The upbringing of children in Russia has long been surrounded by various beliefs, rituals and traditions. Many centuries ago, as now, future parents wanted to protect their children, raise them hardworking and polite, and teach them to read and write. Childhood was considered only the source from which all the qualities of an adult develop. This is evidenced by Russian proverbs: "Learning in childhood is like carving a stone", "Bend a tree while bending, teach a child while listening." Our ancestors had their own eyes on discipline issues. Children were taught to obey parental will and honor elders. Girls and boys were very different. If boys were raised as earners, then girls as future mothers and housewives. From childhood, they were taught diligence, accuracy, hard work, respect for elders, chastity. The parents were obliged to teach the girl to "keep her purity for her husband." "Domostroy", according to which people then lived, demanded from the head of the family: "If you have a daughter and direct your severity to her, you will save her from bodily troubles: you will not shame your face if your daughters walk in obedience, and it is not your fault, if she foolishly violates her virginity, and becomes known to your acquaintances in a mockery, and then they will put you to shame in front of people. For if you give your daughter blameless - as if you will accomplish a great deed, in any society you will be proud, never suffering because of her. " The girls helped with the housework since childhood.if she foolishly violates her virginity, and becomes known to your acquaintances in a mockery, and then they will put you to shame in front of people. For if you give your daughter blameless - as if you will accomplish a great deed, in any society you will be proud, never suffering because of her. " The girls helped with the housework since childhood.if she foolishly violates her virginity, and becomes known to your acquaintances in a mockery, and then they will put you to shame in front of people. For if you give your daughter blameless - as if you will accomplish a great deed, in any society you will be proud, never suffering because of her. " The girls helped with the housework since childhood.
They looked after the younger children, helped in the fields and at home. The mother was obliged to pass on to her daughter the skills that a good wife should possess. From an early age, girls were taught to sew, do needlework, cook, and farm. Prepared for the main role of a woman. Roles of wife and mother. The girls grew up according to traditions and were accompanied by many rituals. So the dowry was prepared for girls from early childhood. And in some villages, the girl herself sewed or embroidered part of her dowry. The ceremonies also concerned the appearance of the girls. For example, for girls from an early age, their hair was braided into one three-pointed braid - this symbolized the unification of vitality. The braid was located strictly along the spine and it was believed that all light forces pass through the hair to the spine (ridge) and fill a person with vitality, preparing her for future motherhood. When the girl got married, the braid was undone and two braids were already braided, because from that time on she received strength not only for herself, but also for the unborn child.
In the growing up of girls, an important stage was the rite of jumping into a poneva (a cloth of cloth that women of Ancient Rus used instead of a skirt). Until the age of 15-16, girls wore long shirts and only then the day came when a special ritual ceremony was performed in the presence of all relatives and neighbors. The girl climbed onto the bench and began to walk along it from side to side. The girl's mother followed her with an open ponytail in her arms and begged her daughter: "Get up, little child, jump up, darling." The girl herself, according to custom, should angrily answer: "I want - I will jump, if I do not want - I will not jump!" The completion of this rite meant that she declared herself a girl of marriageableness and gave the right to suitors to send matchmakers. All her childhood and youth, the girl was under the patronage of her father. After the wedding, the responsibility to take care of the girl passed to the husband. In Russia they said "The father protects his daughter until the crown, and the husband until the end. "The girl was supposed to honor her husband, who was the head of the family. And what her parents taught her, she passed on to her children and grandchildren.