What holiday is April 7 according to the Slavic calendar. Slavic holidays, we are Russians!!! We are Slavs!!! Spring holidays of the Slavs

Traditional Slavic pagan holidays are associated with nature and the events taking place in it, they contain and conceal a deep sacred essence and meaning.

January (prosinets).

1-6 - Hair days. Otherwise they are called wolf days. These days you need to pray to the patron saint of cattle - the God of Hair and cattle. Protect the herd these days from the excesses of wolves, bring gratitude to your animals for feeding us from time immemorial.

3 - Memorial Day of the legendary Princess Olga. Today is a toast in honor of the great pagan Olga. She glorified her name through the ages with her deeds worthy of memory and glory - she avenged the Drevlyans for her murdered husband, gave birth to the Great Prince Svyatoslav and united Russia.

6- Turists. Feast of Yar-Tur, a bull symbolizing fertility and vitality. On this day, people put on bull masks and dance. Young people play Turkish - fun games. This day is the end of the New Year holidays.

8 - Babi Kashi. Day of midwives - midwives. In Russia, it was customary to go to midwives on this holiday, treat them to vodka, pancakes, and give gifts. It was believed that if a young woman makes a gift to a midwife, then she (the girl) will have a healthy and strong child.

18 - Day of Intra (lord of snakes). Intra, according to Slavic mythology, is the god of clouds, snakes, wells, and springs. Identified with Naviu (spirit of the dead). At night, the sorcerers were supposed to speak chimneys - pipes through which Nav could enter the house. Intra is a dungeon dweller, so it was necessary to say: “If the Sun is in the sky, then Intra is in Navi.” Intra patronizes warriors, personifying courage, strength and valor.

21 - Prosinets. The middle of winter, the return of the sun's warmth to the earth. Prosinets was celebrated with water blessing. The Slavs bathed in cold reservoirs, laid rich tables. Among other foods, dairy products - milk, cottage cheese, curdled milk, cheeses and others - must have been on the table.

30 - Day of Santa Claus and the Snow Maiden's fun. Symbolic end of winter. On this day, it is customary to tell stories about Santa Claus and his daughter, the Snow Maiden.

February (section)

10 - Kudesy, Velesichi. Brownie Day. On the most important holidays of the Slavs, this day you need to make offerings to the brownie to appease him. A pot of porridge was left behind the stove, after wrapping it up and overlaying it with hot coals so that the food would not cool down by the time the brownie arrived. “Grandfather neighbor! Help yourself, eat porridge, and save our hut from evil! Eat pies, but take care of the master's house! The brownie helps the family, where he is valued. This is a good spirit, sometimes a little harmful. On the contrary, if you do not feed your "master", he begins to run amok and causes a lot of trouble to the residents.

15 - Candlemas. Border between winter and spring. If it gets warmer at the Meeting, wait for early spring. On the contrary, a cold day - to a cold spring. At the Candlemas, commoners set fire to each other's hair on their heads, believing that this was a good remedy for headaches. Hair should be set on fire crosswise, using Sretensky candles. On this day, they bake round golden pancakes, symbolizing the sun, make fires, dance and have fun.

18 - Winter Troyan. Day of Military Glory. On this day, something heroic is done, fraught with danger, but for the benefit of the Motherland or for the family. They remember the fallen soldiers at the table.

29 - Day of Kashchei Chernobog. Kashchei is the lord of Navi (the dead), Hell and Darkness. God of death, destruction, hatred and cold. The embodiment of everything black, crazy and evil. The world of the Slavs is divided into two halves, good and bad.

March (dry). Popular spring pagan holidays of the Slavs

1-Navi day (weed). Day of the Dead among the ancient Slavs. Today, the people invite their ancestors to the festive table, making sacrifices. Vyunitsy - one of the four prayers to the ancestors.

3 - Memorial Day of Prince Igor. The pagan prince kept Byzantium - the center of Christianity - in fear, went to Constantinople. The Varangians helped him fight enemies and manage the principality. Their cruel and greedy actions killed Igor - he was killed by the Drevlyans during the polyud.

21 - Maslenitsa. Today people celebrate the Spring Equinox, the end of winter, the ancient Maslenitsa. On this day, you should have fun, feast, dress up. Pancakes, fritters and pryazets are baked on Maslenitsa, symbolizing the Sun.

24 - Komeditsy. One of the oldest pagan holidays. Today they pray to the Bear God and make sacrifices to the Big Honey Beast - the bear. It is believed that this day was a continuation of the Olive Week.

April (berezozol)

7th Day of Goddess Karna. The second day of prayer to the dead ancestors, the day of the goddess of lamentations and lamentations. At the gates of houses on this day it was customary to burn bonfires and burn rags, old things and so on on them. “... by that fire, the souls passing by are warmed ...”. There should be kutya and water for the dead on the table.

22 - Leli's holiday. Lelya was one of the main ancient Slavic goddesses. On this day, toasts are made in her honor.

May (grass)

1 - Rodonitsa. This day is named after the god Rod, the patron of the family and the universe. Day of remembrance and the third prayer to the ancestors. Today they give vodka, beer and food to the dead. The commemorators call their dead to the table - to drink, eat at the funeral feast.

20-30 - Dewy breast. These days they made sacrifices to the Family, praying for a good harvest.

June (Sunday) - summer pagan holidays of the Slavs

4 - Yarilin Day. Fertility Day, Yarila - the god of the Sun. On this day, the Slavs organized mass games and dances, which were accompanied by voluptuous body movements and a loud cry.

19-24 - Mermaid week. The deities of reservoirs and rivers are glorified - Mermaids. A lot of divination, legends and legends are associated with this week. It is customary to tell scary stories and fairy tales. It is believed that the spirits of drowned people can fly freely over lakes and fields at this time.

24 - Kupala. This day is marked as a holiday of the Summer Solstice and human sacrifice to the Lizard (Yashche) - the owner of the underwater world. It is customary to gather in a crowd at night, have fun, sing songs, guess, dance. Bonfires are kindled near the reservoirs, rituals are performed and Kupala is drowned in the river. The victim was later replaced with a doll made from straw.

July (worm)
3 - Day of the pagan prince - Great Svyatoslav

Prince Svyatoslav waged war with Byzantium. He was contemptuous of Christianity. Having seized the lands from the Volga to the Danube (from the Khazar Belaya Vezha to the Balkan lands), he threw back the Pechenegs and stopped the penetration of Christianity. However, during the siege of Constantinople, due to the presence of Christians in the army, he fails.

20 - Perunov Day

Warriors consecrate weapons, sing songs, glorifying Perun, the patron saint of knights. On this day, a sacrificial bull or a rooster is slaughtered (the plumage of the bird should be uniform, red). They commemorate the Slavic soldiers who fell in battle. They drink kvass, beer, red wine, eat beef, chicken, cereals.

August (serpen)
7 - Grain Harvest Festival

Backs. The harvesting and processing of grain crops is coming to an end. People feast, consecrate apples, honey, grain. There should be no beef dishes on the table.

21 - Day of Stribog - Lord of the Winds

According to legend, Stribog lives in the Okiyane Sea, on the island of Buyan. Every day he creates seventy-seven winds, which he blows in different directions. The Slavs were very wary of various manifestations of the air elements. For example, in order to prevent the formation of tornadoes, they called Perun for help, beat the wind with sticks, threw knives and stones at it. For the winds - the children of Stribog, names were invented that reflect their essence: Midnighter, Midday, Siverko, Posvist, Podaga. To appease Stribog, people scattered rags and bright ribbons, grain, cereals, flour in the wind, hoping for a rich harvest.

September (spring)
2-Day of memory of Prophetic Oleg

The history of Rus, a Viking, is mysterious and instructive. The Chud Magi predicted his death from their horse - which happened after Oleg's horse fell. Prophetic Oleg became famous for taking a large ransom from Byzantium, which he defeated, after which he hung his shield on the gates of Constantinople.

8 - Rod and Woman in Childbirth

On the eighth of September falls a holiday honoring family well-being. It begins with the glorification of Lada, Rod and Lelya, proceeds to the rite of the “funeral of flies”. A fly is placed in a domina from carrots, in its absence a mosquito, wasp or cockroach, and in a solemn atmosphere it is carried away to a wasteland, where it burrows into a grave in order to numb the insect until the warm season.

After the funeral, it is time for the next ceremony - the hunt for the so-called "moose". Two young girls dressed as moose cows run away into the forest. Guys - hunters should catch them. One “moose cow” is left, the second one is brought to the temple, where they are scolded for running away, and released.

The holiday is completed by a birthday cake (food during the ceremony: beef, oatmeal, berry wine, cheese, cottage cheese, eggs) and games.

A round dance around the oldest woman begins the game. In the hands of a woman is oatmeal bread, which is then distributed for the healing of pets and people. After the end of the Slavic holiday, Indian summer comes.

8 - Holiday Lada

Lada and Lelya (her daughters) were asked for permission to invite holidays honored by the Slavs in spring.
The next time the goddess was disturbed about the beginning of summer work in the field.

The rest of the rituals were devoted to prayers for rain, the feast of young greenery, the first shoots and the first ripened ears. On the red hill, the girls played the game "And we sowed millet, sowed."

The game was played on a hill called the red hill. Divided into two groups, the players sang songs.

One group sang songs about sowing millet, the other performed works about trampling it. Trampling meant threshing bread.

Often in the middle of summer and closer to the beginning of autumn, young people agreed to marry, but the wedding was played after the completion of field work.

The last Slavic holiday associated with Lada was the solstice. It fell on September 8-9 according to the old style (the 22nd in a new way).

9 - Autumn

These are Slavic harvest festivals dedicated to the completion of the harvest, which was supposed to provide for the family for the coming year. Autumn was met with a renewal of fire. The old fire was extinguished and a new one was mined with blows of flint.

During the "autumn" all activities were transferred from the fields to the garden or to the house, vegetables were harvested. On the day of the Nativity of the mother of the Blessed Virgin, a treat was arranged for all family members. The flour of the new crop was used to make a pie, beer was brewed, to which a sheep or ram was slaughtered. During the holiday, Mother-Cheese-Earth was glorified for the birth of bread and other gifts.

14 - Day of the Fiery Magus

Holidays of the SlavsIn the ancient Slavs, the Fiery Volkh is the courageous god of war, the husband of Lelya, born from the connection of the Mother-Damp-Earth and Indrik the beast.

Having matured, Volkh killed his father and gained his power over the dark forces. His plans included the conquest of the kingdom of heaven and the entire universe. He possessed not only incredible strength, but also cunning.

Volkh turned into a falcon, entered the heavenly garden in order to peck golden apples and thereby gain immortality and power over the world. But in the garden he listened to Lely's singing and, having forgotten about everything, became her secret lover.

Volkh belonged to the underworld and could not become Lely's husband. Lely's sisters, not wanting the Volkh-falcon to fly to her at night, pierced the window with needles. Volkh injured his wings and was forced to return to his kingdom.

Soon Lelya went in search of him. After trampling three pairs of iron shoes, breaking three cast-iron staffs, and chewing three loaves of granite stone, Lelya found Volkh. She delivered him from the power of the underworld, and the formidable power-hungry god became her husband and protector of the heavenly world.

14 - Closing of Svarga

The closure of Svarga falls on the period when the goddess Zhiva leaves the earth, and Winter and Frost gain their strength. At this time, the harvest season is coming to an end, people are turning to Zhiva with gratitude. It was she who sent fertility to the earth and did not let her die of hunger. From that day on, the spirits of the ancestors cease to descend to earth.

Birds fly south. The Slavs firmly believed that birds made their way to the upper world, where they met with the souls of the dead. Most people turn to the birds and ask them to send a message to the dead.

21 - Svarog Day

Upon completion of the closing rites of Svarga (the termination of communication between the Earth and Heaven), the Day of Svarog comes - the Great Feast of the Heavenly Forge. The bright gods are weakening, the earth is fettered by frost. Now Veles takes care of the Earth. Svarog gives people an ax and crafts so that they can survive a difficult time. All craftsmen are especially honored, chickens are slaughtered and the first of them are presented to Svarog as a sacrifice.

In a rented hut, the girls arrange a brotherhood. They invite guys to a party, where the bride is considered the mistress of the house. Kissing games, magical and scary tales reign at the evenings.

27 – Rodogoshch

When the whole crop is harvested, it shines, but not the holidays that are significant for the Slavs, the sun bakes, sheds leaves and trees prepare for winter sleep, the Slavs celebrate Rodogoshch. For the holiday, a huge cake is baked. In the old days, it was equal to human height, a priest hid behind it with the question: “Do you see me?”

In response to a positive answer, the priest wished that next year a more plentiful harvest would be harvested and that it would be possible to bake an even larger cake.

After the conception and fortune-telling for the next year, the feast began with a mountain. The dishes on the table were set in a slide, which gradually decreased.

On this day, one could hear a fairy tale about a miracle hero and the underworld. The meaning of the tale was reduced to a reminder of the approaching winter and the fading sun.

To conduct the rite of purification with the onset of darkness, a fire was lit, through which it was necessary to jump. With the song "Yazhe, even trampling!" - the priests walked on hot coals with bare feet.
Merry games served as the ending of the holiday.

October (leaf fall)
14 - Cover

With the introduction of Christianity, this holiday was celebrated in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the people it is customary to consider the Pokrov as the day of the meeting of Autumn with Winter. The holiday owes its name to the first frost, which by this time had already completely covered the entire earth. The end of the field work and the Pokrov coincided. From that time on, they began to heat in the huts and weavers with spinners began their work.

The brownie went to bed that day, and the inhabitants of the hut performed the ritual "Baking Corners". To keep the spirit of the house full and warm, pancakes were baked. The first pancake was torn into four parts and carried as an offering to all corners of the hut. At this time, the girls turned to Lada with a request for marriage. And so the bachelorette party began.

28 - Mokosh-Friday Day

Makosh (Makosha) - the protector of girls and women, the goddess of marriages and childbirth, in her subordination is a craft - yarn. For a long time, she has been approached with a request for easy childbirth and healthy children.

The metal of the goddess is silver, the stone is pure rock crystal, and the animal is a cat. A ball of wool, yarn and spindle is a symbol of the goddess. Her servants are spiders, so a web that has flown in is a good omen. Amulet - a rope on the right wrist, also has a connection with Makosha.

On Mokosh Day, women were forbidden to do housework, bathe children and bathe themselves. For disobedience, the goddess could punish - tear the canvas, tangle the threads on the spindle and even send diseases.

November (chest)
25 – Madder

On the day of November 25, the weather is disgusting: slush, piercing wind, cold rain with snow. On this day, health resorts are not pronounced, sacrifices are not made, fire is not kindled. People show Marena that they are not afraid of her. They come to the swamp and extinguish burning smuts in the water.

In food on this day are used: turnips, carrots, pancakes and jelly.

December (student)
3 - Memorial Day of the Russian knight Svyatogor

In the boyar burial mound Gulbishche, the Slavic holidays - the day of the Holy Mountain, the great Russian hero Svyatogor, found his last refuge. His exploits date back to the time of the first military clashes with the Pechenegs. His armor and weapons reached truly enormous sizes. They are almost twice as large as usual.

In the epic about Ilya Muromets, the hero Svyatogor is described colorfully and vividly. Of course, his size in this work was exaggerated, but the indisputable fact is that this giant really walked on our Earth and fought for it.

22 – Karachun

Karachun (Chernobog) is celebrated on December 22. It is believed that this is the shortest day in the whole year and one of the worst days of winter. Karachun - the deity of death, commanding frost.

Bears-rods are servants of Karachun, snowstorms turn into them, and according to legend, blizzards turn into wolves. It was believed that the cold winter lasts as long as the bear sleeping in the den wishes. When the bear turned over on the other side, exactly half of the winter passed.

The concept of "karachun" in the sense of death among the people is alive today. The word "carat" means to move backwards. Apparently, the "karachun" was nicknamed so because it seemed to make the daytime move back, give way to the night. In the end, in the minds of the people, Karachun approached frost and became the usual lord of the winter cold.

25 – Kolyada

In the winter Christmas time, on December 25, Kolyada was celebrated. holidays of the ancient SlavsOnce Kolyada was an influential deity. Kolyada was dedicated to the days before the New Year. Games were arranged in her honor, which later turned into Christmas time. The ban on the worship of Kolyada came out on December 24, 1684.

On the eve of the New Year, children went out caroling under the windows of wealthy peasants. In the songs, the name of Kolyada was repeated, the owner of the house was magnified, at the end of the singing the children asked for money.

The remnants of the ancient holiday are manifested in holy games and fortune-telling. Some rituals have been preserved among the people, and are gaining popularity today.

31 - Shchedrets

On the last day of New Year's Eve, according to the old style, a holiday is celebrated - "Schedrets". It is famous for its birthday cake and bounty. On the table there are dishes of pork, which means fertility.

Before proceeding to the pie, the people amuse themselves with lavish treats. The mummers are present in the same composition as in Kolyada. Carolers go to houses or gatherings of people who sing: “Generous evening! Good evening!"

The carolers beg for gifts from the owners of the house, complaining that, they say, they came from afar and now the goat's legs hurt. The owners laugh it off, and then the mummers perform generosity with comic threats. It is considered a great shame not to give gifts to carolers; a “curse” is sent to the greedy owners.

With a full bag of gifts, carolers rush home and prepare for the meeting of everyone's favorite holiday - the New Year.

There are six obstacles in reconstructing the sacred days of our ancestors:

1) The Proto-Slavs focused the main holidays on the solstices and solstices (as, in fact, almost all pagans of the globe), and the rest - on the cycles of field and garden work. But our ancestors lived on a vast territory, and, accordingly, in its different areas, these cycles occurred at different times.

2) Due to the original tribal fragmentation, some holidays took place at different times (for example, the onset of the new year - for some it falls on the spring equinox, for others on the autumn equinox, for others on the winter solstice, etc.) .

3) Having invaded someone else's ideological territory, Christianity hastened to establish its own rules. Firstly, many holidays were banned, and in those cases when this did not work out, the priests introduced into the people's consciousness the replacement of one or another god revered on the corresponding holiday with their saints, similar in name to the rejected deity (such as the day Veles is replaced by the day of St. Blaise). Secondly, the "learned" priests could not decide on their holidays, which were repeatedly rearranged from place to place. For example, the Moscow Cathedral of 1492 moved the celebration of the New Year from March 1 to September 1; and a monk from Scythia, Dionysius the Small, in 531, proposed to consider the year of the birth of Christ 754 from the founding of Rome (the current reference point of our era), and January 1 as the specific date of Christmas (and although this was not accepted by the church, it is from here that the pan-European tradition of celebrating the New the year of January 1, which Peter the Great introduced in his time in Russia).

4) The same Christian "enlighteners" replaced the stable dates of the holidays with sliding ones, oriented according to Easter and the lunar calendar. Because of this, rituals and holidays were often divided into two (for example, it is believed that Maslenitsa used to be the day of the spring solstice, Kupala was the summer solstice, etc. Now these sacred days are separate holidays).

5) The replacement in 1528 by Pope Gregory XIII of the Julian calendar with the Gregorian one (which moved the dates 10 days ahead, and forcing them to move them every century by another day) only exacerbated the confusion in the dates of the holidays. Now some pagans celebrate according to the old style, others - according to the new one, and still others (I confess, I am also one of them) manage to mix both styles. Researchers in their works, alas, also almost never specify in what style the date of the discovered holiday is indicated. If someone is interested in my opinion, then here's what I'll say: the Slavs marked time not by mechanical clocks, but by solar ones, therefore those seconds not taken into account by German clocks, which, according to scientists' calculations, accumulated for fourteen days, are the same Slavs took into account the seconds behind the scenes, distributing them according to the days of the year. See for yourself: most of today's humanity uses clocks (which, as it turned out, are also inaccurate, since they do not take into account another 5 hours, 49 minutes and 14 seconds; but what about the fact that the belts of the earth, due to its spherical shape, make a complete revolution in different times, and at the equator the hour second is much longer than in the polar regions?) and creates senile clarifications to calendars; and only the sun, from which all time reckoning on Earth began, for some reason does not want to reckon with the doctrines of mankind and still changes the length of the day on the same dates.

6) Well, of course, as always, it cannot do without hoaxers and pseudoscientists who imagine themselves to be prophets / Fuhrers and try to invent something new based only on their own conjectures and other people's fakes. Despite these obstacles, I have tried to reconstruct the rites and festivals as accurately as possible. And yet, if you find a mistake somewhere, then make allowance for the six above factors that stubbornly put spokes in my wheels.

In general, the sorcerers of the Moscow neo-pagan communities very intelligently suggest not to focus on hard dates, but to celebrate on time, plus or minus a week, on the day that your heart tells you.

So, the pagan calendar (all dates according to the new style).

January

He is Sechen (cutting off one year from another), Perezimye, Stuzhailo, Studen and Prosinets.

January 1 (the date currently accepted after all calendar changes) - New Year's holiday, Tausen or Ovsen's day.

People arranged family, tribal or community feasts from the best stocks. They considered it their duty to bow to the Earth. The children tied the legs of the tables with salting, in order to better fasten the household members together. The youth started games - snow wars (a symbol of the struggle between the old and the new years) and skiing. "The whole world" was mined through friction "living fire", which was supposed to burn unquenchably for six days (in memory of those times when such a fire burned on temples for a whole year, and its new kindling symbolized the participation of all people in God's labors to create a new time ). Ovsen himself was also honored as a giver of gifts and patron of those who gave. Similarities of later caroling were arranged (see below). In Ukraine, analogues of carols, which are sung not at Christmas, but at the New Year, are called "shchedrovki". Songs were sung calling for good for the generous and for crop failure for the miserly. For example:

1) Oh, oatmeal, oh, carols!
- Is the owner at home?
- He is not at home;
He left for the field
Sow wheat.
- sow wheat,
spike ear,
The grain is grainy!

2) Tausen, Tausen!
Give a damn, give a gut,
Pig leg!
A little bit of everything!
Carry - don't shake
Come on, don't break!

(if given)

At a good man
Born rye is good:
Spikelet thick,
The straw is empty!

(if not submitted)

At the mean man
Born rye is good:
Spikelet is empty,
Straw thick.

In those days, when Ovsen's Day and the Winter Solstice were one holiday, fisticuffs (in pairs, wall to wall, general dump) were also included in the rituals, which began with the fact that the children "for starters" fought with each other with snowballs.

January 1st to 6th - the evil spirits enraged by the human holiday are especially vicious and do not allow anyone to pass. At this time, people paid special attention to the hearth and amulets. Watched that the "live fire" did not go out. They also tried to keep track of the children so that they would not fall into the hands of evil spirits, literally raging.

House-house,
Give me sickness
So that there is no dashing
To have raspberries
To love dear
To sleep peacefully
So that it doesn't hurt
To know the yard,
So as not to take the forest,
For God to know
To make everything nice.

January 3 - on this day, early in the morning, the head of the family went to the barn, "fed" him, shoveled grain and listened: if he heard a buzz, he knew that the summer would be difficult. Leaving the barn, he broke the torch and laid it crosswise to protect the grain from evil spirits (the cross symbolized the sun, and the torch itself still bore traces of fire). Entering the house on this day, they said: "Erot in the kneader", wishing that harvest and contentment.

4 January - they prepared the unsteadiness, the children bowed to their mother, then everyone bowed to their family, and after that - to their cattle.

5 January - to protect the cattle from evil spirits, the stalls were studded with straw, and the manger was sprinkled with thistle leaves. The eldest woman in the family secretly kneaded the dough and baked cookies in the form of all domestic animals.

January 6 - Veles day (first Veles, Veles-cattleman). On this day, the fire lit on the first day was solemnly extinguished. The owners drove all the livestock into the yard, sprinkled it with water and threw an ax through it, thereby putting magical protection for the whole year. They made sacrifices to Veles. In the Czech Republic, Yaga was revered on this day.

From 6 to 19 January - shlikunova week. The time when the skulks crawl out of the hole and run through the streets. It's time for the covens. Kikimors give birth to new slugs.

January 7 - Kolyada. Sun festival. Once he and the winter solstice were one holiday, and their rites were merged. After the separation, Kolyada had the following ... From that day until the 13th, caroling continued: mummers walked around the yards and sang songs in which they asked or demanded that the owners take out gifts (food, money, jewelry) and, if successful, sang blessing songs. Example:

Kolyada-kolyada!
You give me a pie
Or a slice of bread
Or half the money
Or a chicken with a crest,
Rooster with a comb!
Or a tuft of hay
Or forks to the side.

If the children did not enter any house during caroling, then its inhabitants had to leave the village as soon as possible. It was believed that this time is the best for all sorts of divination. They were especially popular about matchmaking (with the participation of a barn and a bannik) and about the harvest (shaggy frost on the trees and a clear day foreshadowed a good harvest of bread; black trails - a good harvest for buckwheat; and especially a starry sky - for peas). At the same time, they invited the bannik to wash, and also conjured the devils:

Hey you satanic power!
Tell me what do I deserve?
When I get married - ring the bell,
And if I die - cry with your voice,
I'll stay in the girls - go by,
They will hand over to the soldiers - arrows in the gun!
(later interpretation)

During family gatherings, adults accustomed children to a correct understanding of the world with riddles. Cleaned out evil spirits.

On this day, the Earth swallowed the perjurers.

In some areas, oatmeal jelly was prepared, after which the elder went out with him on the porch and called on Frost to treat himself, in return asking him not to destroy oats, flax and hemp. If the hostess these days found a ball of black threads (evil spirits or damage), then she hurried to sweep it away with a nettle broom prepared since the summer. The legs of the table were again tangled, but now for a different purpose - so that the cattle would not run away. Huge bonfires were built to warm the dead parents.

S. V. Alekseev believes that carols originate from the winter polyudye of the first military brotherhoods (boynikov), who came to the villages dressed in the skins of a totem beast.

From 8 to 15 January - Crazy week. It is not entirely clear what this holiday is in A. Asov's view, however, it is quite possible that this is a modified name of Svyatok, and in this version (albeit in a different period of time), this holiday has the right to exist.

January 8 - woman's porridge: a holiday of midwives. It was believed that only a woman who gave birth to a child was able to properly take birth. To those who were midwives in a particular family, they went to visit with pies or porridge. They also treated the women in labor. As a symbol of the way to this world, midwives were given towels or a piece of canvas. The children tried to chop wood for the midwives, bring water or help with something else, and they treated them to sweets.

January 9 - on this day, if there were complaints, employees could terminate contracts with their owners.

January 10 - a day dedicated to the household. In the twilight of this day, it was supposed to make riddles for children, forming in them the correct worldview.

January 12 - sacred boar hunt. From the boiled insides of a boar or a pig, they wondered about winter: if the spleen is even and smooth, then the winter will be severe, if it is thicker towards the back, then the cold will come at the end of winter; a thick liver in the middle meant that colds would begin from the middle of winter, and the wide side of the liver towards the belly promised frosts and winters.

13th of January - generous day. The meal began with kutya and continued with a roasted pig. Terrible evenings begin (evil spirits grow more and more). Witches steal birds.

January 14 - they "sowed" grain around the huts from the sleeves and sang, for example, such songs:

1) I sow, I sow, I sow,
Happy New Year.
New year, new happiness
Ugly wheat,
Peas, lentils.
In the field with mop,
On the table with pies.

2) We will tell, we will show!
pig legs,
Donuts
They sit in the oven
They are looking at us!
They want to eat!

A. Buenok suggests that it was Ovsen's holiday. This is fully confirmed by the belief that this day is a pig holiday (sometimes it was believed that Ovsen arrived on a pig).

January 15 - the day of Chernobog, fevers and witches. It was believed that on this day it was easiest for a sorcerer to send damage, and for Fever to stick to a person. Therefore, twelve pupae were made, fastened to the ceiling, and the ceiling itself was washed with a special solution, after which a feast was held. The components of the solution were ash from seven furnaces, Thursday salt and earthly coal (dug up on Kupala night from under the Chernobyl). Also on this day, they praised chickens (“fowls of glory”) and protected chicken coops: swamp moss (“frog silk”) was shaken around them, and cakes rolled out of ashes with flour were taken out. On this date, a seven-year-old black rooster lays an egg in the dung, from which a basilisk will hatch.

January 16 - they threw out the pupae made the day before and swept the house. This symbolized the expulsion of fevers. It was believed that on this day, hungry witches, returning to the festivities, are able to milk the cows. Therefore, a charm was hung over the doors of the barn. The cows themselves were treated to flour oatmeal and cow bread sprinkled with clover hay. It was believed that only on this day it was possible to reason with a burrower (spoiled, sick).

January 17 - on this day, the devil was expelled from the village. One of the guys dressed up in a rich fur hat and a sheepskin coat. The men and other guys caught him by cunning and beat him, and at the place where this happened, they kindled a fire.

January 18 - Frost Day. It was believed that on this day Korochun-Frost, along with the wolf-winter and navy, come to people. And people invited them to treats, throwing the first spoonful of kutia out the window, and in return they asked Frost to lie all summer, as it should be, in nettles. On this day, the Fire Serpent was braved with snow laid at the mouth of the furnace. Trees were shaken in the garden with a sentence so that the harvest would be better. At the end of Christmas evenings, the girls treated the guys to soaked peas, which for this purpose were collected from home by children. This happened in a room that was lit with a carol torch (during carols, the children asked not only for a treat, but also for her: “Give torches for the New Year, the old ones to sit, the little ones to play, have fun, have a good time! Whoever doesn’t give a torch, that’s a pine coffin!” ).

January 19 - bounty. Lada Day. Songs were sung in honor of Lada, holes were punched on frozen rivers and lakes, "so that Lada could breathe", pies, grain and especially pancakes were thrown into them for her. Then feasts and festivities began. On this day, weavers collected snow for bleaching canvases. They thoroughly washed the whole house and those who took part in the costumed games. Bridesmaids were timed to this day. Sometimes it was believed that the sky opens on this day. It was noted that the wind on this date denoted the harvest.

January 20th - on this day they noticed: if the hole is full of water, there will be a big spill; if fog - there will be a lot of bread; starry sky - to the harvest of peas and berries.

January 21 - the guys were supposed to this day, because of unsuccessful love, to get rid of anger and no longer save. They noted: if there is a blizzard, the bees will swarm well; a day at the expense of the month - the summer will be damp, and the year will be difficult for livestock; if warm, the spring will be cold. If there is thick frost or snow is falling in flakes, there will be a big harvest of bread. Many stars - there will be many mushrooms and berries.

January 22 - if the wind blows from the south, then the summer will be dry. If there are a lot of icicles - to the harvest of vegetables.

January 23 - on this day, shepherds were hired, and horses were watered through silver.

January 24 - frost on haystacks - to a wet year. If a woodpecker knocks in January - by early spring. The bullfinch sings in winter on snow, blizzard and slush. On this day, children are born who are patronized by animals.

The 25th of January - it is customary to wash rugs and note in between times: if snow falls evenly in winter, it is supposed to sow thicker in spring, and if it lies in beds or puffs up, sow less often. Girls born on this day become housewives.

January 26 - for a long time and firmly established cold. If crows and jackdaws sit down to the sun with their noses - to heat.

January 27 - on this day it was supposed to take special care of the cattle. If the sunset is purple - there will be a lot of snow or a snowstorm with frost.

28 January - a person born on this day was put under the pillow a linen tow from bad dreams. On this date, the owners shake off fruit trees, saying: "As I shake off the white-fluffy snow-hoarfrost, so will shake off the worm-reptile of any spring." If it's foggy in the morning - to the harvest.

January 29 - semi-feed (half of the prepared feed remains in the bins). On this day, chicken coops are cleaned, perches are repaired and fumigated with resin and elecampane. Hoarfrost on trees - to frost, fog - to thaw. At night, frost falls - there will be no snow during the day.

January 30 - Perezimnik. On this day, evil spirits were confused: the first person to go outside walked from the porch with his heels forward, while in the snow across the path they drew a line with something sharp, cutting off the path to the house. Restless people are born. They baked special oatmeal koloboks and served them saying: "Live smoothly, eat and drink sweetly!" If the moon shines brightly, the next day will be clear. There is nothing to be proud of on this day.

January 31 - the day of the furnace and fire. Healers used to tell fortunes on chimneys to protect them from witches: they poured ash from seven stoves on the fires and spoke the western fence (and sometimes drove witches to the Sabbath). On this date, the children conjured the fire burning in the furnace in a song way. For example:

Burn, burn hot
Zakharka is coming
On a gray horse
wife on a cow
children on calves,
Servants on dogs.

February

This month was called by our ancestors Fierce (for severe frosts), Snezhen, Mezhen, Kruzhen and Bokogrey.

1st of February - the expulsion of ailments with early tea (it was supposed to light the stove and brew tea as early as possible in the morning). Candle or torch stubs were donated to the sun.

February 2 - on this day they noticed what the Maslenitsa and spring would be like. If a blizzard - the whole Maslenitsa is a blizzard, if at noon the sun - by early spring, if it's cloudy - by late frosts.

February 3rd - on this day, family happiness was established. Husband and wife came out from the porch, holding hands, approached the apple tree and brushed off the snow with undivided hands.

February 4 I am a half-winter. On this day, beekeepers checked the bees: if they hum quietly, they endure the winter well, if they are restless, then there are problems.

February 5th - Half bread. Only half of the stock is left. At night, a candle was lit and placed on the windowsill, and water and a piece of bread were left on the outside of the hut for travelers.

February 6 - women born on this day brought clothes to the light on this date, in which they were going to celebrate Maslenitsa, so that they would adopt the spirit of spring. They wondered about spring (what is the day, such is spring) and the prices of bread: if on this date the price of bread on the market becomes cheaper, the harvest and new bread will also be cheap. Or another way: they take baked bread in the evening, weigh it on a scale, and weigh it again in the morning and determine by the difference in weight whether the price of bread will rise, fall or remain unchanged.

February 7 - Half winter. In some regions of Russia, the name day of the brownie was celebrated on this day.

February 8 - they wondered about blizzards - they rolled peas on a dish and listened: if the peas roll quietly, then the blizzard will favorably circle over the gardens and fall in deep snow, and if it is loud, they were waiting for frost. Persistent "pea" people are born. It was believed that on this day the dead yearned for the earth, and for them hot ash was poured onto the stove (warming the souls) and sentenced: "Do not go to the court, orphan souls! But go to the western side. There you will have eternal joy."

February 9th - veneration of the oven. They drowned it so that the fire would gild its mouth (this is how people understood the Christian holiday of St. John Chrysostom).

February 10 - name day brownie. On this day, he was given a plentiful treat on a trough (in particular, sweet porridge with milk and honey) and asked to take care of the house, household and cattle. Sometimes witches were even invited to perform this rite. It was noted that the wind on this day foreshadowed a damp and rainy year.

February 11 - witch fees. Witches make grass creases in snow-covered fields. Animals fight for their territories in the forest. The wind that day also promised a wet year.

12th of February - who was born on the day after the forest battles is destined to take care of animals and birds. It is believed that this person partially takes over the functions of Veles. In the evening, people went out to look at the moon: the reddish hue of the luminary foreshadowed the wind, and that, accordingly, a rainy summer.

February 13 - they go to see if something has happened to the ridge of the roof: after all, if the goblin saddles the ridge, then the hut will shake.

The 14th of February - the stars send Zyabukha. Starry night - by late spring. People talk to mice so that they do not spoil the stacks of bread, and feed the poultry.

February, 15 - the meeting of Winter and Spring. It was believed that on this day both goddesses meet and try their hand. To help spring, people conjured the sun with songs:

Sun-bucket, look out, red, from behind the mountain,
Look out, sun, until springtime.

If the sun looks out on this day through the usual veil - the end of winter, if not, then the frosts will last until Veles day (second Veles). According to the weather of that day, they judged what the spring would be like: if the thaw is early and warm, the cold is cold, the snow is lingering and rainy, and the starry night is late. According to the snow that fell, they guessed about the harvest of bread: if it snowed in the morning, early bread would be born, if at noon - medium, and if by evening - late. Drops foreshadowed a good harvest of wheat, and the wind - the fertility of fruit trees.

February 16 - they repaired a harness for the summer. On this day there were buffoons. They noted: if you don’t sew today, then the clothes of the household will be torn at the wrong time. On this day, a whip was tied to the horse, onuch and mittens of the owner, so that the brownie would not drive it to death.

18th of Febuary - Cow Death roams. To protect against it, bast shoes soaked in tar were hung in the stables, and women plowed the village with noise and roar. Hell spirits look into chimneys and enter houses. To protect against them, chimneys were fumigated with thistles and even smeared with clay for a while. It is customary to commemorate the dead.

February 19 - on this day, the hostess in the barn bowed salting to all corners and sentenced:

Domozhyrushko,
Poi-feed the cattle,
sing and save
Yes, drive smoothly.

The brownie was left in the barn a vessel with fresh milk and bread crumbled into it.

February 20th - prepared potions and decoctions from the mighty woman (cinquefoil). It was noted: blue clouds float high - to good weather, low - to heat, and if it starts to melt from the north side - to a warm summer. Witches and healers are born on this day.

24 February - Veles day (second Veles, Veles beast). It was believed that this holiday of the cattle god is the main, the most ancient, because, unlike the other Veles, it retained the date and name despite Christian prohibitions and the passage of time. As the Slavs believed, on this day Veles comes to the aid of Spring and beats off the horn of Winter. On this holiday, sacrifices were made to Veles from milk, butter, cottage cheese and cheese.

February 26 - people went out to the fields, called out to the stars and deceased loved ones; they looked at the sky for a long time, remembering their kind, and believed that vigilance would come to their eyes from the stars.

February 27 - born on this day trampled the salting snow around the garden, creating a protective circle.

28th of February - Winterthorn. Spring and winter are fighting. On this day, the shepherds called out to the stars, conjuring them to help in the offspring of the sheep and their protection. After that, the owners treated the sheepdogs. Also on this day, they "zorn" yarn, i.e. women took a skein of the best yarn and put it out at dawn, believing that the yarn after that would be clean, white and strong. Even on this date, the seeds prepared for sowing were exposed to frost on the "Three Dawns". Born on this day, for the gain of health from cattle, they brought a goat or a sheep that had just been born, or a sheepskin coat or a sheepskin hat.

February 29 - day of misfortune. People believed that nothing good could happen on this date. D. Dudko considers this day to be dedicated to the underground destroyer Viy (by analogy with the destructive views of him and St. Kasyan, to whom Christians dedicated February 29). It is quite possible that this holiday appeared during the time of syncretism, when the solar calendar of the Slavs was replaced by the lunar calendar of the Christian church.

In February-March, three sliding holidays are celebrated - Maslenitsa, Horovino Sunday and Gluttonous Friday.

Small Maslenitsa or Maslenitsa of the Dead separated from the main one on a non-holiday day and took place before Shrovetide week. On the indicated holiday, they baked some pancakes and invited the deceased relatives to help themselves. The children asked the traveling adults: "Are you bringing Maslenitsa?" Those who answered "No" were beaten with impunity with bast shoes.

Maslenitsa week - the eighth from the Easter holiday when counting towards the beginning of the year (if we take Forgiveness Sunday as the first in the count, then Easter will be the eighth). It was considered a sin not to "walk" this week. Feasts, games and songs demonstrated the victory over winter, real and invoked abundance. Once Maslenitsa week began seven days before the spring solstice, and their rites were merged.

The first day is a meeting. On this day, those richer people were already starting to bake pancakes. Before that, the dough was taken out into the yard and asked to blow on it for a month. It is noteworthy that the pans of the Slavs were made in such a way that a solar cross was baked on a baked pancake. Part of the baked pancakes was given to the beggars in remembrance of the deceased parents or, for the same purpose, was placed in the dormer window.

Day two - tricks. On this day, boys and girls were invited to eat pancakes and ride the slides. The newlyweds were arranged for bathing in the snow: they were laid in a specially dug hole and covered with snow.

Day three - gourmet. On this day, mothers-in-law prepared the table and invited relatives to entertain their son-in-law, after which they invited him himself. On this day, the peasants, boasting, took out a pot or an earthenware dish with pancakes for the oncoming ones.

Day four - wide. On this day, the skating began in the streets. Pancakes were already baked by all classes. Women made a doll from straw and dressed it in old rags (both straw and clothes were pooled from all over the village / clan). Swings and patchwork booths for buffoons were arranged, tables were set up for refreshments.

Day five - mother-in-law evenings. Since the evening, the son-in-law invited the mother-in-law (sometimes - with all her relatives), and in the morning he sent mummers, "called" to her and arranged a feast.

Day six - sister-in-law gatherings . Young daughters-in-law invited relatives from the husband's side to their place, especially sister-in-laws. On the streets, young people built snow towns and took them by storm, thus symbolizing the victory of Spring over Winter.

The seventh day is forgiven. On this day, they commemorated the dead, ate pancakes and scrambled eggs (symbols of the sun). They rode on sleds. They burned the doll with songs, while putting on masks, so that Morana would not take revenge on the offenders later. The youth asked for forgiveness from the older ones, thus symbolizing the departure not only of winter, but of all evil from human souls.

The next from the seventh day took place Maslenitsa tuzhilki - finished eating pancakes, cleaned houses, washed in a bathhouse and arranged fistfights (“to shake out the last pancakes”). Early in the morning, the boys, armed with tongs, broomsticks and frying pans, went from house to house and shouted: “We rolled Shrovetide, Christmas time lost. The light is our Shrovetide dear! Where did you spend the night? on the horn, and you, honkers, don’t honk, and you don’t wake up Maslenitsa.

The following songs were sung at Maslenitsa:

1) Our Shrove Tuesday,
Our annual Shrovetide!
Our Shrovetide is annual,
She is a dear guest
She is a dear guest
She does not walk to us,
She does not walk to us,
Everything rides on stones,
Everything rides on stones!
So that the horses were black,
To keep the servants young.

2) Maslenitsa-wryneck,
We treat you well!
With pancakes
with loaves,
With dumplings.

The next Sunday after forgiveness - Khorovino . On this day, the young took the chorus - the mother-in-law. The son-in-law went out to fetch his mother-in-law on a horse harnessed to a sleigh, and on the way back, when passing through the village, they were met by local boys who whipped the passers-by with brooms and threw snow.

On the third week after Forgiveness Sunday - Grumpy Friday. On this day, the son-in-law invited his father-in-law and mother-in-law to sip pea jelly with hemp oil.

March

March in Russia was called Berezozol, Zimobor, Dry, Kapelnik, Sokovik and Protalnik.

March 1 - it was believed that on this day Zhiva comes to earth from Iriy, and Yarilo finally finishes off Zima with a pitchfork. People sing spring calls, girls lead "Yarilin" round dances. Pregnant women go out into the sun. They collect snow to treat fevers.

2nd of March - Yarilo comes with a plow and a harrow. Kikimorin day. Spring intoxicates evil spirits. On this date, people did not expect anything good, but, on the contrary, they tried to protect themselves, especially at home, since it was the "home" evil spirits that were especially rampant at that time.

March, 3rd - Yarilo tells the birds to sing. On this day, they revered the bird oatmeal - a messenger of warmth and baked pies from oatmeal, but by night they closed the pipes of the furnaces, and the fires were fumigated with thistles: evil spirits in the form of birds broke through the furnaces into the house. On this day, singers, sorcerers and those conceived on the Kupala night are born.

March 4 - on this day they baked round bread and raised it to the sky three times on an embroidered towel, thanking the gods. Then the bread was divided among themselves and neighbors, and the crumbs were thrown to the birds over their heads, behind their backs (it was believed that if you throw bread back, there will be a lot of it "in front", i.e. in autumn). Burning fires in the fields.

the 5th of March - on this day, the peasants tried to take fire from the forge from the blacksmith (and the blacksmiths did not give fire or coals so that the forge would not cool down) and bring it into the field, thereby strengthening the union of land, plows and harrows. Old women baked "kokurki" (round koloboks in cow butter). It was forbidden to look at shooting stars.

March, 6 - the movement of juices in maples and birches begins. By what this day will be, they judged what the whole spring will be like.

March 13 - Dropper. There are usually thaws on this day. Collect pine buds.

March 14th - Oatmeal. In some regions of Russia, larks were baked and thrown up on this day, as well as dumping snow from the roof, burning fires and Mara, and drinking melted water to the sick. Girls with pancakes and donuts went out to the threshing floor to call for spring. They hung some of the donuts on stakes so that the threshing floor was full of bread (or they put the donuts on a pitchfork, climbed onto the roofs and invited summer from there). Lada (in my opinion, the calendars speak of the patron saint of the day) unlocked spring time with a key of water, in return locking winter time. Groundhog announces spring.

March 15th - Windmill. On this day, the wind could cause serious damage. A person born on this date also looked like the wind, which is why they boiled porridge for him with honey so that he would stick to his house with his thoughts.

March 16 - on this day people crossed the field, calling on the sun.

March 17 - return of vyriy (birds that flew to Iriy for the winter). On this day, kikimors became quiet, and they were driven out of their houses with scorched wool and conspiracies. They baked cookies in the form of rooks according to the number of family members.

March 19 - on this day, circles were trampled around the well so that the water would not overflow with drains (this was especially recommended for those born on this day). Also on this day they conjured swallows returning from Iriy.

21 March - Lada's day. Its rituals are not yet known. In general, the existence of this holiday on this date is often questioned. It is only known that on this date they baked pike pies and drank tea from brewed willow bark. Willow earrings were baked into bread, which was served with tea, and the girls always ate three willow earrings, because the one who thought they were sweet was prepared for a wedding in the fall. The willow is silver.

March 22 - on this day, all the birds returned home. People baked pies and cookies in the form of larks, houses, bridges, stairs, etc. They conjured birds:

1) Larks,
larks,
Fly to us
bring us
Summer is warm
Take away from us
Winter is cold;
We have a cold winter
I got bored
Hands-legs
Frostbite.

2) Oh you larks,
larks,
Fly into the field
Bring Health:
The first is cow
The second is sheep
The third is human.

3) Titmouse sisters, tap dance aunts,
red-throated snowmen,
Well done goldfinches, sparrow thieves!
You fly freely
You live in freedom
Bring spring to us soon!

4) Bring spring
On your tail
On the plow, harrow,
On a rye pile
On an oatmeal.

Also on this day, forty bread balls were baked, and every subsequent morning they threw one of them out the window, thus appeasing the frost. On this day, women did not work.

March 23 - solstice. It was believed that it was on this day that the gods created the universe. The gates of Iria open (in my opinion, Lada in the calendars speaks of the patron saint of the day). The same goddess diverted melt water from the houses. Previously, this holiday was the last day of the Maslenitsa week and their rites were the same.

March 24 - the awakening of the bear and the forest evil spirits. People baked special dishes, put on coats turned inside out with wool, danced, imitating the movements of the birthday animal and tried to have time to speak to the cattle. On this day, the dawn blazes, flies in the wind like a cuckoo.

March, 25 - clans of the Earth. It was believed that the Earth awakened from winter sleep begins to give birth. Snakes crawl out of Navi. On this day, horses were especially taken care of, and flax and hemp grains were thrown to the birds. From this date, healthy fogs began, and in those fields where they were especially dense, the best flax grew. They noted: if there is fog on this day, then a harvest for flax, oats and hemp is guaranteed.

Spring stars, frequent!
Come to my cattle in the manger,
Multiply and strengthen the profit in my household!
You are a clear month!
Come to my cattle in the cage,
Comb with your golden comb
Entangled in the black wind
On the ridge, on the sides wool!
The sun is omnipotent!
Go up to the stables, into the yard,
Take the black prize away from my cattle!

Animals and cattle began to molt.

March 30 - the awakening of the fish. It was believed that on this day the pike begins to break the ice with its tail. Everywhere sledges were replaced by carts.

There are also three sliding holidays in March: these are three parent Saturdays following one after the other. The first is celebrated on the second week from the seventh day of Shrovetide. These days they prepare a meal and eat it silently, symbolizing the proximity of Navi by silence.

April

The Slavs called this month Tsvetny (Kviten), Drop, Snegogon, Caddis, Krasovik, Solnechnik, Greenhouse, Aquarius.

April 1 - from that time canvases began to be whitewashed. They noted: if the water is noisy, then the grass will be good, and if it is quiet, vice versa.

April 2 - Well. People tried to drink water from wells, because on this day it has a special power.

April 3 - from that day on, they noticed: if the cuckoo sings before the forest is covered with leaves, then this portends a crop failure and loss of livestock.

April, 4 - sheep festival. People tried to take care of the sheep. Also on this day, a huge tree was carried on a sleigh, decorated with flowers and artificial fruits (possibly symbolizing the World Tree). I assume that this rite was the ancestor of the later tradition of putting up a decorated Christmas tree on New Year's Day. Also on April 4, parents spoke to children from illnesses and put rolls on the table. Blacksmiths-sorcerers were born. They noted: "if the sun is in circles, there will be a field in bread."

April 5 - carried out cleaning and burned ceremonial bonfires. Girls with pancakes and donuts went to call summer in the same way as they did on March 14th. In some regions of Russia, Frost was fed jelly, but they themselves ate this jelly with the whole family in a cold room. One of the guys in a turned-out fur coat frightened the children before eating (such frightening and the subsequent joint meal symbolized the agreement between the beast and the children). The finches are flying.

April 6 - baked cookies in the form of crosses and agricultural tools. Roads deteriorate.

April 7 - bird festival. On this day, people released birds from their cages. Even on this day, they played games symbolizing the choice of happiness (for example, playing "Drema"). Also on April 7, the third meeting of spring took place (the first - in the period of February 1-15, the second - in the period of March 2-22), which was expressed in the jubilation of people and animals: "Spring overcame winter!" On this day, sinners are not tormented in hell. Thieves considered it a "professional holiday" and "stealed" for good luck for the whole year. The rain that day foreshadowed a bountiful harvest of rye.

April 9 - "lapwings arrive, they bring water on their tail." Old women select seeds for planting turnips. The sleepiest pikes break the ice with their tails.

April 10th - mother-and-stepmother blossoms. Carrying out the August wreath. Also on this day, the banks of the ponds were cleaned: dried thistles and burdock were cut down and garbage was burned on fires.

April 12th - on this day, the brownie is furious and spoils everything that is nearby. The reasons for this are listed differently: Christians say that he is marrying a witch, ignoramuses think that the brownie woke up from hibernation (having slept through his name day, or what?), And still others claim that "the old skin is peeling off the neighbor" (which can be considered a relic of those times when house snakes were called brownies). Also on this day, black sorcerers freeze (lose mobility until dark).

April 13 - on this day, family fires were honored: they brought fire to the fields and carried plows and harrows through it, burned garbage; the plowman was talking to the fry. Those born on this date were called firemen. Also on this day, they played with chicken eggs and made riddles related to them. It is still unknown whether this rite is a Christian overlay or a pagan heritage.

14th of April - the day of Lada and Lado. High water. It was noted from him: if there is a spill, then there will be a lot of grass, if the water goes on clear nights - to a fine cleaning.

April 16 - name day of the waterman. The owner of the rivers wakes up from hibernation, like his younger relative - the Ichetik. People threw black bread with salt into the reservoir. Also on this date, the father-in-law with the mother-in-law called the son-in-law for young beer. They noted: if the ice does not go, there will be bad fishing.

April 17 - a cricket began to sing under the floor. The cranes gave voice, and the children greeted them:

Kurli, Kurli, Kurli,
Flying, flying cranes!
Curly-si, curly-si,
In Russia, in Russia!

Girls on this day went to watch how the alder blossoms (alder brides). Beekeepers noticed: if the alder blossomed magnificently, you can also get the hives.

20 April mermaids wake up. People make sacrifices to them: canvases or towels.

The 21st of April The sun meets the moon. A clear day portends a good summer, a gloomy one denotes a quarrel between the luminaries and a bad summer.

April 27 - Raven's holiday. Lisogon. On this day, the raven bathes its crows and lets them live on their own. Foxes move from old holes to new ones and, as it was believed, they see nothing at this time.

April 28 - on this day, bees are taken out of omshaniki for flying around and inspect the apiary. Also on this day, death is expelled and rain is conjured. Mokosh donate bread and eggs. Fever is treated with birch sap. Houses are being cleaned and washed.

April 30 - hives are placed in the apiary. It is possible that at the same time songs like this sounded:

You are a bee
The bee is fierce!
You fly out to sea
You take out the keys
Golden keys.
You close the winter
Cold winter!
Unlock the flyer
Letechko warm,
Letechko warm,
Bread summer!

In April, eight sliding holidays were celebrated. Basic - Easter . Until now, disputes have not ceased about whose holiday this is - pagan or Christian. A. Buenok, D. Dudko and G. D. Ryzhenkov consider it pagan. A. N. Afanasiev considers this day the holiday of the Lada-sun. E. Grushko and Yu. Medvedev suggest that this day was the holiday of Dazhdbog (the funeral of Kostrub). Religious scholars support these opinions, pointing out that some dates of the life of Christ fall on ancient pagan holidays of both the Semitic peoples and many others (for example, Christmas coincides with the winter solstice, etc.). However, I'm not jumping to conclusions yet, leaving readers to solve this problem themselves. As for Easter itself, it is from it that all moving holidays are calculated. Easter itself is defined as the first Sunday after the full moon following the spring equinox (March 23).

From Easter come two Nava days . One is celebrated on the Thursday of the week before Easter, and the second on the Thursday after Easter.

On the first day, trebs were brought to the navyam - milk, meat and eggs, and after that (by nightfall) they heated the bathhouse and invited the dead to wash. Frost on this day left oatmeal pudding on the window. It was possible to meet evil spirits. In the farmsteads, bonfires were burned from heather and juniper, through which all household members jumped in order to protect themselves from spirits and diseases. The night on this holiday was considered a fortune-telling night.

On the second day, they boiled as many white eggs as there were dead in the family, and then they went out into the open, rolled the boiled eggs, and after that they ate them.

Sunday a week before Easter in willow buds they brought coastlines to the house.

Saturday before Easter - Relatives visited the newlyweds. People conjured Frost so that it would not destroy crops.

The Sunday following Easter was celebrated Krasnaya Gorka . On this day, people were forbidden to stay at home. The old people sat on the rubble, and the young people burned bonfires on the hills and led round dances. On this holiday, brides and grooms testified to the choice of their couple in front of Dazhdbog and people.

Third Sunday after Easter - Morgosier (female references).

On Tuesday, following Krasnaya Gorka, was celebrated Rodanitsa . On this day, the whole family went to cemeteries, covered the graves with a white tablecloth and arranged a feast in honor of the dead (perhaps ending with songs and festivities, later forbidden by the Christian clergy). The remains of the feast were distributed to the poor.

May

May in Russia was called Travne, Leafoluk, Rosenik, Yarts, Proletny and Ranopashets.

The 1 of May - on this day, the Western Slavs honored the green tree and its incarnation - Lada. Also, according to D. Dudko, on this day they also honored Zhiva. Eastern Slavs burned bonfires on "ash pans". The "ashpit" was a pit with a dug pattern in the form of swans, which, as it were, were surrounded by ditches-contours. Old straw and all the garbage accumulated over the winter, as well as clay bread, grain models, figures of animals and birds, miniature hatchets and vessels, were thrown into the "ash pans", after which the straw was set on fire. In the Czech Republic, this day was a cow holiday.

May 2 - on this day, the twin horsemen - Lelya and Polelya were honored. Also on this day, women with children, secretly from men, arranged a rite of fertile magic: they organized a feast on the shore of a reservoir or in the forest. That is why this day is also called the women's name day, and the rite itself is a reference. Even on this day, women left a spread canvas with a pie on it in a field or meadow, called for spring and left. "They dressed the spring in novelty": new canvases were dried on the grass and bushes.

May 3 - the earth opens and releases the souls of the dead to relatives. Therefore, early in the morning, people brought treats to the birth eels (grave hills) and called on their yearning parents. Children played on the mounds with new toys, young people in the renovations made during the winter organized festivities and led round dances.

May 4th - Round dancer. The time of round dances began, which lasted until the Trinity. People curse evil spirits: this was usually done by old people outside the outskirts, facing the west. Young animals are born, fish are spawning in the water, and the bear begins to molt.

5 May - Lely's day. On this day, the following rituals were performed: a girl, who was called Lelei, was put on a turf bench, decorated with greenery, put a wreath on her head, put sour cream, bread, eggs, cheese, butter and cottage cheese around her, put wreaths at the girl’s feet and honored with a song:

Give us life and wheat
Lyalya, Lyalya, our Lyalya!
Haymaker in the garden
Lyalya, Lyalya, our Lyalya!
The ridges are even, the ridges are even
Lyalya, Lyalya, our Lyalya!

And the girl herself handed out wreaths to the singing.

the 6th of May - Yarilin day. On this holiday, a girl was put on a white horse, they called her Yarilina's bride and drove around the field. They drove cattle to pastures and on this day, as the first "working" day for the shepherds, they asked Yarila to calm the wolves. It was especially feared that the witches would spoil the cattle. They burned fires. From that day on, the plowing began. On this holiday, it was recommended to plow a new arable land. Early oats, barley and wheat were sown. Sometimes early sowing was carried out at night in order to avoid the evil eye. There were many signs for this day: abundant dew foreshadowed the harvest of millet, frost - the harvest of buckwheat and oats, a clear morning - early sowing, and a clear evening - late sowing. The hosts were pulled by the hair to thicken the life.

Rain, rain, more
I'll give you thick
I'll go out on the porch
Ladies cucumber,
Ladies and loaf of bread,
Rain, more water!
And for millet and rye
Water as much as you like!

Songbirds are flying.

9th May - on this day, Mikula Selyaninovich was honored - the legendary hero-plowman, a symbol of the Russian people.

May 10 - name day of the Earth. The fact that this holiday took place exactly on the indicated date seems to be very, very controversial. He was mentioned only in two little-known primary sources (unfortunately lost). One of them indicated the date of the holiday, and in the second, which tells about the day of Mikula Selyaninovich, it was noticed that these two holidays are located side by side for a reason. The rites of the name day - on Spiritual day.

May 11 - sorcerers and healers caught the south wind at the crossroads in amulets, which bestowed health on the owner. Patients with spring fevers on this day were soldered with birch sap.

may 13 - rolled in the stored snow (which was collected on March 1), escaping from the March fevers that are still rampant.

May 14 - Ritual sowing. A ceremony was held to guarantee the harvest and protect it from bad weather and theft: in the morning, an uncombed woman in white stockings and a shirt sat on a harrow and rode it, saying: “As I am weighty and heavy, so my bread will be weighty and heavy on the strip, so that no one could take off or blow off the color on my strip, and so that the rain would not wash and the person would not take off, besides me - the hostess.

May 15 - sowing bread. We tried to sow early and for the growing month. Three handfuls of stolen goods were mixed into the seed grain. They did not blow up a new fire on this day. The oldest man began to sow. According to a number of personal signs, they guessed about the harvest. Also on this day, oats were sown. [But in general, they tried to time the first sowing of rye with the appearance of mosquitoes, and the sowing of oats at the time when the frogs begin to sing]. Nightingale day: the nightingale begins to sing. Birders try to catch a white nightingale (although usually such luck falls only to those who were born on this date). By the way, on this day, the birthday boy was supposed to plant a birch tree, which became his second mother. Merchants tried to sell something at a profit, so that they could be with a profit all year.

May 17 - boom driving. In the afternoon, women gathered in groups, lined up in one line and, holding hands, singing the “arrows” song, moved towards the center of the settlement. Each group sang the same tune, but in their own words. Having gathered in the center of a village or city, the groups joined in a round dance, and in this way they went into the field. When women passed through other villages, each hostess invited them and treated them, for which she was raised in her arms as high as possible ("so that the harvest was high"). Going out into the field, the most respected of the participants in the round dance buried bread and money in the ground. After that, the women rolled on the ground, which ended the ceremony.

May 19 - sowing peas and planting turnips (for a better harvest of turnips, a woman is recommended to wash before sowing, put on a clean dress, and let her hair down during sowing).

22nd of May - on this day, horses were driven out for night pasture. Vodyanoy was sacrificed, in particular - a horse skull. The rain that poured that day foreshadowed a rich harvest, but the wind that blew was considered to come from unburied bodies.

May, 23rd - (according to A. Buenok) name day of the Earth. In some regions of Russia, it was forbidden to disturb the birthday girl with plowing, while in others, on the contrary, it was believed that sowing on this date guarantees a bountiful harvest. Even on this day, the Earth swallows up perjurers and slanderers.

May 24 - fortune-telling about the weather for the summer. According to the humidity of the day, people assumed the humidity of the whole summer. Also on this day they could sow wheat, barley and oats. Forget-me-not blooms.

May 25 to June 25 - Lada time. Every day there were songs praising this goddess.

May 25 - rowan blossoms. The girls put on red sundresses to resemble this tree. It was noted: the better the mountain ash blooms, the better the flax harvest, and the clear dawn guaranteed a summer rich in fires.

26 of May - the appearance of mosquitoes. A large number of them promised a harvest of mushrooms and berries.

May 27 - Day of Stribog and winds. Replacement of cold winds (seavers) with warm ones. On this day, they prayed to the lord of the winds:

Wind Vetrovich,
Don't get angry
In your far northern halls
All in abundance
And we have a little bit of heat.

Sowing early flax.

May 30 - day of rain. On this date, it was supposed to turn to Perun with prayers for moisture.

May 31 - an oak leaf unfolds. They sow flax and wheat. Pike time. On this day, they noted: if the oak turns ahead of the ash, it will be a dry summer; "a leaf on an oak in a penny - to be spring so"; "If the crown of the oak tree has an edge, you will measure the oats with a tub."

Between May and June there are five rolling holidays.

Semitskaya (Green, Rusalia) week - the seventh week from Easter. At this time, mermaids run through the forests, dance, bask in the rays of the moon and lure passers-by in order to drown, spin to death in a round dance or tickle until they suffocate. The Slavs tried to keep amulets with them and, especially, wormwood, which can scare away mermaids.

The following holidays were celebrated this week:

Semik - Thursday at Rusalya week. On this day, the girls went to the forest and each mingled with the chosen birch. Also on this day, in order to get suitors and appease the mermaids, the girls wove wreaths, went into the forest, threw them and ran away. at that time the following chanting sounded:

1) Let's go, girls,
Curl wreaths!
Let's make wreaths
Let's curl green.
Stop, my wreath
Green all week
And I, young
Have fun all year long.

2) In a clearing, in a meadow
The birch tree bent.
The girls curled
Decorated with ribbon
The birch was glorified:
- White birch,
Come walk with us
Let's go play songs.

3) Do not rejoice, oaks,
Cheer up, greens!
Girls don't come to you
Not red for you
They don't bring pies to you,
Cakes, scrambled eggs.
Io, io, Semik and the Trinity.
Rejoice birches,
Rejoice green!
The girls are coming to you
Red for you
They bring you pies,
Cakes, scrambled eggs.
Io, io, Semik and the Trinity.

4) And densely thick leaves on the birch,
Oh, oh, oh lyuli, there are leaves on the birch.
There is no thicker one in rye, wheat,
Oh, oh, oh lyuli, in the rye in the wheat.
- gentlemen, boyars, peasant peasants!
Oh, oh, oh, lyuli, peasant peasants!
I can not stand, keep the ears,
Oh, oh, oh, lyuli, keep the ears.
Buen ear tends, buen ear tends,
Oh, oh, oh lyuli, the buen spike tends.

The songs indicate a sacred feast, which was arranged by women on that day: after kumleniya, birch branches were braided with a ribbon (making a swing for the mermaid) and under these "roofs" a meal was arranged, the main dishes of which were scrambled eggs, bread, pies and cakes. At night they left food and clothes as a sacrifice to the mermaids.

Klechal Saturday - Saturday at Rusal week. On this day, the ancestors leave the afterlife and live among people. For their sake, houses were decorated with fresh vegetation. Water at midnight begins to raise water from the banks. To protect against it, bonfires were burned along the banks all night. Mermaids came out of the forest and ran in the rye.

Trinity - Sunday at Rusal week. On this day, they tried not to go without wreaths. The rites of laying new houses began.

Whit Monday - Monday after Trinity. On this day, the Earth is a birthday girl. Nobody worked. It was forbidden to jump, jump and stomp. The Earth was asked for forgiveness, thanked and asked to be protected from troubles. They sacrificed to the field worker (they tried to bring a couple of eggs and an old voiceless rooster stolen from the neighbors so that no one would see).

June

June was called Kresnik (from "kres" - lightning, spark, soul), Cobweb, Khleborost, Roznik, Izok (Grasshopper), Hoarder, Chervets, Svetozar, Svetloyar, Raznotsvet and Strawberry.

2 June - planting cucumbers. They noted: if it rained on this and the previous day, then the month will be dry.

June 3 - on this day they sowed buckwheat, barley, late wheat and flax. Songs were sung to Flax:

Sow, young, lenka,
With rain on the current.
You grow, grow, lenok
Thin, long and tall
In the land of the root,
What is down stocky,
And up is a family man.

They noted: if it is rainy on this day, then autumn will be rainy; and if it rains with hail, then on December 3 there will be snow with grits.

From 4 to 12 June - girls are born, appointed as a sacrifice to the snake (lizard, Chernobog).

June 4 - on this day, the Eastern Slavs honored Yarila, and the Baltic - Yarovit. Witch doctors collected herbs with sentences. Basilisks are hatching. The nightingales begin to sing.

June 6 - the funeral of Yarila and Kostroma. Yarila was depicted as a straw effigy in the form of an old man with a huge phallus. After the funeral procession, having passed through the village, went out into the field, the effigy was buried in the ground. At the same time, women, crying, "remembered" the sexual power of Yarila, and the men were joking. Kostroma was represented by a straw doll or a young girl. The doll or girl was dressed in a shroud and green oak branches, carried in a funeral procession, and then lowered into the water. The doll sank, and the girl swam up and went to dry. Rosehip blooms.

June 7 - dead dews fall out, which are capable of sending the disease. Planting cabbage. If there are many flowers on the mountain ash, there will be a good harvest of oats.

June 8 - The earth is shaking. It was forbidden to travel on this day. The women took out the pots and pots under the flowering bushes of currants, gooseberries and wild roses, "getting rid of the stuffiness." On this day, potters are born who are able to find "living" clay and negotiate with the Earth.

the 9th of June - it was forbidden to wash dirty linen in public: both revenge and excessive chatter, since it was believed that Yaga (according to my version, the calendars say about the patron saint of the day) will spread what he saw and heard around the world. Rituals were held in the field.

June 11th - on this day they sowed buckwheat and fed livestock with pastries. The youth went to the field and conjured rye (like: "Grow grass to the forest, and rye to the barn").

12 June - planting beans. They were planted after being soaked in "winter" water, which was obtained from the last snow and specially stored. Also, before planting, the beans spoke in every possible way. On this day, snake weddings begin, so forest reptiles are especially dangerous.

Mother rye is earing,
In the rye, the pig is farrowing,
Seventy pigs, yes all pigs,
All pigs, yes all motley,
Their tails are pointed.

They rode on the shoots of rye and said: "Grow grass to the forest, and rye to the barn!"

June 15 - "curling loaches". This was the name of the summer round dances, accompanied by weaving wreaths.

June 16 - on this day, they conjured the winds and noticed where they would blow from: the southern one - for the harvest of spring crops, the northwestern one - for damp summer, the eastern one - for diseases. In the evening, they call out to the wind and ask: “Blow with warm warmth, you spill it, wind-wind, on mother rye, on spring spring, on the field, on meadows, life-giving rains, by the time and by the time.”

Let's go, Thunder, let's go for a walk!
I am with the rain, and you are with the lightning.
You will burst, and I will smash it around the world.

After sunset, the old women gathered outside the outskirts and, waving their hands, prayed for the wind, so that it would not harm, but bring benefits.

June 18 - "sparrow nights" ("rowan nights"). The shortest nights of the year. It was noted that if the weather is clear and warm that day, the grain will be large.

June 19 - weeding. Preparations are underway for mowing and the second plowing of fallow fields. If the rains are charged, the children beg for the sun.

June 20 - they noted: if it’s clear, the bread will be good, if it’s rainy - with a skinny filling. The girls were forbidden to remove the belt, so as not to run into evil spirits.

21st of June - Stormy day. Weeding and removal of manure. On this day, the well-dwellers wondered about the place for the future well: in the evening they overturned the frying pan to the intended place, and at sunrise they raised it and looked to see if it was covered with moisture. It was noted that the rain on this day portends hay. A. Asov considers this day a Lada holiday, which has not yet been proven.

June 23 - the evil spirits are furious on this day, rolling on the grass, dividing duties - to whom how to harm people.

June 24 - Solstice, Yarilino field, Wedding of the Sun and the Moon. Initially, this holiday and Kupala night were a single celebration. It was believed that on this day (as well as July 7 and July 12) witches are especially strong. After the change of calendars and the division of the holiday into two, all the rituals were transferred to Kupala, and the Solstice had only the tradition of lowering burning wheels from the hills.

27th of June - in some regions of Russia, Yarila's funeral took place on this date. But in general, on this day, women, secretly from men, sewed an outfit for Zhiva. The next morning they went into the forest and looked for the grass "cuckoo's tears." The grass was uprooted and dressed in prepared outfits. The branches of the birches standing nearby were twisted into a cradle by a woman, they threw a scarf over it and laid a doll. Going home, the doll was taken with them.

June 29 - (according to A. N. Afanasyev) games of the sun-Lado. It was supposed to treat the workers who manured the fields.

In June, three moving holidays were celebrated. Thursday after Trinity Trinity of the dead or crooked Thursday . On this day, they treated the dead and the brownie.

On the following Sunday after the Trinity, the Rusal (Rusalye) conspiracy was celebrated . On this day, they made a doll depicting a mermaid and threw it into the water, conjuring to take extra rain with them. Personal comment - the author himself had the opportunity to verify the effectiveness of this rite.

Monday after the Rusal Conspiracy three kites were buried, thus symbolizing the death of Chernobog. Two birds were burned, and the last one, with its paws tied, was buried, after which a feast was held with songs and dances.

The funeral of a kite could be carried out in two ways. Firstly, in the morning, the housewives drove the chickens out of the hut through a knife or an ax; in the afternoon, the women went to the pasture, where they sang, waving their handkerchiefs towards the forest:

Oh, shulyaku - black bird, don't fly to us
Don't grab our chickens.

The men brought dead kites tied on a stick, the women went with them into the forest, broke green branches there and, waving them, cursed:

Black bird, our death
Don't bother us
Knead.

After that, the kite was buried and danced on his grave.

In another version, the women made a "shulyak" from scarves, put it on a large canvas, at the corners of which heaps of grains were poured, and put bread, onions, cheese and meat between them. Turning the "kite" to the meat, they said: "do not go to the chickens, but go to the bastard." Then the "shulyak" was torn to pieces, they had a feast and treated each other with vodka with the words: "Drink, kumo, Shulyak did not drink chickens."

July

The Slavs called July Stradnik (from "strada" - harvest, haymaking), Lipets, Senozharnik, Senostav, Zharnik and Groznik.

July 1 - (according to some researchers) one of the holidays of Yarila. Sickles were sharpened, beds were stuffed with straw and herbs against diseases.

Roy, buzz, go to the fields!
Go from the fields, bring the honey!
3 July - cobweb day and day of sparrowhawks. Bird-catchers look at the winter crops: if cobwebs and midges fly over them, then quails will also gather there. Hunters tried to catch at least one bird that day for good luck. It was considered especially lucky to catch a white quail. They noted: if it rains on that day, it will go for forty days; if the frogs croak and fall silent again (from the cold) - there will be cold, "when the bread is showing off." Children collect lime blossom.

5'th of July - on this day, the girls, having gathered in the house of one of their friends, cooked barley porridge, which they ate in the evening of the next day.

From 6 to 7 July - on this day they bathed in a bathhouse, washed children in forest springs, made wreaths and treated the poor. And with the onset of darkness, the Kupala night began. People went to the forest, where they burned bonfires, jumped over the fire, danced round dances, swam in the river, burned the "witch" - the skull of an animal, looked for a fern flower that gives wealth and good luck. Married couples and widowed people made love in the forest, transferring the power of fertility to the earth. The holiday was dedicated to the sun. Where does its name come from - Dazhdbozhya or Kupala (from "copolo" - the archaic name of the sun). On this day and this night, the following songs were sung:

Girls, women -
To the Bath!
Ladu Lada,
To the Bath!
Oh who won't come out
to the bathhouse,
Ladu Lada,
to the bathhouse,
Oh he will
Stump-deck,
Ladu Lada,
Stump deck!
And who will go
to the bathhouse,
Ladu Lada,
To the Bath!
And he will
White birch!
Ladu Lada,
White birch!

July 7- Yarilin day. On this day, women rolled on the rye, and the merman started his games. It was the first mowing. It was believed that on this day in the forest you can easily meet a goblin and conclude an agreement with him. It was believed that on this day (as well as June 24 and July 12) witches are especially strong. They collected earth from under the temples for subsequent dissolution in water and the treatment of fevers.

July 10 - signs about Indian summer. Hay and hay. They noted: if it rains on this day, then it will be wet until Indian summer (September 14).

July 11 - Nettle spell. It was believed that from that day the nettle was the last time in its healing power, and therefore they whipped each other with nettle brooms. The sun plays, the lightning "breaks" the bread.

July, 12 - Yarilin day. Throughout the night preceding this day, people laid out fires on the hillocks and, in anticipation of the sun, spent their time in songs and games. The ritual "wheel" was carried out (two wheels were secretly obtained, on which a guy and a woman were planted, depicting the bride and groom, all the ceremonies were performed from matchmaking to wedding). The sunrise of the luminary was greeted with a loud cry, after which all the women took off their sundresses, loosened their hair and ran around the village, pursued by the guys. Those who did not take off their clothes had their shirt collars torn or their belts pulled off. Girls at this time whistled, danced and sang. [I note that none of the primary sources says that this erotic act-out turned into something more - note by Lifantiev S.S.] Also on this day, meat sacrifices were made, and washings were also made from three keys. People watched the sun "play". It was considered dangerous to swim: the merman was looking for a victim. From that day on, the season of fairs began. In some areas, Kostroma was buried on this day. It was believed that today (as well as June 24 and July 7) witches are especially strong; some pursued people, turning into a rolling wheel. Cuckoo cuckooing on this day prophesied mass misfortunes. According to the old style, on this date, cattle and people were chosen for sacrifice on Perun's Day.

the 14 th of July - haymaking and weeding gardens. Women's sips with obligatory vegetable food, porridge and chicken.

July 15 - A. Buenok believes that this is the day of Beregini-Earth. On this date, women took out towels with protective signs, and men, moving away from haymaking, swam in the river and wiped themselves with these towels. In times of syncretism, this day was called the "Beast Mother of God".

July 17th - girls on this day guessed by flowers (went through twelve meadows, collected twelve flowers, put them under the pillow to see the groom in a dream). Mothers, on the other hand, always cooked oatmeal jelly flavored with ripe berries for the girls. Kissel was supposed to be eaten, and the bowl to be licked (as the jelly holds on to the edges of the bowl, so the girl will hold on to the groom).

July 18 - holiday of the month. People came out to watch him play in the sky. “A month plays - it saves strength”, “Under the playing moon and in the middle of a grain field, the young man matures”.

July 20 - Perunov day old style. In some regions of Russia on this day there was a sting of rye ("Perun's beard"). Despite the transfer of this holiday to August 2, I continue to celebrate it according to the old style, since the month of July itself was dedicated to the god of thunder, and August does not play its due role.

21 July - they noted: if blueberries ripened by this day, then rye also ripened, which promises a rich harvest.

July 22 - ant day. On this date, they look for oil whipped by ants on the Kupala night in anthills. This oil, according to legend, helps against all diseases and is only a short time at the top of the most deaf anthill, and you can carry it away only in glassware. According to the old style, Letnitsa, the wife of Perun, was revered on this day.

July 23 - ryasochnik. By this time the water was subsiding and many shells with pearls could be found on the shallows. The name of the holiday comes from the name of pearl jewelry (duckweed) on a festive girl's crown - a cassock.

July 24 - thunderstorms. The bright radiance of the constellation Stozhary portends a successful bear hunt.

July 25 - the end of haymaking and harvesting. Healing dew was collected, eliminating the evil eye and healing herbs.

July 29 - the day of Stribog (wind governor), the beginning of the harvest, late haymaking.

July 31 - Farewell to July. Bath day. Women piled sickles on the field and called the sorcerer in order to consecrate them, after which they washed themselves in the bathhouse with straw brooms.

There were three rolling holidays in July. The first one fell on the next Monday before the 12th . It was called Seeing the Mermaids. Round dances of women with stuffed animals gathered at a designated place, where they sang and danced. Then they were divided into two halves: some attacked the scarecrows, others defended them. The battle was fought with water and sand. In the end, the stuffed animals were torn to pieces and scattered across the field, and returned home with despondency.

Monday after the 12th - in some regions, the funeral of the kite-Chernobog-Shulyak took place on this day.

The third holiday took place in the first Sunday after the 12th. On this day, they burned a doll called the "crown of summer". As A. Buenok suggests, it was a holiday for Lada and Lelya.

August

August was called with honor - Serpen, Zarev, Zornichnik, Zhniven, Gustyr, Lenorost, Raznosol, Gustoed.

August 1 - Mokrids. The eldest woman in each family took a handful of ears of corn from her field and gave it to the birthday woman (born on that day). The same one, having collected bunches in a sheaf, tied it up with a towel and, undressing, entered the river, holding it over her head, after which she dipped and dipped the sheaf (this was how the rain was allowed to go to the fields). The ears floated away as a gift to the gods. According to the weather of that day, they recognized the weather for autumn: if it is wet, autumn will be wet, if it is dry, it will be dry. They also noted: the rain promised a good sowing of winter crops, but a crop failure for nuts; flying aspen fluff indicated that the aspen mushrooms were ripe. Gadflies bite the last day.

August 2 - Perunov day. On this holiday, the meat of bulls and deer was sacrificed. It was forbidden to work under fear of being killed by lightning on the spot. According to the version of A. Asov, there was a tradition to make a wish on this day and be sure that it would come true. Despite the fact that Asov has earned a reputation as a liar, this version is justified: by the time these lines were written, I myself celebrated Perun's Day six times, and while celebrating, I asked the gods to fulfill this or that desire, and I never had a reason to complain about that they were not fulfilled. However, I hasten to warn all lovers of freebies that when making a wish, four factors must be taken into account, since if at least one of them is violated, one cannot count on the fulfillment of a wish. These factors are:

a) Not everyone has the right to make a wish, but only those who deserve it by their deeds;

b) The desire must be expressed aloud in its most accurate formulation;

c) The desire should not run counter to Slavic ideas about legality;

d) The fulfillment of a desire should not globally affect the fate of other people.

On the day of Perun, such rituals are also performed: the first sheaf is sown, decorated with flowers and ribbons and placed in the "red" corner of the hut - Perun "in the beard". From the threshing of this sheaf, a loaf was solemnly baked and distributed piece by piece to all family members, after giving it to the eldest man from this family for blessing. The holiday of the goblin and the water. It was also believed that on this day the goblin opens all holes, and forest animals and reptiles roam free. Even on this day, a goblin is chosen to help the shepherd, who helps him graze his cattle.

August 4 - Letnitsa's day. On this day, they also did not work because of the fear of being killed by a thunderstorm. It was only allowed to dig up flower bulbs and pick wild berries. They noted: if the dew was plentiful, they expected gray flax (of poor quality).

August 7 - on this day, they wondered about winter: if it is light in the morning, the winter will be cold, if it rains, it will be snowy and warm. On this day, in some regions of Russia, Lada and Veles are honored by "curling the beard" of the cattle god in the manner of "curling Perun's beard" (see August 2). Fairs began in some regions of Russia.

August 9 - cabbage curls, colds begin. People threw birch twigs into the cabbage patch. It was forbidden to work in the field for fear of being killed by lightning.

11th August - frosts beat bread. People were afraid of the damp fog, which they called trouble. But at the same time, it was believed that on this day Yarilo walks the earth (according to my assumptions, the calendars say about the patron saint of the day) and "kalit" (paints) apples. It was noted: if there are no matinees (frosts) on this day, it will not freeze on September 5 either.

12th of August - on this day, witches "die", having drunk on stolen milk (you can revive a witch only if you burn her heels). On this date, a crow, a terrible animal howl and an earthquake are possible. It was noted: if at this time the days are cloudy and cool, you can not be afraid of rain, and if it is stuffy, painful and annoying insects, then it will rain.

August 14 - Medovki (on the waters). It was customary to unite the family in friendship and harmony, and the oldest man in the family to go out onto the porch and bring honey in combs to the wanderers for testing. Children praised the hosts for the treat:

God grant the owner many years.
And he will live long, do not anger the gods.
Do not anger the gods, drive God's bees,
Burning hot wax.

The day of the consecration of the wells (on any day when they wanted to appease the wells, they were fed with bread, salt and stolen borscht). The children sowed mak-vidun into the well, beat the water and asked the well man to give moisture to the earth. Horses were bathed on this day.

August 15 - second hay: end of haymaking. The last cucumbers, onions and garlic are removed from the garden. The whole family weaves a tribal wreath (from herbs that have not yet dropped a single flower), which is then hung in a red corner until spring. Horses are soldered through silver. The beginning of the flight of swallows.

August 16 - on this day, they wondered about the weather for October and winter. If there is a wind from the south and whirlwinds appear, we expected big snows in winter. And what is the weather on this day - this in October will prevail. Sometimes on this date, a whirlwind was interrogated about the weather in winter and this was done as follows: they took a knife and a rooster, went to the intersection of roads and waited for the whirlwind, stuck a knife into the intersection and, holding the rooster by the head, asked questions.

August 17 - fortune-telling about November: what is the weather on this day, the same should be expected in November. It's raining hay.

From 18 to 28 August - harvest. They reap on a holiday, with the whole world. Instead of money (which is not even mentioned), the owner prepares a plentiful treat for everyone. The assistants go dressed up in their best clothes and always with their instruments.

The following songs were sung during the harvest season:

1) And spoke
arzhenoe zhito,
Standing in an open field
Standing in an open field:
- I do not want,
arzhenoe zhito,
Yes, stand in the field
Yes, stand in the field.
I do not want,
arzhenoe zhito,
Yes, stand in the field
Mahati spike,
And I want
arzhenoe zhito,
Tie into a bundle
Lie down in the shade.
And so that I
arzhenoe zhito,
Tied into a bundle
They chose rye for me.

2) We are already weaving-weaving a beard,
Veles on the field
Curling a beard
At our Rodovich
On the great field
On a wide strip.
(pagan interpretation of the author)

3) Reapers are young
Golden sickles!
You already reap, reap
Live, don't be lazy
And squeezing the cornfield
Drink, have fun.

4) Oh and thank God
What a living reaped!
What a living shook
And they put it in piles
On the threshing floor with haystacks,
In the cage bins,
And with the oven pies.

August 18 - the day of Veles the Zhitnik (Third Veles) and the day of the Harvester. To prevent evil spirits from settling in the pastures, at dawn they went into the field, taking hemp oil with them. Turning to the east, they said: "Mother-Cheese-Earth, take away every unclean reptile from love spells, turnover and dashing deeds!"; to the west: "Mother-Cheese-Earth, absorb the unclean power into the seething abyss, into the combustible pitch!"; to the south: "Mother-Cheese-Earth, quench all the midday winds with bad weather, calm the free-flowing sands with a blizzard!"; to the north: "Mother-Cheese-Earth, calm down the midnight winds with clouds, contain frosts with blizzards!" Each time they poured a little oil on the ground, and at the end they threw the whole bottle. On this day, the reapers rode along the compressed strip and said: "Stubble, Sap! Give my snare to the pestle, to the sack, to the beater, to the reel, to the crooked spindle." The hostess brought bread, salt and vodka into the field, and holding the first sheaf, she sang thanksgiving. Everyone drank and ate. It was supposed to eat raw onions with bread, salt and kvass, and hang bunches of onions in the rooms so that the air was purified.

August 19 - Yablonevka (on the mountains). Collection of apples. It was supposed to treat the poor with fruits. Beekeepers drown the first swarm in the swamp in order to protect themselves from spills. People sang "sunset songs".

August 20 - departure of swallows. Day of the sick and orphans. It was supposed to regale them with apples, honey and pies.

August 21 - Windmill. Warm winds are replaced by cold Seavers. On this day, it was customary to question them. Gathering again. They noted: what is this day, such is January, and the frost that fell at the end of summer is for the next year's harvest.

August 23 - Zorichnik. The peasants looked at the water at noon: if it was quiet, then autumn was expected to be quiet, and winter - without snowstorms.

August 27 - Day of the Winds. By their strength, the weather for September is judged: if there is a calm wind - by a clear and warm autumn, and if a snowstorm - by a rainy September. Sometimes leaf fall began from that day.

August 28 - Dozhinki. They silently tear the last rye with their hands and make a “beard” out of it, put the most beautiful girl on it, call her Talaka, decorate her and the sheaf with cornflowers. She takes him off the field. Everyone leaves the field with a song:

My jackdaw ahead
Carries golden keys
Opens the box
He takes out his shirt.
Tomorrow in the bath
On Wednesday for soap,
And on Sunday for a housewarming party.
It's time for the jackdaws to fly -
Feast to feast, clothes to peck.

The sheaf is carried to the hut and, together with Talaka, is placed in a place of honor. The owner gives her a gift and treats begin with her. When a sheaf is brought into the house, insects from the dwelling are driven out to heaven for snow. The third harvest feast is arranged (the first - in Zazhinki, the second - in the afternoon Dozhinki). According to the rites of another region, the last sheaf was cut and left in the field ("Veles in the beard" or from the barrenness of the earth; sometimes they feed livestock in winter in order to protect them from diseases). The reapers rolled across the field again with the same spell. Sickles were awarded and married, which did not cut hands during the harvest. Also on this day, cattle meat was sacrificed.

August 29 - Orekhovki (Khlebniki, Kholshovka, on-canvas). Collection of nuts. People wove a knotweed wreath out of rye. Departure of the last swallows.

August 31 - the day of the twin horsemen (Dazhdbog and Yarila). On this day, horses were revered and groomed. The beginning of leaf fall and women's gatherings.

There is one sliding holiday in August, but very few people know the date. It is only known that it takes place between August 2 and 28. During this period, on a stormy night, accompanied by the most terrible thunderstorm, all sorcerers and witches gather. I can assume that it is good magicians who are gathering, since their opponents are frightened by a thunderstorm (Perun is considered a fighter against any kind of evil spirits) or those that are just harmful magicians, and the thunderer is at war with them. However, this is only an assumption so far, since there is no detailed information about this holiday.

September

This month was called Veresen, Howler, Frowning, Rain Ringer, Zlatotsvet, Leaf Fall and Zorevik.

September 1 - beet harvesting begins. On this day in Russia they arranged a "marriage of a comin" or a "candle wedding". The first rite was as follows - they whitened the "comin", twined it with ripe hops and flowers, and when they lit the torches, they poured nuts, melon seeds, pieces of corned beef and clods of butter on them. The "candle wedding" went like this - a felled tree was placed, which was hung with fruits, melons and wax candles. They start celebrating housewarming. A warm wind on this day is favorable for the ripening of oats. It is believed that by the first day of September one can judge either the whole autumn or the whole month.

September 3 - noted: if the day is clear, then there will be good weather for another four weeks. If mice build nests in flax, then the winter will be snowy.

4 September - gossip fun. That night or the night of the next day, the goblin comes to the threshing floor to harm the sheaves, while taking on the appearance of a person familiar to the owner. For defense, the peasants gathered at night, put on sheepskin coats inside out, tied a towel around their heads, took a poker and went to guard the extension.

September 5 - flaxes beat. Frost. Cranberries, lingonberries and oats "came down". The cranes are starting to fly.

6 September - noted: if the day is quiet, then the flaxseed on the vine will hatch completely. If it rains, there will be a dry autumn and a good harvest for next year.

8 September - harvesting oats. The last sheaf with songs is carried away from the field and placed in the yard (or in the hut, in the red corner). In the evening there was a treat with oatmeal pancakes and oatmeal on sour milk or water with honey (dezhen). When leaving, the guests thanked the hostess for the treat. It was believed that on this day the mountain ash is the birthday girl. Collected her and viburnum.

10 September - Stacker. All the bread is collected in stacks and taken out of the field. Hemp cleaning.

11 September - Collecting turnips. Birds begin to fly to Iriy. Witches on this day go around the yards and beg for alms, through which they then induce damage. If the cranes have already reached out to Iriy - by early winter.

12-th of September - Svytnik. On this day, barley bread and barley porridge were served on the table. Collection of medicinal roots and cranberries.

September 13 - Crane party. Flight of cranes. Harvesting carrots and beets. Also on this day, potatoes are removed from the gardens, brought to Russia much later than Epiphany.

September 14 - Indian summer begins. Sowing of winter crops. Birds fly away to Prav, snakes crawl away to Nav. On this day, girls, dressed up, bury flies and cockroaches in vegetable coffins, saying: "Flies, you flies, mosquito friends, it's time to die. Fly to bury the flies." The devil measures the sparrows with a yardstick: how much to take and how much to release, so the sparrows are nowhere to be seen. The fields are plowed from evil spirits. From that day on, the wedding season began. Also this day was a holiday of dog hunters, and they arranged the first trip for hares and foxes. It was believed that the eel is capable of walking three miles through the meadows on this date. At the same time there was the last thunderstorm. In some regions of Russia, Ovsen was celebrated on this day. Housewarming on this date foreshadowed great happiness. A rainy day promised a dry autumn.

September 18 - Feast of witches. On this day, they tried to honor all the priests, sorcerers, sorcerers and magicians as best as possible. On this day, the Ichetik goes into hibernation. Kumokhu was expelled.

September 19 - first brother. The whole clan or the whole village gathered together and, turning to the gods, solved worldly and family affairs, after which everyone reconciled and arranged a feast in a pool. The ritual dish of the bratchina was the meat of a bull or a ram, which was obtained in a clubbing, and beer was a drink. Frost.

September 21 - the day of Ovsen, otherwise - the day of Mokosh and Rozhanits, otherwise - the day of the Family and Rozhanits, otherwise - autumn. On this day, early in the morning, women go to the banks of rivers, lakes and ponds to meet autumn. An older woman stands with oatmeal while the younger ones sing songs around her. After that, the bread is broken according to the number of participants in the ceremony and these pieces are fed to the cattle. Recently married people arrange a treat for relatives. The owner took the guests to the yard, showed the barn and treated them to beer. In ancient times, meat sacrifices were made to the gods on this day.

September 22nd - autumnal equinox. Downfall day. The rites are unknown, but it is possible that they are used the day before.

23 September - the day of the collection of mountain ash. Part of the mountain ash was always left on the bush - for birds. A. Asov suggested that this day belong to Veles the mountain ash (the Fourth Veles), and this idea seems to me quite justified. It was noted: if there are a lot of mountain ash in the forest, rainy autumn is planned, if there are few, vice versa.

September 24 - the end of Indian summer. On this day, women covered their heads with bright scarves in anticipation of colorless days.

September 27 - chopping cabbage. Girls in rich attire went from house to house with songs in order to chop cabbage, and after the girls the guys with their gifts appeared, looking for brides. In houses where cabbage was chopped, tables were set with snacks and beer. The hay removal begins. Frogs, mice and snakes go into the ground. People do not go to the forest, fearing to get into a gathering of snakes and foresters, who say goodbye to the beast until next spring. In some areas, this was the feast of the barn, it was believed that before this day it was impossible to heat the barn, otherwise it would burn. The ovinnik was treated to porridge, pies or a rooster.

September 28 - harvesting tops and shearing sheep. The geese fly away to Iriy, and the children shout after them:

Tiga-si, Tiga-si,
In Russia, in Russia.
Toga-toga-toga
Wheel road.

On this day, they threw a goose without a head to the water man (they left the head for themselves, so that the yard would not notice the damage).

September 29 - fortune-telling about winter on a bird's bone. The whole family looked at a duck or goose bone and, by how much it was covered with fat, they judged what kind of winter it would be: a skinny, lean bone promised a mild winter, and a bone with a fatty slough said that the winter would be fierce. Those born on this day have a special voice, comparable to a bird's.

September 30th - woman's name day (weeping). It was supposed to women on this day to expel all the longing from themselves by crying. By this day, they tried to coincide with the end of field work. It was also believed that on this date "moose celebrate a commemoration in the summer."

October

He was called Listopad, Pozimnik, Zhelten, Kastrychnik, Gryaznik and Svadebnik.

October 1 - departure of the last cranes. If the cranes flew away by that day, then the first frost was planned in two weeks, if they were delayed, then in a month.

2 October - wrapping beehives and their cleaning in omshaniki. Also on this day, parties were held at which boys and girls chose their mate. End of white mushrooms. Possible first snowfall.

October 3 - windy day. They noted: the north wind - the cold is close, the south - to heat, the west - to moisture, the east - to clear weather. Even on this day, millers were honored and offerings were made to them. And that family, in which one of the relatives drowned, prepared for him (the drowned man) an update - a dress or a shirt.

The 4th of October - matchmakers, the so-called rite of passage "yards". Mothers wash their brides for the last time in the "women's corner" on the straw. The earth and winter crops are fed with ash (they take it to the fields). Even on this day, the “leaf-cutting” wind was driven from the yards so that wealth and happiness would not disappear. It was noted that the weather of this day will last four weeks unchanged.

From October 5 - Fever time. If a leaf has not fallen from a birch, the snow will fall late.

October 6 - on this day, they always stoked the stove and looked to see if it was smoky, not carbon monoxide? Prepared washing in it. New stacked stoves were sure to glorify [I think, however, that the old ones were not overlooked either - note by Lifantiev S.S.].

October 7th - the day of the ovinnik, bean and ryzhnik (day of Fire). In the morning, the first "threshing" of bread begins (during threshing, ears of corn are stuck in the corners of the hut). Then the work stops. The threshers gather around the barn, treat the barn-keeper, and spend the whole night singing and feasting. Buckwheat porridge was cooked for threshers and barns. Sitting down for breakfast, the workers said: "A heap of bread for the owner of the fire, and a pot of porridge for the threshers." After the "threshing", the oldest of the threshers cut grain from fresh aspen with a shovel and threw it into the wind towards the east, dedicating the first bread to the gods. It is possible that it was on this day that the first unthreshed sheaf was burned in the barn. On the same day, there were samples of "novi" - the first bread from the grain of the new crop. During this action, they washed their hands, ate bread (pulling on the ears, "so that it was sweeter") and carried the loaf to the Magi. Sometimes the test of bread took place in a different way: they baked a huge loaf, the head of the family hid behind him and asked if they saw him. When they answered that they did not see, he wished that they would not see him next year either. Also, this day was considered the last for picking mushrooms.

October 8 - the last day for cutting cabbage. The owner brought a pie and a rooster to the barn, put the pie on the window, bowed and said: "The barn, the barn, stay a little longer, and you, the barn, be kind and affectionate." After that, he broke off and ate a piece of the pie. Then he chopped off the head of a rooster, sprinkled blood on a barn, and the family ate the bird itself at dinner. From this day on, the winter path is established in four weeks.

October 10 - the cleaning of the hives is completed. On this day, the beekeepers asked the children to pray to the gods for the bees. Also (according to the lost original source) in some regions of Russia, it was on this day that the whole village mined "living fire" by friction and celebrated the beginning of the New Year.

October 11 - on this day it was supposed to teach young people to make crafts from birch bark.

October 13 - updating beds and burning junk. Children were bathed on the threshold of a sieve to protect them from diseases.

October 14 - according to the version of D. Dudko, Lada's day. All payments for work, hiring and transactions are ending. Women's work begins in the hut. A bucket of beer was sacrificed to the bean goose. Ovinnik was congratulated on the holiday and treated to porridge, pies or a rooster. They fed the cattle and held all-family gatherings (it was important to "sit out" with the whole family that day). During the gatherings, there were all kinds of pickles on the table, especially forest and field gifts.

17 October - a party of evil spirits. Before going to Nav for winter hibernation, forest spirits have fun in their own way: they break trees, make whirlwinds, disperse animals into burrows. People try not to go into the forest, because no amulets and spells will help on this day. With the first roosters of the next day, evil spirits fall into Nav, where they remain until the bear wakes up. "Winter puts on a coat." First snow.

From October 18 - it's time for weaving. First canvases. They start rolling boots.

October 19 - the accession of the Sivers. Conspiracies of bins. Wheat bread was baked to the birthday man of this day.

October 23 - signs for the month. People went out and looked at the month - "where the horns show, from there the winds will be" (if the horns pointed to the north, then the winter was expected to be fast and dry, and if to the south, then there would be slush until November). It is also the last day when flax is crumpled.

October 25 - 27 - guessed by the stars: bright stars promised frost and harvest, especially peas, dim - thaw; blue twinkling stars - snow.

27th October - Mokosh-spinning day. As a sacrifice to this goddess, yarn was thrown into the well. It was forbidden to spin on this date, only sewing was allowed. The one who laughed that day was punished with failures for the whole year. Mokoshi also put porridge and a spoon to it. The Koudelnitsa holiday was sometimes timed to this day, lasting about a week and beginning with the fact that it was supposed to weave an ordinary (i.e., made in one day) thing.

November

November was called by the Slavs Gruden, Bezdorozhnik, Listognoy, Snegovey, Poluzimnik, Icefall and Chicken Coop.

Nov. 1 - Meeting Winter. Holiday of the yard and grooms. The courtyard on this day braids the mares' manes into braids. The grooms are to rest. Winter birds are flying.

November 4 - change of autumn to winter. Meat holiday. The men were returning from the fields. A wedding held on this date is considered especially happy. If it rained that day, then cold weather was expected.

November 5 - repair of harness and sleigh. The girls for the grooms for the wedding departure decorated the reins with an ornament.

(Note: the parental night from 7 to 8 is not celebrated, since it was established (by Dmitry Donskoy to commemorate the ancestors who fell in battle) after the adoption of Christianity. However, among us the question of accepting this night as one of our holidays has been raised more than once).

November 8 - Bulgarians considered this day separating summer from winter and the Old Year from the New. In honor of the holiday, a ram was slaughtered.

10th of November - Linens. Flax thrashing. Girls pray for grooms. The Koudelnitsa holiday was sometimes timed to this day, lasting about a week and beginning with the fact that it was supposed to weave an ordinary (i.e., made in one day) thing. All subsequent days, including this one, are preparing for Svarozhki: the girls gather together, the guys going to visit Svarozhki are obliged to grab wine for themselves and the owner, and sweets for his family.

11th of November - holiday sheepdogs. Shearing. We sewed mittens. It was customary to cook dishes from milk (cheese, cottage cheese) and eat them with the whole family, as well as take better care of the sheep. On this day, they thanked the shepherds and treated them with pies made from new flour. It is also possible that on this day one sheep was left in the field as a sacrifice to the Forest and its incarnation - the white wolf.

November 12 - the holiday of canine hunters. On this day, the hunters tried to hunt at least one hare so that they would not lose their luck for a year. Sinichkin holiday - it was supposed to feed winter birds.

November 14 - the day of Svarog. Svarog forges ice on water. On this day, chicken was brought to the table with honor, because it was believed that today they cannot be ignored. However, when eating chicken bones, they did not break, so that ugly chickens would not be born later. The girls clubbing arranged gatherings and invited the guys. And the guys themselves on this day wore bright hats with the likeness of cockscombs. The Magi were carrying a chicken. Also on this day, they said: "With a brownie as with a family - either appease or expel!". Accordingly, depending on the nature of the brownie, he was either sacrificed or driven out with a broom. The ovinnik was honored with porridge.

From November 15 to January 16 - Supryadki. All this time, flax was spun under the illumination of a torch. Girls were specially invited to this case. From that time on, Swedish people (tailors) went around the villages in search of work.

15th of November - threshing. When drying and threshing, it was necessary to remember the ovinnik, bean and ryzhnik with a kind word.

November 16 - they tried to take a closer look that day - is the girl able to set up a weaving mill without the help of her mother: if it turned out that she could, she was considered a good worker.

20 November - freezing. "Two friends met - a ringing frost and a white blizzard."

November 21 - according to the version of A. Asov - the day of Semargl. On the one hand, it is not confirmed by anything, but on the other hand, one must someday honor this god. Also on this day, sacrifices were made to the courtyard. It was impossible to work in a barn. It was supposed to throw feasts and go to visit. "Winter forges frosts." It was noted: if on this day the path is violated (the road becomes sour), then this will last until December 19. If the morning is frosty, heavy snows are expected, and if it is foggy, thaws are expected. Also on this day, cattle were driven to winter fodder.

November 22 - they noted: if the goose goes out onto the ice, then the ice is still not strong. Cloudy snowy weather heralds rainy May. Hoarfrost - to frost and the harvest of oats, rain - to the harvest of wheat, fog - to the thaw.

November 27 - carded and wound yarn. The brownie was taking out a snack to the yard. End of wedding season. They noted: frost promised frost and a harvest of oats, fog - a thaw, and night frost said that snow would not fall during the day; crow's gray also foreshadowed a thaw.

November 30th - Somersaults. On this day, without exception, everyone was supposed to tumble on fresh white snow, rolling back from the last month of autumn towards winter.

December

The Slavs called it Jelly, Hmuren, Icefall, Zaledki, Rekostav and Wolf time.

December 1 - noted: what the weather will be that day, it will be like that in winter and early spring.

December 3- noted: what will be the weather on this day, this should be expected on June 3.

December 4 - the real winter begins (it is believed that she comes on a pinto mare). Horse festivities. They were supposed to start with newlyweds who had a wedding in the fall. They equipped a sleigh train with bells, which was joined by relatives and friends and went to the spouse's parents. Near the threshold of the parents, a sheepskin coat was laid inside out, on which the escorts passed the young father-in-law from hand to hand, and they thanked the escorts for saving her from all kinds of misfortune. The case ended in a feast.

From December 5 - a good toboggan run was established. People placed milestones along the roads. The time for fairy tales has begun.

December 6 - signs about June (the weather of this day was expected on June 6). All-village festivities: the whole village collected food, brewed beer and eggs, and all this, in an understandable way, resulted in a feast, accompanied by various games.

December 7 - Sannitsa. A young winter rides in a sleigh from the mountains. People also tried to keep up with the goddess on this day.

9th December - (according to D. Dudko's version) Yarilin's day. Nothing is known about his rituals.

12 December - noted: the morning is red - to be clear in December. If it snows, then the blizzard will last a week. If the field is smooth - wait for a crop failure.

December 13th - divination about winter. At night, people went to the river and, by the intensity of its noise under the ice, they judged the weather for the winter: it makes even noise - it will be even winter, and it boils - blizzard. On this day, you can adopt someone else's fate, so it was not recommended to step on someone else's trail.

December 16 - Silent. After sunrise, they tried not to sing, because the evil spirits can take away the voice.

December 19th - Second brother. A clan or village gathered together, sorted out worldly and family affairs, reconciled and arranged a feast in a clubbing. The poor were supposed to be treated with pies. According to A. Asov, the Black Sea Water Serpent was revered on this day. Given the presence of this archaic character in games, epics and images, one cannot deny the existence of the day of his holiday; however, it remains unclear where A. Asov pulled out this particular date. However, there is one analogue - on this day, a straw effigy depicting a man was thrown as a sacrifice to the merman (it is possible that this is an echo of human sacrifices).

December 20-21 - sewing with a mention of Mokosh. The girls guessed by the needle about the betrothed: they looked into her ear with a verdict.

December 22 or 25 - Solstice, Korochun, Dazhdbozhy day, Wolf day, the birth of the gods, the birth of the Sun. On this day, people gathered on the hills until dawn, burned fires, greeted the sunrise, rolled burning wheels, arranged feasts. Symbolizing the victory of the sun over winter, fistfights were organized on the ice of the rivers, which began with the "snowballs" of children, continued with a brawl of teenagers and ended with a clash of adults "wall to wall". "The bear in the den tosses and turns with the sun, winter walks through the yards in a bear's skin, knocks on the roof." It was believed (according to A. N. Afanasiev) that on this day Perun kindles the sun extinguished by demons with lightning. Before the change of calendars, the Solstice and the New Year were one holiday and their ceremonies took place on the same day.

(Note: I immediately draw your attention to the fact that the calendar solstices and solstices almost do not coincide with the astronomical dates known today. So I was not mistaken, but just followed the data of the primary sources, which, in turn (if we exclude the possibility of errors) , were based on folk traditions originating in ancient times).

December 22 - a holiday of pregnant women and beekeepers. Pregnant women were forbidden to engage in any essential work. They sewed a dowry for children. The wolves are staging.

From December 24 to January 8 - Gatherings (otherwise - hut gatherings): music, songs, dances, performances presented by mummers (the first plot is a bear, a goat and a counselor, the second plot is a gypsy and an old woman). All events were invariably accompanied by jokes. The meetings ended with round dances.

December 25 - (according to the versions of some researchers) the holiday of Rozhanits.

From December 26 to January 7 - fortune-telling about the weather for the next months: the weather of each day of these 12 corresponds to the weather of each month in the next year.

December 28th - Ridicule: guys and girls had a comic squabble, so that in the new year they would not accumulate resentment against each other.

December 29th - fortune-telling about Christmas time: if there is frost on this day, then Christmas time will be warm, and if it's frosty, it will stay until mid-January.

Night from December 31 to January 1 - they cooked porridge for Ovsenya all night: having brought the cereal, they did not touch it until the stove was heated, they put the pot in the oven with bows. By baking porridge, they guessed: thick porridge - for harvest, pale and liquid - for crop failure, and porridge will run away or the pot will crack - to trouble. Also that night the mummers walked

There was another sliding holiday - holiday of the family . Each clan, village or community celebrated it individually - on the day that was considered the date of the foundation of the village or clan.

List of used literature:

Beregova O. Symbols of the Slavs / O. Beregova - St. Petersburg: "DILYa Publishing House", 2007

Buenok A. Russian rituals and holidays [Calendar 2004] / A. Buenok - St. Petersburg: Trigon, 2003

Buenok A. Russian rituals and holidays [Calendar 2005] / A. Buenok - St. Petersburg: Trigon, 2004

Buenok A. Russian rituals and holidays [Calendar 2007] / A. Buenok - St. Petersburg: Trigon, 2006

Bus Cresen* (Asov A.) Velesen. / A. Asov // Science and religion No. 9, 1994 / chapters. ed. V. F. Pravotorov - M .: Press, 1994

Bus Cresen (Asov A.) Breast. / A. Asov // Science and religion No. 10, 1994 / chapters. ed. V. F. Pravotorov - M .: Press, 1994

Bus Cresen (Asov A.) Ovsen. / A. Asov // Science and religion No. 11, 1994 / chapters. ed. V. F. Pravotorov - M .: Press, 1994

Bus Kresen (Asov A.) Mythological Dictionary/Song of the birth of Kolyada. / A. Asov // Science and religion No. 12, 1994 / chapters. ed. V. F. Pravotorov - M .: Press, 1994

Bus Cresen (Asov A.) Serpen. / A. Asov // Science and religion No. 8, 1994 / chapters. ed. V. F. Pravotorov - M .: Press, 1994

Bus Cresen (Asov A.) Studen. / A. Asov // Science and religion No. 12, 1994 / chapters. ed. V. F. Pravotorov - M .: Press, 1994

Dudko D. Mother Lada. Divine genealogy of the Slavs. pagan pantheon. - M.: EKSMO, 2003

Ryzhenkov G.D. Folk Mental Book: Proverbs, sayings, signs, proverbs about seasons and weather. / G.D. Ryzhenkov - M.: Sovremennik, 1991

Shapovalova O. Russian rituals and holidays. [Calendar for 2006] / O. Shapovalova - St. Petersburg: Trigon, 2004

(excerpt from the book by S.S. Lifantiev "The ABC of a Beginner Pagan")

* As you probably noticed, the reconstruction used information from the articles of such an author as A. Asov, who is repeatedly and fairly criticized in the ABC of a Beginning Pagan. This is quite easy to explain: as you know, in order to make a lie believable, you need to mix a little truth with ordinary lies. And I used these very grains of truth from his works, as well as those logical chains that seemed to me consistent.

The subject of this article is the Slavic holiday calendar. Holidays and traditions have developed among the people for a reason. Each celebration is associated with a specific season or event. A certain rhythm of people's life is connected with the rhythm of nature and remains important to us to this day.

Slavic calendar of holidays by season

The main reference points are four astronomical events. The whole period is divided into four parts or seasons. These are spring, summer, autumn and winter. The boundary between the seasons are: autumn and spring equinox, winter and summer solstice. Our ancestors looked quite representative, agree:

Reconstruction of an ancestor from the settlement of Sungir-1 (Vladimir region), 25-30 thousand years BC.

Jewelry was made from mammoth tusk. At the same time, the mammoth tusk was not only drilled, but also straightened. Not a single modern technology allows you to do this, but our ancestors knew how.

But we are talking about something else - about the traditions and rituals that have come down to us in the holidays.

The calendar that is currently in use is far from perfect, so the dates of astronomical events have shifted somewhat. Usually they fall on the 21st-22nd numbers.

There is a big holiday for every season. Nature itself told us these dates.

• March 21-22 - Spring Equinox. In 2019, the beginning of the Summer of 7527.
• June 21-22 -.
• September 21-22 - Autumn Equinox.
• December 21-22 - Winter Solstice, Kolovorot or Karachun.

For convenience, all the dates of the holidays according to the ancient calendar of the Slavs are correlated with the modern calendar.

So, first, let's look at the four most important holidays.

New Summer Festival

March 21-22 - Spring equinox. This means that the day is equal to the night. New Summer begins. We still ask: how old are you? For information on why they began to celebrate the year, and not summer, see.

Our ancestors celebrated the beginning of Summer in this way: festivities and fun began a week before the Spring Solstice and continued for a week after. In total, the New Summer holiday lasted two weeks.

Because of the baptism of Russia, many favorite folk holidays were changed. This is how Maslenitsa appeared.

This holiday was actually called Komoyeditsa. The traditions of the feast of the holiday have changed under the influence of the church, but the main rituals have been preserved. In Malenitsa, it is customary to bake pancakes and burn an effigy of Winter.

How it really was.

We already know that the holiday was called Komoyeditsa. Slavic Com - Bear - brought offerings. They were round yellow cakes. They symbolized the sun. Then flatbread was gradually replaced by pancakes when they learned how to make pancake dough. Hence the saying: "The first pancake - to whom" (and not lumpy).

An effigy of Marena, the goddess of death or winter, was burned, and the goddess Zhiva, the Goddess of life and spring, was honored and met.

The church struggled with folk holidays for a long time. Spring Komoyed fell just in time for the Great Lent. It was not possible to completely ban the most beloved holiday among the people. The church moved him and "timed" him to church events. And so the modern Shrovetide appeared (it used to be written: Shrovetide). The holiday has lost its former sacred connection with nature and astronomical phenomena. However, if you know its timing and meaning, a revival of these ties is possible.

Kupalo Day or Summer Solstice June 21-22

- special in astronomical status. Not only the Slavs, but also other peoples (for example, the Aztecs, the Mayan tribes and others) noticed the special sacred meaning of the longest day.

Solstice as an astronomical phenomenon means that the Sun is at its highest point. This is the longest day of the year.

If you collect herbs on this day, they will have great healing power. The water becomes cleansing. The same is true of fire. The main summer holiday according to the ancient Slavic calendar.

It used to be a holiday - Kupalo Day. Due to the fact that the Gregorian calendar does not coincide with the Slavic calendar, the day of Ivan Kupala (as this holiday is called in the Christian calendar), its date has shifted. In 2019, Kupalo Day falls on July 6-7.

On the day of Kupala, bonfires are kindled in order to jump over them, thereby clearing sorrows and problems. Night on Ivan Kupala is no longer celebrated like Maslenitsa. Nevertheless, almost everyone has heard that there is such a holiday and that it is associated with bonfires.

Rituals for Kupala

You can't sleep on the shortest night. Nobody dared to ignore the celebration of Kupala, because as you spend the night on Kupala, so will the further life of an individual and the whole village or tribe as a whole.

The ancient Slavs knew that on this night Yarilo (the Sun) descends to Earth to get married. After the "wedding" appears Zarya or Zarnitsa. In order for the Sun to want to return to Earth, people, of course, should have met him: burn fires, dance in dances, not sleep, but welcome him in every possible way.

Bonfires symbolized the connection of three worlds: Navi, Reveal and Rule. The bonfire is a powerful conductor between the worlds, and therefore, knowing the sacred meaning of the Slavic holiday, you can restore this connection.

Kupala is the patron saint of wild flowers and fruits. The girls wove wreaths of flowers, and the women gathered herbs. Wreaths were woven in order to guess. Lowering a wreath with a burning torch fixed on it into the river, the girl wondered. The farther the wreath floated away, the happier the life of its owner was expected. She will get married soon. A sunken wreath meant that the girl would not marry in the coming year.

Collected herbs on a holiday possessed strongly expressed curative properties. They were dried and then used for their intended purpose. They also prepared brooms for baths. Needless to say, brooms became literally magical.

On the night of Kupala, a cleansing bath was taken. On this night, and this has been proven by scientists, the water acquires healing properties. Our Slavic ancestors knew about this and organized mass bathing. They also knew that these days the water becomes special in composition in all reservoirs. Therefore, they swam in the nearest lake, pond or river.

After baptism, the holiday began to be called Ivan Kupala - from John the Baptist. The explanation of the name, again, is the same as with any holiday according to the Slavic calendar. The Church could not ban public holidays, and the fact that these holidays did not coincide with the church calendar did not suit Christians in any way. Therefore, they “picked up” a name or a saint consonant with the date. In this case, John the Baptist “approached”.

- one of the key in the Slavic calendar. The traditional rite meant purification, as well as strengthening the connection with the Ancestors and Nature.

Autumn Solstice - Svarog Holiday

September 22, plus or minus a day - there is a "reversal" of the Sun. The days are getting shorter and the days are getting longer. The autumn equinox differs from the spring equinox, because there is a reverse turn - from summer to winter. On this day, energies are balanced.

In autumn, they celebrated the end of agricultural work and thanked the gods for the harvest.

Who is Svarog and why is the Autumn Solstice associated with his name?

Svarog is a prabog. This is the god of the sky, the father of the sun and fire. He is “the supreme ruler of the Universe, the ancestor of other bright gods” (A.N. Afanasiev).

Svarog for Russians is the male hypostasis of the god Rod, and Lada is female.

Allegations of polytheism are unfounded, as many modern historians believe. The Russian people had a single god, to whom they addressed in prayers.

“The adoption of Christianity by one of the princes was an act of treason” (A.A. Tyunyaev).

The name Svarog comes from the root BP, which in Old Russian means "to protect", "to protect". Swara - fight, fight. A weld - weld, connect, solder. The meaning of the roots VAR and VER can be traced by toponyms (names of mountains, cities and rivers): Voronezh, Vereya, Sparrow Hills, etc.

Svarog "kindled" the sun and fire, because he protected the people with this.

The cult of Svarog began to form 30-20 thousand BC. and in the 7th millennium BC it was already spreading to other regions. In China, he became the cult of the Dragon. And in ancient Greece - the two-faced Janus.

How to celebrate Svarog Day?

From the Day of Svarog, matchmaking and weddings began. Those girls who did not manage to meet their betrothed on Kupala night and jump over the fire with him hoped to find their beloved on Svarog Day. The youth walked, danced round dances, swung on the swing-rooks.

It was customary to set the table together, to eat “brotherhood”.

December 21 - Karachun Day, Kolyada Day, Kolovorot

The night from December 21st to December 22nd is the longest. And the day is the shortest. Karachun or Korochun, the god Kolyada was born on this day.

Do I need to explain why the longest night is mystical?

Well, well, since the meaning has been forgotten, let's remember what our ancestors celebrated?

Korochun (or Kolotun, Kolo-circle, chun, tun - day) - a new Sun appears, after this night the day begins to increase.

The food that was cooked together was called Kolyada. And the festivities are carols. The bonfires that were burned in Korochun were called Krady.

Posolon (meaning - against the Sun or clockwise) Popa or Balda rolled around the village or village. This is a wide burning stump of a log. If Pop or Balda "returned" to the fire burning, this meant good luck ahead. Balda was "caused", and the road was cleared of snow for him. Of course, this increased the chances of success many times over. Poured with oil, Balda returned to the fire burning.

From this festive fire in the morning they took coals to each hut for stoves. The next day it was necessary to go to the guests, games were arranged. The people had fun, walked, gathered around the fire. It was also customary to guess for several nights. It was at this time that carols were arranged - songs and dances of mummers.

Kolovorot - on this night, Kolyada (the Sun) was just born and we need to help him get stronger. For this, they burned bonfires and sang carol songs. Festive festivities drove away dark and unclean spirits.

“They kept track of time on holidays, on seasons, on various family and household occasions, never referring to months or numbers ...” I. A. Goncharova “Oblomov”

Folk holidays for 2020

The main holidays according to the Old Russian calendar and modern church holidays. For convenience, we will make a table.

the date	According to the Slavic calendar	According to the modern calendar
March 21-22	Comedy. Spring equinox. Calls of Spring, we bake larks	March 4 - beginning of Malenitsa March 10 - Forgiveness Sunday
March 27	We burn the effigy of Marena	April 1 - April Fool's Day
14th of April	Day of Semargl and Voronets	April 7 - Annunciation
The 21st of April	Lyolnik, the end of the first Mermaids	Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem
April 24	Rodonitsa. Day of Remembrance of the Ancestors	April 28 - Easter
April 30	Holidays Goddess Alive	May 1 - Peace. Work. May.
9th May	Raw Earth Mother's Day	Victory Day
May 30	Spring snake	June 1 - Children's Day
21st of June	Bathing night. Summer Solstice Day	July 6-7 - Ivan Kupala Day. Nativity of John the Baptist
July 27	Crazy day. Day of the Ancestors	June 28 - the day of the baptism of Russia
August 1	Perunova Strecha
8 August	Stribog summer
August 14	Honey Spas	September 11 - Beheading of John the Baptist
August 19	Apple Spas	Transfiguration
September 19	First brother
September 21	Autumn Stribog. Svarog Day	Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
27th October	Grandfather's Saturday, commemoration of the Ancestors
November 8	Mouse Day. Warriors Day, men's holiday
15th of November	Diva's Day or Vedanye
29th of November	Kalita holiday - family, baked pies
December 6	Veles day	December 4 - Entry into the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos
21 December	Korochun
December 24	Kolyada Day
December 25	Lada Day
Dec. 31	Generous evening, Schedrets	New Year
January 8	Babi porridge	January 7 - Christmas
January 19	water light	Epiphany
January 21	Prosinets
February, 15	Candlemas. Winter meets spring	Presentation of the Lord
March 1	Marena Day, Navi Day	March 2 - Saturday meat and meat (Universal Parental Saturday)

In the table, not all holidays are ancient Russian and church. Even a small selection shows how much work the Church has done to eradicate true folk traditions. On the day of one or another Slavic god (and possibly an ancestor-hero) we are “offered” the day of this or that saint.

So, it turned out a small study on the topic: Slavic calendar of holidays. Of the most important holidays that have been celebrated by our ancestors for many millennia, modified by the Christian religion have come down to us. The main thing is that the people managed to preserve the traditions. Many dates have shifted due to the purposeful struggle of the church with folk holidays. Knowing the sacred meaning and connection of each holiday with nature and with the stars, we will be able to restore them. We are quite capable of celebrating primordially Slavic holidays on the “proposed” official dates.

For thousands of years, natural calendars served our ancestors, helping them to cultivate the land, harvest, hunt and fish in time. The year, divided into twelve parts, was depicted on ritual thickets, and a special sign corresponded to each month. annual wheel — Kolo Svarog- carried a special meaning, which consisted in the eternal rebirth and renewal of all living things. But the calendar is important not only for weekdays, it is always decorated with happy holidays. The cycle of Slavic holidays Almost all the holidays among the Slavs coincide with the cycle of the life of the Earth, and therefore not only the spiritual principle matters, but also something else - familiarization with Nature, bringing into your life the feeling that the Earth is living matter. Even if you do not celebrate these days, but simply remember them, then the youth, maturity and old age of our Mother Earth will pass before a person.

The melodious name of the Slavic months of the year reflects those changes in nature that are most characteristic of each of the four seasons.

• January - Prosinets
• February - Lute
• March - Berezen
• April - Bloom
• May – Traven
• June - Cherven
• July - Lipen
• August — Serpen
• September – Veresen
• October - Falling leaves
• November - Breast
• December - Studen

New Year

The only Slavic holiday that is celebrated at the state level in the Slavic states is the New Year. Once upon a time, the god of severe cold Morok walked through the villages, sending hard frosts. The villagers, wanting to protect themselves from the cold, put gifts on the window: pancakes, jelly, cookies, kutya. Now Morok has turned into a sort of kind old man Santa Claus, who distributes gifts himself. It became so quite recently, in the middle of the 19th century. By the way, there is a deep ritual meaning in decorating the Christmas tree: according to legend, the spirits of ancestors live in evergreens. Therefore, decorating the fir tree with sweets, we bring gifts to our ancestors. Such is the ancient custom. New Year family holiday. On this day, it is better to visit your relatives. During the celebration of the New Year, spells were cast for the whole next year and at the same time fortune-telling about the future was made. The number 12 is most often found precisely in the New Year's rituals: 12 "elders" leading the ritual, 12 sheaves, according to which they guess about the future harvest in the beginning year, water from 12 wells for fortune-telling; the sacred fire "badnyak" burns for 12 days (six days at the end of the old year and six at the beginning of the new). The solemn cycle of New Year's rituals began with memories of the past (singing of ancient epics), and ended with fortune-telling about the future. It was the end of Christmas time, the famous "Epiphany evening", that was considered the most convenient time for questioning fate. For the January spells and fortune-telling associated with sing-along songs, special vessels were required for sacred water, into which a golden ring was dipped. The idea of ​​water is emphasized by a massive relief zigzag line that runs around the entire vessel just below the rim. The agrarian-magical nature of these divinations has been sufficiently elucidated by the works of V. I. Chicherov; one of the main observant songs was “glory to bread”. Water and gold are obligatory attributes of New Year's agrarian-magical divination, just like water and the sun, provided the ancient Slav with a harvest.

Day of Ilya Muromets (Avegi Perun)

Ilya Muromets was from the village of Karacharova, near the city of Murom. At that time, the Finno-Ugric peoples, the Murom tribe, lived here (it is known that many local Finno-Ugric peoples still adhere to the faith of their ancestors, and their neighbors, the Meadow Mari, were never Christians, they retained the priesthood). For the fact that Ilya Muromets was from the Muroma tribe, his name also speaks - the distorted Finnish Ilmarinen. Ilmarinen is the Finnish Perun, god warrior and blacksmith, blacksmith. However, natives of Belogorye-Caucasus, the Karachays, could also live in this village. For his exorbitant strength, for his feats of arms, Ilya Muromets, who lived in the 12th century, was revered by both the Slavs and the Finno-Ugric peoples as the incarnation of the Thunderer (the Finns - Ilmarinen, the Slavs of the Vedic faith - Perun, or Ilma, the Christians - the prophet Elijah). In Russian epics about Ilya Muromets, the image of the hero merged with the image of Perun. In essence, these epics completely preserved the texts of ancient songs about Perun. Born on this day, people entrusted to conduct an honest and fair court. "If the first day of the year is cheerful (happy), then the year will be like that (and vice versa)." On this day, they guess: they clean 12 onions from the upper scales, pour a pile of salt on each onion and put them on the stove overnight. On which bulb the salt gets wet during the night, such a month will be rainy. Or they took out 12 cups from the bulbs, poured salt into them and put them on the window on New Year's Eve. Whether the salt is wet or not, that month will be wet, rainy or dry. On this day, the Russian Orthodox Church also commemorates St. Ilya of Muromets, whose relics rest in the catacombs of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. According to Kalnofoysky, a monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, who lived in the 17th century, Ilya Muromets lived 450 years before him, that is, in the 12th century.

Tourists

Turitsy are dedicated to the tur, one of the most ancient animals revered among the Slavs, possessing magical powers. The tour embodies the union of Veles and Perun for the glory and prosperity of the Slavic clan. The son of Veles and Makoshi, Tur, like the Greek Pan, patronizes shepherds, guslars and buffoons, valiant prowess, games, dances and fun, as well as groves and forest animals. In the North, Tur appears as a proud deer, and in the taiga forests as a elk. On this day, they tell fortunes for the whole next year, as the holiday closes winter Christmas time. The 12th day of Christmas time corresponds to the 12th month of the year. Fortune-telling takes place in the evening, with the onset of darkness. Snow is collected to bleach the canvas. The snow collected this evening, thrown into the well, can save water for the whole year. The Slavs saw in the holiday of the Tour the most ancient rite of youthful initiations into men, when, incarnating as a wolf, the young man had to show hunting abilities and military courage and fill up his first tour. The ancient Slavs took a cue from these formidable animals that did not take care of themselves to protect the herd. They tried to teach the younger generation to attack and defend, to show resourcefulness and stamina, endurance, courage, the ability to unite to repel enemies, protect the weak and find a weak spot in the enemy. For many years, tours, wild bulls, served people as a symbol of honor and courage. Cups and horns were made from turi horns, which were invitingly trumpeted in military campaigns, and even bows were made from especially large horns. But Turitsy is also a shepherd's holiday, at this time the community invites a shepherd for the next season, agrees with him about work, trusting him with a precious flock for a long time. The shepherd, the servant of the Veles, puts intoxicating drinks on the common table, and the community - food, and celebrate their collusion with a holiday. From this moment on, the shepherd takes care of the herd, and the tour helps him in this matter, protecting young heifers and cows preparing for calving in February from various misfortunes and diseases.

Babi porridge

On the day of Babi Kash, celebrated on January 8, it was customary to honor midwives. They brought generous gifts and treats. They came with children so that the grandmothers would bless them. Especially on this day, expectant mothers and young girls were recommended to go to grandmothers. Later, the Orthodox Church began to celebrate the feast of the Cathedral of the Most Holy Theotokos on this day. A midwife is a distant relative in the village. Not a single homeland could do without a midwife. The grandmother helped the woman in labor. And she was, as they used to say, with hands. Knowing the customs of antiquity, the grandmother knew her business. In the throes of a woman in labor, she flooded the bathhouse, pulled out the woman in labor in the sun. Babkanie - waving - was made good by a kind word, good herbs, good prayers. Smoking a woman in labor, that is, setting fire to a birch torch and setting fire to wormwood with immortelle grass, the grandmother cared about easy homelands. And also, in not so distant times, mother gathered the children in the evening and taught them to praise Christmas, sprinkle with grain - for a long century, for happiness, for well-being. It was as easy as shelling pears to give out a piece of cake at the festive hour, to pamper the children with cranberries on honey. But mother knew: “Not every house has a loaf baked, and even so that the whole family has plenty.” And so the children had to earn a treat, to taste the whole world of children equally and satiety and sweets. “Give me a cow, a butter head, a liver on the hearth, a golden cow!” And in the children's box from every house they carried out both big women and brides ceremonial cookies, which in their appearance are akin to cattle. And the kids urged: “You, hostess, give it! You, sweetheart, come on! Give it - don't break it! Break off a little - there will be Yermoshka. If you break off the crust, there will be Andryushka. And give the middle - to be a wedding! And so the childish box was heavy. And the praisers ran in a crowd to someone's heated bathhouse, shared a treat among themselves. It was a joyful time of games, fun. Children got to know each other and were childishly happy, remembering this wonderful winter time. They also watched the signs: if this day is clear, then there will be a good harvest of millet. Porridge in the oven will brown - to the snow. If titmouse squeak in the morning, frost can be expected by night. But the continuous cry of crows and jackdaws promises snowfalls and blizzards.

Abduction Day

On this day, they remember how, in the era of Kupala, Veles kidnapped Diva-Dodola, the wife of Perun. During the wedding of Perun and Diva, Veles was rejected by Diva and cast down from heaven. However, later he, the god of love passion, managed to seduce the goddess of thunder, the daughter of Dyya. From their connection, the spring god Yarilo was born. Also on the Day of Abductions, they remember how, in the era of Lada, Koschey stole his wife Marena from Dazhdbog (God of summer and happiness). From the connection between Koshchei and Marena, the Snow Queen was later born, as well as many demonesses. Dazhdbog went in search of his wife. He will look for her all winter, and therefore the frosts will become stronger and stronger, and blizzards will sweep everything around.

Intra

Intra (Zmiulan, Indrik the Beast, Vyndrik) is the son of Zemun from Dyya (Night Sky), the brother of the Lizard and his opponent. Intra is the god of springs, wells, snakes and clouds. The connection with the water elements indicates its Navi nature (Navi in ​​East Slavic mythology is the spirit of death, as well as a dead man). At night, the sorcerers spoke the pipes of the houses through which Nav entered the houses. Intra is an inhabitant of the dungeon, and in the legends of the Slavs it is said like this: “As the Sun is in the sky, so is Intra in Navi.” In the Indian Vedas, Intra is a demon, and the serpent king. The latter is indicated by the fact that Interia is inhabited by snakes, and Intra itself is the husband of the Paraskeva Snake. According to our Vedas, Zmiulan is the winner of the goat-Pan (son of Viy), in fact, his cousin (since Dyy and Viy are brothers). In the deeds of Intra there is both valor and baseness, and fair victories, and cruelty. Despite the fact that he is the husband of a snake demon, he fights on the same side with Perun. Most of all, he is close to people from the "Military Triglav" (Perun-Intra-Volkh). If Perun is pure “military truth”, Volkh is sorcery, cruelty and dark anger, then Intra is Light and Darkness, the struggle of opposites. Intra, riding a unicorn, is the patron saint of warriors, a symbol that personifies military prowess and courage. Sensitive Intra, hear our call! Listen to our chants! Oh, we know you, fiery bull! Defeat the enemy, powerful Intra! Crush the power of the Vieva tribe!

Prosinets

Prosinets is the name of January, it is celebrated with blessing of water. Praise today the Heavenly Svarga - the Host of all Gods. "Shine" means the resurrection of the Sun. Prosinets falls in the middle of Winter - it is believed that the Cold begins to subside, and the solar heat returns to the lands of the Slavs at the behest of the gods. On this day, Vedic temples remember how in ancient times Kryshen gave fire to people who died from the cold during the Great Glaciation. Then he spilled the magical Surya from the heavenly Svarga onto the Earth. Surya is honey fermented on herbs! Surya is also the Red Sun! Surya - Vedas clear understanding! Surya is the footprint of the Supreme Supreme! Surya is the truth of God Kryshnya! Milk and dairy products must have been present on the table that day. Surya poured onto the earth on this day makes all the waters healing, so believers bathe in the consecrated waters. In the annual cycle of Perun's festivities, this day also corresponds to the victory of Perun over the Skipper-beast and the bathing of his sisters Zhiva, Marena and Lelya in the milky river. On this day, the Slavs bathed in cold river water and gave grandiose feasts, in which milk and dairy products must certainly have been present.

Brownie Treat Day - Velesichi, Kudesy

Kudesy - the day of treating the brownie. Brownie - baker, joker, cricket protector. The name of the holiday - kudesy (tambourines) - indicates that our ancestors communicated with the brownie or simply had fun, delighting the ear with music: Grandfather-neighbor! Eat porridge, but keep our hut! If the grandfather-neighbor to Kudes is left without gifts, then from a good keeper of the hearth, he will turn into a rather fierce spirit. After dinner, a pot of porridge is left behind the stove, lined with hot coals, so that the porridge does not cool down until midnight, when the brownie comes to have dinner. On this day, both Veles himself and his army are revered. It tells about the origin of Veles, the heavenly warriors of Veles. Usually Velesichs are revered by the children of Veles, the Svarozhichs, who obeyed Veles, the head of the heavenly armies. On this day, the brownie is fed with porridge ... But among them there are those who descended from heaven to Earth and settled among people: these are ancient heroes: Volotomaniacs, asilki, spirits of ancestors, as well as spirits of forests, fields, waters and mountains. Those of them who got into the forest became goblin, some into the water - water, some in the field - field, and some into the house - brownies. Brownie is a good spirit. Usually he is a zealous owner, helping a friendly family. Sometimes he is mischievous, naughty, if he doesn’t like something. He frightens those who do not take care of the household and livestock. On this day, the brownie is fed porridge, leaving it on the stump. They feed and say: Master-father, take our porridge! And eat pies - take care of our house! In some areas, the holiday is celebrated on February 10th.

Day of Father Frost and Snow Maiden

Frost and Snow Maiden Day is an ancient pagan holiday. These days, fairy tales and legends about Santa Claus and the Snow Maiden are usually told. About how the Snow Maiden, at the whim of the god of love Lelya, fell in love with a man and therefore, with the advent of Spring, she did not fly to the North. But as soon as "a bright ray of the sun cuts through the morning fog and falls on the Snow Maiden", she melts. On this day, the Slavs revered the enemy of Perun - Frost - the hypostasis of Veles. We can say that Frost is the winter hypostasis of Veles, just like Yar (the son of Veles and Diva) is spring. Frost was married to the Snow Queen, the daughter of Mary and Koshchei. Frost and the Snow Queen had a beautiful daughter - the Snow Maiden. The Day of Santa Claus and the Snow Maiden was a symbolic end of winter, followed by the wide and generous Shrovetide just around the corner.

Gromnitsa

Gromnitsa is the only day in winter when a thunderstorm can happen - you can hear thunder and see lightning. Therefore, the Serbs call this holiday "Light". The day is dedicated to Perun's wife Dodola-Malanitsa (Lightning) - the goddess of lightning and feeding children. Thunderstorm in the dead of winter reminds us that even in the midst of the most terrible disasters there can be a ray of light - like a bright lightning in the middle of a severe winter. There is always hope. The Slavs honored Malanyitsa because she gives them hope for an early spring. “Oh Dodola-Dodolyushka, Perunitsa bright! Your husband is on a campaign, Rule is at war; The diva is in the woods, the roof is in the sky. Come down to the Slavs with zealous Lightning! We have plenty of bread - Come down to us from heaven! We have plenty of salt - Do not deprive us of a share! Descend loudly, Descend happily, Descend beautifully - To honest people marvelously! Dodola is glorious, Given hope! The weather on Gromnitsa predicted the weather. What is the weather on this day - such is the whole of February. A clear, sunny day brought early spring. On the Gromnitsa drops - believe in early spring, if a blizzard clears up - the weather will be blizzard for a long time, until the end of the month.

Great Veles day

Great Veles day - the middle of winter. All nature is still in an icy sleep. And only the lonely Veles Korovin, playing his magic pipe, walks and wanders around the cities and villages, not letting people get sad. Marena-winter is angry with Veles, letting a severe frost on him, and “cow death” on the cattle, but he can’t overcome him in any way. On this day, the villagers sprinkle livestock with water, saying: “Veles, cattle god! Give happiness to smooth heifers, To fat bulls, So that they go from the yard - they play, And they go from the field - they jump. Young women on this day drink strong honey so that "the cows are affectionate", and then beat their husbands with the bottom (a board for spinning flax) so that "the oxen are obedient". On this day cow's butter is brought in the requirement. After conception, women perform a plowing ritual to drive away the “cow death”. For this, a hanger is chosen, which announces to all houses: "It's time to calm the cow's dashing!". Women wash their hands with water and wipe them with a towel worn by a hanger. Then the hanger orders the male sex - "do not leave the hut for the sake of a great misfortune." Veles is the patron saint of livestock and shepherds. Hanger with a cry - “Ay! Ai! - hits the frying pan and leaves the village. Behind her are women with tongs, brooms, sickles and clubs. The hangman, throwing off his shirt, utters with fury an oath on "cow death". The hanger is put on a collar, a plow is brought up and harnessed. Then, with the torches lit three times, the village (temple) is plowed with a “cross-water” furrow. The women follow the hanger on broomsticks wearing nothing but shirts with loose hair. Woe to the one who, during the procession, comes across, whether it be an animal or a person. Those who meet are beaten with sticks without mercy, assuming that “cow death” is hidden in his image. In ancient times, those who came across were beaten to death. Now it is hard to believe that women suspected of malicious intent were tied in a bag with a cat and a rooster, and then buried in the ground or drowned. At the end of the procession, a ritual battle between Veles and Marena took place. To the encouraging cry of the audience: “Veles, knock off the horn from the winter!”, Mummers, dressed by Veles (Turya mask, skin, spear), knocks the “horn off Marena”. Then a feast begins, at which it was forbidden to eat beef, accompanied by merrymaking.

Candlemas

The Candlemas serves as the border between winter and spring, which is why the very name of the Candlemas holiday in the common people is explained by the meeting of winter with spring: on the Candlemas, winter met spring; in the Presentation of the sun for the summer, winter turned to frost. The common people of the Western Russian region with Sretensky candles on the feast of the Candlemas have a custom to set fire to each other's hair crosswise, considering it very useful for headaches. In agricultural life, according to the state of the weather on the feast of the Candlemas, the villagers judge the coming spring and summer, especially the weather, the harvest. Spring was judged as follows:

What is the weather on the Meeting, so will spring. If a thaw sets in at the Meeting, an early warm spring, if the cold is wrapped up, a cold spring; snow that fell that day - to a long and rainy spring. If on the Meeting of the Sretenye it carries snow across the road, the spring is late and cold. It was on this day that they used to say: the sun for the summer - the winter for the frost. And also: there will be snow - yeast in the spring. If a snowstorm sweeps the road, the spring is late and cold; if warm - early and warm. On the Candlemas in the morning, snow is the harvest of early bread; if at noon - medium; if by the evening - late. At the Candlemas of the Drops, the harvest of wheat. On behalf of the Feast of the Presentation, in our common people the last winter frosts and the first spring thaws are called Sretensky. On the Candlemas, they feed (feed) breeding birds: chickens are given oats so that they rush better, and the eggs are larger and tastier. From that day on, it was possible to drive the cattle from the barn to the paddock - for warming up and warming up, they also began to prepare the seeds for sowing, clean them, earn extra money, and check for germination. Whitewashed fruit trees. The peasants usually on this day made a calculation of the stocks of bread, hay, straw and other feed: did they fit in half, and if not, they made adjustments to the feeders, and they themselves tightened their belts. On this day, festivities used to be held in the villages. Pancakes are baked on the Candlemas, round, golden - they symbolized the Sun. On the day of the Meeting, our ancient ancestors worshiped the Sun: the priests of the Sun performed the rites of meeting and greeting the luminary, calling for warmth. And when the Sun was at its zenith, they burned a doll made of straw - the so-called Yerzovka. This doll personified the Spirit of Fire and the god of Love. She was decorated with gifts and offerings - flowers, beautiful ribbons, festive clothes, and people turned to her with requests for well-being and prosperity. It was believed that with its burning, Erzovka destroys the cold, brings a warm summer and a good harvest. In the meantime, the doll was carried on a pole, lovers turned to her for help in love and with requests for happiness in the house. Pancakes are baked on the Candlemas, round, golden - they symbolized the Sun. This called for his return. In the Kostroma province, peasant women baked bagels and fed livestock with these bagels to protect animals from diseases. On this day bonfires were lit, people had fun with ritual dances. It is impossible to be bored at the Meeting - the god of Love does not accept sadness, but replies with joy to a joyful meeting.

Pochinki

Pochinki is one of the holidays of the Slavic calendar, which was celebrated on the day after the Candlemas. Following the saying “Prepare the sleigh in summer and the cart in winter”, the owners immediately after the Candlemas, early in the morning, began to repair agricultural implements, calling this February day “Repairs”. When arranging Pochinki, the peasants remembered: the sooner you start farming, the more you will please the spring. It is not proper for a real owner to delay repairs until the real warm days. Opening the sheds, the peasants pondered: what kind of work should we take up in advance? They worked together, with the whole family, finding feasible work both small and old: “In Pochinki, Grandfather gets up a little before dawn - he repairs a summer harness and a hundred-year-old plow.” The repaired harness was hung out in a conspicuous place, not without pride - they say, we are ready for plowing and sowing. And the housewives did not sit idle at that time: they cooked, washed, sorted out things in the chests. There is an erroneous opinion, and it is mentioned specifically in Pochinki, that the Brownie disturbs the horses at night and can drive them to death. The brownie is an assistant to a good owner, and not an enemy in any way, otherwise why would the Brownie be transferred from the old house to the new house in a scoop with coal from the old stove. Brownie - a talisman for the house and not an evil spirit!

Troyan Winter

Winter Troyan is an important date for the ancient Slavs. Our ancestors considered this day the day of Military Glory, when many Russian soldiers fell from the Roman soldiers in the Danube region, near the Troyan Val (the etymology of the name has not been clarified so far). Most likely, Troyan Val was a defensive embankment, but perhaps a small outpost was erected on this site. Those warriors fought without laying down their weapons and without showing their backs. This holiday is also known under the names "Stribog's grandchildren", "commemoration of the fallen at Troyanov Val". Unfortunately, today much has not been clarified from the history of the heroic deed at the Trojan Wall, including the exact date (about 101 AD) and other details. This episode in the history of Ancient Russia is clearly mentioned in the Book of Veles and praised in the Tale of Igor's Campaign:

“Then the Romans envied us and plotted evil against us - they came with their wagons and iron armor and hit us, and therefore fought them off for a long time and threw them away from our land; and the Romans, seeing that we strongly defend our lives, left us ”(Book of Veles). “And they died on the direct path to the funeral feast, and Stribog’s grandchildren dance over them, and cry about them in the fall, and lament about them in the freezing winter. And the marvelous doves say that they died gloriously and left their lands not to enemies, but to their sons. And so we are their descendants, and we will not lose the land ”(Book of Veles). The ancient Slavic warriors thought about their descendants and the Greatness of the Russian Lands - they were not afraid of death, but entered the battle, not even allowing thoughts of betrayal, retreat or surrender to enemies. So let us be worthy of the lives of our ancestors - since ancient times, it was customary for the Slavs to do something heroic, dangerous, useful for the Motherland or family and commemorate brave warriors at the table on this day.

Madder Day

The last holiday of the evil Navi Gods before the arrival of Spring is the Day of Mara Marena - the Great Goddess of Winter and Death. Mara-Marena is a powerful and formidable Deity, the Goddess of Winter and Death, the wife of Koshchei, the sister of Zhiva and Lelya. In the people, she was called Kikimora one-eyed. A proverb, remembered on this day, has been preserved: “Yarilo lifted winter (Marena!) On a pitchfork.” On this day, they remember and honor the goddess who will lead the people to the Kalinov Bridge. Marena's possessions, according to ancient Tales, lie beyond the Black Currant River, which separates Yav and Nav, across which the Kalinov Bridge is thrown, guarded by the Three-Headed Serpent. Folk signs for this day: If the sun is visible on this day at noon, spring will be early, if a blizzard sweeps, the whole week is blizzard. The more snow falls, the higher the grain harvest. If windows and frames sweat in the cold, wait for warming. “Snow plants” climb up the glass - the frost will continue, their shoots bent - to the thaw.

Memorial Day of Prince Igor

The pagan prince Igor (years of life: about 875-945, years of reign: 912-945) was the son of Rurik, after whose death Prince Oleg became Igor's guardian. Oleg, having accepted the reign from Rurik, for a long time was the regent of the young Igor. In 912, after the death of Prince Oleg, Igor occupies the throne of Kyiv with absolute power. The Drevlyans, one of the tribal associations of the Eastern Slavs, having learned about the change of power, were in no hurry to pay tribute to the treasury of the new ruler. Igor was forced to force the Slavs to pay tribute. In 914, having defeated the Uglichs and pacified the Drevlyane tribes, Igor forced them to pay more tribute than before. In 915, one of Prince Igor's governors moved south and, after a three-year siege, took the city of Peresechen - he received the Drevlyane tribute as a reward for the victory. During his reign, Prince Igor called on many Varangians who helped him manage the principality and fight enemies. But something did not work out in Igor's policy with the Slavic tribes, because Igor was brutally killed by the Drevlyans. Igor was buried under a high mound near the city of Iskorosten. The story tells that the widow of Prince Igor, Princess Olga, cruelly avenged the Drevlyans for the death of her husband. Olga overlaid them with the heaviest tribute, ordered to exterminate many people and destroy the elders. Subsequently, in 945, Iskorosten was burned by her order. With the support of the retinue and boyars of Prince Igor, Olga took the rule of Russia into her own hands, until little Svyatoslav, the son of Igor and Olga, reached the age of government.

Ovsen small

In ancient times, the Slavs celebrated the New Year on the first day of spring - March 1, which, according to the new style, falls on March 14. Celebrations took place widely, because the beginning of the new year was a symbol of the beginning of a new time. From that day on, it was possible to start a new cycle of field work, to engage in other agricultural work. This is the most ancient of the reliable and known to us celebrations of the New Year. After the adoption of Christianity, this holiday began to be celebrated as the day of the venerable martyr Eudoxia, who took on the image of Spring (Vesennitsa). At the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea in 325, it was decided to postpone the beginning of the New Year from March 1 to September 1.

Day of Gerasim the rooker

This holiday in Russia coincided with the time of the arrival of the rooks, and therefore received such a popular name - the day of Gerasim the rooker. The people said: "A rook on a mountain - so is spring in the yard", "I saw a rook - meet spring." According to the behavior of the rooks that day, they judged the nature of spring: “If the rooks fly directly to the old nests, the spring will be friendly, the hollow water will run away all at once.” If the rooks arrived earlier than March 17, then this was considered a bad omen: they predicted a lean and hungry year. To speed up the onset of heat, on the day of Gerasim, they baked birds from rye sour dough - “rooks”. There was another belief about this day: “Gerasim the rooker will return the rook to Russia, and will drive the kikimora out of holy Russia.” On the day of Gerasim, they baked birds - "rooks" Kikimora - one of the varieties of brownies from the old Russian belief. She was represented as a dwarf or a little woman. If she was depicted as a woman, then her head was small, like a thimble, and her body was thin, like a straw. Her appearance was ugly, her clothes were slovenly and untidy. If depicted as a dwarf, then always with eyes of different colors: one for the evil eye, the other for leprosy. Less commonly, kikimora was represented as a girl with a long braid, naked or in a shirt. In the old days, it was believed that if a kikimora appeared in front of your eyes, then you should expect trouble in the house. She was a harbinger of the death of one of the family members. Kikimor did not like and tried to get rid of them by any means, which was extremely difficult. Just on Gerasim Day, it was believed that they became quiet and harmless, and then they could be kicked out of the house. On other days, people defended themselves from kikimora with the help of prayers and amulets. The best amulet against kikimora, so that it does not take root in the house, was the "chicken god" - a stone with a natural hole created by nature. They also used the neck of a broken jug with a piece of red cloth, which was hung over a chicken roost so that the kikimora would not torment the birds. Kikimora - one of the varieties of the brownie from the old Russian belief. He is afraid of the juniper kikimora, the branches of which were hung throughout the house, especially carefully protecting the salt shakers with salt so that at night it would not spill the salt, which in the old days was very expensive. And if the kikimora annoyed with the roar of dishes, then it was necessary to wash it with water infused with fern. It was imperative to find a doll or a foreign object in the house, with the help of which they sent a kikimora to the family. This item should have been carefully removed from the house and thrown away, but it is best to burn it. Until now, there is a sign that if a person wants to harm another, he leaves a charmed object in his house, and in order to remove the damage, it is necessary to get rid of this object. According to popular beliefs, if you sweep the floors with a wormwood broom in a house, then evil spirits will not start, including kikimora. The belief is based on the attitude to wormwood as one of the amulets. The people believed that the pungent smell of this herb repels evil spirits and evil people.

Komoeditsy - Maslenitsa

Now many have forgotten, and some never knew that Maslenitsa is not just a meeting of spring. Perhaps, few people will remember the assumption that earlier in Russia Maslenitsa was called Komoyeditsa, marking the onset of the spring equinox. The spring equinox, which in the modern calendar falls on March 20 or 21, is one of the four main holidays of the year in the ancient pagan tradition and one of the most ancient. In fact, this is the agricultural New Year. In addition to meeting Spring and celebrating the beginning of the New Year, the Slavic Bear God was also revered on this day. There is an opinion that in ancient times the Slavs called the bear Kom (hence the saying - “the first pancake for the koms”, i.e. bears). Therefore, in the early morning, before breakfast, with songs, dances and jokes, the villagers carried “pancake sacrifices” (pancakes baked for the holiday) into the forest to the Bear God and laid them out on stumps. And after that, feasts and wide festivities began. They waited for the komoeditsu, they carefully prepared for it: they flooded the steep slopes of the coast for skiing, built high ice and snow mountains, fortresses, towns. It was considered obligatory to go to the bathhouse before the last days of the holiday in order to wash off all the bad things that happened in the past year. It was forbidden to work these days. On the ice of lakes and rivers, snowy towns were stormed, in which the effigy of Marena was hiding under the protection of mummers. Furious fistfights were also organized there, to which men of different ages and from different villages came running. They fought seriously, believing that the spilled blood would serve as a good sacrifice for the coming harvest. On the last day of the festive festivities, ritual actions were mainly performed, seeing off the winter. They burned an effigy of Marena impaled on a pole, on which “nauzes” were imposed - old, worn-out Amulets or just old rags with a slander, in order to burn everything bad and obsolete on the fire of a ritual fire. And immediately after the holiday, hard everyday life began, people were taken to agricultural work, which continued throughout the warm season.

Magpies, Larks

On the Larks day and night are compared. Winter ends, spring begins. This is one of the spring holidays, which was dedicated to the meeting of the Spring Solstice, which was almost the main event in the life of our Slavic ancestors (according to the old style, it fell just on these numbers). Russians everywhere had a belief that on this day forty different birds fly from warm countries, and the first of them is a lark. On Zhavoronki, "larks" were usually baked, in most cases with outstretched wings, as if flying, and with tufts. The birds were handed out to the children, and with a cry and ringing laughter, they ran to call for the larks, and with them the spring. Baked larks were impaled on long sticks and ran out with them on the hillocks, or they impaled the birds on poles, on wattle sticks and, huddled together, shouted with all their strength: “Larks, fly in, take the winter away from Studen, Bring spring warmth: ate our bread! After the baked birds, they usually ate them, and their heads were given to cattle or given to their mothers with the words: “Like a lark, they flew high, so that your flax was high. What a head my lark has, so that the flax was big-headed. With the help of such birds, a family sower was selected on the Larks. To do this, a coin, a splinter, etc., were baked into the lark, and men, regardless of age, pulled out a baked bird for themselves. Whoever drew lots, scattered the first handfuls of grains at the time of the beginning of sowing.

The opening of Svarga - the invocation of Spring

Larks, fly!
We are tired of winter
I ate a lot of bread!
you fly and carry
Red spring, hot summer!
Spring is red, what did you come for?
You are on a bipod, on a harrow ...
Spring is red, what have you brought us?
I brought you three lands:
First favor -
Animal in a field;
Other favor -
With a bipod in a field;
Third place -
Bees in flight;
Yes, even favor -
Peace to health!

Svarga opens, and the goddess Zhiva-Spring descends to the people. Today Spring is called and praised not only by man, but by all living things in the world, celebrating the victory of life over death. On the Opening for the third and last time, Spring is called, when Svarga opens, no one works. The rite of invocation of Spring was associated with the first arrival of birds and the beginning of the snowmelt. With the onset of morning, they treat themselves to rye biscuits in the form of larks, release live birds from their cages into the wild, calling for spring. The main, most active, participants in the ceremony were girls and children. On this day, women “call out millet”, sing the famous song “And we sowed millet, sowed it”. Also, everyone plays the ritual game “round burners”.

Ladodenie

On this spring day, it is customary to sing of Mother Nature, who “wakes up” after a long winter. In other words, this is a holiday of spring and warmth, which our ancestors celebrated in honor of the goddess of the Slavic pantheon Lada, the patroness of love and marriage. Some researchers believe that Lada is one of the two goddesses in childbirth (there are similar deities in the pantheons of almost all Indo-European peoples). Meanwhile, Mikhail Vasilievich Lomonosov compared Lada with Venus. The Ladodeniya holiday was traditionally accompanied by special ceremonies among the Slavs. Everyone sings of awakening nature. Girls and young people hold the first round dances dedicated to the Goddess Lada, the patroness of love and marriage. Women climb on the roofs of houses, on hills, on high haystacks and, raising their hands to the sky, call for spring. Cranes are again made from the dough. Usually these lean dough birds are placed on a high place - above the door, like amulets, to save space. A belief is associated with Ladodenie, according to which the birds return from Iriy - the Slavic paradise, and therefore it is customary to imitate the dances of birds - to koben (remember the expression: why are you vykobenya?). These ancient rituals are connected with the return of the solar force of Life to earth.

Brownie awakening

Many people know that on the first of April they do not believe anyone. Where did this proverb come from? After all, every proverb has some basis. In order to find out, we need to dive into the past, it is there that the roots of many sayings and sayings are hidden. The history of our ancestors has deep pagan roots, echoes of which we can observe today. All in the same proverbs, sayings, beliefs and signs. On April 1, our pagan ancestors celebrated one interesting holiday. Rather, not even a holiday, but a certain milestone. This day was considered the Day of awakening of the brownie. The ancient Slavs believed that for the winter, like many animals and spirits, he hibernated and woke up only occasionally to do the necessary housework. The brownie slept exactly until the time when spring would fully come into its own. And she came, according to her ancestors, not at all in March, but in April. More precisely, the arrival of spring was marked by the day of the vernal equinox, and all subsequent days until April 1 were the days of the meeting of spring. On the first day, spring came finally and irrevocably, and the main guardian spirit of the hearth - the brownie - had to wake up in order to put things in order in the house. As you know, when we sleep for a long time, and then wake up at the call of our alarm clock, spouse or mother, we are often unhappy with this. We yawn and grumble about why we were woken up so early. Small children generally begin to act up. And our brownie sometimes has the habits of a child, and after a long hibernation he also wakes up not very joyful. And then he starts to play pranks, and sometimes to hooligans. Either he will pour out the remnants of flour from the bags, then he will confuse the manes of the horses, he will frighten the cows, he will soil the linen ... Of course, our distant ancestor tried to cajole the disgruntled brownie with porridge, milk and bread ... Of course, our distant ancestor tried to cajole the dissatisfied brownie with porridge, milk and bread, but, as you know, bread must be accompanied by spectacles. Such spectacles for the awakened spirit were widespread festivities, jokes, laughter of people in the house, who played each other all day. In addition, to make it more fun for the brownie, and for everyone around, the inhabitants of the house put on their clothes inside out, like the very spirit of the ancestor, who, as you know, wears his fur vest with the seams out. Different socks or shoes should have certainly flaunted on their feet, and in conversation everyone tried to deceive each other or joke so that the owner-priest brownie would forget that he had just woken up. Over time, they forgot about the meeting of spring and the cajoling of the brownie on the first of April, but the tradition of joking, playing and deceiving on this day remained. Some Slavic communities celebrated Brownie's Name Day on March 30th.

Vodopol - name day of the Waterman

This holiday, even rather, a rite, is very ancient, originated in Russia during the period of dual faith. Sometimes Vodopol is called Pereplut, Vodyany’s Day, Vodyany’s name day or Nikita Vodopol, but the essence remains unchanged - on the third day of flowering (April 3), in Russia they welcomed the awakening from hibernation of the Vodyanoy, mermaids and all aquatic animals. Together with the arrival of spring and the awakening of nature, Vodyanoy also wakes up from hibernation. During the long cold winter, Grandfather-Waterman became weak and hungry. Waking up, the Waterman immediately wants to profit from something, and then he goes to look around and inspect his water kingdom. On this day, at midnight, the fishermen came to the water to treat and appease Grandfather-Waterman. They say that the fishermen treated the Waterman, drowning the horse and saying: "Here's a housewarming present for you, grandfather: love, favor our family." For this occasion, the most worthless horse was bought from the gypsies. When the fishermen appease him with a good present, a horse, he humbles himself, guards the fish, lures large fish from other rivers to him, saves the fishermen from storms and drowning, does not tear the nets and nonsense. In some areas, fishermen endow Vodyanoy with a gift by pouring oil into the river, saying: “Here you are, grandfather, a housewarming gift. Love and favor our family." From about this time, the Slavs expected the beginning of ice drift and the flood of rivers. On this occasion, there was also a sign: when fishermen brought water food that day, they would definitely notice: “If the ice does not move that day, then fishing this year will be poor.”

Day of Karna the Weeper

Karna (Kara, Karina) is the goddess of sadness, sorrow and grief, among the ancient Slavs she was assigned the role of a mourning goddess and, possibly, a goddess of funeral rites. It was believed that if a warrior dies far from home, then the goddess Karna is the first to mourn him. The Heavenly Goddess is the patroness of all new births and human reincarnations. On behalf of the Goddess, words appeared that have survived to this day: incarnation, reincarnation. It grants the right to every person to get rid of the mistakes made in his life, unseemly deeds and fulfill his destiny, prepared by the supreme god Rod. Today is the second appeal to the ancestors, on the day of the goddess of funerals, crying, grief and tears. The Tale of Igor's Campaign says:

“Oh, go far the falcon, the beating bird, to the sea! And Igor's brave regiment is not to be killed! After him I will call Karn, and Zhlya will run across the Russian land, I will mumble in the flame of a rose. The Russian wives burst into tears, arching: “Already we don’t understand our own sweet ways, we don’t think with a thought, we don’t look at our eyes, but we don’t even need to pat gold and silver!” (Oh, the falcon flew far, beating the birds, to the sea! And Igor’s brave regiment can’t be resurrected! Karna called on him, and Zhelya galloped across the Russian land, sowing fire from a fiery horn. The Russian wives wept, saying: “We already have our dear You can’t comprehend with a thought, or think with a thought, or bewitch with your eyes, but you can’t even hold gold and silver in your hands!”). On the table at night, Karnas leave kutya for the dead (this is wheat porridge with raisins or honey), and bonfires are burned in the courtyards of houses, around which the souls of ancestors are heated. Also brought treba Karne-Krucina - flowers, especially carnations. Since pagan times, there has been an old Slavic tradition to bring carnations to the graves - a symbol of sorrow and sadness.

Day of Semargl Semargl (or Simargl) - Fire God.

Semargl (or Simargl) - Fire God. Its purpose has not yet been fully elucidated. It is believed that this is the God of fire and the moon, fire sacrifices, home and hearth. The fire god stores seeds and crops and can turn into a sacred winged dog. Semargl is revered on those days when rituals and signs associated with fire and bonfires are mentioned in the folk calendar. April 14 Semargl melts the last snows. There are references to the appearance of Semargl into the light from the flame. It is said that once the heavenly blacksmith Svarog himself, having hit the Alatyr stone with a magic hammer, carved divine sparks from the stone. The sparks flared up brightly, and the fiery god Semargl appeared in their flame, sitting on a golden-maned horse of a silver suit. But, seeming a quiet and peaceful hero, Semargl left a scorched trail wherever his horse's foot went. The name of the God of Fire is not known for certain, most likely because his name is extremely holy. Holiness is explained by the fact that this God lives not somewhere in the seventh heaven, but directly among earthly people! They try to pronounce his name out loud less often, usually replacing it with allegories. Since ancient times, the Slavs have associated the emergence of people with Fire. According to some legends, the Gods created a Man and a Woman from two sticks, between which a Fire flared up - the very first flame of love. Semargl also does not let evil into the world. At night, Semargl stands guard with a fiery sword, and only one day a year does he leave his post, responding to the call of the Bathing Lady, who calls him to love games on the day of the Autumn Equinox. And on the day of the Summer Solstice, after 9 months, children are born at Semargl and Bathing - Kostroma and Kupalo.

Navi day(date varies from year to year)

Navi day is a rite of resurrection of the dead (in general, with the onset of dry birch tree), the Slavs begin ritual visits to graves with the offering of trebs). Treba is a primordially Slavic term meaning worship, offering, sacrifice, the administration of a sacrament or a sacred rite. In Slavic, "treba" means "T" - thea (I create), "R" - Ra (God), "B" - ba (soul) = "I create to God's soul." The Slavs buried their relatives in burial mounds, on these high mounds they performed a feast, laid a demand, made libations. On this day, long-dead people are brought into the water, saying:

Shine, shine, sunshine! I'll give you an egg, Like a chicken lays in an oak forest, Take it to paradise, May all souls be happy. The requirements of the Slavs are food, household items, but only those that are made with their own hands. From food and drink - these are: kutya, pies, kalachi, pancakes, cheesecakes, colored eggs, wine, beer, eve (a kind of mash). “Already for Rod and Rozhanitsa to eat bread and cheese and honey ...”, i.e. the requirements of each God are accordingly determined. The shell of a consecrated red egg is thrown into the water. It is believed that the shell will float to the forgotten souls of the dead (those who have not been remembered for a long time) by the Mermaid Day. On the night before the Navi day, the Navi (strangers, abandoned, buried without a rite and not at all buried dead) rise from their graves, which is why people dress up in disguise again on spring Christmas time.

Lelnik

The holiday "Lelnik" was usually celebrated on April 22, on the eve of St. George's Day (Egoriy Veshny). These days were also called "Red Hill", because the hill, located near the village, became the scene of action. A small wooden or turf bench was installed there. The most beautiful girl was put on it, who played the role of Lyalya (Lely). To the right and left of the girl on the hill, offerings were placed on a bench. On one side was a loaf of bread, and on the other side was a jug of milk, cheese, butter, an egg and sour cream. Woven wreaths were laid out around the bench. The girls danced around the bench and sang ritual songs in which they praised the deity as a nurse and giver of the future harvest. In the course of dancing and singing, the girl sitting on the bench put wreaths on her friends. Sometimes, after the holiday, a fire (oleliya) was lit on the hill, around which they also danced and sang songs. For a modern person, the name Lely is associated with a fairy tale by A.N. Ostrovsky's "The Snow Maiden", where Lel is presented as a beautiful young man playing the flute. In folk songs, Lel is a female character - Lelya, and the main participants in the holiday dedicated to him were girls. It is significant that in the rites dedicated to Lelya, there was always no funeral motif, which is present in other summer holidays, for example, in Mermaid Week and Ivan Kupala Day. In spring rituals, various magical actions with eggs were widely used throughout the entire Slavic world. Throughout the spring, eggs were painted - "pysanky", "krashenok" - and various games were played with them. The church Easter calendar has largely obscured the archaic essence of the rituals associated with eggs, but the content of the Easter egg painting leads us into deep archaism. There are also heavenly deer, and pictures of the world, and many ancient symbols of life and fertility. Ethnographic museums keep thousands of Easter eggs, which are the most massive heritage of pagan ideas. Eggs, both dyed and white, played an important role in spring rituals: departure for the first plowing was made “with salt, with bread, with a white egg”; an egg was broken on the head of a horse or a plowing ox; an egg and a cross biscuit were an obligatory part of the sowing rituals. Often, eggs were buried in the ground, rolled across a field sown with wheat. Eggs were laid under the feet of cattle during pasture on St. George's day and lelnik, they were placed at the gate of the barn so that the cattle would step over them; they went around the cattle with eggs and gave them to the shepherd. Similar holidays exist among many peoples of Europe. In Italy, primavera is celebrated - the day of the first greenery, in Greece, since ancient times, the return to earth of Persephone, the daughter of the goddess of fertility Demeter, has been celebrated on this day.

Yarilo Veshny

You save the cattle, Our orphan, The whole animal, In the field, and beyond the field, In the forest, and beyond the forest, In the forest beyond the mountains, Beyond the wide valleys, Give the cattle grass and water, And the stump and the log to the evil bear! With such a verdict, the youth went around the yards early in the morning on the day when, for the first time after a long and cold winter, the cattle are solemnly driven out to the pasture, to the so-called Yarilina dew. Before pasturing the cattle, the owners stroked the animals along the ridge with a red or yellow-green egg, which they then presented to the shepherd. After that, the cattle was driven out with a willow branch into the yard and fed with "byashki" - special bread. Before being driven out of the yard, a belt was laid out under the feet of the cattle so that she stepped over it. This was done so that the cattle knew the way home. They grazed cattle until the dew dried up. They asked Yarila - the Patron of shepherds, the Guardian of livestock and the Wolf Shepherd - to protect the cattle from any predatory beast. The shepherd buzzes the horn, notifying the people about the beginning of the rite of "bypass", after which, taking a sieve in his hands, he goes around the herd three times salting (for life) and three times anti-salting (for death). After a correctly performed ceremony, an invisible magic fence was built around the herd, which protected "from a creeping snake, from a mighty bear, from a running wolf." After that, the magic circle was closed with an iron lock. On this day, an important ceremony was also held - the Opening of the Earth, or in another way - Zarod. On this day, Yarila "unlocks" (fertilizes) Mother Cheese-Earth and releases dew, after which the rapid growth of herbs begins. They plowed arable land on Yarila, they said: “A lazy plow also leaves for Yarila.” From that day, spring weddings began. Men and women rode through the fields, hoping to become strong and healthy with the help of miraculous dew. The evening ended with a general festivity.

rodonitsa

On the thirtieth of April the last spring cold ends. At sunset, the opening opens. On this day, ancestors are commemorated, they are called to visit the earth: "Fly, dear grandfathers ...". They go to the graves, bringing funeral gifts: pancakes, oatmeal jelly, millet porridge, painted Easter eggs. After the beginning, the feast begins: the warriors on the mountain “fight for the dead”, showing their martial art. Colored eggs are rolled from a high mountain, competing. The winner is the one whose egg rolls the farthest without breaking. By midnight, on the same mountain, firewood is laid out for a large fire. After midnight the holiday begins - Zhivin's day. Women, taking brooms, perform a ritual dance around the fire, clearing the place of evil spirits. They glorify Zhiva, the goddess of life, who revives nature, sending spring to Earth. Women perform a ritual dance around the fire ... Everyone jumps over the Fire, clearing themselves of obsessions (Naviy) after a long winter. On the same high mountain, merry games and round dances around the fire are started. They play a fairy tale telling about a journey to the world of Navi and a return to Yav. With the onset of the morning, they treat themselves to cookies in the form of larks, release live birds from their cages into the wild, calling for spring. Recall that the Orthodox Church celebrates Radonitsa on Tuesday of the second week after Easter, a day after St. Thomas Sunday (or Antipascha).

Living day

On the first of May, at midnight, the spring Slavic holiday begins - Zhivin's day. Alive (an abbreviated form of the name Zhivena, or Ziewonia, which means "giving life") - the goddess of life, spring, fertility, birth, zhita-grain. Daughter of Lada, wife of Dazhbog. Goddess of Spring and Life in all its manifestations. She is the giver of the Life Force of the Family, which makes all living things actually alive. Zhiva is the goddess of the Life-Giving Forces of Nature, spring bubbling waters, the first green shoots, as well as the patroness of young girls and young wives. Under Christianity, the cult of the goddess Zhiva was replaced by the cult of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa. On Zhivin's day, women, taking brooms, perform a ritual dance around the fire, clearing the place of evil spirits. Thus, they glorify Zhiva, which revives nature, sending spring to Earth. Everyone jumps over the Fire, clearing themselves of obsessions (Navi forces) after a long winter:

Whoever jumps high has death far away. Here, merry games are started and round dances are conducted around the fire: Kolo yari with light, let Maru fight, thank Yarilo, Yarilo, show your strength! They play a fairy tale telling about a journey to the world of Navi and a return to Yav. With the onset of the morning, they treat themselves to cookies in the form of larks, release living birds from their cages into the wild, calling for spring: Skylarks, fly! We are tired of winter. We ate a lot of bread! You fly and bring red Spring, hot summer! The whole coming day of the first grass is devoted to rest. On this day, ritual bonfires are made along the banks of the rivers in the evening, they bathe, cleansing themselves with cold spring water.

Day of Dazhdbog - Ovsen big

Dazhdbog - Dab, Radegast, Radigosh, Svarozhich - these are different versions of the name of the same god. God of fertility and sunlight, life-giving force. He is considered the ancestor of the Slavs (the Slavs, according to the text of "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" - God's grandchildren). According to Slavic legends, Dazhdbog and Zhiva together revived the world after the Flood. Lada, Zhiva's mother, married Dazhdbog and Zhiva. Then the betrothed gods gave birth to Arius, according to legend, the progenitor of many Slavic peoples - Czechs, Croats, Kyiv glades. Honored on this day and Yarilo (Sun), the face of Dazhdbog, the revival of nature. God Yar was often compared with the plowman and warrior Arius, the son of Dazhdbog. Arius was revered, like Yar, the incarnation of the Family (in other interpretations - Veles or Dazhdbog). On the day of Dazhdbog, people rejoiced that Dazhdbog rejected Marena and became engaged to Zhivaya. This meant the end of the long Winter, the beginning of Spring and Summer. At this time, Dazhdbog was noisily praised in Vedic temples and plowed fields. “We praise Dazhdbog. May he be our patron and intercessor from Kolyada to Kolyada! And the patron saint of fruits in the fields. He gives grass to our livestock all the days. And the cows are multiplied, and the grains are multiplied in the granaries. And he does not allow honey to ferment. He is the god of Light. Praise Svarozhich, who renounces Winter and flows towards Summer. And we sing glory to him in the fields, because he is our father” / Vel. 31/. Day of Dazhdbog is also the time of the first pasture of cattle to pastures. Because Dazhdbog burned fires and asked him to guard the cattle: You, Dazhbozhe brave! Save the cattle, protect it from the kidnappers! Protect from a fierce bear, Save from a predatory wolf! It was believed that on this day the god Veles stole clouds-cows from Perun and imprisoned them in the mountains of the Caucasus. Therefore, Yar, Dazhdbog and Perun asked to rescue the clouds, otherwise all life on Earth would die. On this day they glorify the victory of Rainbog over Veles.

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Many have heard that the end of winter is called Proletye. On this day, the Slavs perform protective rites of awakening the earth, bringing strength and health. Maya Goldilocks is famous - the Mother of All Gods, she was given a ritual of worship at the Temple of the goddess of fate Makosha. Also in her honor, a sacred fire was lit, marking the beginning of summer. In general, in Proletye it was customary to kindle large fires so that they would burn for the glory of the coming summer. There was also a ritual of ploughing, bringing health and good luck, and magical sorcery at Trigla (the ancient Slavic goddess, one in three forms: creating, preserving and destroying), helping a woman to maintain harmony in the family. The holiday of Proletya was celebrated noisily, cheerfully and popularly. Traditionally, buffoons and valiant fun, games, songs and round dances were arranged on this day. Dances and songs were held to the accompaniment of Slavic instruments: drum, kugikly, pipes, flutes.

Spring Makoshye (Earth Day)

Holy Day, when Mother Cheese-Earth, awakened after a winter sleep, is honored as a “birthday girl”. It is believed that on this day the Earth “rests”, therefore it cannot be plowed, dug, harrowed, stakes cannot be stuck into it and knives can be thrown. Veles and Makosh are especially honored on this day - Earthly intercessors. The Magi go out into the field, lie down on the grass - listen to the Earth. At the beginning, grain is placed in a furrow plowed ahead of time and beer is poured, saying, facing east: Mother Earth Cheese! Take away all the unclean reptile from a love spell, turnover and dashing deeds. Turning to the west, they continue: Mother Earth Cheese! Swallow the impure force into the seething abyss, into the combustible pitch. Turning to noon, they say: Mother Earth Cheese! Satisfy all the midday winds with bad weather, calm the free-flowing sands with a blizzard. At midnight they turn: Mother Earth Cheese! Calm down the midnight winds with clouds, hold back the frosts with blizzards. After each appeal, beer is poured into the furrow, and then the jug in which it was brought is broken. Once upon a time in the old days there was another rite with a furrow and grain, after which children are born, but now, due to changes in morals, the rite is limited to spells on the cardinal points. After the spells, the magi, digging the ground with their fingers and whispering: “Mother-Cheese-Earth, tell me, tell the whole truth, show (name) on (name), guess about the future according to the signs found in the earth. The warriors, laying down their weapons and putting a piece of turf on their heads, swear allegiance to the Mother of Raw Earth, pledging to protect her from enemies. The beginning ends with a glorification: Goy, Thou art damp earth, Mother earth, Thou art our dear mother, She gave birth to all of us, She fed us, fed us And endowed us with land. For the sake of us, your children, Thou hast given birth to potions And made every cereal to drink Polega to drive away the demon And help in illnesses. They took off from themselves to snatch Various supplies, lands For the sake of favor on the stomach. After conception, the consecrated handful of the Earth is collected in bags and stored as amulets. A drunken feast and games complete the holiday. Yandex.Direct

Semik (Green Christmas time) (date varies from year to year)

Semik (Green Christmas time) was the main boundary between spring and summer. In the folk calendar, with the adoption of Christianity, the feast of the Trinity was timed to these days. In the rites of the Green Christmastide, the first greenery and the beginning of summer field work were welcomed. The cycle of Green Christmastide consisted of several rituals: bringing a birch tree into the village, curling wreaths, kumlenya, burial of a cuckoo (Kostroma or a mermaid). The birch was a symbol of inexhaustible vitality. As well as during the winter Christmas time - carols, mummers participated in all the rites, depicting animals, devils and mermaids. Two main themes can be distinguished in the songs performed during the Green Christmas holidays: love and labor. It was believed that the imitation of labor activity ensured the well-being of future field work. During the performance of the song “You succeed, succeed, my flax”, the girls showed the process of sowing flax, weeding, cleaning, combing and spinning. The singing of the song “We sowed millet” was accompanied by movements in which the participants reproduced the processes of sowing, gathering, threshing, and putting millet into the cellar. In ancient times, both songs were sung in the fields and performed a magical function. Later, the ritual meaning was lost, and they began to be sung in places of festivities. It was customary to bring birch branches and bouquets of first flowers into the house. They were dried and stored in a secluded place all year round. After the start of the harvest, the plants were placed in the granary or mixed with fresh hay. Wreaths were made from the leaves of the trees collected during the holiday, they were placed in pots, where cabbage seedlings were planted. Trinity plants were believed to have magical powers. To ensure a high harvest, a special prayer service was sometimes served. The custom of “crying for flowers” ​​is associated with it - dropping tears on the turf or a bunch of flowers. After the completion of special prayers, all participants went to the cemetery, where they decorated graves with birch branches and arranged refreshments. Having remembered the dead, they went home, leaving food in the cemetery. Green Christmastide ended with a funeral or seeing off Kostroma. The image of Kostroma is associated with the completion of green Christmas time, rites and rituals often took the form of ritual funerals. Kostroma could be portrayed by a beautiful girl or a young woman, dressed in white, with oak branches in her hands. She was chosen from those participating in the ceremony, surrounded by a girlish round dance, after which they began to bow, show signs of respect. The "Dead Kostroma" was laid on boards, and the procession moved to the river, where the "Kostroma" was awakened, and the celebration ended with a bath. In addition, the burial ceremony of Kostroma could be carried out with a straw effigy. Accompanied by a round dance, a scarecrow was carried around the village, and then buried in the ground, burned at the stake or thrown into the river. It was believed that next year Kostroma would rise again and come to earth again, bringing fertility to the fields and plants.

Feast of the Cuckoo (date varies from year to year)

On the last Sunday of May, the Slavs celebrate the Feast of the Cuckoo or the Day of Cumlenia. The main feature of this holiday is the establishment of a spiritual connection between girls who have not yet had children, for mutual help and support. Young people, mostly girls, gathered in a clearing in the forest, danced round dances, sang funny songs about spring and Zhiva (the cuckoo is a link between Zhiva and young girls), jumped over a ritual fire and arranged a small symbolic feast. On this holiday, the only time in a year, it was possible to make a fuss, that is, to intermarry in soul with any loved one. To do this, it was necessary to kiss through a birch wreath (birch is a symbol of love and purity among the Slavs) and say the following words:

Kumis, kumis, be related, be related, we have a common life for two. Neither joy, nor tears, nor a word, nor an accident will separate us. Then, it was necessary to exchange something for memory. At the same time, the girl, dressed up as Alive, held the figure of the Cuckoo in her hands: they believed that the forest bird would hear the oath and pass it on to Zhiva. In different parts of Slavic Russia, the holiday had its own rituals and customs, but the idea of ​​cumulation remained common to all.

Spirits day (the beginning of the mermaid week) (date varies from year to year)

Spirits Day - the holiday of Pitchfork and Madder, Earthly Moisture, begins with honoring the ancestors, who are invited to stay in the house, scattering fresh birch branches in the corners of the house. It is also a day of remembrance and communication with water, meadow and forest navy - mermaid spirits of a kind. According to legend, mermaids and mermaids are those who died prematurely before becoming adults, or who died voluntarily. Women perform secret ceremonies, leaving the household to the men, sometimes for the whole week. And those who have children leave for the mermaid children in the field or on the branches near the springs the old clothes of their children, towels, linens. It is necessary to appease the mermaid spirits so that they do not pester children and other relatives, so that they contribute to the fertility of our fields, meadows and forests, give them to drink the juices of the Earth. According to legend, during the Mermaid Week, mermaids could be seen near rivers, in flowering fields, in groves and, of course, at crossroads and in cemeteries. It was said that during the dances, the mermaids perform a ceremony related to the protection of crops. They could also punish those who tried to work on a holiday: trample down sprouted ears, send crop failures, downpours, storms or drought. A meeting with a mermaid promised untold wealth or turned into misfortune. Mermaids should be feared by girls, as well as children. It was believed that the mermaids could take the child into their round dance, tickle or dance to death. Therefore, during the Mermaid Week, children and girls were strictly forbidden to go out into the field or into the meadow. If during the Mermaid Week (a week after the Trinity already during Christianity) children died or died, they said that the mermaids took them to themselves. To protect yourself from the mermaid love spell, you had to carry with you sharp-smelling plants: wormwood, horseradish and garlic.

Yarilo Wet, Troyan

Troyan (Tribogov Day) is a holiday of the end of spring and the beginning of summer, when the young Yaril-Spring is replaced by the Trisvetly Dazhdbog. Holy day dedicated to the victory of God Trojan over the Black Serpent. At this time, Rodnovers glorify Svarog Triglav - Svarog-Perun-Veles, strong in the Rule, Yavi and Navi. According to legend, Troyan was the embodiment of the power of Svarog, Perun and Veles, who joined their forces in the fight against the Serpent, the offspring of Chernobog, who once threatened to destroy the entire Tremirye. At this time, from ancient times, they commemorated their ancestors and created amulets from the atrocities committed by mermaids and the restless souls of the "mortgaged" dead (who died "not their own", that is, an unnatural death). On the night of Troyan, girls and women “plowed” the village in order to protect themselves from evil forces. The people said: “From the Spirit of the day, not from one sky - warmth comes from under the earth”, “The Holy Spirit will come - it will be in the yard, like on a stove.” According to popular beliefs, all evil spirits are afraid of this day, like fire, and just before Sunrise on the Spirits, the day Mother Cheese-Earth reveals her secrets, and therefore healers go at this time to “listen to treasures”. As on Yarila Veshny, dew on this day is considered sacred and healing. After the conception, the rite "Venue" is performed for young men - initiation into warriors. Then they arrange a feast in the field. Ritual Strava: sweets, scrambled eggs, pies. Ritual beer is brought in the requirement. Before the games, they play out a fairy tale or an ancient legend. Mandatory love games and dances. After the day of Yarila, hot weather usually sets for seven days.

Birth of Vyshnya-Perun

Skipper Serpent Day (Serpent Day)

After the birth of Perun, the Skipper-Serpent came to the Russian Land. He buried the baby Perun in a deep cellar and took his sisters to Nav: I live, Marena and Lelya - the goddesses of life, death and love. Now it is not the dust that is scattered in the field, It is not the fogs that rise from the sea, Then from the eastern land, from the high mountains A herd of animals ran out, That the animal herd is snake. A fierce Skipper-beast ran ahead! "Veda Perun" Then Veles, Khors and Stribog will free Perun, and he will defeat the Skipper-beast. And these days, when the Skipper-beast with his army goes to the Russian land, many see wandering ghosts, signs of death and troubles. Suddenly, mouse packs and wolves appear in the fields, clouds of crows swoop in. And if you bow your ear to the ground, you can hear Mother Earth Cheese groaning. And others see that fire is running through the winter field. Nav is especially strong, and therefore in Russia these days they were waiting for enemy invasions. There is evidence of this in history: the Patriotic War of 1812 (June 24), and the Great Patriotic War of 1941 (June 22) began near the day of Skipper-Snake. The tales of Perun and Skipper were sung on this day by the Magi in Vedic temples and called on the faithful to the rivers and lakes to perform sacred ablutions in order to be cleansed of sins. According to the folk calendar, this day fell on the period of snake weddings. It is believed that at this time the snakes crawl and go by train to the snake wedding. In many settlements, there are still “cursed places”, the so-called “snake hills”.

The holiday of Ivan Kupala among the Slavs is the holiday of the summer solstice - the solstice. From the participants of the holiday, people who know the ritual rules, a "sergeant" is selected who will prepare and conduct the holiday. Praises and various ritual spells are read during the holiday - by priests (wizards, priests), a police officer, an elder. Traditionally, Ivan Kupala began like this: in the morning, girls gather herbs and flowers, weave wreaths and store amulets (wormwood, St. John's wort, nettle) for all participants in the holiday. Protective herbs are usually attached to the belt. The guys cut down a tree (birch, willow, black maple) one and a half, two human heights ahead of time. It is installed in the place chosen for the festivities (clean flat field, mound, river bank, lake). The girls decorate the tree with flowers and colored scraps of fabric. The tree is popularly called "madder" or "kupala". An image of Yarila is attached under the tree - a doll half the size of a human being. The doll is knitted from straw, branches, sometimes molded from clay. "Yarila" is dressed in clothes, decorated with a wreath, flowers and ribbons. He should attach a symbol of male dignity and fertility - a wooden goy (genital organ) of impressive size, painted red. Before "Yarila" on a dish or a scarf, dishes are placed. The guys prepare firewood and put two fires near the tree. One, large (Kupalets), up to four human heights; in the middle of it, a tall pole is installed, on top of which is attached a wooden tarred wheel or a bunch of straw, dry branches. Near this fire the most fun will go. Another bonfire, folded in the form of a well, is not so large, up to the man's waist. This is a funeral pyre (steal), for burning the face of Yarila. Wreaths, bathing nettles and amulets, folded at the temple (if there is one) or under a birch, are consecrated with water and fire by the clergy present (magicians, priests), or those who can replace them (sergeant, elder). The girls start a round dance around the birch and sing. The guys make “raids” on this round dance, not at full strength, of course, trying to grab a birch. The one who succeeds runs to the river, where he waits for the others. The wise men break off pieces from a birch and distribute them to everyone. These pieces are fertile. The tree is thrown into the water, and the wise men make a sentence. Flowers, consecrated herbs, nettles are thrown into the water (a talisman against mermaids) and, having become naked, they begin to bathe. Having enjoyed the water to their heart's content, closer to dusk they gather to the fire - Kupalets. A girl is supposed to burn it. This is where the fun begins. Noise and din stands, horns and tambourines, rattles and bells play, and they sing loudly, in a round dance. Ivan Kupala Day is an ancient Slavic holiday There is fun, they make riddles, they go dressed up, they arrange games: “lizard”, “brook”, “horses”. Well done fights for fun show. The girls are on the sidelines, they are watching the betrothed. When the fire burns out and settles, the choice of the betrothed begins. The girl pats the guy on the shoulder and runs away, and he runs to catch up with her. Having caught her, he leads her to the fire, through which they jump, holding on to a doll on a stick. If during the jump the hands do not disperse, then the pair is formed. And disperse, then everyone is looking for a mate. When all the couples are made up, the elder asks: “Have everyone forgiven the insults?”. If there are offended, they judge in public. A feast is arranged near the fire (porridge, eggs, bacon, pancakes, beer are a must). Each person is given a piece of consecrated food brought from the temple. Songs are sung by the fire, old tales, epics and fables are spoken. Then, at night, a wooden wheel is lit and rolled to the water. On the river, the betrothed exchange wreaths, after which each puts his wreath on a raft of branches and straw and floats it on the water. The girls are singing. A fire is lit on the shore, couples, dispersed and naked, bathe in the night river, and then make love. Those who did not find a couple gather at the fire - Kupalets, who will go to sleep, whom the elder will send to stand guard until morning, to protect the holiday from enemies. From night to dawn, the Magi collect healing Kupala dew. They cut magical herbs (elecampane, halloween, Chernobyl, head grass, St. Daredevils are looking for the color of fern in the night. The holiday ends at dawn.

Memorial Day of Prince Svyatoslav

July 3 is the glorification day of Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich (circa 942-972). It was customary for the Slavs to hold ritual fights, military initiations and praise Perun on this day. Russian historian N.M. Karamzin called him "Alexander (Macedonian) of our ancient history." According to Academician B.A. Rybakov: “The campaigns of Svyatoslav in 965-968 represent, as it were, a single saber strike, drawing a wide semicircle on the map of Europe from the Middle Volga region to the Caspian Sea and further along the North Caucasus and the Black Sea region to the Balkan lands of Byzantium.” Svyatoslav, the Grand Duke of Kyiv, is the son of Igor and Olga, who largely ruled the state under her son (until his death in 969), since the prince spent all his time on military campaigns. In 964-66, Svyatoslav undertook the first independent major campaign: the liberation of the Vyatichi from the power of the Khazars and their subordination to Kyiv. This was followed by campaigns on the Volga and the North Caucasus, the defeat of the Khazar Khaganate. In 967 or 968, using the proposal of Byzantium, which sought to weaken its neighbors Russia and Bulgaria, pushing them against each other, Prince Svyatoslav invaded Bulgaria and settled at the mouth of the Danube, in Pereyaslavets. The Byzantine government, in order to prevent the establishment of Svyatoslav in Bulgaria, sent the Pechenegs to Kyiv. He returned to defend the capital, but, having beaten off the Pechenegs, he again came to Bulgaria. Around 971, Svyatoslav, in alliance with the Bulgarians and Hungarians, began to fight with Byzantium. After a battle with a superior Byzantine army near Bolshoy Preslav and Dorostol, having withstood a three-month siege with his army, Svyatoslav Igorevich concluded peace with Byzantium in 971. On the way back to Kyiv, Prince Svyatoslav died at the Dnieper rapids in a battle with the Pechenegs, who were warned by the Byzantine government about his return. Svyatoslav entered the history of Ancient Russia as a vivid example of military prowess. His speech before the last decisive battle with the Byzantines near Dorostol is evidence of a high understanding of the importance of military honor in ancient Russian society: “We will not disgrace the Russian Land, we will lay our bones here. The dead have no shame. If we run, we will shame ourselves. Let's get strong. If my head lies down, take care of yourself.” The combatants answered him: "Where your head lies, there we will lay down our heads." Unlike his predecessors, who preserved Scandinavian traditions, Svyatoslav was the first Slavic Russian prince.

Veles Sheaf Day

Veles taught our forefathers to plow the land, and sow cereals, and reap straw in the fields of suffering, and put a sheaf in a dwelling, and honor Him as the Father of God. “Book of Veles”, III 8/2 / The days are decreasing, but the heat is coming. From Veles Day, they begin to mow, harvest hay: “Mow the scythe until the dew is down with the dew, and we are home!”. On this day, the last bound Sheaf was revered, into which, as the mowers believed, the spirit of the field, and hence the spirit of Veles, passed during mowing. On the same days, the peasants finished plowing and began preparations for winter sowing. There was such a proverb: “To plow until Veles’ day, to harrow until Perun’s day, to sow until the Savior.” Veles patronized all agricultural work. On this day, the sacred stone Alatyr was also revered (or two stones of God and God: the stones of Veles and Buri Yaga). Under Alatyr is the entrance to Hell. The firemen recalled that only Veles could roll Alatyr away from the entrance, and therefore the dead cannot get into Nav, bypassing Veles.

Election of a victim to Perun

Perun, not without reason, is considered the main deity of the pagan pantheon of the Eastern Slavs. He is considered the patron saint of warriors and knights and is glorified on the days of victory and sacrifices are made, wishing to achieve military success. Perun is also subject to the elements of nature and some areas of people's lives. Perun is, first of all, the god of thunder, thunder, and in addition to fire, he is closely connected with the cult of water, wood and stone. He is considered the ancestor of heavenly fire, which, descending to earth, gives life. With the onset of spring warmth, it fertilizes the earth with rains and brings the clear sun out from behind the clouds. Through his efforts, the world is every time as if born anew. People believe that Perun, walking around the world, willingly assumes the form of a forest bull Tura, so the bull is considered a sacred animal of Perun. Its flower is considered to be a blue iris (six lilac-blue petals, a thunder sign). The sanctuaries of Perun are arranged in the open air. They have the shape of a flower: in those sanctuaries excavated by archaeologists, there are usually eight "petals", but in ancient times, according to scientists, there were six. "Petals" were pits in which unquenchable sacred fires burn. In the middle is a sculptural image of Perun. An altar is placed in front of the image of God, usually in the form of a stone ring. Offerings are added there and sacrificial blood is shed, most often animal blood, but in ancient times slaves captured in military campaigns were also sacrificed.

Perunov day

Perun's thoughts are fast, Whatever he wants - so now. It pours sparks, throws sparks From the pupils of sparkling eyes. K. Balmont On this day, it was accepted that all men present at the beginning must have weapons with them (knife, ax, and if there is permission, then something more suitable). During the conception, the warriors make a solemn procession with a song. After glorifying Perun, the warriors proceed to the consecration of weapons: swords, axes, spears, knives, maces and other edged weapons are placed on the shields placed in front of the temple. A bull is sacrificed, and in the absence of it, a rooster (should be of the same color, not motley, red is best). A weapon is spoken on the sacrificial blood, the priest smears the forehead of each warrior with blood, after which they put red bandages on their heads. Military amulets are consecrated over the sacrificial fire. After the beginning, the ritual battle of "Perun" with "Veles" begins, dedicated to the victory of Perun over Veles (Perun defeats Veles and returns the herd of heavenly cows). At the end of the battle, the warriors carry a boat with gifts and put it on steal. The elder, having undressed, sets fire to the steal. After the fire burns out, the warriors pour a grave over the ashes and begin the funeral feast (ritual battles on the grave). Then the Strava is performed, on which all the fallen Slavic soldiers are commemorated. Ritual food: beef, game, chicken, cereals. From drinks: honey, red wine, beer, kvass. Games begin with the capture of the "town". On this day, military pleasures are preferred, but love affairs are not forgotten. The Magi advise to spend the night after the holiday with a woman. That warrior is bad who wins victories only over the enemy. The ritual of making rain was also associated with Perun. It consisted in making a sacrifice - pouring water on a specially selected woman. With the advent of Christianity, the functions of Perun were transferred to the Christian saint Ilya the Prophet, in whose image the features of Perun clearly appeared - the god of thunder, who rode the sky in a rumbling chariot, and who, in fact, simply changed his name, remaining the same revered deity.

Spozhinki

By mid-August, the harvesting, harvesting and processing of wheat, barley, millet and other grain crops, as well as the harvesting of seeds for the next season, is coming to an end on the entire Slavic land. Hence the name of the holiday - Spozhinki (dozhinki, swaged). The last sheaf is reaped silently so as not to disturb the spirit of the field, which moves into it. This joyful and important event for farmers was widely celebrated by our ancient ancestors throughout Europe. Slavic peoples first celebrated Zazhinki (the beginning of the harvest, the Day of the first sheaf). More magnificently celebrated Dozhinki - the day of the end of the harvest, the feast of the last sheaf, which fell in mid-August, on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin (according to the old style - this is August 15). According to an old custom, a small part of uncut ears are left on a compressed field, tying them with a ribbon - they curl the “beard of Veles”:

“We are already weaving, weaving a beard At Veles on the field ... We are curling a beard At Veles and on a wide one ... On a great field, Yes, on a high mountain, On black arable land ... Weave, weave, beard Beard, weave Susek fill up! ". At the beginning, the Magi-priests praise Veles, raising a pot of millet over their heads: The main Slavic Strava in Spozhinki: porridge, honey, apples, bread, beer. “Generous Velese Look at us from heaven Give life to the Field, revive the Field, Thank you for the weight. That Vles, our forefather, the Earth, is paradise, and you sow cereals, And you reap the vein of the crown And ztet like the father of God. It was Veles who taught our forefathers to plow the land, and sow cereals, and reap wreaths in the fields of suffering, and put sheaves in the dwelling, and honor Him as the Father of God. On this day, honey, apples and grains are illuminated. After the beginning, a fun feast begins (it is forbidden to eat beef). The main Slavic Strava in Spozhinki: porridge, honey, apples, bread, beer.

Stribog Day

Stribog (ancient Russian Stribog) - in East Slavic mythology, the god of the wind, born from the breath of the Family. His name goes back to the ancient root "streg", which means "senior", "paternal uncle". A similar meaning is found in the Tale of Igor's Campaign, where the winds are called "Stribog's grandchildren." Slavs celebrate Stribog's day on August 21st. Being the lord of the wind, Stribog can cause or, on the contrary, stop a storm, or any other natural phenomenon associated with the wind. Stribog, together with Perun, also commands thunder and lightning. They are brothers. Stribog constantly lives in the Okiyane-Sea on Buyan Island and creates 77 winds every day, which blows in all directions of the world. Those winds can dry up the rivers and crush the dark forests. Also in ancient Russian texts, the name of Stribog is constantly combined with the name of Dazhbog. Winds, especially those that cause tornadoes, have always been a mysterious and somewhat frightening phenomenon. The Slavs conjured tornadoes, called Perun for help, threw knives, stones at them, beat them with sticks. All the winds, whether quiet, whether strong, whether gentle - they are all children and grandchildren of Stribog. Their names are: Whistle, Siverko, Podaga, Poludennik and Midnighter. On the other hand, the Slavs know the concept of wind as a soul (spirit). They usually donate rags, ribbons, cereals, grain, flour, porridge, bread, scattering pieces in the wind in the field, and begging for winds suitable for the harvest.

Rod and Childbirth

This Slavic holiday dedicated to family well-being falls on September 8th. After the beginning, at which the glorification of Rod, Lada and Lely is obligatory, the ritual of the “funeral of flies” begins. The caught fly (cockroach, mosquito, wasp) is placed in a carrot domina, solemnly taken to a wasteland and buried in a grave, which means the stupor of insects during the coming winter. After the “burial”, the ritual hunt for “moose cows” begins. Two girls dressed as elks (deer) appear for a short time from the forest and run away. The hunters chase after them, trying to catch them. One caught “elk” is immediately released, and the second is led to the temple, where they are also released, having previously been scolded for making the fellows run for a long time. The holiday ends with a Christmas feast (ceremonial food: cottage cheese, eggs, cheese, venison or beef, oatmeal, berry wine) and games. The games begin with a round dance, which is led around the oldest of the women. A woman holds bread in her hands (preferably oatmeal). At the end of the round dance, bread is divided and distributed for the treatment of people and domestic animals. After the holiday of the Family and the Women in Childbirth, the "Indian summer" comes.

New Year, Slavic New Year

New Year, or Slavic New Year, falls on September 14 (September 1, old style). This date in the Orthodox calendar is also considered the first day of the new church year - the beginning of the indiction. In Russia, this day was a great holiday with many traditions and beliefs. In connection with the onset of autumn and the new year, many work in the field ended and ambush began, that is, work in huts by fire. By the way, the night before they extinguished the old fire in the house, and in the early morning they lit a “new” one with special sentences. On this day, it was customary to go around all the fields with special songs and chants so that next year the harvest would be good, and also to move to new houses to celebrate housewarming. Also, by this day it was necessary to complete all trade and economic contracts and transactions, pay tribute, dues and duties. Another tradition of the holiday was the rites of "monastic vows" - initiation into the army and the peasantry of children who have reached the age of 3-4 years. And all this was accompanied by songs, festivities and feasts. By the way, according to astronomers, absolutely any date can be the day of the celebration of the New Year, since the concept of “beginning of the year” is very conditional. After all, all points of the earth's orbit are absolutely equal, and it is completely indifferent which of them to take as the origin.

Memorial Day of Prince Oleg

As the prophetic Oleg is now going to Take revenge on the unreasonable Khazars: Their villages and fields for a violent raid He doomed to swords and fires; With his retinue, in Constantinople armor, the Prince rides across the field on a faithful horse. A.S. Pushkin “The Song of Prophetic Oleg” The chronicle tells that on September 2 (according to the old style) 911, Prince Oleg, nicknamed “prophetic”, after a successful campaign against Constantinople (Slavyansk. - Tsargrad) concluded an agreement with Byzantium. According to The Tale of Bygone Years, this event happened: “... September 2, indiction 15, in the year from the creation of the world 6420 ...”, which corresponds to September 15 in the new style. One of the main results of the campaign, historians call the conclusion of a trade agreement, according to which Russian merchants could conduct duty-free trade. Oleg nailed his shield - a symbol of victory - on the gates of Constantinople. During the reign (882-912), Oleg did the seemingly impossible - he united the scattered Slavic tribes into a single state - Kievan Rus. But for this it was necessary to capture Kyiv, where at that time Rurik's combatants Askold and Dir, who were killed by the prince during a short campaign, were sitting. Ruled on the throne as a regent, Oleg gave education to the son of Rurik - Igor. The Chud Magi predicted the death of Prince Oleg from a faithful horse. And so it happened, although after the death of the animal itself.

Svarog Day

The holiday of the Heavenly Smith - Svarog has come. The earth is gradually fettered by frost from the abyss, the influence of the bright Gods is falling. The land remains in the care of Veles. So that people could survive a difficult time, Svarog gave them an ax, the art of craft. Therefore, blacksmiths, carpenters and all craftsmen are especially honored on this day. From that day on, chickens are slaughtered, and the first ones are served as a sacrifice to Svarog. The girls rent a hut, arrange a brotherhood, sometimes they gather it throughout the village, and for three days they invite the guys to a party, while the bride girl is considered the mistress of the house. In the evenings, magical, scary and playful tales are told, mischievous games with kisses are played. Brotherhood (other names - eve, candle) was called a joint meal of full members of the same village community, arranged in a pool after a prayer service. Despite the prohibitions of the authorities, brotherhoods were everywhere preserved in the social life of the peasants. At the heart of the brotherhood was a pious custom - the remembrance of the saint, to whose help the community once turned to save them from disaster.

Holiday Lada

The special status of Lada - the great goddess of spring-summer fertility and the patroness of weddings, marriage life - led to the plurality of holidays dedicated to her: they were celebrated six times a year, from early March to mid-September. The rituals associated with Lada are usually timed to coincide with the spring-summer and autumn cycle of holidays. In particular, it was Lada and her daughter Lelya (Lelnik) who were asked for permission to call for spring. Then the goddess was addressed before the start of summer field work. The rest of the rituals were associated with the spring-summer cycle of prayers for rain, the festival of the first greenery, the first shoots, the first and last ears. On the Red Hill holiday, which was mostly dedicated to Lada, the girls played the game "And we sowed millet, sowed it." The place of its holding was a hill (red hill). The players were divided into two groups - one sang about sowing millet, the other about trampling it. Trampling meant the end of the whole cycle - the threshing of bread. Perhaps it was just such a game that the chronicler described, noting that the Slavs "arranging games between the village and that wife's sly for themselves." The researchers also found that Lada was also approached to ensure the well-being of a future marriage. Often it was in the middle of summer, by autumn, that a decision was made to conclude a marriage union, although the wedding was played much later, after the completion of field work. The cycle of glorifying the goddess ended after the harvest (at the end of August-September), so the last holiday associated with Lada was the holiday of the autumn equinox. (September 8-9, old style) and September 22, new.

Osenins

In the agricultural calendar of the Slavs, this day was called "autumn" or "ospozhinki" and was celebrated as a harvest festival. On this day, Thanksgiving was given to Mother Earth. At the beginning of September, the harvest was completed, which was supposed to ensure the well-being of the family for the next year. In addition, the meeting of autumn was marked by the renewal of fire: the old fire was extinguished and a new one was lit, which was mined with blows of flint. From autumn, the main economic activity was transferred from the field to the garden or to the house: the collection of vegetables began (first of all, onions were harvested). Usually a treat was arranged in Oseniny, for which the whole family gathered. For the holiday, beer was brewed and a sheep (ram) was slaughtered. A pie was baked from the flour of the new harvest. They praised Mother Earth for giving birth to bread and other supplies. Since the harvest of hops began from that day, the corresponding game songs were sung at the festive festivities: We fly, hops, move, To our side, As on our side, there is a lot of freedom! And the freedom is big, the men are rich! That the men are rich, stone chambers! What stone chambers, golden doors, What molded domes!

Rodogoshch (Tausen)

The Slavs celebrate a great holiday - Rodogoshch (Tausen) - when the harvest is harvested, the autumn sun - Svetovit - no longer bakes, the trees are preparing for winter sleep, throwing off their beautiful outfits. By this day, a huge honey cake is baked (in the old days the cake was the height of a man), behind which, after the beginning, the priest hides and asks: “Do you see me?”. If the audience answers in the affirmative, then the priest pronounces a wish: next year to harvest a more plentiful harvest and bake an even bigger pie. After the beginning, on which fortune-telling for the next year and divination over a cup of sacred wine are obligatory, a feast begins with a mountain - the food on the table is placed in a slide, which by the end of the feast is greatly reduced. On this day, a fairy tale is played out about the hero and the underworld, designed to remind of the fading Sun and the coming Winter. Before dark, they kindle a fire and jump over it, clearing themselves. Priests walk barefoot on hot coals, chanting: “Yazhe, Yazhe, trample!”. But you must beware of walking on coals without preparation in order to avoid burns. After all, the priests avoid burns by introducing themselves with uniform blows to the tambourine into a special state of trance. The holiday ends with crowded games.

Protection of the Holy Mother of God

Intercession - with the introduction of Christianity, this holiday was celebrated in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her miraculous payment. In folk tradition, on this day, the meeting of Autumn with Winter was celebrated, and this holiday has very deep roots. The very name of folk beliefs was associated with the first frost, which "covered" the earth, indicating the proximity of winter cold, although the exact name of the holiday has not been preserved. The Day of the Intercession coincided with the complete completion of field work and serious preparations for winter. Around these days, they began to drown in the huts: spinners and weavers began to work. On this day, Brownie goes to bed, and in connection with this, the ritual of "Baking Corners" was associated. The brownie was asked to keep the house warm in winter, they baked special “blintsy” - small pancakes, and the first pancake was divided into four parts and carried to the corners of the hut as an offering so that the spirit of the house was full and calm. On this day, the girls asked Lada for marriage (during Christianity, they began to ask the Virgin). And it was from that day that regular girl gatherings began.

Goddess Mokosh Day (date varies from year to year)

Makosh is the goddess of marriage and childbirth, she is in charge of such a craft as spinning. In Slavic paganism, Makosh is considered the patroness of the feminine, the protector of women and girls. Since ancient times, she was asked to give easy childbirth and healthy children. Among the ancient Slavs, Friday was considered the day of remembrance of Makosh. After the adoption of Christianity, the fifth day of the week - Friday - was associated with female saints. Some sources claim that the cult of Mokosh arose 40-30 thousand years ago. Makoshin metal - silver, stone - rock crystal and the so-called "moonstone". Makosh the Beast is a cat. The symbol of this goddess is yarn, a ball of wool, a spindle, and they were brought to temples (from the Old Slavonic drop - an image, an idol, a religious building among the Eastern Slavs of the pre-Christian period). Mokosh's idols could be made from "female woods", primarily from aspen. The idol of Mokosh could often also be horned or have a cornucopia in his hands. Makosh's servants are spiders, therefore it is considered a good omen if a web flies in the face. Also, a rope amulet tied to the right wrist is associated with Makosh. On this day, women were strictly forbidden to spin, weave, wash, as well as bathe and bathe children. It was believed that Makosh could severely punish those who violate the prohibitions - send diseases, tear the canvas or tangle the threads on the spindle. Another feature of the holiday: they lead a two-ring round dance. One ring (outer) is twisted in salting - for life, and the other is twisted in anti-salting - for death. Means the approaching winter. After this day, big winter work begins: spinning, weaving, sewing, embroidery. In the West around the same time, Halloween is celebrated, when people dress up in "disguises" to scare away evil spirits. Halloween has common roots with this holiday of the Slavs.

Madder Day

In Slavic mythology, Marena (Marana, Morena, Marzhana, Marzhona) is associated with the embodiment of death, with seasonal rituals of dying and resurrection of nature, as well as with rituals for causing rain. In autumn, the Goddess Marena drives away the warm, summer Yarila and establishes her Kingdom of snow and frost on the earth. On the twenty-fifth of November, slushy weather sets in: rain, snow, cold wind ... At the beginning, no praises are pronounced, no fire is kindled, no sacrifices and rites are made. Obavnitsa proclaims:

“And neither Mara nor Moroka can be glorified.” After that, people, in order to show that they are not afraid of Marena, go to the swamp, where they extinguish burning brands in the swamp elani (unfrozen bog). Ritual food on this day includes jelly, pancakes, carrots, turnips.

Memorial Day of the hero Svyatogor

Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich, Alyosha Popovich are Russian heroes, about whom many glorifying epics have been composed. Among the heroes of the Russian land, another one is known - the giant man Svyatogor. Svyatogor is known as the hero of the Russian epic epic, who appears in some meetings with Ilya Muromets. Svyatogor in the epic epic is represented as a huge giant, "higher than the standing forest." His body hardly bears mother earth. He does not go to Holy Russia, but lives on the high Holy Mountains. If Svyatogor starts on the road, then the mother-cheese earth shakes - the forests sway and the rivers overflow their banks. By the time of the first clashes with the Pechenegs, the boyar mound Gulbishche dates back, in which the noble hero Svyatogor was buried with great honor. His things and weapons are huge - they are one and a half to two times larger than the things of ordinary people. This Great Bogatyr was vividly described in the Slavic epic, in the epic about Ilya Muromets. There, his size and strength are exaggerated, but this giant man actually walked the Russian land.

Naumov day

It was no coincidence that this day was called “wise” and they prayed to St. Naum, asking them to “bring to mind” - to think, to teach. Once upon a time in Russia there was a custom on this day to bring children to a teacher who was especially revered, considering his work extremely important and difficult. According to custom, the mother at this time had to lament for her children going to study, because the teaching was always accompanied by pounding the sciences with rods. Even on the first day of the meeting with the teacher, he had to reward each of the students with three symbolic lashes. The children, on the other hand, had to begin each lesson with three earthly bows to the teacher and were obliged to obey him unquestioningly. As a reward for the labors, the father and mother brought the teacher a loaf of bread and a towel, in which they also tied money as payment for classes. But most often the classes were paid for with food: the student's mother brought the teacher a chicken, a basket of eggs, or a pot of buckwheat porridge. The students also had several "rituals" in order to pass the exam well. For example, these are: 1. Before going to the examiners, read three times, do not let them copy from their sheet: “Like Sunday is bright, my head is bright. How my mother loves me, how my father, grandfather and grandmother love me. As they always cherished and pitied me, so would you, my teachers, have pitied me.” 2. Read when you go to the exam: “I'm going to the bursa, the lesson is to answer, to protect knowledge. Whatever word he said, everyone would receive praise.

Karachun (Korochun) - the day of the winter solstice

The day of pagan veneration of Karachun (the second name of Chernobog) falls on the day of the winter solstice (celebrated depending on the year from December 19 to 22) - the shortest day of the year and one of the coldest days of winter. It was believed that on this day the formidable Karachun, the deity of death, the underground god who commands frost, an evil spirit, takes his power. The ancient Slavs believed that he commands winter and frost and shortens the daylight hours. The servants of the formidable Karachun are rod bears, in which snowstorms turn around, and blizzards-wolves. It was believed that, according to the bear’s desire, the icy winter also lasts: the bear will turn in his lair on the other side, which means that winter has exactly half the way to spring. Hence the saying: "At the Solstice, the bear in the den turns from one side to the other." Among the people, the concept of "karachun" in the sense of death, death is still used. They say, for example: “a karachun came to him”, “wait for a karachun”, “ask a karachun”, “grabbed a karachun”. On the other hand, the word "karachit" can have the following meanings - backing backwards, crawling, "scrambled" - writhed, crumpled. Perhaps Karachun was called that precisely because he, as it were, forced the daytime to go in the opposite direction, back away, crawl, giving way to the night. Gradually, in the minds of the people, Karachun became close to Frost, who fetters the earth with cold, as if plunging it into a mortal sleep. This is a more harmless image than the harsh Karachun. Frost is simply the master of winter cold.

Kolyada, Sunny Christmas

“Once upon a time, Kolyada was perceived not as a mummer. Kolyada was a deity, and one of the most influential. They called the carol, called. New Year's Eve was dedicated to Kolyada, games were arranged in his honor, which were subsequently performed at Christmas time. The last patriarchal ban on worshiping Kolyada was issued on December 24, 1684. It is believed that Kolyada was recognized by the Slavs as the deity of fun, which is why he was called upon, cheerful gangs of youth called on New Year's festivities. A. Strizhev "Folk Calendar" Kolyada - the sun-baby, in Slavic mythology - the embodiment of the New Year cycle, as well as a character of the holidays, similar to Ovsen. Kolyada - the turn of the Sun to spring - was celebrated during the Great Winter Christmas time, which took place from December 24 to January 5. The Slavs celebrate Kolyada when the day "for sparrows" has arrived, and the winter sun begins to flare up. Before the festival, the magician howls like a wolf (prophetic howl), driving away evil spirits. At the end of the beginning, everyone is offered a brother with an intoxicating drink, and the obavnik (reading praises and sentences at ceremonies during the holidays) exclaims: “Ovsen, where are you going? Bridges to bridge! Who to ride? Kolyada sovereign! What should he ride? On a sunny pig! What to drive? Piglet! Eating ceremonial cookies, they commemorate Tour. On the eve of the New Year, the children were going to carol under the windows of rich peasants, called the owner in songs, repeated the name of Kolyada and asked for money. Christmas games and fortune-telling are the remnants of this holiday of the ancients. The rituals have been preserved among the people and have recently become more and more popular. "Carolers" dress up in clothes, depict animals, devils, with music, with sacks in which they collect treats, walk the streets, sing carols. Kolyada is a cheerful, desired deity. Eating ritual cookies in the form of cows (loaf, bagels), they commemorate Tour. Instead of a sacrificial lamb, they eat cookies in the form of a lamb's head (bagel, pretzel). You should definitely try uzvar and kutya. The holiday ends with games. Be sure to roll a burning wheel uphill with the words: "Roll uphill, come back with spring."

Generous evening, Schedrets

After the power of Korochun weakened, and a new Sun began to emerge on the Slavic land, the Slavs celebrated one of their favorite periods of the year - Big winter Christmas time. Big winter Christmas time or, as they were also called, Big Veles Christmas time lasted twelve days - from December 24 to January 5. Kolyada Day, celebrated on December 25, was not included in the number of holy days. Christmas time was divided into two six-day parts - light and dark. The first part of Christmas time was completed by the Generous Evening or Shchedrets, which fell on December 31st. Since ancient times, a big festive feast was held on this day, and generosity songs (generous songs) were heard everywhere. Among the plentiful festive treats, there was certainly a place for pork dishes. Our ancestors believed that pork dishes symbolize a rich harvest and fertility. Before a generous feast, as usual, it was necessary to amuse the people with generous gifts. The composition of the mummers remained the same as it was on Kolyada. Carolers approach the house or people gathered on the street and sing: “Generous evening! Good evening!". Among the plentiful festive treats, there was certainly a place for pork dishes. Then the carolers begin to “torment carols”, that is, to beg the owners for gifts, complaining that they “come from afar”, “the goat’s legs hurt” ... The owners resist, laugh it off. Then the mummers start singing generous songs, some of which contain comic threats. It is considered a great shame not to give gifts to carolers. To such greedy hosts, the mummers send a “curse”: “Give them, Svarozha, on the back and in the face. Smash them, Father Perun! An empty bag for them, a holey pot! Having collected a bag of goodies, carolers disperse. A gift from calend.ru in honor of the generous evening

The current generation of people is watching the world through the prism of modern science. Even the most amazing manifestations of the elements, such as earthquakes, floods, hurricanes or tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, solar and lunar eclipses, do not cause as much awe as our ancestors did. Modern people in most cases see themselves as masters of nature rather than its victims. In ancient times, people had a completely different worldview.

Everything that happened to them or around them was not entirely accessible to them, and everything that happened to them had to be explained somehow. According to modern science, in their ignorance, people attributed everything to the most diverse otherworldly forces - gods, demigods, fairies, elves, devils, demons, ghosts, restless souls, etc.

Moreover, all this lived in heaven, under the earth, in fire, and also in water. People considered themselves dependent on these entities, because a lot depended on their location, in general, their whole way of life. As a result, it is precisely because of the fear of the unknown that almost all religions, including Slavic ones, begin.

So far, exact information has not been found on how and where the Slavs appeared in Europe, and what peoples are their ancestors. Scientists believe that in the 1st millennium AD. Slavs occupied a vast territory: from the Balkans to Central Europe and the Dnieper. At that time, there were no Slavic tribes on the territory of modern Russian borders.

Approximately in the VI century, three branches stood out in the common Slavic unity: southern, western and eastern Slavs. The South Slavic peoples (Serbs, Montenegrins, etc.) later became the Slavs who settled on the borders of Byzantium, gradually merging with its inhabitants. The Western Slavs occupied present-day Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and partly Germany. And the eastern ones occupied the vast territory of modern Belarusians, Ukrainians and Russians.

The Slavs were engaged in the cultivation of wheat, barley, rye, millet, peas, buckwheat, cattle breeding, hunting and fishing. At the household level, the Slavs used the so-called ritual calendar, which reflected agricultural magic. All the days associated with the spring-summer agricultural season were marked in it, everything was calculated: both the sowing of seeds and the harvest.

Pagan holidays of the ancient Slavs

The basis of the rituals of the Slavic farmers was the doctrine of how to successfully influence the deities of the elements in order to get good harvests. A large number of ancient sanctuaries have survived to our time, in which a wide variety of ceremonies were once performed. Echoes of these sacred events can be considered children's games and round dances known to everyone at the present time.

Temples were mostly located in the open air. They had round shapes, the basis of which were two concentric shafts. Fires were kindled around their circumferences, wooden idols were installed inside. Immediately on the burning altar, they made sacrifices to the gods, and they were not limited to human ones either. The outer circles of the temples were intended for people to consume sacrificial ritual food, and they were called "treatments". And the round shapes of such temples determined their name - “mansions” (from the word “horo”, which meant a circle).

The ritual component of Slavic paganism was conditionally divided into two spheres. In the first of these there were rituals associated with the community. These are calendar holidays, an agrarian cult, and also holidays as a tribute to the gods. In the second, there were family rituals and ceremonies, such as weddings, "birth" rites, and funerals. Most of the communal rituals belonged to calendar cycles, and family rituals to life cycles.

Winter holidays of the ancient Slavs

At the end of December, the cold, when the daytime is already arriving, a holiday called Kolyada is celebrated. So, on December 25, on the day of the winter solstice, carolers dressed up as bears, goats, horses, walked from house to house with songs called “carols”. Together with the wishes of all the blessings for the house and the collection of alms - pies, loaves and sweets, they jokingly promised ruin and poverty to the misers.

Then it was generally accepted that while people were caroling, the evil spirits had to go on a rampage and steal the Moon and stars from heaven. The festival embodied the transition of the luminary from winter to spring, the victory of light forces over dark ones. To help the sun in defeating evil spirits, the people burned bonfires, sang songs and danced around the fires. In some places, Kolyada was called Avsenei or Tauseni, which, according to researchers, came from Ash and was one of the solar names.

The ancient Slavs had a belief that the dead are not deprived of all the sensations of life. That is why winter was just a night, darkness for the souls of ancestors, and spring was the awakening of a new life. During the festival of the birth of the sun - Kolyada, it was believed that the dead rose from their graves, and their souls wandered around the world, frightening the living. Consequently, during the celebration of Kolyada, a mixture of the solar cult with the cult of the dead was observed, which was also characteristic of other pagan holidays of the Slavs.

Spring holidays of the Slavs

Another holiday that has survived to this day was called Myasopusta, which was later renamed Maslenitsa. It was celebrated at the beginning of spring, but since Great Lent fell on this period, with the adoption of Christianity, the celebration was postponed a week before it and partially to Bright Sunday.

Maslenitsa is a holiday in honor of the sun god, of which the Slavs had four, so such a solar ritual was carried out: during the celebration, a mummer man was carried on a large sleigh, sitting on a wheel, which was located on a pole fixed on a sleigh. And the wheel, of course, among the Slavs symbolized the sun. In addition, during the celebration of Maslenitsa, the men were engaged in fisticuffs, wrestling, and the children were pleased with the performances with bears. Pancakes were and remain a traditional Shrovetide dish.

In addition, Maslenitsa was also considered a memorial week, and pancakes were baked for a wake. The first pancakes were always given to the poor so that they could remember the dead. Opara was prepared by the river or lake in the evenings, when the stars appeared with the call of the month to look in and blow on the dough. All this was done in secret from everyone, be it home or outsiders.

There is also the so-called undisturbed Maslenitsa. This is the time when, with the beginning of spring, people visit the graves of their deceased ancestors. It was believed that their souls rise from their graves to share funeral pancakes with those who brought them. The arrival of spring was usually met on the “red hills”, where round dances were held, spring ceremonies were held, and finally a straw effigy was burned. It was Mara, who was considered the personification of not only winter, but also death.

April 12 was also celebrated as Navi Day. On this day, people visit the graves of deceased relatives. Navi day was considered a rite of resurrection of the dead.

Summer holidays of the Slavs

The third most important holiday was the feast of Ivan Kupala. It was celebrated on Ivanov's day of the summer solstice in honor of the deity of summer and fertility Kupala. It should be noted that on the night of June 23-24, it was believed that herbs had miraculous powers.

People believed that only on this night the fern blossomed, and the one who found it recognized the language of all living beings. At this time, the canvas of the rivers was covered with a silvery glow, and the trees moved and communicated with themselves with the noise of branches. The sun itself left its home to meet the moon in a team of three horses, which were: one gold, the other silver, and the third diamond.

On this day, bonfires were lit in the forests to hold all sorts of night meetings and games. So, the youth, holding hands, jumped over the fire, which was considered a ritual cleansing. In addition to everything, and on the day of Ivan Kupala, they repeated the ritual extermination of a straw effigy, all the same Mary, with the only difference that it was allowed to sink.

Autumn holidays of the Slavs

Of course, in the autumn, as in all other seasons, the Slavs had many holidays, but you can stop at two of them. These are such holidays as: the closing of Svarga (Vyriya) and the day of Svarog. These days were celebrated on September 14 and 21, respectively.

September 14 - Svarga (Vyria) day

It was believed that on this day the goddess Alive, who was the personification of fruitfulness, youth, the beauty of all nature and people - in general, spring - leaves the Earth, and Frost and Winter begin to enter into their possessions. The harvest is coming to an end, and people are trying to thank Zhiva for the absence of hunger and for the fertility that she sent down to Earth. The ancient Slavs believed that birds about to fly to warmer climes make a flight to the upper world, in which the souls of the dead are located. At such moments, people had to turn to birds, with a request to deliver news from them to their dead relatives.

Vyriy (or Iriy-sad) the ancient Eastern Slavs called Paradise. They believed that on the other side, behind the clouds or where the warm eastern sea with endless summer is located, was the location of the bright heavenly kingdom. A world tree grew in Paradise (according to scientists, it could be an oak or a birch), at the top of which birds or the souls of the dead lived. Once the keys to Iriy-Sad were held by a crow, but after the wrath of the gods, the swallow received the keys.

According to folk legends, in Iriy-Sad, near the wells, there were places prepared for the future lives of good, kind people. They had pure spring water, and around the wells flowers were fragrant, many rejuvenating apples ripened on the trees, and flocks of birds of paradise sang sweet songs.

September 21 - Svarog Day

With the onset of the holiday of the Heavenly Blacksmith - Svarog, Svarga was already closed, which was considered an interruption of the link between Heaven and Earth. The earth is gradually being shackled by frost, and the influence of the Light Forces is decreasing.

The girls had to rent huts to arrange brotherhoods. Sometimes they gathered throughout the village, and for a three-day period they invited the young men to parties, and the bride-girls present in the company were considered mistresses in such houses. During the evenings, many magical, scary and playful tales were told, with mischievous games in which there were kisses.

Bratchina (eve, candle) was a joint meal, in which full members of the community from one village participated. She arranged a pool after the prayer service. Despite the fact that the authorities forbade brotherhoods, they were everywhere preserved at the everyday level among the peasantry. Bratchina was based on pious customs. These were the commemorations of the saints, to whose help the communities once turned in order to be saved from disasters.

Holidays of the ancient Slavs and Christianity

On Troyan, boys were initiated into warriors, ancestors were commemorated and amulets were made from the souls of the restless dead, and women and girls were cleansed of haze before wedding rites and childbearing

People changed, thought processes changed, consciousness changed, religions became more complicated. Christianity, which came to the territory of Kievan Rus through the most severe violence from the sword of Prince Vladimir, was destined to trample on pagan shrines, idols and temples. Christianity, as a religion given for one people, for its mentality and its level of consciousness, came into conflict with Slavic paganism. It opposed the ethical considerations of the people, their aesthetic habits, and naturally did not take into account the formed way of life of the Eastern Slavs. However, paganism did not give up just like that. It simply could not come out of the mass consciousness of entire peoples in an instant. It took at least three hundred years for this to disappear from Christian churches, many pagan symbols, such as the swastika or the rotisserie, although they did not disappear completely.

For example, on the royal crowns of the Romanovs, you can find a swastika, which meant the rotation of the sun, and not a symbol of Nazi Germany during the time of Adolf Hitler. By the way, the swastika could also be found on some of the first awards of the young Soviet republic.

Even after a millennium of the march of Christianity across Russia, many pagan holidays are safely celebrated, and Maslenitsa is not the only one of them.

In addition, neither winter nor summer Christmas time, which were considered games in honor of the deity Svetovid, which took place during the solar turns either by summer or by winter, also remained forever forgotten. Summer Christmas time to some extent had to merge with the Trinity of Christianity, and winter - with Christmas festivities.

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