Christmas time: history, traditions, rituals, divination. Russian folk holiday Christmas time
January 7 - Christmas (Christmas holidays)
In the periodical press, on television, the date of the feast of the Nativity of Christ is sometimes called the holy day of the Roman Catholic Church, then the Orthodox, then the Anglican, then the Lutheran, or even the Baptist. Whose holiday is this? Here are the facts: in none of the canonical Gospels depicting the birth of Christ, the exact day is mentioned at all. History shows that Christianity developed initially as a heretical (illegal) sect of Judaism. And the Jews, as you know, never celebrated a birthday, considering it "the beginning and the form of all the sorrows and sufferings of man." There is evidence that the first Christmas was celebrated at the beginning of the III century in Egypt, and it was on January 6th. Therefore, one can think that the Christmas holiday came to us from the ancient Egyptians. It is curious that in the plot of the Orthodox holiday there is a lot from the magnificent mystery of the Egyptians, which was held along the entire coast of the Nile.
And yet, the date of the holiday, which is so revered by all Christians, was suggested by nature, because it is on the days of December 21-25 that the winter solstice occurs, after which the sun “turns to summer”, nature begins to awaken, the birth of nature takes place. And among the Egyptians, on the night of January 24-25, statues of Isis with the baby Horus, her son and Osiris, were taken out of the temple and installed on the banks of the great Nile. The priests sculpted figurines of Osiris from the ground, sticking barley grains into them, and when the grains sprouted, the figurines were thrown into the river with shouts: “Osiris is risen!”. Starting December 25, according to legend, the sun god Ra sailed down the underground Nile for 12 days to appear on the day of the Solstice. The holiday of the sun was celebrated in approximately the same scenario in ancient Persia, and then in Rome, where 12-day Saturns began on December 25 - days of carnival fun. In search of the day and month of the birth of the Savior, the God-man, the church first settled on the date of January 6, since the feast of Epiphany (Theophany), which was celebrated in many countries, fell on this date. But from the middle of the 4th century, preference was given to December 25, according to the old style, when the peoples of the Greco-Roman world celebrated the "birth of the Invincible Sun." So for the church, December 25 turned into a glorification of Christ born on earth. Russian Orthodoxy uses the Julian calendar, and therefore the birthday of Christ is considered January 7 (according to the new style).
Previously, this time from the Nativity of Christ to Epiphany was called holy days. Now these two words have been abbreviated into one: "Christmas". What is meant by this word now? Usually this is the time from Christmas to Epiphany, but often this concept is combined with the concept of sinful pleasures, of which there are so many these days. And yet - this is the most spiritual clock of mankind. After all, we live in the volume of Christian time. Let's try to remember how it all happened.
Almost two thousand years ago, in the small Jewish town of Bethlehem, a Baby was born. Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became incarnate, became a man like each of us. For what? The salvation of man is the main goal of Christ's coming into the world.
Christmas is a special time for Christians. The old year ends, eternal problems are forgotten for a while, tension subsides, evil recedes, people become kinder to each other, remember the poor and lonely, make gifts. And souls rest in an atmosphere of universal benevolence.
Christmas in Russia begins a new - both calendar and spiritual - year. Christmas is a kind of family holiday. Usually, fires are burning everywhere, symbolizing the hearth. From here, on Christmas night, candles are lit on the Christmas trees, children sing songs (carols, from the Greek “kalanda”, new moons), carry the image of a star through the streets. On a bright Christmas night, the star of Bethlehem shines invitingly for each of us. Baby Jesus was born in Bethlehem and is born in human hearts, warming everyone with his love. Christ was born - and man can be reborn by accepting Him as his personal Savior.
Christmas time. Christmas time - from the word "saint". At Christmas time they glorified Christ, glorified the New Year, the future harvest, congratulated each other, wished health, happiness, and all the best to all relatives, friends, neighbors. Christmas time is the most cheerful peasant holiday. It is generally believed that they last two weeks from Christmas. But in the old days, peasants began to celebrate them much earlier, from St. Nicholas Day (December 24), and ended on Epiphany (January 19). Everything fit into this considerable period - both the farewell to the old year, and the meeting of the new one, the autumn worries have departed, the bread has been threshed, why not have some fun.
Christmas time was celebrated by both old and young. But the youth set the tone. Songs, dances, divination and games - there was no time to be bored. At Christmas time there was (and may it continue) a wonderful custom: boys and girls, young men and women gather in groups and go home, congratulate them on the New Year, on new and old happiness. And even before mass, they went home to sow oats, buckwheat, rye from a sleeve or bag and sang: “For happiness, for health, for a new summer, give birth, O God, rye-wheat and all arable land.”
Christmas Eve is called differently: where is the carol, where is Christmas Eve. Christmas time is characterized by a strange mixture of pagan and purely Christian customs. Undoubtedly, pagan rites include fortune-telling, games, outfits that reflect the external side of the celebration, which has nothing to do with Christian goals and the mood of the spirit - glorification, the walking of children, and sometimes adults, with a star, den and similar objects.
Kolyada (gate). History shows that the custom of caroling has existed since the time of the Roman Empire, in Egypt, Greece, and India. So, for example, the Egyptian priests, celebrating the resurrection of Osiris, put on costumes that corresponded to certain deities, and walked along the streets of cities.
Peter I, upon returning from Europe to Russia, began to dress up his entourage in Catholic church clothes and, accompanied by a choir of singers, went around Moscow at Christmas time, jokingly glorifying the boyars. Apparently, Christmas customs passed to us from Byzantium; in those days, many Slavic Russians served at the court of the Byzantine emperors. There are two carols: Vasilievskaya - on Christmas Eve and Epiphany - on the eve of Epiphany. The first is rich, and the second is poor, or lean.
Russian history indicates that not only Peter I loved Christmas games, but Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible and his guardsmen disguised themselves like buffoons and even executed K. Repnin for not wearing buffoon clothes.
Christmas time in Rus'- it is always a masquerade, a holiday of mummers. The guys messed up the most. That rope is stretched on the road, on which passers-by stumbled and fell; then stick a needle and thread into someone's window frame. A nut was usually tied to the thread. Unwinding the reel, the guys hid behind a bush and pulled the thread. The nut beats against the glass, as if someone is knocking. In an empty pumpkin, they cut out eyes, a nose, terrible lips with a knife, inserted a lit candle into the pumpkin, and after knocking on the glass with a nut, they brought the pumpkin on a stick to the window. The owners were shocked, and the pranksters had fun. If some reckless hostess hangs out the washed linen, he should be on the birch in the morning. And if one of the hosts showed inhospitality, the door was filled up with firewood or a log. Sometimes a whole woodpile was dragged. And then the doors will be poured with water. And they freeze in a hard frost. The owner knocks with an ax in the morning - he cannot open it.
At the gatherings, they sang special, Christmas songs, danced, staged theatrical performances at which folk comedies were performed, and the audience and artists often changed places. Youth - had fun with might and main. But those who are older, family people, also did not lag behind. They willingly had fun at a party and no less willingly received friends and relatives at home.
Christmas time falls during the winter solstice - among the ancient Slavs, all holidays were associated with the cult of nature. For modern Russian citizens, Christmas time is just fabulous folk ritual holidays for the soul, for memory. The mentality of the Russian people is characterized by mysticism, superstition and a very persistent moral orientation, not subject to any reforms. Russian people have a special psychology, temperament, a fundamentally different system of values, focused not so much on the external design of the holiday, but on the inner, spiritual, moral meaning of all its components - dressing up, fortune-telling, games, fun, songs, caroling.
Christmas time in 2018, January 7-17, folk traditions, customs and signs of these days in Rus'.
Holy days, Christmas time have been established in Rus' for a very long time. Now they start from and continue until Epiphany Christmas Eve. Previously, they were associated with the time of the beginning of the increase in daylight hours -.
Even in pre-Christian times in Rus' in late December and early January they used to carol - they widely celebrated the time of the "return" of the sun, the period when the day began to arrive. After a long period of dark nights, the increase of the day was expected as a miracle, widely and long celebrated. They burned bonfires - a kind of symbols of the sun, wore masks of animals, more often a bear. The celebrants believed that by doing this they would deceive the evil spirits. They first hid the sun, and now they can take revenge on those who rejoice for its return.
With the establishment of Christianity in Rus', the time between Christmas and the Baptism of the Savior fell approximately at this time. The Orthodox Church did not begin to fight pagan customs, but gradually filled them with new meaning. As the birth of the sun was celebrated, now the Nativity of Christ, the Sun of Truth (from the troparion), has begun to be celebrated.
This time of year - between the darkness of night and the light of day - was considered throughout Europe to be the best time to try to find out the future. Fortune-telling at that time was practiced not only in Rus'. The Church has always struggled with this side of the holiday, even at the state level. So Peter I passed a law according to which for divination and obscene dances with singing they were beaten with whips.
It is believed that the Russian custom of dipping into the baptismal font comes from the tradition of cleansing from sins committed at Christmas celebrations.
Over time, the religious meaning of pagan traditions was completely forgotten, and Christmas time became a time when people especially glorify Christmas and the mercy of the Lord who sent Jesus Christ to Earth. From the ancient pre-Christian Christmas time, only winter, purely Russian irrepressible fun remains.
Christmas time has always been a national holiday, at this time class boundaries were weakening, everyone was united by a common joy. In terms of the number of customs and folk signs, only Maslenitsa can be compared with this period of the year.
Christmas time - folk traditions, customs and signs of holidays
Carol songs were often composed on the go, but there were traditional rules coming from antiquity in this type of creativity. The owner was often called "bright moon", the hostess - "red sun", their children - "frequent stars". It used to be more expressive - “the master in the house is like Adam in paradise; the mistress of the house is like pancakes in honey; little kids - that the grapes are red and green ... ”The carolers promised a rich harvest and a happy life to those who treat them well. Sometimes humorous threats sounded in the songs: “Whoever does not give a pie, we will bring the cow by the horns, whoever does not give ham, we will split the iron…”. The hosts received guests as best they could.
Christmas time - folk traditions, customs and signs of holidays
Another Christmas tradition was to gather the whole family in the evenings, invite guests and tell stories. Entire collections of "Christmas Stories" have been preserved, both invented by the common people and the author's. Such stories were mysterious and full of miraculous events. This custom was especially strong among city dwellers. The youth went sleighing and tobogganing from the mountains during the day and gathered in the evenings for storytelling. Not infrequently, after Christmas time, the time for matchmaking came, this was helped by a close circle of youth communication.
The last days of Christmas time were devoted to preparations for the feast of the Epiphany. The best village craftsmen cut a hole in the frozen ponds in the shape of a cross.
Now the tradition of caroling - glorifying the born Christ - is being restored. Believers not only gather in groups to congratulate neighbors, relatives, as well as representatives of socially vulnerable segments of society, but also arrange flash mobs in public places.
Christmas time - folk traditions, customs and signs of holidays
Many signs of weather are associated with the period of Christmas time:
- Only wolves marry Svyatki;
- From Christmas to Epiphany, it is a sin to hunt animals and birds - misfortune will happen to the hunter;
- Christmas time has passed, it's a pity to leave, Maslyana came - to ride;
- Wet Christmas time - little harvest;
- Clear Christmas time - full barns.
In Russian tradition, Christmas time is the period from December 19 (Nikolin's day, the feast of St. Nicholas the Winter) to January 19 (the feast of Epiphany). In church tradition, this period is shorter. The meaning of the word is associated with the cult of the Sun and dead ancestors. The struggle between the forces of darkness and light ends with the victory of the latter, and many Christmas customs and rituals are dedicated to this. It was believed that these days, when the sun turns to spring, our ancestors, ascended into the light, could visit this world.
Gift the worthy
The custom to "warm the ancestors" - to burn straw fires in courtyards on dark December evenings - existed in different areas. Somewhere it was done exclusively by the owner, and somewhere around the fire all the household gathered in silence.
It was believed that during the month the souls of the dead could come to our world for a short time. At this time, they had to help their descendants: punish the guilty, bestow gifts on the worthy, predict fate, prepare the coming of the new year and the victory of the forces of Light.
With the adoption of Christianity, many customs appeared, the old ones were partially forgotten or changed. But echoes of ancient beliefs are still found.
Straw occupied a rather significant place in Christmas rituals: fortunetelling was done on it, floors and benches were covered with straw, and huts were decorated with straw sheaves. It was customary to pour straw under the front tablecloth before Christmas Eve.
holy and terrible
In the Orthodox tradition, Christmas time is called the 12-day period, which begins on the evening of January 6 (at) and ends on the morning of January 19 (on Epiphany). The church forbids walking mummers, singing and dancing in the streets (this is considered sinful), but not a single Christmastide is complete without fortune-telling and.
For the week from Christmas to St. Basil's Day (old New Year), the name "holy evenings" was fixed. The whole world rejoices, rejoices at the birth of the infant Christ, it is filled with holiness, grace. Another week - from St. Basil's Day to Epiphany - is called "terrible evenings." It is connected with rampant evil spirits.
There is an interesting legend explaining this name. The Lord, overjoyed that his son was born, opened the doors of hell and let the unclean "walk". Until the very Baptism, they will rush around the earth, confusing the people and doing all sorts of dirty tricks (demons, by the way, help to guess).
ritual songs
After St. Nicholas Day, the girls begin to remember Christmas songs and games (most Christmas games are accompanied by a special recitative or chant). They were performed only during this period, so they played and sang with pleasure. These songs include all carols and schedrovkas (small ritual songs with wishes for good and well-being to the inhabitants of the house). Carols have been sung since Christmas Eve. Shchedrovki, very much like them, sang on the eve of the Old New Year. The mummers and carolers walked the streets, entered the yards and sang songs, for which the owners had to generously treat the praisers. If this was not done, then the carolers could wish for something not too pleasant.
In addition to carols, they also sang Christoslavs - small songs of religious content. As a rule, children and young girls sang. Ritual poetry has such a feature: it can be performed strictly at a certain time of the year. At any other time it is considered sinful.
Russian carnival
For most European nations, it coincides with the holding of carnivals. In Russian villages, this custom existed in the form of mummers and caroling. They dressed up in sheepskin coats turned inside out, other people's dresses, put on masks (hari), costumes of traditional Christmas characters.
Main characters Christmas time - old men, beggars, tall old women, bull (cow), horse, gander, goat (goat), bear, wolves (dogs). The poor and the elders are people from the next world. Strangers, the old woman could mean both death and winter. A bear is a symbol of winter, evil forces, wolves are guides to another world, a goose is a soul who knows the truth, a cow is associated with the cult of the moon, a horse is a guide between the world of the living and the dead, a symbol of the sun, a goat is a symbol of fertility.
Dressing was considered a dangerous and sinful business, therefore, on the last holy day (Baptism), the mummers were washed in the hole. According to Orthodox traditions, a person was cleansed of sin in this way, and according to pagan immersion in water is the shortest path of the soul to heaven (after all, Christmas time, disguised for a while, seemed to lend its body to the souls of ancestors).
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Traditions of celebrating Christmas time in Rus'
Starting from Christmas Eve and until the Epiphany (January 19), Christmas time is held. These are 12 festive days of fun and celebration dedicated to the Nativity of Christ.
Before the adoption of Christianity, the ancient Slavs during this period of time celebrated their winter holiday - Christmas time. They arranged festive feasts and caroling, walking mummers and various kinds of entertainment. It was the most fun holiday in winter, dedicated to the pagan god Svyatovit.
After the adoption of Christianity by the Slavs, many Christmas customs and traditions of the ancients were preserved and firmly entered the life of the Orthodox.
Saints are also called "holy evenings" in memory of the events of Christmas and the Baptism of Christ. According to the traditions of Christians, no one worked at that time. The Orthodox went to visit each other, gave gifts, helped the elderly, and always gave alms to those in need.
In the old days, on the first day of Christmas time, a fire was kindled, which was maintained for 12 holidays, and a burning wheel was fired from a hill. It symbolized the departure of the old year with all the hardships.
Traditionally, young people on Christmas holidays usually dressed up in festive attire, dressed up in various costumes. They danced, sang and had fun.
One of the popular ancient rituals is caroling. Kolyada - the so-called Orthodox rite, which glorified the feast of the Nativity of Christ. Gathering in a noisy company, the youth changed into sheepskin coats turned inside out, put on masks, dressed up, took the image of the Star of Bethlehem and walked around the village from house to house caroling.
Carols are festive songs that were sung by boys and girls, approaching the threshold of the house. They wished well-being and prosperity to the family, and also performed prayer chants, glorifying Jesus Christ. In turn, each owner or mistress of the house presented them with gifts and various treats.
They were very popular among young people. Christmas divination. Usually girls guessed. They retired to the premises, let their hair down, removed all the amulets, the cross and proceeded to the sacrament of divination. Various methods of divination were known - this was divination by candle wax, by herbs and flowers, by sounds, they used a mirror to see their betrothed. Fortune-telling topics were different - about the harvest, about luck, about later life, about everything that worried a person.
Christmas time was accompanied by folk festivals, fairs and booths were organized, where theatrical performances were held. At the fairs, one could taste various treats, buy gifts and have fun from the heart. People gathered in a noisy company, arranged sleigh rides, built snow fortresses and had fun under the sparkling humor of buffoons.
Christmas time ended on January 19th. On this day, according to legend baptized Jesus Christ, so Orthodox Christians came to the reservoir to dip in the icy water. For this, a hole was specially made on the water surface in the form of a cross. Everything around the hole was decorated with colored ribbons, patterns made of wood and illuminated by the Priest. Only after that, the Orthodox could swim in the hole.
On Christmas Eve (January 6) - the eve of the great holiday of Christmas - they fast all day (“until the first star”) and prepare festive clothes. It was believed that one should not celebrate Christmas in black (“come to the feast in sad clothes”). On Christmas Eve in Rus', the custom of caroling was observed. Boys and girls gathered and went from house to house, singing carols and begging the hosts for food and money.
There was even a special ceremony that was observed on the "holy evening" - Christmas Eve. Before the appearance of the first star, the table is laid and dinner begins - “supper”.Usually on this day it is customary for the whole family to gather in the parental home and celebrate the Christmas holiday. From the “holy evening” until January 14, the housewives do not sweep the rubbish out of the hut, so that later all the garbage collected in a heap can be burned in the yard. On the night of Christmas, according to popular belief, all sorts of miracles happen. It is believed that on this night the heavens “open”, all earthly waters, springs, springs and wells are endowed with magical healing powers, and if someone makes a wish that night, it must come true. There is a custom to go out into the field at Christmas midnight and look into the sky: the eyes of people living a righteous life open up heavenly heights of unthinkable beauty.
On Christmas Eve, hearths and fireplaces are lit in many houses, and a wooden block, previously smeared with honey and sprinkled with grains of bread, is placed on the fire. They try to keep the fire in the hearth all Christmas time until the old New Year. The whole family gathers at the table, and if guests are invited, they think about good luck and troubles for the whole year, meeting the first guest. It is with him that after all the events that occur in the new year are associated. Therefore, at Christmas they always tried to invite only the closest people who can bring happiness.
A pie is baked for the Christmas table with a coin embedded in it (or a raisin, a peppercorn, a nut, etc.). The owner of the house shares the cake, and the one who gets a piece with a surprise will be happy. Christmas time in Rus' has always been considered one of the most fun holidays. Throughout the week of Christmas time, people tried to live in a special way, marking every day with peculiar signs and fortune-telling. They were especially attentive to dreams, visions and signs, which acquired special significance at Christmas time. It was believed that on Christmas Eve, from January 6 to 7, prophetic dreams are usually dreamed, especially with a growing moon, therefore, in order to remember a dream, they put a candle at the head of the bed and put a dream book in order to immediately look into it in the morning and solve the dream.
And yet the main rite performed at Christmas time was the famous Christmas fortune-telling.
Many girls at Christmastime performed a simple ritual of attracting a groom. To do this, it was necessary to take the stove damper, pour bread grains on it and feed the rooster. In this rite, the main thing is to attract a rooster, which symbolized the masculine principle and, in addition, personified the onset of a sunny day (it was not for nothing that it was believed that a rooster crow scares away evil spirits). The grains that were fed to the rooster were a symbol of fertility and prosperity in the house. There was also the custom of Christmas divination with a rooster. To do this, pre-counted grains were scattered on the floor, exactly at midnight they brought a rooster (preferably black) and let him go into the room. According to the behavior of the rooster, the future was predicted.
If he pecked all the grain, the year will be successful, and the girl who scattered the grain will marry. If the rooster pecked only a few grains, the number was counted and it was found out on which day the hidden event would occur. If the rooster refused to peck at all, it foreshadowed failure. Other objects were placed around the rooster. If the rooster looks in the mirror during fortune-telling, the groom will be handsome and dandy.
At Christmas, as well as at New Year, it was customary to give gifts. They made a Christmas gift with their own hands. Very symbolically on this holiday they gave each other figures of angels, made by themselves or bought. The presented angel was hung in the room so that he would definitely give happiness, good luck and success to his owner in the new year.
With the first strike of the morning bell, everyone hurried to the church for a festive service. After matins, the youth arranged dashing skiing and sleigh rides from the mountains, accompanied by cheerful laughter and songs. Now the festive table abounded with all sorts of goodies: traditionally cooked jelly, suckling pig, fried chicken, pork head with horseradish, sausage and honey gingerbread. From the second day of the holiday, in the evenings, new entertainments began - processions of mummers. Many people, dressed in clothes turned inside out, wearing masks, sang songs and danced not only in the villages, but also in the city squares.
