The wheel of life spins continuously, from birth to death and on to a new birth. That is why the holidays of the beginning of winter traditionally symbolized the dying of the old and the birth of the new. Summing up the results of the year and preparing for the new year - this is what the Slavs celebrated in December.
Day of Dawn - the triumph of the light gods
In the shortest days of the year, the most important thing was to respect the light gods, to call upon their mercy to people. Therefore, on December 4, the Slavs celebrated the day of veneration of the Dawn. The legend speaks of Zarya as a red maiden who unlocks the heavenly gates in the morning and releases the Sun into the sky. In another legend, the Morning Dawn precedes the Sun-Dazhbog in the sky, brings his white horses to the sky, and the second sister, Evening Zarya, returns the horses to the stall when Dazhbog finishes circling the heavens. On the day of Dawn, the Slavs celebrated the continuity of day and night, months and years.
Julius Clover, Sunset in Winter.
In the morning, the eldest man in the family cleansed the house with four elements, this rite has survived to this day, and it can be performed if there is a need to energetically cleanse the habitat. The house was fumigated with the smoke of various herbs, for example, St. John's wort, which symbolized the element of Air. The element of Fire was represented by candles: with a lit candle, they walked around the house counterclockwise, in the corners they made small circles with a candle. For magical cleansing by the "earthly element", they used salt, often still calcined in a pan, and thereby strengthened by the element of Fire: this salt was scattered from the evil eye. To cleanse the house with Water, we washed the floors with brine three times, it was considered especially important to clean the corners of the house so that no evil would accumulate there. On the day of Dawn, it was forbidden to wash, whitewash and knead clay, but all kinds of needlework were encouraged, since the Slavs believed that Zarya taught people to embroidery.
From the holiday of Dawn it is very close to Veles's day, so the children prepared for it, told the adults what skills and abilities they had acquired in a year, what they could boast of before Veles.
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Veles day - the holiday of Santa Claus
December 6 was the time of the patron god of many aspects of Slavic life. Veles looked after everyone - for people, animals and crops, in front of him were all members of the Slavic community, from small children to wise magi.
Apollinary Vasnetsov. & quot; Bath in winter & quot;.
One of his names is known to everyone: it was believed that Veles controls the winter cold, and therefore our ancestors called him Santa Claus. In other words, a New Year's character that brings joy to children and adults is much older than it is commonly believed. On the day of Veles, the Magi in red festive clothes went around the house, and the children traditionally told them what they had learned during the year. For serious achievements, the children were entitled to gifts, but Santa Claus could punish careless lazy people, sometimes even freeze them to death. However, the children tried their best not to anger the omniscient god, but to please him with their knowledge.
Veles was also considered the god of wisdom, witchcraft and fortune telling. Legends say that he could walk between three worlds, and he came to the world of people to see if it was necessary to direct human souls to peace and goodness. Veles also took care of the Magi, priests and sorcerers, who received from him the gift of witchcraft and the ability to wander disembodied in other worlds in order to enrich themselves with eternal wisdom.
To glorify Veles, his priests dressed up in animal masks and sheepskin coats, which symbolized prosperity and warmth, and walked around the yards and stables, proclaiming conspiracies about the health of domestic animals. The fact is that this omniscient god was, among other things, the patron saint of domestic animals, it was not for nothing that he was also called the "Cattle God".
The crops in the Slavic fields were also in the department of Veles. When the harvest was ripe, bends were left in the field, called "Veles' beard", as if sacrificing a part of the ears to the guardian god. At the end of the harvest season, the last sheaf was also dedicated to Veles, and Veles's beard was braided at the end of the harvest and stored until spring, in the spring it was threshed and the first furrow was sown with grains from it.
Korochun - Slavic Samhain
Following the good Veles, who helped people in many matters, the god with the eloquent name Korochun (Karachun), which can be called the Slavic Samhain, came to earth to celebrate his triumph. And now they say “Karochun has come”, meaning that something has come to a final and irrevocable end. For our ancestors, the day of December 21 completed the annual circle, when Koschey-Korochun, in the guise of an old man with a sickle in his hands, “wrapped up” past existence, giving way to the birth of a new sun and a new year.
Julius Clover. & quot; Winter sunset in a fir forest & quot;.
Two weeks before the holiday, the Time of Silence began - the time for paying off debts, forgiving offenses, completing all affairs and letting go of everything that has lost its value. In the Days of Silence, the Slavs purified their soul and body, limited themselves to food (especially meat) and strove for purity of thoughts and the accomplishment of good deeds.
(Note from the editor - these days, throw out the trash without regret, give the needy clothes and things that you do not use. The less unnecessary in your house, the more room there will be for those good things that will come next year).
On the Night of Korochun, the souls of ancestors came to Yav to find out how their children and grandchildren live, and, if necessary, ask them what kind of life they led in the outgoing year: how they fulfilled their ancestral duty, lived truthfully or falsely, glorified native gods or worshiped outlandish.
On Korochun, the Circle of Times ended and the time for the birth of a new world, a new circle, inevitably came.
Kolyada is a new Sun, a new life
The power of the night over Reality was short - already on December 24, the holiday of the birth of a new circle of life was approaching, and Bozhich-Kolyada appeared on earth. It was the God of the Winter Sun, born of Mother Lada, a child of eternal existence, who wakes up again and again. He began a new year for people, the sun was setting in the summer, the day began to arrive and it was not so long to wait for spring. Before the arrival of Kolyada, in every house they put a symbol of the Tree of the Family in the water - a decorated willow or cherry. Honoring the young Bozhych, the Slavs every year affirmed the triumph of Light, the victory of good over evil.
Gabriel Kondratenko. & quot; Winter evening & quot;.
Until dawn on the day of Kolyada, the entire community, chanting glories to the Sun, went to the sanctuary, where brushwood was prepared in advance for the future ritual fire. Everyone became a crescent around the fireplace, facing east, a sacred fire was lit and people were waiting for the first rays of the sun to appear. The sunrise was also greeted with singing, and when the luminary rose above the earth, the magi read prayers in honor of the luminary - Kolyada, recalled the glorious deeds of the Slavs, especially those of them that were accomplished with the help of the solar God.
The first heralds of the birth of the new Sun were children. In the morning, the children went around the houses of their fellow villagers with greetings "Kolyada-God for glorification", they were expected with impatience, as good messengers, and traditionally generously treated. It was believed that the more children come to praise Kolyada, the more abundant the new year will be for the family. It is interesting that in the morning only boys went to carol, because on big holidays the first guest should enter the house, a man who will bring happiness and prosperity to the household.
For dinner, each family cut a fresh loaf - the symbol of the sun god - into eight parts, according to the number of rays of the sun. The holiday ended with a national festivities: in the evening people went out to see the Sun off on a nightly rest with ritual songs and prayers.
Among other things, the day of Kolyada was dedicated to the unity of the clan. Children were certainly supposed to visit their parents, and if they had already died, then take the festive food to their grave.
Veneration of the Great Mother Lada - the forever young goddess of love
The day after the holiday of Kolyada, December 25, the Slavs honored the mother of all the Native Gods, the wife of Svarog - the goddess Lada. Our ancestors revered Lada as the goddess of earthly love and the patroness of family happiness, it is no coincidence that the wedding conspiracy was called "Ladins" among the Slavs.
Krylov Nikifor & quot; Winter Landscape & quot;.
Lada was often depicted as a beautiful young woman with a baby in her arms. Her holiday was especially important for women just expecting the birth of a child. Pregnant women who worship the Great Mother hoped for an easy birth and a happy fate for their future children. On the day of Lada, it was customary to visit and give presents to midwives who help babies to be born. Mother Lada was especially respected by women who had daughters: it was believed that from the great goddess girls can receive beauty, intelligence and family happiness as a gift. And the girls asked the patroness of the family for help in finding a betrothed, with whom you can live your whole life in harmony and never know grief.
On the day of the Great Mother's celebration in the red corner of the hut, women placed bouquets of dried flowers and leaves, laid out wreaths and winter varieties of apples. Grain, pancakes and pies were thrown into a specially made ice hole as a sacrifice to Lada, the edges of the ice hole were often watered with decoctions of herbs and decorated with ribbons and variegated shreds.
Unlike Kolyada, on Ladin's day, festive songs were sung only by girls who were called "Ladovitsy", and their ritual round dances - "Ladin's kolo". Lada could bring peace and harmony to every family, save people from quarrels and strife, and therefore she was revered by all members of the Slavic community, young and old.
After the day of Mother Lada, the swing of new life was considered to be neglected, and our ancestors began to prepare for the spring rebirth of nature, although they had to survive two more months of a dark, cold winter.
Ekaterina Kravtsova
