Kolyada or Korochun - the celebration of the birth of the new sun
Kolyada (aka Korochun) is a holiday of the new year among the Slavic peoples during the winter solstice. It was believed that it was at this time that a new sun was born and a new year began in nature.
According to the ancients folk beliefs, in the days from December 22 to 25, the wheel of time breaks, giving rise to a new year and a new sun. They were afraid of this period, believing that this process was a rift between worlds, through which evil spirits could penetrate into the world of the living, and the new sun might not rise.
The celebration of Kolyada consisted of scaring away evil spirits with cheerful songs and dances, and folk rituals helped the young sun rise into the sky. The festivities were accompanied by festive fortune-telling and witchcraft - sorcerers (knowledgeable in spells, bewitchers) tried to protect the future of the family, or even correct it.
In Slavic culture, Kolyada is the baby sun, symbolizing the beginning of a new cycle in nature; a friendly and cheerful deity. Korochun was invited and praised, entertained and treated.
The main attribute of the Kolyada holiday is the wheel, symbolizing the sun, the cyclical nature of life, and the infinity of existence. People gathered around the fire, and at the end of the celebration they solemnly set fire to the wheel as a symbol of the sun. They rolled him up a hill, imitating an ascent, and said: roll up the hill, come back with spring!
Traditions of celebrating Kolyada in Russia
Among the ancient Slavs, the celebration of Karachun began on December 24 in the evening, on the eve of the New Year. With the appearance of the first star in the sky, the whole family gathered for dinner.
On festive table necessarily present: Christmas wheat kutia (with poppy seeds, honey and nuts), porridge, pie and pretzels. The woman, the mistress of the house, baked round bread, symbolizing the sun.
You can serve various national Lenten dishes on Kolyada’s table: borscht without meat, dumplings with potatoes or mushrooms, pies with cabbage, legumes, fruits and nuts. For the holiday, together with the children, we baked homemade cookies in the shape of animals: cows, sheep, goats, roosters. Gingerbread figurines were also used to decorate the house and were treated to carolers.
The table was covered with a tablecloth. Hay and straw were poured under it to attract prosperity to the house.
The meal began with kutya. Each family member had to break the round bread. Relatives remembered all the good things that happened in the past year and asked Kolyada for happiness in the next year. The food was not removed from the table, but was left until the morning. It was believed that in this way the spirits of deceased relatives would be able to share the holiday food with their family.
Modern traditions in many ways repeat the ancients. The celebration of Karachun was moved along with the change in the calendar from the “old” style to the “new” one. Of course, in our time, Russians do not honor the baby of the sun - Kolyada, but Christians celebrate Christmas Eve from the Nativity of Christ until Epiphany. And these holidays contain many customs and traditions of Old Slavic origin.
It is customary to sing carols “on the night before Christmas” - after 18:00 on the evening of January 6, or after waiting for the first star. The festive festivities on the morning of January 7 are mistakenly called “carol songs” - on this day the birth of Christ is celebrated with poems and songs and glorified.
Holiday carols
At the end of dinner, the children went to caroling. Young boys, unmarried girls and children dressed up so as not to be recognized. They turned sheepskin coats inside out and put on masks of various animals. Be sure to take a goat with you. This animal is a symbol of fertility, productivity and prosperity.
They glorified the deity Kolyada in songs and poems, and asked the owners of the house for treats and money. “How generously you thank the carolers, the good and rich you will be next year"After receiving the treats, the carolers sat on the threshold of the house and clucked, imitating chickens. In this way, they called wealth and offspring into the yard.
The collected gifts were taken to a common table where relatives, friends and neighbors gathered. The celebration continued with songs, dances and fun. Vodka and moonshine were placed on the table. Everyone danced in circles and acted out skits.
How they drove Balda to Kolyada
During general celebrations, it was customary to drive “Balda” around the village. Balda is a thick piece of log, which was oiled in advance and then set on fire on a common fire (Krada). It was believed that if you ride Balda around the entire village and it does not go out, the residents will have a prosperous and generous year.
When Balda burned down, the coals were carried home to light the stove. Water was heated on these coals. They used it to feed livestock and wash children. Each subsequent day of celebration, a new Balda was burned, and each evening a “new” fire was brought into the house.
In the modern interpretation, the phrase “Going crazy” has acquired a completely different meaning and means idleness, laziness, a useless activity.
Festive fortune-telling for Kolyada
Single girls They told fortunes about the betrothed: in a small container they mixed grain with cereals, and put 3 rings (made of copper, silver and gold). Each girl scooped up a handful of cereal with a ring. If you get copper, the betrothed will be poor, silver - simple guy, and gold - a boyar.
The head of the family told fortunes at kutia: he threw a spoonful of porridge up, saying: “Sow and be born, wheat, and various arable lands.” The more porridge stuck to the ceiling, the richer and more productive the next year will be.
How to attract and appease Kolyada
To attract the good spirit of Korochun to the house, it is enough to scatter straw on the floor, which symbolizes feminine energy. Masculine energy A sheaf of wheat or oats is considered, which is placed on a bench or chest so that its spikelets rest against the corner (2 walls). The premises are not swept during all the celebrations, so as not to sweep away the wealth from the home.
Preparing the house and garden for the Korochun holiday
December, in the old days called breastfeeding, was considered the time for finishing housework. The month is so named because the earth is covered with piles of snow and ice. By this time, it is necessary to complete all work in the garden and vegetable garden:
- prepare the soil for spring sowing;
- insulate trees, bushes and flower beds for the winter;
- create conditions for snow retention;
- set up bird feeders.
Before Kolyada, you should put things in order in the house, decorate the rooms with holiday paraphernalia, and prepare treats for the family and guests.
Bottom line
Honoring the culture of their ancestors has always been important for the Slavic people. Following traditions and rituals helps strengthen the connection with one's family. The holiday of Kolyada in Rus' has been celebrated for many centuries. This is a time of fun, songs, dancing and family togetherness.
One of the most beloved in the whole world. Adults and children with hope and faith in a bright future are waiting for the cherished chimes. Despite the general delight and reverence, each individual nation spends the New Year and New Year holidays differently. holidays. The Slavic people also have their own traditions, inspired by the past and dictated by the present. We, united rich history, pagan roots and high spirituality, we do not always know the roots of customs.
History of the New Year among the Slavs
The tradition of celebrating the arrival of the new year came from the Ancient Romans. Innovators led by Julius Caesar began to celebrate the transition of the old year to the new on January 1 back in 46 BC. Both the month itself and the holiday were dedicated to the god Janus, the patron of everything renewed, a symbol of the symbiosis of the passing and the coming.
The Slavs celebrated the transition to the new year first on March 1, when, after a long winter, nature was renewed and reborn. Later the holiday moved to September 1, under the influence of Byzantine traditions and as a way of rewarding a rich harvest. On December 20, 1699, Tsar Peter I issued a decree according to which the New Year holiday moved to January 1, as in the European powers. Sacrifice, gifts to the gods and other pagan details faded into the background. They were replaced by a decorated Christmas tree, gifts, noisy celebrations and festivities. But, despite Europeanization, some details of the Christmas and New Year holidays were firmly imprinted in the habits of the descendants of the Slavs.
Kind grandfather with a big bag
Perhaps the main symbol of the New Year is Santa Claus. We're so used to it kind grandfather comes to everyone’s house and gives gifts to obedient children in exchange for a poem. Even some adults, inspired by the hope of a miracle, write letters and wait for the ringing of bells on a team of horses.
The history of this image goes back centuries. The ancient Slavs also had a spirit that brought cold and snow to the villages. Hence the legends about Morozko, who, by the way, also gave gifts to kind and honest people if they happened to meet. The gifts were not necessarily material. The best gift For farmers, who were the majority of Slavic villagers, the harvest was coming. And this feature was perfectly layered with the following sign: “The colder and meaner the winter, the more ugly the earth becomes.” The spirit was invited into the house, especially on Christmastide. Our favorite pancakes and kutya used to serve exclusively as a treat for the gray-haired grandfather, who definitely needed to be appeased.
After the advent of Soviet power, many traditions of Rus' and Tsarist Russia were abolished and outlawed. This also affected the image of the spirit of cold weather and snowy white purity. Only in 1935, after a decree from Soviet secretaries, did the New Year return to homes and with it Santa Claus.
The image quickly found its popularity and audience, the character acquired details and features. So, the Snow Maiden appeared next to Grandfather. Writers, directors and artists very often used the image of a young beauty and a kind-hearted assistant. But the roots of the Snow Maiden are not the kindest. This also refers to the pagan traits of the Slavs. To appease the spirit of the forest and cold weather, virgins were often sacrificed to him, tying them to a tree in the thicket of the forest in the most severe frost. The girls froze and took on the appearance of snow-covered ghostly silhouettes. With the advent of civilization and Christianity in Rus', this tradition faded into oblivion. But, like many other details, the image of a beautiful young girl next to the spirit of the cold remained. Over time, it smoothed out and turned into a humane, warm image of first the daughter, and then the granddaughter of Santa Claus.
Gifts under the pillow from the Saint
Another male character of the winter holidays among many Slavs is St. Nicholas. Every year, on December 19, children wake up early in the morning and enthusiastically look under their pillows in search of gifts. There is a belief that Saint Nicholas brings sweets to obedient children, and lozina to disobedient children.
Traditionally, the day of memory of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was celebrated in completely Christmas traditions. The owners put things in order in the house and yard, brewed beer and uzvar, sang songs and organized large-scale celebrations. In areas close to and, it was customary to organize mummer walks, similar to Christmas carols. The leader of the group, the young man, dressed up as Saint Nicholas, the rest dressed up in fancy suits. All together they walked around the courtyards and treated the children to sweets and fruits. The image of the Wonderworker was an excellent helper for young men in love - through the dressed-up Nicholas, they gave gifts to their beloved girls.
Yuletide festivities
Christmastide, as a separate episode of New Year's traditions, is already so familiar and mixed with modern ideals that few people remember how it all began. Since ancient times, the period between and Epiphany was celebrated accompanied by fortune telling and large festivities. Festively dressed people entered any house, joked, sang songs and congratulated the owners on the holidays. During Christmas time, young people allowed themselves to relax and indulge in revelry. The songs and dances were emotional and sometimes even contained elements of vulgarity and rudeness. But during this period, even the church turned a blind eye to such pranks - festivities were considered an important ritual and tradition for the people stranded in the cold.
Dancing, singing, exchanging news and stories are important details of communication. From these habits came the tradition when Santa Claus asks children to read poetry, dance, sing or demonstrate their talents for a gift.
Good evening to you, sir!
Since childhood, we all know by heart the lines of “Shchedrik-Vedrik” and understand the purpose of wheat grains. Shchedrovka, carols and sowing are a charming and most atmospheric tradition of the winter holidays.
Video - modern carols
They usually give generously in the evening before Christmas, January 6th. Ever since Kievan Rus groups of young people went from house to house and sang traditional songs, wishing the owners of the house wealth, prosperity, good harvest and well-being. Also, the texts described biblical motifs - stories about the birth of Christ, his blessing and other details of Holy Scripture. For a long time, schedrovkas were traditional songs that served to call for spring. Therefore, you can still hear words about swallows and cuckoos in some texts.
It is customary to carol on the Old New Year, January 13th. The traditions of carols are very similar to shchedrovki - young people go from house to house, chant Christ and wish well-being to the owners. The prehistory of carols goes back to Ancient Rus'. On December 25, Kolyada was celebrated - the day when the old Sun is replaced by a new one. The pagan Slavs used carol songs to scare away evil spirits eager to eat the new Sun. The carols were also intended to tell everyone around that a new luminary had risen in the sky. It is from here that the words about the sun and stars appeared in the lines. Later, when Byzantine Christianity came to the territory of Rus', the traditions of the Holy Scriptures reliably entered the rituals of the pagans. And the outfits of the carolers became more Christian and canonical. The only thing that has remained unchanged is the tradition of wishing goodness and prosperity. And instead of the rising of a new Sun, the guests sang about the birth of Christ.
Sowing completes this solemn holiday delegation on the day following the carols. On the morning of January 14, men and boys go from house to house, accompanied by songs and poetic wishes for well-being, sowing or simply filling yards and houses with grains of wheat or barley. This symbol has not changed its meaning - this is how a new crop is supposedly sown. This should become a prototype of prosperity and wealth in the coming year.
Betrothed-mummer?
Perhaps the most magical and mysterious moment of the Christmas and New Year holidays is fortune telling. Despite the growing level of atheism and skepticism in the world, girls continue to guess about their betrothed and try to find out the future. Fortune-telling hoaxes have a long history. Everything is quite simple - it is believed that at the end of the year, all doors open so that old spirits leave and make way for new ones. And it is at this moment that the mysterious curtain rises between ours and other worlds. In addition, at the turn of the past and the coming years, you can easily find out your future.
Video - traditions of Christmas fortune-telling
There are many types of fortune telling. Starting from the most famous attempt to meet your betrothed on Christmas morning, simply by going out into the street and asking the name of the first man you met. Our great-great-great-grandmothers also believed that this is the name your future spouse will bear.
On the night before Christmas, girls pour out tin or wax. To do this, water is poured into the basin. Having tuned into the “astral”, the girl drips wax from a lit candle onto the surface of the water. And then he tries to make out the images that are frozen on the cold surface. The meaning of the symbols has long been canonical and unambiguous, so in the interpretation you can use the experience of your ancestors.
Another, more ancient version of fortune telling is to bring a rooster into the house. Place a piece of bread, a handful of ash, coal, some cereal and scissors on the table, placing a bowl of water next to it. Then watch the bird and see what it turns its attention to. If for ashes, then the husband will be a tobacconist; if for bread or cereals, then the suitor will be rich; if for scissors, he prophesies that you will marry a tailor. If the rooster decides to drink water, then the husband will be in the fetters of a green snake, and if he pecks at the scissors, the girl will not get married at all.
We can talk a lot and for a long time about New Year and Christmas traditions. But perhaps the most important and important image of these holidays is kindness and forgiveness. Since ancient times, people have wished each other well-being, wealth and happiness. And in the New Year we tried to forget all the bad things and continue all the good things. This is the only thing worth striving for!
Slavic civilization flourished on this planet for thousands of centuries. Naturally, at different times, for different reasons, our glorious ancestors created different calendars that immortalized certain important events...
Monthly calendar, 1790-1800.
This is what the calendar of Russian Christians was like before 1700. The month of January was the 5th
In the Middle Ages, the enemies of the human race actively worked to erase from world history true information about the great civilization of our planet, which flourished for many thousands of centuries. Our planet was colonized by the Slavic-Aryans about 800 thousand years ago after long preparation of both the planet and solar system. During this time, various events took place, some of which were at one time immortalized in new calendars. The last normal calendar was introduced by our ancestors 7520 years ago to commemorate the victory over Arimia (ancient China). After a difficult, long and bloody war, China was defeated, and he was imprisoned in the Star Temple Peace treaty. From this event a new chronology began, called “from the Creation of the World in the Star Temple” ( SMZH). In 1700, this calendar was replaced by the European one by order of the fake Peter I.
By the way, in some European countries the end of summer ( summer period) is still considered not the last day of August, but the day autumn equinox- September 22nd. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people do not know that in reality this date does not mean the end of the summer period, but the end of Summer, i.e. calendar year. But, nevertheless, this is also a fact that speaks volumes...
The new year 7522 has arrived from SMZH
The tradition of the meeting goes back to ancient times. In ancient times, the holiday symbolized the beginning of a new life cycle. As civilization developed, sacred rituals were gradually woven into the fabric of official celebrations. Modern new year traditions have reached us almost unchanged from antiquity.
IN New Year's celebration prayers were offered to God, the patron saint of the month born and the most revered Gods. Moreover, everyone asked to grant not only personal well-being, but also peace and prosperity to the entire state. IN New Year's Eve the whole people became excited: everyone went to visit each other, exchanged gifts and wishes.
The New Year of the Slavs was timed to coincide with the days of the autumn equinox (September 22-26) and the New Summer began on September 14. After the harvest, people knew that the main harvest was already in the barns, and the Slavic clans decided to celebrate weddings, organize bridesmaid shows and holiday celebrations.
After the decree of Peter I, the New Year in Russia was moved to January 1 (December 25), the eighth day from the Nativity of Christ. In a strange way, the “decreed” New Year coincided with the eighth day from the Nativity of Christ, i.e. The day of the circumcision of Christ (in fact, this was not the reason, and Jesus Christ, whose real name is Radomir, was born in a completely different time and place. See the article “Who was born on Christmas?” about this). According to esoteric teachings, as a result of circumcision of a baby, human nature is “grounded” and the two lower chakras stop working. According to other ideological statements, circumcision of Jews in infancy lowers the level of spiritual organization of the individual to a person controlled by the media of mass culture (a “zombie” person, a “biorobot” person, an “animal” person) and the rabbinate.
Since these traditions were brought from outside, the return to the celebration of the New Year by all the peoples that make up the Russian superethnos (all peoples living together in Russia, speaking Russian), is seen as a series of jointly solved tasks: “tasks to restore the ancestral memory and the rewritten history of our HOMELAND and humanity, partially lost as a result of the “circumcision of historical memory.” Because those who do not know the true history of their family will not love and defend their HOMELAND.
In 1700 A.D. Peter I issues a decree abolishing the old calendar that existed in Rus' and introducing the Western European calendar from the Nativity of Christ. At the same time, he moves the beginning of the calendar (New Year) from the day of the autumnal equinox (among the Old Believers Slavs) and September 1 (among Christians) to January 1 (January). He chooses 1700 as the starting date.
The start date of the new calendar was not chosen by Peter the Great by chance. On December 25, the entire Christian world celebrates the Nativity of Christ. According to the Bible, on the eighth day the baby Jesus was circumcised according to the Jewish rite, i.e. January 1 Christian Church The Circumcision of the Lord was celebrated. This is the date that Peter the Great chose. By his decree, he ordered all his subjects to celebrate the beginning of the new calendar and congratulate each other on the New Year.
Why New Summer and not a year
At the court of Peter the Great, Russian was hardly spoken, because it was considered the language of the common people. Basically, all communication was in German and Dutch. So, the word “Year” (God) means "God" in these languages. Those. By his decree, Peter forced his subjects to congratulate each other on the New God on the day of his circumcision. This Peter's joke still exists, and people, having lost the original meaning, continue on January 1 to congratulate each other on the New Circumcised God, and not on the New Year, as it was before.
Let us remember: ancient records of past events were called Chronicles, not Chronicles. We still ask each other “how old are you,” not “how old are you.” Among the Old Believers, chronology is still calculated from the autumn equinox (September 22-23). Unlike January 1, this date is at least somehow tied to astronomical events.
In pre-Petrine times, the New Year was celebrated on September 1st. But this was not always the case; if you look at the history of the ancient Slavs, you can find out that this date was temporary.
During the time of pagan Rus', there was some semblance of this holiday, although it was called somewhat differently - New Year. How did our ancestors celebrate the New Year, and what was the essence of the holiday?
In pagan times, people believed in a whole pantheon of Gods and the central figure, of course, was the sun. The pagans connected their lives, traditions, rituals with the change of seasons, and the sun is a key figure here, because it warms and shines, which means it gives life. The sun had, according to the Slavs, 4 stages of life:
- just born after a long winter night, called Kolyada;
— spring-Yarilo, filled with strength;
— strengthened summer-Kupaila;
- the decrepit autumn-Svetovit, which dies in the end.
The pagans based their chronology and celebrations on these stages, tied to important astronomical phenomena. It should be noted that the main purpose of the feasts was to appease the Gods so that they would show their mercy in the coming year. The pagans had 4 holidays, 2 of which are somewhat reminiscent of the modern New Year:
- meeting of Kolyada - celebration and greeting of the newly born sun;
- Komoeditsa is a holiday of the awakening of all living things, when Yarilo defeats winter.
How did the Slavs celebrate the New Year?
The beliefs of the ancient Slavs said that at the end of the month of jelly (December) Svetovit loses his strength and dies, then to be born again as the baby Kolyada. This rebirth lasted 12 days, and the longest night during the winter solstice, when Svetovit had already died and Kolyada had not yet been born, was considered mysterious and terrible. At a time when dark entities and spirits gained strength, and people were left without the protection of their solar God, the ancients tried to stick together with the tribal clan and organized cheerful feasts to scare away evil spirits.
To help Kolyada be born, large bonfires were lit during the winter solstice and had to burn for all 12 days. There was a tradition according to which unnecessary old things were burned in the fire of a fire, preparing to meet the young sun renewed.
The word carols, which everyone knows today, was formed precisely in pagan times. Then people sang songs of praise to God - Kolyada, as well as songs that would help him defeat evil spirits. Researchers suggest that the pagans decorated their houses with thorny spruce branches also to scare away evil spirits. There was a winter spirit - Studenets or Kolotun, who sent severe frosts and covered rivers and lakes with ice. The Slavs tried to appease him, because the harsh winter in those days was a great test, people often died from cold and hunger. To appease the spirit, treats like jelly, kutya and pancakes were placed at the windows.
The birth of Kolyada marked the beginning of beginnings, so people tried to tidy up their houses, put on new clothes and prepare lots of treats. Throughout the days of the holiday, people performed rituals.
Where did Maslenitsa come from?
Many elements of Kolyada then passed into Christianity. For some moments the official church turned a blind eye, and carefully tried to eradicate some rituals. The second important event of the ancient pagans in Rus' was Komoeditsa, which began on the day spring equinox. According to legend, during this period God - Yarilo, having gained strength, defeated winter, which was symbolized by Madder or Mara - a scarecrow made from straw, dressed in women's outfits and then burned. It was believed that this would help drive away winter and nature would awaken from sleep.
Throughout Komoeditsa, people organized feasts, various games, competed in strength and dexterity, and young people at this time were looking for a mate. The main symbol of the sun was considered fragrant round cakes, which were later replaced by pancakes and cheesecakes. In every house they were baked in large quantities and treated each other.
In pagan mythology, Veles is the God to whom offerings were made before the start of agricultural work. The pagans believed that he could appear to people in the form of a bear, so the clubfoot was especially revered. In Komoeditsa, the Slavs took the first baked pancakes to the forest and laid them out in visible places so that the bears awakening from winter hibernation would feast on these gifts.
An interesting fact is that the expression “the first pancake is lumpy”, which is familiar today, came precisely from paganism and does not have the meaning that is put into it today. In ancient times, bears were called komas, and according to the ritual, the first pancakes were given to them, hence the expression that the first pancake was given to komas.
The Slavs were looking forward to the onset of warmer times so they could start working in the fields and provide themselves with food for the long winter that followed. In addition, during the warm season there were many other worries: storing firewood for future use, preparing their homes and sheds for animals for the next winter. Therefore, after the end of the fun and noisy festivities, people immediately got to work, hoping that they had sufficiently appeased the Gods and that they would not leave them in difficult times.
Historians are inclined to believe that Komoeditsa can be considered the ancient pagan new year. In fact, among the Slavs the year was divided into winter and summer, and after the spring equinox, when God Yarilo defeated the cold and snow, a new summer or new year began for them. Later, Komoeditsa was transformed into Maslenitsa, which is widely celebrated to this day, and Kolyada became part of the Christmas and New Year rituals of Christians.
About the pagan new year. Prepare your brain for more than creepy, but true information. After all, the entertainment portal Bazurka is not a dry Wikipedia. Although what we will talk about cannot be in it. Actually, it’s time for you to see the truth, dear monkeys.
We waited until autumn. New academic year depresses and pleases schoolchildren all over the country, but usually, among our baptized ancestors, and even among the pagans, September 1 was the most fun - people celebrated the New Year. That is, like fun - there were no Christmas trees, no costumed man with a sad and blond whore then - wild people, they were just happy about another new year and went to bed as usual, often sober. Let's dig deeper into what kind of pagan new year this is and dive deeply into the atmosphere of this holiday.
Dashing Peter 1, through a decree, introduced our sad, sober ancestors to the celebration of January 1, like Europeans - and now we have been drinking and partying for half of January for 300 years. Let's be honest - religious Rus' was shocked by such a holiday, and if it weren't for the floggings by order of the tsar, who the hell would have celebrated the New Year.
For centuries the change of year passed quietly. And here, fuck, a European, Busurman spree and when, January 1st. Precisely, on the day of the holy martyr Vnifantius. People were very, very religious at that time. Without exception. And St. much Vnifanty, beheaded for his faith, is like some kind of drug addict - they pray to him for a cure for drunkenness. Peter glorified Janus on New Year's Day, exhibited him as an idol in the squares, and forced the people to revel around him. Janus - January was named after him back in pagan Rome, symbolizes a portal, the entrance to another world, to chaos, to hell, in simple terms.
How you meet the year is how you will live. We eat and drink, we drink and eat. A pagan holiday of sorts, pine needles in the house, decorations on it, people drink next to the tree and rejoice. And after all, the whole people are in one impulse - from the homeless to the president. People are uniting these days and it's fucking cute. This is what unites the whole nation - drunkenness in January.
The symbol of the New Year is a Christmas tree decorated with bright things. But how it all began, the pagans had frost, angry and merciless. People were afraid of thunder and rain, but here there was frost, in short, so as not to freeze everyone, the pagans made a sacrifice, the most heat-loving people made a human sacrifice. Some girl. Sometimes they tied them to a tree, and sometimes they hung the victim’s organs on branches. So the frost got a girlfriend, the Snow Maiden.
According to another version, the tree became a symbol of Christmas at the end of the 17th century in Germany. Why exactly the Christmas tree, history is silent. However, already in the 18th century, European Christmas was inextricably linked with pine needles. There is an idea that the Christmas tree came from German mythology, where it symbolized the world tree. The structure of the world, with a hierarchy, more from below and tier by tier to the top. And there it is burning star of bethlehem, below are apples, now they are balls, a symbol of Adam’s apple, and gingerbread cookies are symbols of bread at the Eucharist. In general, everything turned out very, very religious. In Russia, the wife of Nicholas 1, German Alexandra Fedorovna, brought a Christmas tree for Christmas. The Christmas tree was considered a lordly pastime among the people. However, in 1917, the new government swept away all prejudices and ate with Christmas was banned.
Already in the cheerful year of 1937, in the columned hall of the House of Unions, the first Soviet Christmas tree was opened for the New Year. The star was adjusted to the five-pointed satanic-Soviet one and instead of angels, figures of Red Army soldiers were hung on the branches.
WITH light hand Stalinist political strategists appeared new character, well forgotten Santa Claus. Still, people read more at that time, and they took the grandfather from Odoevsky’s fairy tale “Morozko”, 1840, as a basis. Alexander Ostrovsky added to the image in 1873 with the play “The Snow Maiden”. And only in 1937 did the communists combine these images.
Pindos have their own imaginary grandfather, Santa Claus - the grandfather from the fantasies of Coca-Cola advertisers. And we have blah fairy tale hero. But the facts tell us that before the fairy tale there were legends about an evil frost to which people were once sacrificed.
Of the modern analogues, the most enduring image in neighboring Finland is Santa Claus, in Finnish “forest man” Joulupukki. Now Joulupukki is dressed like a clown, well, like Santa Claus with a white beard, a red fur coat and a hat, but in the 19th century he was painted in goat skin and sometimes even with small horns (everyone is urgently looking at “Santa for Sale”).
Joulupukki is married, his wife's name is Muori ("old mistress") - the personification of winter. Joulupukki is supported by gnomes who sit in the “Echo Caves” (Kaikuluolat) for years and, according to the Coca-Cola version, make gifts all year round.
And now our pagan new year. The name “Frost” in mythology is associated with cold and death (hence the expression “deadly cold”). The root is “pestilence”, “darkness”, “haze”, “haze”, “fool”, “death”, etc. “Frost” is the active (male) side of the deity, his passive (female) embodied side was designated the “Snow Maiden” or in Slavic-Russian mythology, the goddess Morana (Morena, Marana). Just like Joulupukki and his wife Muori. From Iceland to India, mythical characters with names from the root "mor" are known.
Buddhist Mara, who tempted righteous hermits, Scandinavian “mara” - an evil spirit capable of tormenting a sleeping person, “trampling” him to death, Morrigan, Goddess of the ancient Irish, associated with destruction and war. The French word "nightmare" comes from the same place.
The prototype of frost, “Moroz Ivanovich” is an underground (chthonic) lower deity associated with death, the underworld and the kingdom of the dead. Even the character in the fairy tale about Morozko meets him after entering another world through a well. Morozko is there dark side Slavic deity - Veles ("cattle god"), the god of wealth, cattle breeding and fertility, on the other hand, Veles has the cult of the dead, the souls of the dead.
The Balts have Veles, welis - Lithuanian. - deceased, welci - souls of the dead. England, "wæl" (Old English) - "a corpse left on the battlefield." The animal symbol was the bear. Veles - Velesy, shaggy; hence the sorcerer - also hairy (maybe dressed in a bearskin). The constellation of the Pleiades - Volosyn - is associated with Veles; the radiance of Volosyn foretells a successful bear hunt. Bear, "king of the forest", lord of the forest, (Yolupukki "forest man", lord of the forest). It’s crowded in Europe, however, so many peoples have the same thing.
Until the 19th century, Russian peasants still had the custom when harvesting to donate a handful of ears of grain to their beard, tying them in a knot. And now in museums there are wooden idols in the form of a bearded man with a cornucopia, hence Frost Ivanovich’s beard.
Veles is also the ruler of the kingdom of the dead, such as a prototype of Satan. It seems that these myths don’t give a damn, but come on, under Stalin, the custom was introduced to the people, somehow symbolic for that era. The pagan New Year is essentially Peter's invention, mixed with pagan myths and Soviet propaganda. And in fact, masks for the New Year, animal masks, and round dances around the Christmas tree are not a triumph of paganism. Wasn’t it the vile plan of the Stalinist communists to make the pagan New Year Soviet, so to speak, to return the people to their roots, touching on some subtle matters that have been unbridled since those times.
Hitler dabbled, and Stalin was also no slouch, one of the pagans. After all, they made a bestial holiday out of the New Year - friends get drunk, and we don’t know how much. Thanks to both Peter 1 and the communists, the pagan way of indulging one’s bestial unbridled beginnings on New Year’s and subsequent nights easily took root.
Rus' kept a strict fast these days, but here it’s time to drink and dance. It’s so incomprehensible, and the symbols of fun are not just far-fetched, they’re stupidly evil. It’s cool, of course, to go out and give gifts - but usually gluttony and drunkenness accompanies half of January. Pagans encourage human weaknesses - after all, man is part of nature, he has walked in humus. A Christian overcomes weaknesses and passions through fasting and becomes master of himself first and foremost.
Both pagans are our ancestors, and Christians, each one has to choose which ancestor is a better example for the descendant. But bestiality remains bestiality, and the pagan New Year has become ours. With the light hand of very dark personalities, and wow, how organically everything happened. Try to celebrate the New Year soberly - and they won’t understand, and it’s somehow unpleasantly difficult or something. But damn, it’s hard to quit bad things, but if you meet September 1 sober, the task will be more feasible. Unless you are a teacher, but that’s another sad thing...
