsar, which was of such great importance, began with the fact that it was forbidden to celebrate September 1 in any way, and on December 15, 1699, the drumming announced something important to the people, who rushed in crowds to Red Square. A high platform was arranged here, on which the tsar's clerk loudly read the decree that Pyotr Vasilyevich orders "from now on to count in orders and in all affairs and fortresses to write from January 1 from the Nativity of Christ."
The Tsar steadily saw to it that the New Year's holiday in our country was no worse and no poorer than in other European countries.
In the Petrovsky decree it was written: "... On large and passing streets, noble people and at houses of deliberate spiritual and worldly rank in front of the gates should make some decorations from trees and branches of pine and juniper ... and put each meager at least a tree or branch on the gate or over your temple ... ". The decree was not specifically about the Christmas tree, but about trees in general. At first, they were decorated with nuts, sweets, fruits and even vegetables, and they began to decorate the Christmas tree much later, from the middle of the last century.
The first day of the New Year 1700 began with a parade on Red Square in Moscow. And in the evening, the sky was lit up with bright lights of festive fireworks. It was from January 1, 1700 that the folk New Year's fun and fun gained their recognition, and the celebration of the New Year began to have a secular (not church) character. As a sign of the national holiday, cannons were fired, and in the evening, in the dark sky, multi-colored fireworks, never seen before, flashed. People had fun, sang, danced, congratulated each other and gave New Year gifts.
New Year under Soviet rule. Calendar change.
After the October Revolution of 1917, the country's government raised the issue of reforming the calendar, since most European countries had long since switched to the Gregorian calendar, adopted by Pope Gregory XIII back in 1582, while Russia still lived according to the Julian.
On January 24, 1918, the Council of People's Commissars adopted the "Decree on the introduction of the Western European calendar in the Russian Republic." Signed V.I. The document was published by Lenin the next day and entered into force on February 1, 1918. In particular, it said: "... The first day after January 31 of this year should be considered not February 1, but February 14, the second day should be considered the 15th, etc." Thus, Russian Christmas shifted from December 25 to January 7, and the New Year holiday also shifted.
Contradictions immediately arose with Orthodox holidays, because, having changed the dates of civil holidays, the government did not touch church holidays, and Christians continued to live according to the Julian calendar. Now Christmas was celebrated not before, but after the New Year. But this did not bother the new government at all. On the contrary, it was beneficial to destroy the foundations of Christian culture. The new government introduced its own, new, socialist holidays.
In 1929, Christmas was cancelled. With it, the Christmas tree, which was called the "priestly" custom, was also canceled. New Year's Eve was cancelled. However, at the end of 1935, an article by Pavel Petrovich Postyshev appeared in the Pravda newspaper "Let's organize a good Christmas tree for the children for the New Year!". The society, which has not yet forgotten the beautiful and bright holiday, reacted quite quickly - Christmas trees and Christmas tree decorations appeared on sale. Pioneers and Komsomol members took upon themselves the organization and holding of New Year trees in schools, orphanages and clubs. On December 31, 1935, the Christmas tree re-entered the homes of our compatriots and became a holiday of "joyful and happy childhood in our country" - a wonderful New Year's holiday that continues to delight us today.
old New Year
I would like to return once again to the change of calendars and explain the Old New Year fen in our country.
The very name of this holiday indicates its connection with the old style of the calendar, according to which Russia lived until 1918, and switched to a new style by decree of V.I. Lenin. The so-called Old Style is a calendar introduced by the Roman emperor Julius Caesar (Julian calendar). The New Style is a reform of the Julian calendar initiated by Pope Gregory XIII (Gregorian or New Style). The Julian calendar from the point of view of astronomy was not accurate and made an error that accumulated over the years, which resulted in serious deviations of the calendar from the true movement of the Sun. Therefore, the Gregorian reform was to some extent necessary
The difference between the old and the new style in the 20th century was already plus 13 days! Accordingly, the day, which was January 1 according to the old style, became January 14 in the new calendar. And the modern night from January 13 to 14 in pre-revolutionary times was New Year's Eve. Thus, celebrating the Old New Year, we kind of join the history and pay tribute to the times.
New Year in the Orthodox Church
Surprisingly, the Orthodox Church lives according to the Julian calendar.
In 1923, at the initiative of the Patriarch of Constantinople, a meeting of the Orthodox Churches was held, at which a decision was made to correct the Julian calendar. The Russian Orthodox Church, due to historical circumstances, was unable to take part in it.
Having learned about the conference in Constantinople, Patriarch Tikhon nevertheless issued a decree on the transition to the "New Julian" calendar. But this caused protests and discord among the church people. Therefore, the decision was canceled less than a month later.
The Russian Orthodox Church states that it is not currently facing the issue of changing the calendar style to Gregorian. "The vast majority of believers are committed to preserving the existing calendar. The Julian calendar is dear to our church people and is one of the cultural features of our life," said Archpriest Nikolai Balashov, Secretary for Inter-Orthodox Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate's Department for External Church Relations.
The Orthodox New Year is celebrated on September 14 according to today's calendar or September 1 according to the Julian calendar. In honor of the Orthodox New Year, prayers are served in churches for the new year.
Thus, the New Year is a family holiday celebrated by many nations in accordance with the accepted calendar, coming at the moment of transition from the last day of the year to the first day of the next year. It turns out that the New Year holiday is the oldest of all existing holidays. He forever entered our life, becoming a traditional holiday for all people on earth.
The Advent Fast is the last multi-day fast of the year. It begins on November 15 (28 according to the new style) and lasts until December 25 (January 7), lasts for forty days and therefore is called in the Church Charter, like Great Lent, Lent. Since the conspiracy for fasting falls on the day of remembrance of St. Apostle Philip (November 14, old style), then this fast is also called Filippov.
On the history of fasting and its significance
The establishment of the Nativity Fast, as well as other multi-day fasts, dates back to the ancient times of Christianity. Already in the 5th-6th centuries it was mentioned by many ecclesiastical Western writers. The core from which the Nativity Fast grew was the fast on the eve of the feast of the Epiphany, celebrated in the Church at least from the 3rd century and in the 4th century, divided into the feasts of the Nativity of Christ and the Baptism of the Lord.
Initially, the Advent fast lasted seven days for some Christians, and longer for others. As a professor at the Moscow Theological Academy wrote
I.D. Mansvetov, “a hint of this unequal duration is also contained in the ancient Typikas themselves, where the Christmas fast is divided into two periods: until December 6 - more indulgent in terms of abstinence ... and the other - from December 6 until the holiday itself” (Decree op. C. 71).
The Advent fast begins on November 15 (in the XX-XXI centuries - November 28, according to a new style) and continues until December 25 (in the XX-XXI centuries - January 7, according to a new style), lasts forty days and therefore is called in the Typicon, like Great Lent, Lent. Since the conspiracy for fasting falls on the day of remembrance of St. Apostle Philip (November 14, old style), then this post is sometimes called Philippov.
According to blj. Simeon of Thessalonica, “the fast of the Christmas Fortecost depicts the fast of Moses, who, after fasting for forty days and forty nights, received the inscription of the words of God on stone tablets. And we, fasting for forty days, contemplate and accept the living Word from the Virgin, inscribed not on stones, but incarnated and born, and partake of His Divine flesh.
The Advent fast was established so that by the day of the Nativity of Christ we have cleansed ourselves by repentance, prayer and fasting, so that with a pure heart, soul and body we can reverently meet the Son of God who has appeared in the world and, in addition to the usual gifts and sacrifices, offer Him our pure heart and desire to follow His teachings.
How to eat on Christmas Day
The Charter of the Church teaches what to refrain from during fasts: “All those who fast piously must strictly observe the statutes on the quality of food, that is, refrain from fasting from certain brashen (that is, food, food - Ed.), not as bad (let it not be), but as not decent for fasting and forbidden by the Church. Brasna, from which one must abstain during fasts, are: meat, cheese, butter, milk, eggs, and sometimes fish, depending on the difference in holy fasts.
The rules of abstinence prescribed by the Church for the Nativity Fast are just as strict as for the Apostolic (Petrov) Fast. In addition, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of the Nativity Fast, fish, wine, and oil are forbidden by the charter, and it is allowed to eat food without oil (dry eating) only after Vespers. On the other days - Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday - it is allowed to eat food with vegetable oil.
Fish during the Nativity Fast is allowed on Saturdays and Sundays and great holidays, for example, on the feast of the Entry into the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos, on temple holidays and on the days of great saints, if these days fall on Tuesday or Thursday. If the holidays fall on Wednesday or Friday, then fasting is allowed only for wine and oil.
From December 20 to December 24 (old style, i.e. - in the XX-XXI centuries - from January 2 to January 6 of the new style), fasting intensifies, and these days, even on Saturday and Sunday, the fish is not blessed.
While fasting bodily, at the same time we need to fast spiritually. “By fasting, brethren, bodily, let us fast spiritually, let us resolve every union of unrighteousness,” the Holy Church commands.
A bodily fast without a spiritual fast does not bring anything for the salvation of the soul, on the contrary, it can be spiritually harmful if a person, abstaining from food, is imbued with the consciousness of his own superiority from the fact that he is fasting. True fasting is associated with prayer, repentance, abstinence from passions and vices, eradication of evil deeds, forgiveness of insults, abstinence from married life, with the exclusion of entertainment and entertainment events, watching TV. Fasting is not a goal, but a means - a means to humble your flesh and cleanse yourself from sins. Without prayer and repentance, fasting becomes just a diet.
The essence of fasting is expressed in a church chant: “Fasting from brashen, my soul, and not being cleansed of passions, you rejoice in vain in non-eating, for if you do not have a desire for correction, then you will be hated by God as a deceit, and you will become like evil demons who never eat.” In other words, the main thing in fasting is not the quality of food, but the fight against passions.
Christmas in the first centuries
In ancient times, it was believed that the date of Christmas is January 6, according to the old style, or the 19th according to the new one. How did the early Christians arrive at this date? We consider Christ as the Son of Man "the second Adam." In the sense that if the first Adam was the cause of the fall of the human race, then the second became the Redeemer of people, the source of our salvation. At the same time, the Ancient Church came to the conclusion that Christ was born on the same day on which the first Adam was created. That is, on the sixth day of the first month of the year. Today, on this day, we celebrate the day of Theophany and Baptism of the Lord. In ancient times, this holiday was called Epiphany and included Epiphany-Baptism and Christmas.
However, over time, many came to the conclusion that the celebration of such an important holiday as Christmas should be relegated to a separate day. Moreover, along with the opinion that the Nativity of Christ falls on the creation of Adam, there has long been a belief in the Church that Christ should have been on earth for the full number of years, as a perfect number. Many holy fathers - Hippolytus of Rome, Blessed Augustine and, finally, Saint John Chrysostom - believed that Christ was conceived on the same day on which he suffered, therefore, on the Jewish Passover, which fell on March 25 in the year of his death. Counting 9 months from here, we get the date for the Nativity of Christ on December 25 (old style).
And although it is impossible to determine the day of Christmas with absolute accuracy, the opinion that Christ spent a full number of years on earth from the moment of conception to the crucifixion is based on a careful study of the Gospel. First, we know when the Angel informed Elder Zacharias of the birth of John the Baptist. This happened during the service of Zechariah in the Temple of Solomon. All the priests in Judea were divided by King David into 24 divisions, which served in turn. Zechariah belonged to the Avian line, the 8th in a row, whose service time fell on the end of August - the first half of September. Soon "after these days", that is, around the end of September, Zechariah conceives John the Baptist. The church celebrates this event on September 23rd. In the 6th month after this, that is, in March, the Angel of the Lord announced to the Most Holy Theotokos about the immaculate conception of the Son. The Annunciation in the Orthodox Church is celebrated on March 25 (old style). Christmas time, therefore, turns out to be, according to the old style, the end of December.
At first, this belief seems to have won out in the West. And there is a special explanation for this. The fact is that in the Roman Empire on December 25 there was a celebration dedicated to the renewal of the world - the Day of the Sun. On the day when the daylight hours began to increase, the pagans rejoiced, commemorating the god Mithra, and drank themselves unconscious. Christians were also carried away by these celebrations, just as few people in Russia now safely pass the New Year celebrations that fall on fasting. And then the local clergy, wanting to help their flock to overcome adherence to this pagan tradition, decided to move Christmas to the Day of the Sun. Moreover, in the New Testament, Jesus Christ is called the "Sun of Truth."
Do you want to worship the sun? - the Roman saints asked the laity. - So worship, but not the created luminary, but the One that gives us true light and joy - the immortal Sun, Jesus Christ.
New holiday victory
The dream of making Christmas a separate holiday became urgent in the Eastern Church by the middle of the fourth century. Heresies raged at that time, which imposed the idea that God did not take on a human form, that Christ did not come into the world in flesh and blood, but, like the three angels at the Mamre oak, was woven from other, higher energies.
Then the Orthodox realized how little attention they had paid to the Nativity of Christ until now. The heart of St. John Chrysostom especially ached about this. In a speech delivered on December 20, 388, he asked the faithful to prepare for the celebration of Christmas on December 25. The saint said that Christmas had long been celebrated in the West, and it was time for the entire Orthodox world to adopt this good custom. This speech won over the waverers, and for the next half century Christmas triumphed throughout Christendom. In Jerusalem, for example, on this day the whole community, led by the bishop, went to Bethlehem, prayed in a cave at night, and returned home in the morning to celebrate Christmas. The celebrations continued for eight days.
After the new Gregorian calendar was compiled in the West, Catholics and Protestants began to celebrate Christmas two weeks earlier than the Orthodox. In the 20th century, under the influence of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, according to the Gregorian calendar, the Orthodox Churches of Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt began to celebrate Christmas. Together with the Russian Church, Christmas in the old style is celebrated by the Jerusalem, Serbian, Georgian Churches and the monasteries of Athos. Fortunately, according to the late Jerusalem Patriarch Diodorus, the "Old Calendarists" make up 4/5 of the total number of Orthodox Christians.
How was Christmas celebrated in Rus'?
Christmas Eve - Christmas Eve - was celebrated modestly both in the palaces of Russian emperors and in the huts of peasants. But the next day, fun and revelry began - Christmas time. Many mistakenly classify all sorts of fortune-telling and mummers among the traditions of celebrating Christmas. Indeed, there were those who guessed, dressed up as bears, pigs and various evil spirits, frightened children and girls. For greater persuasiveness, scary masks were made from various materials. But these traditions are pagan survivals. The Church has always opposed such phenomena, which have nothing to do with Christianity.
Praise can be attributed to the true Christmas traditions. On the feast of the Nativity of Christ, when the Annunciation of the Liturgy was heard, the Patriarch himself, with all the spiritual synclites, would come to glorify Christ and congratulate the Sovereign in his chambers; from there everyone went with the cross and holy water to the queen and other members of the royal family. As for the origin of the rite of glorification, it can be assumed that it belongs to the deepest Christian antiquity; its beginning can be seen in those congratulations that at one time were brought to Emperor Constantine the Great by his singers, while singing a kontakion to the Nativity of Christ: “Today the Virgin gives birth to the Most Substantial.” The tradition of glorification was very widespread among the people. Youth, children went from house to house or stopped under the windows and praised the born Christ, and also wished good and prosperity to the owners in songs and jokes. The hosts gave treats to the participants of such congratulatory concerts, competing in generosity and hospitality. It was considered bad manners to refuse treats to the praisers, and the performers even took large sacks with them to collect sweet trophies.
In the 16th century, the nativity scene became an integral part of worship. So in the old days the puppet theater was called, showing the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. The law of the nativity scene forbade showing dolls of the Mother of God and the Divine Infant, they were always replaced with an icon. But the Magi, shepherds and other characters worshiping the newborn Jesus could be portrayed both with the help of puppets and with the help of actors.
Picture of Christmas
Over the centuries, legends, folk spiritual verses and traditions have been added to the brief Gospel stories about the Nativity of Christ. It is in this ancient apocryphal literature that a detailed description of the den (cave) in which the Holy Family was housed is found, and it speaks of the wretched environment that accompanied the birth of Jesus Christ.
These folk ideas are reflected in icon painting and in folk popular prints, which depict not only the manger with the Holy Child, but also animals - an ox and a donkey. In the 9th century, the image of the picture of the Nativity of Christ was already finally formed. This picture shows a cave, in the depths of which there is a manger. In this manger lies the Divine Infant, Jesus Christ, from whom radiance emanates. The Mother of God is reclining not far from the manger. Joseph sits farther away from the manger, on the other side, drowsing or thoughtful.
In the book “Fourth Menaion” by Dmitry Rostovsky, it is reported that an ox and a donkey were tied to a manger. According to apocryphal legends, Joseph of Nazareth brought these animals with him. The Virgin Mary rode on a donkey. And Joseph took the ox with him in order to sell it and use the proceeds to pay the royal tax and feed the Holy Family while they were on the road and in Bethlehem. Therefore, very often in the drawings and icons depicting the Nativity of Christ, these animals appear. They stand next to the manger and with their warm breath warm the Divine Infant from the cold of the winter night. Also, the image of a donkey allegorically symbolizes perseverance, the ability to achieve a goal. And the image of an ox symbolizes humility and diligence.
Here it should be noted that the nursery in its original meaning is a feeder where they put feed for livestock. And this word, connected with the birth of the Divine Infant, has entered our language so much as a symbolic designation of children's institutions for babies that no atheistic propaganda could remove it from everyday life.
History of spruce decoration
The custom of decorating a Christmas tree for Christmas came to us from Germany. The first written mention of the Christmas tree dates back to the 16th century. In the German city of Strasbourg, both the poor and noble families decorated their fir trees with colored paper, fruits and sweets in winter. Gradually, this tradition spread throughout Europe. In 1699, Peter I ordered to decorate their houses with pine, spruce and juniper branches. And only in the 30s of the 19th century, Christmas trees appeared in the capital in the homes of St. Petersburg Germans. And publicly in the capital, Christmas trees began to be set only in 1852. By the end of the 19th century, Christmas trees became the main decoration of both city and village houses, and in the 20th century they were inseparable from winter holidays. But the history of the Christmas tree in Russia was by no means cloudless. In 1916, the war with Germany had not yet ended, and the Holy Synod banned the Christmas tree as an enemy, German undertaking. The Bolsheviks who came to power tacitly extended this ban. Nothing should have reminded of the great Christian holiday. But in 1935, the custom of decorating a Christmas tree returned to our homes. True, for the majority of unbelieving Soviet people, the tree returned not as a Christmas tree, but as a New Year's tree.
Christmas wreath
The Christmas wreath is of Lutheran origin. This is an evergreen wreath with four candles. The first candle is lit on the Sunday four weeks before Christmas as a symbol of the light that will come into the world with the birth of Christ. Every following Sunday, another candle is lit. On the last Sunday before Christmas, all four candles are lit to illuminate the place where the wreath is located, or maybe the altar of the church or the dining table.
Christmas candles
Light was an important component of winter pagan holidays. With the help of candles and bonfires, the forces of darkness and cold were expelled. Wax candles were distributed to the Romans on the feast of Saturnalia. In Christianity, candles are considered an additional symbol of the significance of Jesus as the Light of the world. In Victorian England, merchants gave candles to their regular customers every year. In many countries, Christmas candles signify the victory of light over darkness. Candles on the tree of paradise gave rise to our all-time favorite Christmas tree.
Christmas presents
This tradition has many roots. Saint Nicholas is traditionally considered the giver of gifts. In Rome, it was a tradition to give gifts to children on the feast of Saturnalia. Jesus himself, Santa Claus, Befana (Italian female Santa Claus), Christmas gnomes, various saints can act as a gift giver. According to an old Finnish tradition, gifts are scattered around the houses by an invisible man.
Christmas on a platter
Christmas Eve was called "Christmas Eve" or "Novel", and this word comes from the ritual food eaten on this day - sochiva (or watering). Sochivo - porridge made from red wheat or barley, rye, buckwheat, peas, lentils, mixed with honey and almond and poppy juice; that is, it is kutya - a ritual funeral dish. The number of dishes was also ritual - 12 (according to the number of apostles). The table was prepared plentifully: pancakes, fish dishes, aspic, jelly from pork and beef legs, suckling pig stuffed with porridge, pork head with horseradish, homemade pork sausage, roast. honey gingerbread and, of course, roast goose. Food on Christmas Eve could not be taken until the first star, in memory of the Star of Bethlehem, which announced to the Magi and the Nativity of the Savior. And with the onset of twilight, when the first star lit up, they sat down at the table and shared the hosts, wishing each other all the good and bright. Christmas is a holiday when the whole family gathers together at a common table.
Thus, Christmas is one of the most important Christian holidays, established in honor of the birth in the flesh of Jesus Christ from the Virgin Mary. It is no coincidence that he is very popular in our country and is loved by many residents.
Christmas time, holy evenings, so commonly called in Russia, and not only in our fatherland, but also abroad, the days of celebration, the days of fun and the days of the sacred celebration of the Nativity of Christ, starting on December 25 and usually ending on January 5 of the next year. This celebration corresponds to the sacred nights of the Germans (Weihnaechen). In other dialects, simply "Christmas" (Swatki) means holidays. In Little Russia, in Poland, in Belarus, many holidays are known under the name of Christmas time (swiatki), such as Green Christmas time, that is, Trinity week. Therefore, Professor Snegirev concludes that both the name itself and most of the folk games moved north from the south and west of Russia. If we started with Christmas time, then because there is not a single celebration in Rus' that would be accompanied by such a rich selection of customs, rituals and signs as Christmas time. At Christmas time we meet, or see, a strange mixture of customs from the pagan rite, mixed with some Christian memories of the Savior of the World. It is indisputable that the pagan rites, and not otherwise, include: divination, games, costumes, etc., which express their inventive side of the triumph, which has absolutely nothing to do with Christian goals and the mood of the spirit, as well as glorification, that is, the walking of children, and sometimes adults with a star, sometimes with races, a den and similar objects. Meanwhile, the very word "Christmas" represents the concept of the meaning of the holiness of days due to an event that is gratifying for Christians. But from ancient times, from time immemorial, paganism has included customs and rituals on these solemn days, and at present these customs are not being eradicated, but exist in various forms and forms, more or less changed. Christmas time, as holidays adopted from the Hellenes (Greeks); the same confirmation of Kolyads from the Hellenes is seen in the 62nd rule of Stoglav. However, Professor Snegiryov testifies that the holy fathers, speaking of the Hellenes, had in mind any pagan peoples, as opposed to the Orthodox Greeks and Jews. History says that this custom existed in the Roman Empire, in Egypt, among the Greeks and Indians. So, for example, the Egyptian priests, celebrating the revival of Osiris or the New Year, wearing masks and costumes corresponding to the deities, walked the streets of the city. Bas-reliefs and hieroglyphs in Memphis and Thebes indicate that such masquerades were performed on the new year and were considered a sacred rite. In the same way, similar rites were performed among the Persians on the birthday of Mithra, among the Indians Perun-Tsongol and Ugada. The Romans called these holidays the days of the sun. In vain Constantine the Great, Tertullian, St. John Chrysostom and Pope Zechariah rebelled against Christmas sorcery and crazy games (calends) - the customs of guessing and straining still remained, although in a rather altered form. Even Emperor Peter I himself, upon returning to Russia from a trip, dressed up Zotov as a pope, and his other favorites as cardinals, deacons and masters of ceremonies, and accompanied by a choir of singers at Christmas time, went with them to the boyars at home to praise. In the book of Pilots, on the basis of the XXII chapter of verse 5 of Deuteronomy, the mentioned dressing up is prohibited. It is known that Moses, as a legislator, the exterminator of paganism and its rites in the chosen people, forbidding the worship of idols, also forbade dressing up, as the Egyptian priests did. Among the Scandinavians (inhabitants of present-day Sweden), Christmas time was known under the name of the Iol, or Yule, holiday, the most important and longest of all. This holiday was celebrated in honor of Thor in Norway in winter, and in Denmark in honor of Odin for a blessed harvest and a speedy return of the sun. The beginning of the holiday usually came at midnight on January 4, and it lasted for three whole weeks. The first three days were devoted to doing good and celebrating, then the last days were spent in fun and feasts. Among the ancient Anglo-Saxons, the longest and darkest night preceded the birthday of Freyer, or the Sun, and was called Mother Night, since this night was revered as the mother of the sun or solar year. At this time, according to the beliefs of the northern peoples, the spirit of Julewetten appeared in the form of a black-faced youth with a female bandage on his head, wrapped in a long black cloak. In this form, it is as if he appears at home at night, like the Russians in Svyatki, betrothed-mummers, and accepts gifts. This belief has now become a game all over the north, already devoid of any superstitious meaning. The same role is represented by Fillia in the German north. In England, a few days before the feast of the Nativity of Christ in most cities, night singing and music begins in the streets. In Holland, eight nights before the feast and eight after the feast, after the announcement of the morning, the night watchman adds a funny song, the content of which is advice during the holidays to eat porridge with raisins and add sugar syrup to it to make it sweeter. In general, the Christmas holidays, despite the cold winter season, breathe fun, like Christmas Eve. However, Christmas Eve in Russia is less cheerful, for it is a fast day, a day of preparation for the celebration of the holiday. The common people will always find an abyss of funny sayings on the occasion of this day, and the night before Christmas is a witness to many superstitious observations. In England, there is a belief that if you enter the barn at exactly midnight, you will find all the cattle on your knees. Many are convinced that on Christmas Eve all the bees sing in the hives, welcoming the day of celebration. This belief is common throughout Catholic and Protestant Europe. In the evening, women would never leave their tows on the spinning wheels, so that the devil would not take it into his head to sit down to work instead of them. Young girls give a different interpretation to this: they say that if they do not spin the tows on the eve of Christmas, the spinning wheel will come to church for them at the wedding and their husbands will think that they are God knows what lazybones. In this, the girls salt the unspun tow in order to save it from the tricks of the devil. If the threads remain on the reel, they are not removed, as usual, but cut. In Scotland, livestock are fed with the last handful of compressed bread on the feast of the Nativity of Christ in order to protect them from disease. In England, in the old days, it was a custom to serve a boar's head to the table in vinegar and with a lemon in your mouth at Christmas. At the same time, a song suitable for the celebration was sung. In Germany, during the so-called sacred nights, in our opinion, holy evenings, or Christmas time, they tell fortunes, arrange a Christmas tree for children, try in every way to find out the future for a year and believe that on the eve of the Nativity of Christ, cattle speak. Even earlier, they also presented the story of the birth of Jesus Christ in the faces. In addition, as has already been said now and strengthened in our Russia, in the Saxon village of Sholbek, according to Krantz, men of all ages spent Compline of the Nativity of Christ with women at the churchyard of St. Magna in a wild dance with indecent songs, at least songs that are not characteristic of such a highly solemn day.
Shrovetide is an ancient Slavic holiday that came to us from pagan culture and survived after the adoption of Christianity. The Church included Maslenitsa among its holidays, calling it Cheese or Meat Week, since Maslenitsa falls on the week preceding Lent.
According to one version, the name "Shrovetide" arose because this week, according to Orthodox custom, meat was already excluded from food, and dairy products could still be consumed.
Maslenitsa is the most fun and hearty folk holiday, lasting for a whole week. The people have always loved him and affectionately called him "kasatochka", "sugar lips", "kisser", "honest Shrovetide", "merry", "quail", "perebuha", "byeduha", "yasochka".
An integral part of the holiday was horseback riding, on which they put on the best harness. The guys who were going to get married bought sleds especially for this skating. All young couples certainly participated in the skating. Just as widespread as festive horseback riding was the skating of young people from the icy mountains. Among the customs of rural youth on Maslenitsa were also jumping over a fire and taking a snowy town.
In the XVIII and XIX centuries. The central place in the festival was occupied by the peasant Shrovetide comedy, in which characters from the mummers took part - “Maslenitsa”, “Voevoda”, etc. The plot for them was Maslenitsa itself with its plentiful treats before the upcoming Lent, with its farewells and promise to return next year. Often some real local events were included in the performance.
Shrove Tuesday has retained the character of folk festivals for many centuries. All Maslenitsa traditions are aimed at chasing away winter and waking nature from sleep. Maslenitsa was greeted with laudatory songs on snowy hills. The symbol of Maslenitsa was a straw effigy, dressed in women's clothes, with which they had fun, and then buried or burned at the stake along with a pancake, which the effigy held in his hand.
Pancakes are the main treat and a symbol of Maslenitsa. They are baked every day from Monday, but especially from Thursday to Sunday. The tradition of baking pancakes has been in Rus' since the time of worship of pagan gods. After all, it was the god of the sun Yarilo who was called to drive away the winter, and the round ruddy pancake is very similar to the summer sun.
Each hostess traditionally had her own special recipe for making pancakes, which was passed down from generation to generation through the female line. They baked pancakes mainly from wheat, buckwheat, oatmeal, corn flour, adding millet or semolina porridge, potatoes, pumpkin, apples, cream to them.
In Rus', there was a custom: the first pancake was always for the repose, as a rule, it was given to a beggar to remember all the dead or placed on the window. Pancakes were eaten with sour cream, eggs, caviar and other delicious spices from morning to evening, alternating with other dishes.
The whole week for Shrovetide was referred to as "honest, wide, cheerful, noblewoman Shrovetide, Madam Shrovetide." Until now, each day of the week has its own name, which says what needs to be done on that day. On Sunday before Maslenitsa, according to tradition, they paid visits to relatives, friends, neighbors, and also invited them to visit. Since it was impossible to eat meat on Shrovetide week, the last Sunday before Maslenitsa was called "meat Sunday", on which the father-in-law went to call his son-in-law to "eat up the meat."
Monday is the "meeting" of the holiday. On this day, ice slides were arranged and rolled out. In the morning, the children made a straw effigy of Maslenitsa, dressed it up and all together drove it through the streets. Swings, tables with sweets were arranged.
Tuesday - "play". On this day, fun games begin. In the morning, the girls and fellows rode on the icy mountains, ate pancakes. Guys were looking for brides, and girls? grooms (moreover, weddings were played only after Easter).
Wednesday - "gourmet". In the first place in a series of treats, of course, pancakes.
Thursday - "walk around". On this day, to help the sun drive away the winter, people traditionally arrange horseback riding "in the sun" - that is, clockwise around the village. The main thing for the male half on Thursday is the defense or the capture of a snowy town.
Friday - "mother-in-law evenings", when the son-in-law goes "to his mother-in-law for pancakes."
Saturday - "sister-in-law gatherings." On this day, they visit all relatives and treat themselves to pancakes.
Sunday is the final "forgiveness day", when they ask for forgiveness from relatives and friends for insults and after that, as a rule, they sing and dance merrily, thereby seeing off the wide Maslenitsa. On this day, a straw effigy, personifying the passing winter, is burned on a huge fire. It is installed in the center of the campfire site and they say goodbye to it with jokes, songs, dances. They scold winter for frosts and winter hunger and thank for cheerful winter fun. After that, the effigy is set on fire to cheerful exclamations and songs. When the winter burns down, the final fun ends the holiday: young people jump over the fire. With this competition in dexterity, the Maslenitsa holiday ends. 1 Farewell to Maslenitsa ended on the first day of Great Lent - Clean Monday, which was considered the day of cleansing from sin and fast food. On Clean Monday, they always washed in a bathhouse, and women washed dishes and “steamed” milk utensils, cleaning it from fat and the remnants of the milk.
Indeed, Maslenitsa has become our favorite holiday since childhood, with which the most pleasant memories are associated. Also, it is no coincidence that many jokes, jokes, songs, proverbs and sayings are associated with the days of Maslenitsa: “It’s not oil without a pancake”, “Ride on the mountains, wallow in pancakes”, “Not life, but Shrovetide”, “Shrove Tuesday, save money”, “Though you lay everything off yourself, but spend Shrovetide”, “Not all carnival for a cat, but there will be Great Lent”, “Afraid of Maslenitsa bitter radish and steamed turnip.
The word "Passover" in Hebrew means "transition, deliverance." The Jews, celebrating the Old Testament Passover, remembered the liberation of their ancestors from Egyptian slavery. Christians, celebrating New Testament Easter, celebrate the deliverance of all mankind through Christ from the power of the devil, the victory over death and the granting to us of eternal life with God.
According to the importance of the blessings received by us through the resurrection of Christ, Easter is the Feast of feasts and the Triumph of celebrations.
The bright holiday of Easter has long been revered in Rus' as a day of universal equality, love and mercy. Before Easter, they baked Easter cakes, made Easter, washed, cleaned, cleaned. The youth and children tried to prepare the best and most beautiful painted eggs for the Great Day. At Easter, people greeted each other with the words: “Christ is risen! - Truly Risen! ”, Kissed three times and presented each other with beautiful Easter eggs.
Colored eggs are an inevitable part of the Easter break. There are many legends about the origin of Easter eggs. According to one of them, drops of the blood of the Crucified Christ, having fallen to the ground, took the form of chicken eggs and became hard as a stone. The hot tears of the Mother of God, who sobbed at the foot of the Cross, fell on these blood-red eggs and left traces on them in the form of beautiful patterns and colored specks. When Christ was taken down from the Cross and placed in the tomb, the believers collected His tears and divided them among themselves. And when the joyful news of the Resurrection swept among them, they greeted each other: “Christ is risen,” and at the same time they passed the tears of Christ from hand to hand. After the Resurrection, this custom was strictly observed by the first Christians, and the sign of the greatest miracle - tears-eggs - were strictly kept by them and served as the subject of a joyful gift on the day of the Bright Resurrection. Later, when people began to sin more, the tears of Christ melted away and were carried along with streams and rivers to the sea, coloring the sea waves in a bloody color ... But the very custom of Easter eggs was preserved even after that ...
On the Easter holiday, for the whole day, they laid the Easter table. In addition to real abundance, the Easter table was supposed to show true beauty. He was followed by family and friends who had not seen each other for a long time, because it was not customary to visit during fasting. Postcards were sent to distant relatives and friends.
After lunch, people sat at the tables and played various games, went outside, congratulated each other. We spent the day fun and festive.
Easter is celebrated for 40 days - in memory of the forty-day sojourn of Christ on earth after the resurrection. During the forty days of Easter, and especially on the first, Bright Week, they visit each other, give painted eggs and Easter cakes. Happy festivities of youth always began with Easter: they swung on a swing, danced round dances, sang stoneflies.
Sincerely doing good deeds was considered a feature of the Easter festival. The more human actions were performed, the more spiritual sins could be got rid of.
The celebration of Easter begins with the Easter Liturgy, which takes place on the night from Saturday to Sunday. The Paschal Liturgy is notable for its grandeur and extraordinary solemnity. For the Easter service, believers take Easter cakes, colored eggs and other food with them to consecrate them during the Easter service.
In conclusion, I would like to agree that Easter is the main holiday of the liturgical year, which is deeply respected by all the inhabitants of our large and great country. 1
The summer solstice is one of the notable, turning points of the year. Since ancient times, all the peoples of the Earth have celebrated the holiday of the peak of summer at the end of June. We have such a holiday.
However, this holiday was inherent not only to the Russian people. In Lithuania it is known as Lado, in Poland - as Sobotki, in Ukraine - Kupalo or Kupailo. From the Carpathians to the north of Rus', on the night of June 23-24, everyone celebrated this mystical, mysterious, but at the same time wild and cheerful holiday of Ivan Kupala. True, due to the lag of the Julian calendar from the currently accepted Gregorian calendar, a change in style and other calendar difficulties, the “crown of summer” began to be celebrated two weeks after the solstice itself ...
Our ancient ancestors had the deity Kupalo, personifying summer fertility. In his honor, in the evenings they sang songs and jumped over the fire. This ritual action turned into an annual celebration of the summer solstice, mixing pagan and Christian traditions.
The deity Kupala began to be called Ivan after the baptism of Rus', when he was replaced by none other than John the Baptist (more precisely, his popular image), whose Christmas was celebrated on June 24.
Agrafena Kupalnitsa, Ivan Kupala following her, one of the most revered, most important, wildest holidays of the year, as well as the “Peter and Paul” coming a few more days later, merged into one big holiday, filled with great meaning for a Russian person and therefore including many ritual actions, rules and prohibitions, songs, sentences, all kinds of signs, fortune-telling, legends, beliefs
According to the most popular version of the "Bathroom" of St. Agrafena is called because the day of her memory falls on the eve of Ivan Kupala - but many rituals and customs associated with this day suggest that St. Agrafena received her epithet without any relation to Kupala.
On Agrafena, they always washed and steamed in the baths. Usually, it was on the day of Agrafena that the Bathers prepared brooms for the whole year.
On the night from Agrafena on Ivanov's Day, there was a custom: the peasants sent their wives to "roll out the rye" (that is, to crush the rye, wallowing along the strip), which should have brought a considerable harvest.
Perhaps the most important event of the day of Agrafena Kupalnitsa was the collection of herbs for medicinal and healer purposes. "Dashing men and women take off their shirts at the dead of midnight and dig roots until dawn or look for treasures in treasured places" - it is written in one of the books of the beginning of the 19th century. It was believed that on this night the trees move from place to place and talk to each other with the rustle of leaves; animals and even herbs are talking, which are filled with a special, miraculous power that night.
Before sunrise, the flowers of Ivan da Marya were torn. If you put them in the corners of the hut, then the thief will not come to the house: the brother and sister (yellow and purple colors of the plant) will talk, and it will seem to the thief that the owner is talking to the hostess.
In many places, it was customary to arrange a bathhouse and knit brooms not on Agrafena, but on Ivanov's day. After the bath, the girls threw a broom through themselves into the river: if it drowns, then this year you will die. In the Vologda region, brooms made up of various herbs and branches of various trees were used to decorate recently calved cows; they wondered about their future - they threw brooms over their heads or threw them from the roof of baths, looked: if the broom falls with its top to the churchyard, then the thrower will soon die; Kostroma girls paid attention to where the butt would fall with a broom - go there and get married.
They also guessed like this: they collected 12 herbs (thistles and ferns are a must!), they put them under the pillow at night so that the betrothed dreamed: "The betrothed-mummer, come to my garden for a walk!"
You could pick flowers at midnight and put them under your pillow; in the morning it was necessary to check whether twelve different herbs had accumulated. If you have, you will get married this year.
Many Kupala beliefs are connected with water. In the early morning the women "scoop the dew"; for this, a clean tablecloth and a ladle are taken, with which they go to the meadow. Here the tablecloth is dragged across the wet grass, and then squeezed into a ladle, and the face and hands are washed with this dew in order to drive away any disease and to keep the face clean. Kupala dew also serves for cleanliness in the house: it is sprinkled on beds and walls of the house so that bugs and cockroaches do not live, and so that evil spirits "do not mock at the house."
Swimming in the morning on Ivan's Day is a nationwide custom, and only in some areas the peasants considered such bathing dangerous, since on Ivan's Day the waterman himself is considered the birthday man, who cannot stand it when people climb into his kingdom, and takes revenge on them by drowning any careless. In some places it is believed that only after Ivan's Day, respectable Christians can swim in rivers, lakes and ponds, since Ivan sanctifies them and pacifies various water evil spirits.
By the way, many beliefs are connected with unclean, witch power. It was believed that witches also celebrate their holiday on Ivan Kupala, trying to harm people as much as possible. The witches allegedly keep water boiled with the ashes of the Kupala fire. And having splashed herself with this water, the witch can fly wherever she pleases...
One of the fairly common Kupala rites is pouring water on everyone who meets and crosses. So, in the Oryol province, village boys dressed in old and dirty clothes and went with buckets to the river to fill them with the most muddy water, or even just liquid mud, and walked through the village, pouring water on everyone and everyone, making an exception except for old people and youngsters. (Somewhere in those parts, they say, this nice custom has been preserved to this day.) But most of all, of course, the girls got it: the guys broke even into houses, dragged the girls out into the street by force and doused them from head to toe. In turn, the girls tried to take revenge on the guys.
It ended with the fact that the youth, soiled, wet, in clothes stuck to the body, rushed to the river and here, choosing a secluded place, away from the strict eyes of the elders, bathed together, "moreover, - as the ethnographer of the 19th century notes - of course, both boys and girls remain in their clothes."
It is impossible to imagine a Kupala night without cleansing bonfires. They danced around them, jumped over them: whoever is more successful and higher will be happier: "Fire cleanses from all filth of the flesh and spirit! .." It is also believed that fire strengthens feelings - and therefore they jumped in pairs.
In some places, livestock was driven through the Kupala fire to protect it from pestilence. In Kupala bonfires, mothers burned shirts taken from sick children so that the diseases themselves would burn along with this linen.
Young people, teenagers, having jumped over the fires, arranged noisy fun games, fights, and races. They certainly played in the burners.
Well, having jumped and played enough - how not to swim! And although Kupala is considered a holiday of purification, often after a joint bathing, young couples start a love relationship - no matter what ethnographers say. However, according to legend, a child conceived on the night of Kupala will be born healthy, beautiful and happy.
This is how the holiday of Ivan Kupala passed - in rampant rituals, fortune-telling and other funny and cute pranks.
Variety of Russian weddings
The Russian folk wedding is extremely diverse and forms its own local variants in various localities, reflecting the peculiarities of the life of the Eastern Slavs even in the pre-Christian period. Typical differences made it possible to single out three main geographical areas of the Russian wedding: Central Russian, North Russian and South Russian.
The South Russian wedding is close to the Ukrainian and, apparently, to the original Old Slavic. Its distinguishing feature is the absence of lamentations, the general cheerful tone. The main poetic genre of the South Russian wedding is songs. The North Russian wedding is dramatic, so its main genre is lamentations. They were performed throughout the ritual. A bath was obligatory, which ended the bachelorette party.
The Northern Russian wedding was played in Pomorye, in the Arkhangelsk, Olonets, Petersburg, Vyatka, Novgorod, Pskov, Perm provinces. The most characteristic was the wedding ceremony of the Central Russian type. It covered a huge geographical area, the central axis of which ran along the line Moscow - Ryazan - Nizhny Novgorod.
A wedding of the Central Russian type, in addition to those mentioned above, was also played in Tula, Tambov, Penza, Kursk, Kaluga, Oryol, Simbirsk, Samara and other provinces. The poetry of the Central Russian wedding combined songs and lamentations, but songs prevailed. They created a rich emotional and psychological palette of feelings and experiences, the poles of which were cheerful and sad tones.
But at the same time, a wedding is not an arbitrary set of songs, lamentations and ritual actions, but always a certain, historically established integrity. Therefore, this paper will consider the main, most characteristic features that link together all types of Russian weddings. It is these features that will help to analyze the Russian wedding ceremony most fully and holistically.
At the Russian wedding, over time, a time frame was formed, which determined the main and most favorable days for marriage. Weddings have never been played during fasts (with rare exceptions). Weddings were also avoided on fasting days of the week (Wednesday, Friday), and Maslenitsa week was excluded from weddings. There was even a saying: “To marry at Shrovetide is to become related to misfortune ...” They also tried to avoid the month of May, so as not to toil all their lives.
Along with the days that were considered unfavorable for weddings, periods were distinguished in Rus', to which the majority of weddings were timed. These are, first of all, autumn and winter meat-eaters. The autumn meat-eater began with the Assumption (August 28) and continued until the Christmas (Philippov) fast (November 27).
In the peasant environment, this period was shortened. Weddings began to be celebrated from Intercession (October 14) - by this time all the main agricultural work was completed. The winter meat-eater began at Christmas (January 7) and continued until Maslenitsa (lasted from 5 to 8 weeks). This period was called "wedding" or "wedding" because it was the most wedding of the year. The wedding party began on the second or third day after baptism, since on great holidays, according to the church charter, priests could not marry.
In spring and summer, weddings began to be celebrated from Krasnaya Gorka (the first Sunday after Easter) until Trinity. In the summer, there was another meat-eater, it began from St. Peter's Day (July 12) and continued until the Savior (August 14). At this time, it was also customary to play weddings (see 11.).
The Russian wedding cycle is traditionally divided into several stages:
Pre-wedding ceremonies are acquaintance, bride reviews, girl fortune-telling.
Pre-wedding ceremonies are matchmaking, bridegroom, conspiracy, bachelorette party, groom's gatherings.
Wedding ceremonies are the departure, the wedding train, the wedding, the wedding feast.
Post-wedding rites are second-day rites, visits.
The figurative basis of the Russian wedding
The wedding ceremony contains numerous symbols and allegories, the meaning of which is partially lost in time and exists only as a ritual.
For the Central Russian wedding, the rite of the "Christmas tree" is characteristic. The top or fluffy branch of a Christmas tree or other tree, called beauty, decorated with ribbons, beads, lit candles, etc., sometimes with a doll attached to it, stood on the table in front of the bride. The tree symbolized the youth and beauty of the bride, with whom she said goodbye forever. The ancient, long-forgotten meaning was that the sacrificial duty of the initiated girl was redirected to the tree: instead of her, the tree, originally accepted into her family circle (substitute sacrifice), died.
The wedding tree is known among most Slavic peoples as an obligatory attribute, however, among the Eastern Slavs there is a wide variety of objects called beauty. These are not only plants (spruce, pine, birch, apple, cherry, viburnum, mint), but also girlish beauty and girlish headdress.
Since the marriage couple had to consist of representatives of different clans, there were rituals in the wedding that meant the transition of the bride from her own clan to the clan of her husband. This is connected with the worship of the stove - the sacred place of the dwelling. All important matters (for example, the removal of beauty) began literally from the stove. In the house of her husband, the young woman bowed three times to the stove and only then to the icons, etc.
The flora of the Russian wedding is associated with ancient animistic ideas. All wedding participants were decorated with live or artificial flowers. Flowers and berries were embroidered on wedding clothes and on towels.
The animal world of the wedding ritual goes back to ancient Slavic totems. In many elements of the rite, one can see the cult of the bear, which provides wealth and fertility. In some places, a fried pig's head was an attribute of the wedding feast, often dressed up as a bull. Images of birds were associated with the bride (first of all, the chicken had a fertile power).
The wedding ritual of the Eastern Slavs had a pronounced agrarian, agricultural character. The cult of water was associated with the idea of fertility. In the Northern Russian wedding, it appeared in the bathing ceremony, which ended the bachelorette party, for the Central Russian wedding, post-wedding douche is typical. When dousing, a woman - a mother was identified with her mother - damp earth.
In premarital and postmarital rites, the young were showered with hops, oats, sunflower seeds, or any other cereal. Actions are known not only with grain, but also with ears, with sourdough. The cult of bread manifested itself, first of all, as a celebration of the loaf, which played an important role throughout the entire wedding ceremony.
The ancient Slavic cult of the sun is connected with agrarian magic. According to the ideas of the ancients, love relationships between people were generated by the supernatural participation of heavenly bodies. The supreme representative of those entering into marriage and all other participants in the wedding was the sun. Next to him appeared the moon, the moon, the stars and the dawn. The image of the sun carried the bride's wedding wreath, which was assigned a peculiar role in the wedding action.
Since ancient times, the wedding has been permeated with magic, all its types have been used. The purpose of producing magic was to ensure the well-being of the bride and groom, the strength and large families of their future family, and also to get a rich harvest, a good offspring of livestock.
Apotropaic magic was manifested in various amulets aimed at protecting the young from everything bad. This was served by allegorical speech, ringing of bells, pungent smell and taste, dressing the young, covering the bride, as well as a wide variety of items - amulets (for example, a belt, a towel, etc.). Thus, the figurative basis of the Russian wedding reflects the pagan ideas of the Slavs, their close connection and interaction with the surrounding natural world.
Word and object environment in a Russian wedding
wedding poetry
The verbal, primarily poetic (poetic) design of the wedding had a deep psychologism, depicting the feelings of the bride and groom, their development throughout the ceremony. The role of the bride was especially difficult psychologically. Folklore painted a rich palette of her emotional states. The first half of the wedding ceremony, while the bride was still in the parental home, was filled with drama, accompanied by sad elegiac works. At the feast (in the groom's house), the emotional tone changed dramatically: idealization of the participants in the feast prevailed in folklore, fun sparkled.
As mentioned earlier, lamentations were the main folklore genre for a wedding of the Northern Russian type. They expressed only one feeling - sadness. The psychological features of the songs are much wider, therefore, in the Central Russian wedding, the image of the bride's experiences was more dialectical, mobile and diverse. Wedding songs are the most significant, best-preserved cycle of family ritual poetry.
Each episode of the wedding had its own poetic devices. The courtship was conducted in a conditional poetic and allegorical manner. Matchmakers called themselves "hunters", "fishermen", the bride - "marten", "white fish". During the matchmaking, the bridesmaids could already sing songs: ritual and lyrical, in which the theme of the girl's loss of her will began to be developed.
Conspiracy songs depicted the transition of a girl and a young man from the free state of “youth” and “girlhood” to the position of the bride and groom (“At the table, table, oak table ...”). Paired images appear in the songs - symbols from the natural world, for example, “Kalinushka” and “Nightingale” (“On the mountain, then the viburnum stood in a kug ...”).
The motif of the girl’s will taken away is being developed (the bride is depicted through the symbols of a pecked “berry”, a caught “fish”, a shot “coon”, a trampled “grass”, a broken “vine branch”, a broken “birch tree”). Ritual songs performed at a conspiracy, at a bachelorette party or on the morning of a wedding day, could mark the upcoming, ongoing or already completed rite of braiding (see examples in the appendix). Conspiracy songs began to depict the young in the position of the bride and groom, idealizing their relationship. In such songs, there was no monologue form; they were a story or a dialogue.
If the bride was an orphan, then a lamentation was performed in which the daughter “invites” her parents to look at her “orphan wedding”. In the songs, there is often a plot of the transition or transportation of the bride through a water barrier, associated with the ancient understanding of the wedding as an initiation (“Across the river, the bird cherry lay ...”). The bachelorette party was full of ritual and lyrical songs (see the appendix for examples).
In the morning, the bride woke her friends with a song in which she reported about her "bad dream": "damned woman's life" crept up to her. While dressing the bride and waiting for the groom's wedding train, lyrical songs were sung, expressing the extreme degree of her sorrowful experiences. Ritual songs were also filled with deep lyricism, in which marriage was portrayed as an inevitable event (“Mother! Why is the field dusty?”). The transition of the bride from one house to another was portrayed as a difficult, insurmountable path. On such a journey (from her home to the church, and then to a new home), the bride is not accompanied by her relatives, but mainly by her future husband (“Even from the tower to the tower, Lyubushka walked ...” see the appendix).
The appearance of the wedding train and all the guests is depicted in the songs through hyperbole. At this time, scenes were played in the house, which were based on the ransom of the bride or her double - "virgin beauty". Their execution was facilitated by wedding sentences, which had a ritual character. The sentences also had another function: they relieved the difficult psychological situation associated with the departure of the bride from her parents' home.
The most solemn moment of the wedding was the feast. Here they sang only cheerful songs and danced. The ritual of magnificence had a bright artistic development. Magnificent songs were sung to the newlyweds, wedding ranks and all guests, for which the igritses (singers) were presented. The miserly people were sung in parodic glorification - reproachful songs that they could sing just for laughs.
The images of the bride and groom in the laudatory songs poetically revealed various symbols from the natural world. The groom is “clear falcon”, “black horse”; bride - "strawberry-berry", "viburnum-raspberry", "currant berry". The symbols could also be paired: “dove” and “darling”, “grapes” and “berry”. The portrait played an important role in the songs of praise. Compared with the songs performed in the bride's house, the opposition between one's own and another's family changed diametrically. Now the father's family has become a "stranger", so the bride does not want to eat father's bread: it is bitter, it smells of wormwood; and I want to eat Ivanov's bread: it is sweet, it smells of honey (“Grapes grow in the garden ...” see the appendix).
In laudatory songs, a general scheme for creating an image is visible: a person’s appearance, his clothes, wealth, good spiritual qualities (see the appendix for an example).
Magnificent songs can be compared with hymns, they are characterized by a solemn intonation, high vocabulary. All this was achieved by means traditional for folklore. Yu. G. Kruglov noted that all artistic means “are used in strict accordance with the poetic content of laudatory songs - they serve to enhance, emphasize the most beautiful features of the person being magnified, the most noble features of his character, the most magnificent attitude on the part of the singing towards him, that is, they serve the basic principle of the poetic content of laudatory songs - idealization.”
The purpose of the reproachful songs, performed at the moment of glorifying the guests, is to create a caricature. Their main technique is the grotesque. Portraits in such songs are satirical, they exaggerate the ugly. Reduced vocabulary contributes to this. Reproachful songs achieved not only a humorous goal, but also ridiculed drunkenness, greed, stupidity, laziness, deceit, boasting.
In all works of wedding folklore, an abundance of artistic means was used: epithets, comparisons, symbols, hyperbole, repetitions, words in an affectionate form (with diminutive suffixes), synonyms, allegories, appeals, exclamations, etc. Wedding folklore claimed an ideal, sublime world, living according to the laws of goodness and beauty. Examples of wedding poetry can be found in the appendix.
Wedding clothes and accessories
In contrast to the texts, the execution of which in all regions of Russia had specific nuances, the objective world of the Russian wedding was more unified. Since it is not possible to consider all the items involved in the wedding ceremony, we will focus only on some of the most important and mandatory ones.
Wedding Dress.
The white dress on the bride symbolizes purity, innocence. But white is also the color of mourning, the color of the past, the color of memory and oblivion. Another "mourning white" color was red. “Don’t sew for me, mother, a red sundress ...” sang the daughter, who did not want to leave her home to strangers. Therefore, historians tend to believe that the white or red dress of the bride is the “mournful” dress of a girl who “died” for her former family. During the wedding, the bride changed her outfit several times. She was in different dresses at the bachelorette party, the wedding, after the wedding at the groom's house and on the second day of the wedding.
Headdress.
The headdress of a bride in a peasant environment was a wreath of different colors with ribbons. The girls did it before the wedding, bringing their ribbons. Sometimes wreaths were bought or even passed from one wedding to another. To avoid damage, the bride rode to the crown covered with a large scarf or veil so that her face was not visible. A cross was often worn on top of the scarf; it went down from the head to the back.
Nobody could see the bride, and the violation of the ban was believed to lead to all sorts of misfortunes and even untimely death. For this reason, the bride put on a veil, and the young people took each other's hand exclusively through a scarf, and also did not eat or drink throughout the wedding.
Since pagan times, the custom has been preserved to say goodbye to a braid when getting married, and to braid a young wife with two braids instead of one, moreover, laying the strands one under the other, and not on top. If the girl ran away with her beloved against the will of her parents, the young husband cut off the girl's braid and presented it to the newly-made father-in-law and mother-in-law, along with a ransom for "kidnapping" the girl. In any case, a married woman had to cover her hair with a headdress or scarf (so that the power contained in them would not damage the new family).
Ring.
During the ceremony of betrothal, the groom and relatives came to the bride's house, everyone made gifts to each other, and the bride and groom exchanged wedding rings. All the action was accompanied by songs.
The ring is one of the oldest jewelry. Like any closed circle, the ring symbolizes integrity, so it, like the bracelet, is used as an attribute of marriage. The wedding ring should be smooth, without notches, so that family life is smooth.
Over time, the Russian wedding has been transformed. Some rituals were lost and new ones appeared, which could be an interpretation of an earlier ritual or were even borrowed from other religions. In the history of the Russian people, periods are known in which the traditional wedding ceremony was “abandoned”, and it was replaced by state registration of marriage. But after some time, the wedding ceremony was “reborn” again, having undergone significant changes. First of all, it was reoriented to the urban environment, due to which the clothes of the bride and groom changed, a wedding cake appeared instead of the traditional loaf, wedding poetry practically “weathered”, many details of wedding ceremonies were lost. The rest practically changed their meaning and began to play the role of entertainment, amusement of the audience, as well as to give the wedding entertainment and colorfulness. From the content of life, the wedding has become a prestigious event.
But still, a holistic sequence of the wedding ceremony has been preserved to this day.
In modern wedding guides, the authors adhere to the original Russian wedding cycle, but at the same time only the name of the ritual and its meaning can be preserved, while the execution itself is very conditional. 1
In general, over time, mores became softer, primitive savagery gave way to civility, albeit peculiar. The Middle Ages in Rus' can be called the period of formation of wedding traditions. Even now, so many centuries later, a rare wedding does without a traditional loaf, without a veil, and it is certainly difficult to imagine a wedding without an exchange of rings. Alas, for the majority, traditional wedding rituals have become more of a theatrical performance than a belief in their significance, but nevertheless these wedding traditions continue to exist, being an integral part of Russian culture.
Studying the materials about the customs and traditions of the Russian people, it is clearly seen that in their fundamental principle all of them are pagan. The traditions of the ancestors are the basis of the intellect and morality of a person. Over the course of a long history, the Russian people have accumulated rich experience in the field of training and education of the younger generation, have developed unique customs and traditions, rules, norms and principles of human behavior.
Indeed, different peoples have their own heritage and customs, formed over centuries or even millennia. Customs are the face of the people, looking at which we can immediately find out what kind of people it is. Customs are those unwritten rules that people follow every day in their smallest household chores and most important social activities.
Since time immemorial, there has been a reverent attitude towards traditions. Even after the adoption of Christianity, the Russians retained many of their ancient folk customs, only combining them with religious ones. And today, after thousands of years, it is no longer easy to find the line where ancient culture ends in Russian customs, and where Christian culture begins.
Ancient customs are a treasure of the Ukrainian people and culture. Although all these movements, rituals and words that make up folk customs, at first glance, have no meaning in human life, but they blow on the heart of each of us with the spell of the native element and are a life-giving balm for the soul, which fills it with powerful force.
Herodotus believed: "If all peoples in the world were allowed to choose the best customs and mores of all, then each people, having carefully considered them, would choose their own. Thus, each people is convinced that its own customs and way of life are in some way the best."
This wonderful idea, expressed 25 centuries ago, is still striking in its depth and accuracy. It is still relevant today. Herodotus expressed the idea of the equivalence of the customs of different peoples, of the need to respect them.
Every nation loves its customs and values them very highly. No wonder there is a proverb: "Respect yourself and others will respect you!" It can be interpreted more broadly, applied to the whole people. After all, if the people themselves do not pass on their customs from generation to generation, if they do not educate their youth in due respect and respect for them, then in a few decades they will simply lose their culture, and hence the respect of other peoples. Customs and traditions influence history and international relations.
1. Stepanov N.P. Folk holidays in Holy Rus'. M.: Russian rarity, 1992
2. Klimishin I.A. Calendar and chronology. Moscow: Nauka, 1990.
3. Nekrylova A.F. All year round. Russian agricultural calendar. M.: Pravda, 1989.
4. Pankeev I.A. Complete encyclopedia of the life of the Russian people. Tt. 1, 2. M.:
OLma-Press, 1998.
4. Yudin A.V. Russian folk spiritual culture Moscow "High School" 1999.
5. Chistova K.V. and Bernshtam T.A. Russian folk wedding ceremony Leningrad "Science" 1978
6. www.kultura-portal.ru
7. www.pascha.ru
8. http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter
9. Orthodox holidays, Publishing House of the Belarusian Orthodox Church. Minsk.- S. 240.
10. Brun, V., Tinke, M. History from antiquity to modern times. - M., 2003.
11. Tree of the world // Myths of the peoples of the world: Encyclopedia: In 2 volumes / Ed. A.S. Tokareva.-M., 2003. - v.1.
12. Graphic motifs in Russian folk embroidery: Museum of Folk Art. - M., 1990.
13. Isenko, I.P. Russian people: Proc. Allowance. - M.: MGUK, 2004.
14. Komissarzhevsky, F.F. History of holidays. - Minsk: Modern writer, 2000.
15. Korotkova M.V. Culture of everyday life: History of rituals. - M., 2002.
16. Lebedeva, A.A. Russian family and social life.-M., 1999.-336s.
17. Lebedeva, N.I., Maslova G.S. Russian peasant clothes 19-beginning. 20th century, Russian // Historical and ethnographic atlas. M., -1997.S.252-322.
18. Lipinskaya, V.A. Folk traditions in material culture. M., 1987. Ethnography of the Eastern Slavs. M., -1997, S.287-291.
11. Maslova, G.S. East Slavic traditional customs and rituals. - M., 2001.
19. Tereshchenko A.V. Life of the Russian people. - M.: Terraknizhny club, 2001. 20 17. Titova, A.V. Magic and symbolism of Russian folk life: Proc. Manual / AGIiK. - Barnaul, 2000.
20. Kostomarov, N.I. Home life and customs of peoples. - M., 2003.
21. www.kultura-portal.ru
Annex 1
Russian wedding songs
Old Russian wedding songs are varied. They are performed at different moments of the wedding celebration. Before the wedding, the girl gathers her friends for a bachelorette party. At the wedding itself, the girl first says goodbye to her relatives, then gives new relatives gifts that she has prepared with her own hands: embroidered towels, knitting.
Magnificent songs are sung to the groom, bride, matchmaker, friend and guests. At the wedding, not only sad songs about the separation of the girl from her family are performed, but also many funny, comic songs.
At evening, evening
At evening, evening,
Ah, what at evening, evening,
Yes, it was during dark twilight.
The falcon flew so young,
The falcon flew so young,
Yes, he sat on the window,
Yes, to the silver pier
Yes, on the green rim.
Like no one sees the falcon
Yes, as no one will accept the clear.
Noticed the clear falcon
Yes, Ustinina is mother,
She told her daughter:
Are you my dear child?
Notice the clear falcon,
Yasna stray falcon,
Good fellow visitor.
My Majesty Mother,
How does her tongue turn back,
How the mouth dissolves
Often remembering
My heart is breaking.
I feel so sick to my heart,
It's embarrassing for the zealous.
I have a young
Sharp legs cut,
White hands dropped
Eyes clear clouded
His head rolled off his shoulders.
wedding poetry
Wedding poetry is distinguished by its genre diversity: lamentations, lamentations, the so-called “reproachful” songs, in which both lamentations and lamentations are synthesized, comic songs, dance refrains with humorous content and recitative patter, spell songs. The latter are associated with the ceremony of sprinkling the young with life and hops: “Let life be good from life, and a cheerful head from hops.”
wedding troika
Harness the horses
With this song ringing.
And a wreath of scarlet ribbons
Bright under the arc.
The guests will scream to us
This evening: Bitter!
And rush us with you
Wedding trio!
The long journey has begun
What's around the corner?
Guess here, don't guess -
You won't find an answer.
Well, the guests are screaming
What is strength: Bitter!
Fly past troubles
Wedding trio!
Let many years pass
Let's not forget only
Oaths of our word
And the flight of horses.
And while they're screaming
Our guests: Bitter!
And we are fortunately lucky
Wedding trio!
Stepanov N.P. Folk holidays in Holy Rus'. M.: Russian rarity, 1992
1 Kostomarov, N.I. Home life and customs of peoples. - M., 2003.
2Yudin A.V. Russian folk spiritual culture Moscow "High School" 1999.
Lebedeva, A.A. Russian family and social life.-M., 1999.-336s.
Centuries-old rituals in Rus' have their roots deep in the time of paganism, which, even after the adoption of Christianity, could not completely disappear and continued to exist behind the scenes for a long time. An amazing fact: many of those pagan rites are still alive today, as one of the integral parts of the rich Russian culture and history.
From the pores of paganism
What spiritual traditions have come down to our times and continue to be passed down from generation to generation?
What is the reason for the appearance of the very first rites in Rus'?
How did the rites appear?
The most important and most ancient Russian rituals are inextricably linked with the forces of nature, with the mythological personifications of the elements and powerful natural forces. It should not be forgotten that the basis of the life of an ordinary mortal peasant was the hard work of a farmer, and, consequently, most of the old Russian rites, in the first place, were associated with the propitiation of nature and the forces existing in it.
For each season there was its own set of rituals and rituals aimed at obtaining a generous harvest, at attracting rain or abundant snow, at taming unclean forces, at protecting livestock or obtaining healthy offspring from it, etc. From here, by the way, the relationship of the first rites with the then existing calendar begins to be traced. This unspoken calendar began in December, when the sun "turned for summer", and ended in late autumn - with the end of agricultural work and harvesting.
Rites in Rus' and their relationship with the Church
The ancient Russian rituals that have come down to our time are associated not only with densely rooted paganism, but also with Christianity adopted at that time. For example, among the most important sacraments recognized by all religions, baptism and communion are still considered to this day.
Turning to the church calendar, you can see that almost all Orthodox holidays are associated with certain ritual acts. As an example, one can cite the Nativity of Christ, Baptism and Ascension of the Lord, which are still accompanied by symbolic ceremonies.
Pagan rites and their relationship with calendar holidays
caroling
Calendar holidays
Caroling is a kind of ritual dedicated to Christmas time (i.e., to the period of twelve holidays among the Slavs, called “from the star to the water”), during which the participants of the ceremony went around the houses, sang songs, “carols” and all kinds of sentences addressed to their owners, for which they received a special treat from them.
At that time, it was generally believed that during the Christmas season, the sun gains energy in order to soon awaken the earth and revive Mother Nature. In particular, ancient Russian farmers were convinced that by participating in Christmas games, accompanied by various amusements and tasty treats, people double the awakening energy of fertility and, thereby, contribute to a generous harvest.
Caroling to this day is part of Ukrainian and Belarusian rituals, which are inextricably linked with Slavic culture and history. In addition to caroling, divination was also an obligatory component of Christmastide rituals, which in the time of Rus' allowed people to open the secret veil of the future in order to find out how fruitful the coming year would be and what events it would be accompanied by.
Maslenitsa
This holiday has been celebrated since ancient times by the Slavic peoples at the end of the March days, during the period of the vernal equinox. The traditional dish of this ancient holiday was pancakes, personifying the golden disk of the heavenly body.
In addition, an indispensable attribute of the Maslenitsa festivities was the effigy of Maslenitsa itself, which was burned, buried, or, having been torn to pieces, scattered over arable land. This scarecrow, dressed in women's clothing, symbolized the end of winter days and the onset of the long-awaited spring. After a ritual burial or burning, Maslenitsa was supposed to transfer its powerful energy to the fields, giving them fertility and protecting them from the treachery of the elements.
Spring Rites
With the advent of spring, a new time of ritual acts began, also aimed at propitiating the forces of nature and protecting against the destructive elements and the wrath of pagan deities. Many spring rituals of ancient Rus' have survived to this day. For example, a vivid confirmation of this is the tradition of painting chicken eggs, without which such an important religious holiday as Easter is now indispensable.
Initially, the painted egg itself was an independent attribute of many ancient rituals (approximately from the 10th century). Many centuries ago, it was believed that he had miraculous properties - for example, they could heal a sick person and even extinguish a flame that flared up after a lightning strike.
Also, in the spring, all kinds of agricultural rituals were certainly carried out, associated with the taming of evil spirits that thought in local reservoirs. At that time, the first shoots were already appearing on the arable land, and all that the tillers feared in this period of time was the insidiousness of mermaids and kikimors, capable of awakening water, flooding crops and leaving the population without a harvest. To lure evil spirits out of the pools, round dances, noisy festivities and dances were arranged on the banks of the rivers, bonfires were lit and songs were sung.
Yarilin day
In anticipation of a generous harvest, it was necessary not only to protect the first crops from flooding, but also to provide them with enough sunlight. For this purpose, the Slavs turned to Yaril, the god of the rising (spring) sun. He was also considered a deity patronizing animals and plants, the god of love, courage and strength.
On Yarilin Day, a very important rite was performed - “Opening the Earth” (or, as it was also called, zaROD, i.e., a rite associated with the birth). Washing was an indispensable part of the ceremonies on Yarila, or, to be more precise, bathing in the morning dew. It has long been believed that the dew that fell on Yarilin's day has miraculous, healing properties.
Ivan Kupala
Describing the most famous ancient Russian rituals and customs, one cannot ignore the well-known holiday - the day of Ivan Kupala. Under this name, in the mythology of the Slavs, a powerful deity appears, closely associated with the worship of the Sun. It is curious that initially this holiday was tied to the summer solstice, but as Christianity took root, it began to be associated with the day of the birth of John the Baptist.
In terms of ritual content, the night on Ivan Kupala surpasses the day, since all the festivities and ritual acts were carried out mainly in the dark. To this day, this day is a national and church holiday in many countries of the world.
The symbol of this holiday at all times was the flowers of Ivan da Marya, from which wreaths were woven, used for divination. Wreaths with lit candles were floated by unmarried girls in order to determine their future life in marriage with their help. It was considered a bad omen if the wreath sank - this spoke of treason in the relationship between an unmarried girl and her chosen one (“The wreath drowned - dear deceived”).
According to ancient beliefs, fern flowers bloom on the night of Ivan Kupala, indicating the right direction to ancient treasures and countless treasures, but finding them, as well as discovering the location of wealth, was considered an almost impossible task for a mere mortal.
An indispensable part of the rituals on the night of this holiday was round dances and jumping over a blazing fire, which, according to legend, helped cleanse the soul and protected from illness, witchcraft and the evil eye.
Other rites
Other, less well-known old Russian rituals took place at the time of the harvest and the beginning of its processing. During this period, the most important holidays were considered as:
- the ritual period of the "firstfruits" in the first weeks of August, when the first harvest was reaped;
- the season of "Indian summer", during which the harvest was poured into the bins;
- flax spinning time, which was in October.
Introduction…………………………………………………………..……………...…3
Chapter 1
1.1. Birth of a child…………………………………………………….…………..4
1.2. Baptism…………………………………………………………….……………9
1.3. Angel Day……………………………………………………………..……..12
1.4. Wedding………………………………………………………………….……..15
1.4.1. Matchmaking…………………………………………………………..………16
1.4.2. Views………………………………………………………………...…….17
1.4.3. Handshake. Announcement of the decision on the wedding………………………….…….17
1.4.4. Preparing for the wedding day. Vytiye………………………………...…..18
1.4.5. Rites on the eve of the wedding day…………………………………………….19
1.4.6. First wedding day…………………………………………………...…..20
1.4.7. The second day of the wedding……………………………………………………….23
1.5. Housewarming…………………………………………………………………...………23
1.6. Russian Orthodox burial rite……………………………………..25
1.6.1. Communion…………………………………………………………...…….26
1.6.2. Unction……………………………………………………………...…26
1.6.3. Burial…………………………………………………………………..27
1.6.4.Remembrance of the dead………………………………………………..……….27
Chapter 2. Orthodox holidays and rituals
2.1. Christmas………………………………………………………….28
2.1.1. Christmas post…………………………………………………...…..30
2.2. Maslenitsa………………………………………………………………………..31
2.3. Easter……………………………………………………………………..…….33
Conclusion…………………………………………………………...………………38
List of used literature……………………………………………….40
Introduction
Our country is rich in traditions and holidays. For centuries, the Russian people have sacredly honored and preserved their traditions, passing them on from generation to generation. And today, after tens and even hundreds of years, many customs still have not lost interest for us. So, for example, on Maslenitsa, like a hundred years ago, they burn an effigy, bake pancakes, and arrange funny games. And at folk festivals and these days, cities continue to play scenes from ancient Russian rituals. And this is understandable, because these traditions are part of the rich history of the Russian people, and you need to know the history of your country.
Each nation has its own views and customs on the conduct of rituals. The rite is a folk play full of secret meaning, full of great power, systematically repeated, interesting in general, as it best illustrates the content of folk consciousness. Here the old merges with the new, the religious with the folk, and the sad with the cheerful.
National culture is the national memory of the people, what distinguishes this people among others, keeps a person from depersonalization, allows him to feel the connection of times and generations, receive spiritual support and life support.
In my test work, I would like to talk about the main national customs and rituals of the Russian people that have evolved over the centuries.
Chapter 1
1.1. Birth of a child
Caring for a child began long before he was born. From time immemorial, the Slavs tried to protect expectant mothers from all sorts of dangers.
If the husband was away, the young woman was advised to gird herself with his belt and cover herself with something from his clothes at night, so that the “strength” of the husband would guard and protect his wife.
In the last month before the birth, the pregnant woman was not recommended to leave the yard, but rather from the house, so that the brownie and the sacred fire of the hearth could always come to her aid.
To protect a pregnant woman, there was a special prayer that had to be read at night, so that sinful deeds committed (even accidentally) during the day would not affect the child being born. Protective amulets and amulets with incantations and prayers were hung to the bed of the woman in labor and the baby.
The pregnant woman had to observe a number of prohibitions, for example, to avoid looking at everything ugly so that she would have a beautiful child; do not stroke cats, dogs, pigs - otherwise the child may be born dumb or will not speak for a long time; not be present at the slaughter of animals - the baby will have a "relative", etc.
During pregnancy, a woman could in no case work on church holidays - a violation of this prohibition by a pregnant woman, as they believed, would inevitably have an effect on the newborn.
The pregnant woman should have consumed more milk, then, according to legend, the baby's skin will be white, like milk; she must eat red berries (lingonberries, cranberries) so that the baby is ruddy.
Particular importance was attached to determining the sex of the child. The material well-being of a peasant family depended on whether a boy or a girl was born: with the birth of a boy, they expected an assistant, a new owner, the birth of a girl often led to a decrease in material well-being - she needed a dowry.
Often, peasant women generally paid little attention to pregnancy and worked until childbirth began.
In accordance with the beliefs about the “impurity” of a pregnant woman and women in childbirth, so that she would not “defile” a residential building, she even in winter went to give birth away from housing - in a bathhouse, a barn, a shed.
Or, at the onset of childbirth, all the people in the house said goodbye to the woman in labor and went to another hut or other place, without telling outsiders about what was happening (it was believed that childbirth is the more difficult, the more people know about them).
Her husband and a called midwife remained with the mother. The midwife and husband tried to alleviate the suffering of the puerperal.
The midwife could not refuse a request to come to a woman in labor: her refusal was regarded as an unforgivable sin that could lead to immediate punishment.
Peasants rarely turned to midwives who appeared in the villages in the second half of the 19th century. Peasant women preferred midwives, as they could immediately speak a hernia. And midwives; in the majority of girls, they could jinx the baby, they said among the people, besides, the use of obstetric instruments was considered a sin.
Midwives, if necessary, could baptize newborns. Not every woman could become a midwife. A village grandmother is always an elderly woman of impeccable behavior, not seen in infidelity to her husband. In some places, it was believed that only widows could intervene. They avoided inviting childless women or those whose children of their own or those adopted by her were dying.
When the woman in childbirth recovers sufficiently and the grandmother finds it possible to leave, the purification of all those present and taking any part in the birth took place. They lit a candle in front of the icons, prayed, and then with water in which they put hops, an egg and oats, they washed themselves and washed the baby.
Usually, mother and grandmother poured water, into which various objects bearing a certain semantic load, were poured three times on each other's hands and asked for mutual forgiveness. After that, the midwife could go to receive the next child.
The rite of purification, or washing of hands, necessarily ended with the fact that the woman in labor gave the midwife a gift (soap and a towel). In the second half of the 19th, and especially at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, the gift was supplemented with a small amount of money. The midwife was fed the best food, tea with sugar.
The midwife cooked or at least served the so-called babina porridge. Ceremonies with Babin's porridge necessarily included the collection of money (the sale of porridge).
The midwife received the main monetary reward precisely “for porridge” from the guests and household members present (the woman in labor, who, even if she was present at the christening, did not participate in the collection of money).
There was one day in the year when a holiday was held especially for midwives, - "babiny", or "baby porridge". This is the second day of Christmas - December 26, old style.
The last rite in which the midwife participated was the rite of girdling the baby on the eve of the fortieth day: the midwife reminded the woman in labor of the need to accept a cleansing prayer and performed the rite of girdling. The belt with which she tied the child was considered both as a magical amulet against evil forces and as a sign of longevity and health.
Playing the role of a grandmother creates a certain relationship between her and the child, whom she from that moment calls her grandson, and he calls her grandmother. Every year, such grandmothers bring a child a birthday present, they are invited to all the main events in the life of her "grandson" - both to the wedding and to the farewell to the army.
After giving birth, the mother was taken to the bathhouse. Whatever the birth, the midwives prepared “water from the lessons” in the bathhouse. For this, river water was used, the grandmother specially went after it with a clean bucket and always scooped it up along the river. Returning from the river to the bathhouse and having done the Jesus prayer, the midwife immersed her right hand in a bucket and, having scooped up a handful of water there, lowered it along her arm through her elbow into the prepared tues, whispering: “Just as water does not hold on the elbow, so do not hold on to the servant of God (the name of the puerperal).” At the same time, she kept counting up to nine with a denial - not one, not two, not three, etc. In this way, she scooped up water for a cubit three times.
With a prayer, the grandmother lowered three red-hot coals into this water. Then with a handful of the right hand through the elbow of the left she poured this water three times on the outer stone of the heater, then three times on the door bracket, holding the tues so that the spilled water again flowed into it. At the same time, the grandmother would say every time: “Just as water does not hold on a stone (or bracket), so do not hold on to the servant of God (name), neither lessons nor prizes!”
After that, the water was considered so strongly charmed that not a single sorcerer could destroy its healing power.
Then the grandmother put the puerperal face to the east - if only she could stand, otherwise she put her on the bath threshold and sprinkled her face three times with the water she had filled in her mouth, saying: “Just as water does not hold on the face, so don’t hold on to the servant of God (name) either lessons or prizes!” Having poured out the remaining water from the tuesa on the head of the mother, the grandmother collected the water as it fell from the head into the right handful and sprinkled it on the heater from under her left foot.
Customs and traditions: the toughest examples
What are customs and traditions? Customs are historically established certain actions and orders that have long become the habit of the whole people. Under traditions, we "decipher" a certain "cultural code" that is passed down by people from generation to generation.
Traditions and customs are very similar in their meaning. Sociologists even point out e. They are closely connected not only with history, but also with religious views. It was with the advent of beliefs that the beginning of customs and traditions was laid.
We all follow some traditions and customs, but not all of us truly know their purpose and history. I believe that people should pay special attention to history, because all traditions and customs are an interesting part of the culture of the people, the history of generations and religion, and are also one of the components of a person’s upbringing and his worldview.
The history of the emergence of customs and traditions
Initially, customs and traditions arose out of the need for survival. Thus was born the so-called hunting magic. It must be understood that people in ancient times were much more dependent on nature than we are. The hunt could be successful - or unsuccessful. Therefore, rituals arose that, it was believed, could bring good luck to the side of the hunters. The elders had knowledge of such rituals, therefore, in ancient times, the elderly were treated with due respect, not like now.
There were other customs and traditions among the ancients: not to wake a sleeping person (his soul may not have time to return from the world of dreams), not to mate during a hunt - this is fraught with uncontrolled births, etc. By the way, it is within the framework of hunting magic that rock art appears: people wanted to attract the spirit of an animal to their side.
Such customs and traditions accompanied the life of an ancient man. They have penetrated our culture so much that we do not even notice and do not track them! For example, look at a teenager at a bus stop. He smoked, spat and wiped his grub on the asphalt with his foot. What is this? This is a genetic memory: in fact, he destroyed the trace of himself. After all, earlier people believed that through saliva, hair and other remnants of a person, you can bring trouble to him. Don't believe? Read the textbook "History of Primitive Society" for universities!
Wedding traditions are generally a solid antiquity: white color (dress, veil) is a symbol of the transition to another state. We wear white according to the rite three times in our lives: when we are born, when we get married or get married, and when we die. Did you even know about all this? Write in the comments!
Food habits. You come to a new job - you need to "put down", you go on vacation - the same way. Wedding table, parties - in a word, a lot is connected precisely with eating food. Why? It turns out that in ancient times there was such a custom of potlatch, when the leader of the tribe fed all his community members. This meant that he did them good - we must respond in kind! And today: went on vacation, and we work? We're stressed! Gotta eat! And there is a gap. Did you graduate from high school and get your diploma? Are you stressed? School ball, graduation is again associated with food. Didn't notice
Interesting customs and traditions of the peoples of the world
The peoples of the whole world have many traditions and customs, and they are different for all peoples. For example, Russians have a tradition of celebrating the New Year, a holiday that connects the past and the future. This holiday carries bright feelings and many miracles, but, like most other traditions, the New Year is rooted in antiquity.
An integral part of the New Year is a Christmas tree with funny and clockwork toys, bright and glossy balls and garlands flashing in different colors. Do you know why everyone decorates the Christmas tree so quickly before this holiday? Because according to customs, people believed that by decorating the Christmas tree, they make the evil forces that surround them good. At present, many have forgotten about these forces, and the decorated Christmas tree still remains a symbol of the New Year holiday. This magical holiday is described in many Russian fairy tales and poems, the authors of which are well-known A. S. Pushkin, S. A. Yesenin and others.
Also, the Russian people have interesting customs that are incomprehensible to foreign residents. For example, on the eve of Easter, a bright holiday that appeared in Rus' at the end of the tenth century, in honor of the resurrection of Christ, we paint chicken eggs. And many people dye them with onion peel, because it gives a burgundy-red hue, this shade symbolizes the blood of Christ crucified on the cross. A chicken egg, in turn, is a symbol of the birth of a new life.
But not only the Russian people are famous for their traditions and customs. Abroad there is the well-known All Hallows' Eve or, as we call it, Halloween. The holiday became a tradition several centuries ago and, as we know from the book "Scarlett" by Alexandra Ripley, this holiday was rooted in Ireland. An attribute of such a tradition is a pumpkin, which symbolizes at the same time the harvest, evil forces and the fire that scares them away.
There are no less interesting traditions in the countries of the East. For example, polygamy. Polygamy also came into life from the ancestors and is preserved in the countries of the East to this day. For example, the Book of Mormon can tell us a lot about such a tradition. From the book it is known that in ancient times, with a nomadic lifestyle, considerable care was required for numerous herds of horses or camels, so the owner forced to have several women who could provide care for mares or camels. Camel fur made it possible to have warm and light blankets, and camel milk was highly valued. Only a woman could do all this, men had no time to do housework, they were the earners. At present, in the Eastern countries, polygamy determines the prestige of a man, which is no less important for the inhabitants of the East.
Departing from the history of the traditions of polygamy in the Eastern countries, one cannot help but recall the monogamy of the Caucasus. No matter how sad it may sound, there are always wars in countries, after which the number of men decreases sharply. Girls, as a rule, are born more than boys, and in the future, many adult girls do not have enough husbands, and as a result, families and children.
In general, if you recall, there have been cases in history when only one survivor from the male population of the village returned to the village from the front. However, after some time, the population again became at the same level.
So during the Caucasian war of the nineteenth century, the leader of the Caucasian highlanders, Imam Shamil, facilitated the fate of widows and single women. They were allowed to choose a husband at their own discretion, which actually legitimized the existing relationship. As S. Essadze wrote: "The named man, single or married, was obliged to marry the one who chose him."
I propose to recall the customs and traditions of the inhabitants of such an interesting country as Thailand. Thailand is famous for its exotic customs. During the calendar year, the native Thais have many customs and traditions that delight tourists. Solemn holidays are celebrated by the whole kingdom of Thailand. In general, some of the most interesting rituals can be observed in the "backward" cultures, whose carriers live in.
An example of this is one of the most beautiful holidays in Thailand - Loy Krathong, dedicated to the spirits of water. This day falls at the beginning of November on the day of the full moon. Thais, floating their boats along the rivers - krathongs, in which candles burn brightly and fresh flowers, coins, various incense lie. Thais firmly believe that with the help of these boats that night, the spirits of water will wash away all the sins of the previous year from them.
Each country of our vast world has its own special customs and traditions that determine the way of life and culture of people. Do we often hear about the customs and traditions of China? One of the most special traditions in China is the greeting. In the old days, the Chinese greeted each other by bowing with their hands folded across their chests. At the same time, it was believed: the lower the bow, the more respect a person shows. The modern Chinese today simply make a slight bow with their heads. However, if they want to show respect, they can bow lower.
The customs and traditions of all the peoples of the world inhabiting the Earth are very extensive and multifaceted. They are directly related to factors that are rooted in the very depths of history, and with religion, which helps a person to understand and perceive the world around him, believing in the supernatural. It is necessary to respect and honor not only the customs and traditions of your country, your people, but also other countries and its inhabitants.
Interesting article? Like, write what you think about all this in the comments. .
© Sokolova E. A.
Editing Andrey Puchkov
