Customs that have survived to this day. Ancient rituals of the Slavs
The synthetic form of culture are rites, customs, traditions and rituals, i.e. what are called patterns of behavior. Rituals are standard and repeated team activities held at a set time and on a special occasion to influence the behavior and understanding of employees of the organizational environment. The power of the ritual lies in its emotional and psychological impact on people. In a ritual, not only the rational assimilation of certain norms, values and ideals occurs, but also empathy for them by the participants in the ritual action.
Rituals are a system of rituals. Even certain management decisions can become organizational rituals that employees interpret as part of the organizational culture. Such rituals act as organized and planned actions that have important “cultural” significance.
IN everyday life enterprise rituals perform a dual function: they can strengthen the structure of the enterprise, and on the other hand, by obscuring the true meaning of the actions performed, they can weaken it. In positive cases, rituals are stage performances of works of fundamental importance. Rituals symbolize beliefs that play a significant role in the enterprise. In combination with outstanding events rituals directly and indirectly highlight the image of the enterprise and the value orientations that dominate it.
Rituals of recognition, such as anniversaries, celebrations of success in foreign service, public recognition, participation in incentive trips - all these events should demonstrate what the enterprise is interested in, what is rewarded and what is celebrated.
A similar function is performed by the so-called initiation rituals, which are usually performed when joining a team. They must clearly demonstrate to the new member what the company really values. If a freshly graduated engineer who graduated from an elite university, in the very first days of his career in the representative office of a company in South America If he is given a broom and asked to start sweeping the room, this can cause disappointment and confusion in the young man. At the same time, he is immediately made to understand that in this enterprise, what is primarily valued is not formal education, but personal participation in business. A parallel can be drawn with enterprises specializing in the production of high-quality products, where almost everyone, regardless of education, starts in the sales field.
In the negative case, the relationship between rituals and value orientations is lost. In this case, rituals turn into an unnecessary, prim and ultimately ridiculous formality, with the help of which they try to kill time, avoid making decisions, and avoid conflicts and confrontations.
The most typical example of this is in ordinary life are negotiations on the conclusion of tariff agreements, especially when this was preceded by workers' protests. Drama prohibits coming to an agreement during the working day. No, we must fight all night, and the new tariff agreement must be signed, if possible, shortly before dawn, so that the union representatives and employers, completely exhausted, can appear in front of the television cameras at first light.
And in enterprises one can often observe how rituals turn into an end in themselves, how they become ballast in the process of implementing the main active goals.
Within the culture of a company, rituals occupy an important place. At the same time, it is necessary to check whether, with their help, value orientations that are also relevant for everyday life are actually conveyed.
Custom is a form of social regulation of people’s activities and attitudes adopted from the past, which is reproduced in a certain society or social group and is familiar to its members. Custom consists of strict adherence to the instructions received from the past. Various rituals, holidays, production skills, etc. can act as customs. Custom is an unwritten rule of behavior.
Traditions are elements of social and cultural heritage that are passed down from generation to generation and preserved in a particular community for a long time. Traditions function in all social systems and are a necessary condition their life activities. A disdainful attitude towards tradition leads to a disruption of continuity in the development of society and culture, to the loss of the valuable achievements of mankind. Blind worship of tradition gives rise to conservatism and stagnation in public life.
Ancient wedding rituals
Wedding rituals in Russia developed around the 15th century. The main components of wedding ceremonies are as follows:
Matchmaking- a wedding ceremony in which the preliminary consent of the bride’s relatives for the wedding was obtained.
Bride– a wedding ceremony in which the matchmaker/(matchmaker), the groom, and the groom’s parents could see the future bride and evaluate her strengths and weaknesses. Bridesmaids were held after the matchmaking, before the handshake.
Handcraft(conspiracy, drinking, zaruchiny, betrothal, vaults) - part of the wedding ceremony, during which a final agreement on the wedding was reached.
Vytie- wedding ceremony, ritual crying. Happens on half of the bride. Its purpose is to show that the girl lived well in her parents’ house, but now she has to leave. The bride said goodbye to her parents, friends, and freedom.
Bachelorette party– wedding ceremony, the day before the wedding, or the days from the hand-waving to the wedding.
Ransom, scolding- a wedding ceremony in which the groom took the bride from home.
Sacrament of wedding
A church wedding or wedding is a Christian sacrament of blessing the bride and groom who have expressed a desire to live together as husband and wife during their subsequent lives.
wedding feast- a wedding ceremony in which the wedding was celebrated over food and drink with jokes and toasts.
Holiday rituals
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IN Pokrov Day (October 14) The girls ran to church early in the morning and lit a candle for the holiday. There was a belief: whoever lights a candle first will get married sooner.
Soon, girls, Pokrov,
We'll have a party soon,
Will play soon
Dear little girl.
If you have fun during the Intercession, you will find a friend.
In some areas, it is customary to put coins in the glasses of the bride and groom. Newlyweds should keep these coins on their table under the tablecloth, which will always ensure prosperity in the house.
If a girl spills a drink on the tablecloth at dinner, this portends a drunkard husband.
In other parts, newlyweds were forced to sleep on sheaves of rye. And these sheaves should be an odd number, say, 21. If this condition was met, it meant that they would not need anything.
On the holiday, girls go to church and put candles in front of the icon of the Intercession of the Virgin Mary and say: “Protection - Most Holy Theotokos, cover my poor head with a pearl kokoshnik, a golden headband.” And if at such a moment the confused guy threw a blanket over the head of the girl he liked, then she unquestioningly became his wife, noted one Arab writer who visited Rus' in the 12th century.
Christmastide
Young people of both sexes gather for the evening, take rings, rings, cufflinks, earrings and other small things and place them under a dish along with pieces of bread, and cover everything with a clean towel, napkin or fly (piece of cloth). After that, those participating in fortune-telling sing a song dedicated to bread and salt and then other sub-course (Yuletide, fortune-telling) songs. At the end of each, turning away, from under the closed dish they take out one object that came to hand first. This is something like a home lottery. A song was used for this ritual, from the content of which a foreshadowing was derived. But since the things taken out from under the dish are not always found by those to whom they belong, a ransom of the things is awarded on this occasion. To the last one, who has already taken the last thing out from under the dish, they usually sing a wedding song, as if foreshadowing an imminent marriage. Then they roll the ring along the floor, observing which direction it will roll: if towards the door, then for a girl - the proximity of marriage; for a guy - departure.
In order to find out what the bride or groom will be like, large or small in stature, you need to New Year go to the woodshed and immediately take a log. If it’s big, then it’s big, and vice versa.
If a girl cuts or pricks her finger until it bleeds New Year's Eve, she will definitely get married next year.
They freeze water in a spoon for the New Year: if the ice is convex and with bubbles, it means long life, if there is a hole in the ice, it means death.
And here’s how Bulgarian girls used to tell fortunes on New Year’s Eve: they gathered together somewhere near a spring, near a well, and in complete silence scooped up a bucket of water, which was attributed with special magical powers. Each girl threw a handful of oats, a ring or a bouquet with her mark into this bucket. The little girl took out these objects one by one, while singing special ritual songs: the words of the songs referred to the future husband of the girl, whose ring was taken out. Then the girls took a little oats from the bucket and put them under their pillows in the hope that they would dream about their betrothed.
Not all fortune-telling was only of a love nature; it happened that girls fortune-telled the weather in the coming year, and through this they made forecasts for the future harvest.
Christmas
To Christmas was coming 40-day Filippov fast. They did not eat meat, they made do with fish. The whole house is fasting, and the old people are celebrating Christmas Eve. The first pancake on Christmas Eve is for the sheep (from pestilence)
IN Christmas Eve(on the night of December 24-25) do not eat until the first star. On the first day of Christmas, figurines of cows and sheep are always baked from wheat dough. They are kept until Epiphany, but on Epiphany, after the blessing of water, the hostess soaks these figurines in holy water and gives them to the cattle (for offspring, for milk yield).
At Christmas time, during the second half of the war, when the two-week “terrible evenings” between the New Year and Epiphany began, the girls wondered especially a lot.
Baptism
“The Christian procedure of Baptism,” writes A.Yu. Grigorenko, is a magical ceremony. Immersing the body in water three times, dressing the baby in clean white shirt in order to preserve the purity of his soul, etc. - all this comes from homeopathic magic, based on the belief that “like produces like”, “the effect is like its cause.”
The custom of blowing on a baby, water, oil in order to give them grace and at the same time drive away Satan, spitting on Satan during Baptism also came from ancient faith- the belief that human breath and saliva have special witchcraft powers. Primitive people believed that blowing and spitting were ways to both convey holiness and ward off evil. The same primitive rite is “tonsuring the hair.” Cutting the hair of a child (or an adult) at Baptism and throwing it into the font is a rudiment ancient belief in that by laying at the feet of the deity an animate part of one’s body, possessing wonderful property growth, a person establishes a strong relationship with him. In ancient times, many peoples had a custom of donating hair to the gods. Thus, in the Phoenician temples of Astrata there was even a special position - galab-elim - God's barber. Statues depicting gods in ancient temples were often covered with men's and women's hair from top to bottom.
And the main element of Baptism is water? Christian theologians explain Baptism by water by the fact that Jesus Christ sanctified the waters of the Jordan, having received his first Baptism from John the Baptist. However, the magical ritual of washing with water is actually much older than Christ and Christianity. Many centuries before the rise of Christianity and the birth of the Messiah himself, the ancient Egyptians dipped babies in water, the Zoroastrians (fire worshipers) of Iran carried newborns to the temple, where the priests bought them in special vessels with water, the Romans bathed the boy on the ninth day after his birth, and the girls are on the eighth level. The rituals of bathing a newborn in water and sprinkling it with water are known among the peoples of Ancient Mexico, China, Japan, Tibet, New Zealand, Africa, etc. In almost all pre-Christian religions there were rites of ritual washing of a newborn, the purpose of which was to cleanse him of evil spirits. The central role in all these rituals was played by water, to which people have long attributed magical qualities. And this is understandable. Water, without which life on Earth is impossible, quite naturally seemed to people as a beneficial force.”
At Candlemas, winter and summer met. In northwestern Rus', writes I.P. Kalinsky, - this holiday is known as gromnitsy, since there is a custom here to carry candles to church on this day for blessing, which are called gromnitsy. Entering into Christian Church consecrating candles instead of pagan torches, the Romans tried to give them a special meaning in the eyes of the people and called them tombstones. The clergy claimed that “these candles destroy the power of demons, so that they do not harm with thunder and lightning, heavy rains and hail, easily brought down by the permission of God, sorcerers or wizards; and therefore the faithful (believers) light these candles during a thunderstorm in order to experience the fruits of prayer; They also give the dying a thunderbolt in their hands to defeat and drive away Satan, the prince of darkness.
Carnival
And we took Maslenitsa for a drive,
But we didn’t even see it in our eyes,
We thought: Maslenitsa is seven weeks,
It's already seven days after Maslenitsa,
Maslenitsa beckoned,
Lent has begun,
And to hell with the radishes,
For white cabbage.
It is known, writes R.N. Sakharov, - that since ancient times in Rus', Maslenitsa has served as the most cheerful and freeing national holiday. In the old days, on Maslenitsa, every day had a special meaning, according to which the very nature of folk fun and entertainment was usually determined. Monday, for example, is called meeting, because then the beginning of Maslenitsa was celebrated; Tuesday - flirting, since this day began various kinds entertainment, dressing up, riding; Wednesday is a delicious day, since then everyone was treated to pancakes and other similar dishes; Thursday - wide, because it began Maslenitsa revelry; Friday - mother-in-law's party, when sons-in-law treated their mothers-in-law; Saturday - sister-in-law's gatherings, as on this day young brides invited their relatives to their feast. Saturday was also the day of farewell to Maslenitsa, since the next day was the day of forgiveness.
“Our Maslenitsa,” we read from I.P. Kalinsky, - could not do without commemorating the dead. Our Church usually devotes the Saturday before Maslenaya Week to the commemoration of departed forefathers, fathers and brothers, and this Saturday is popularly known as Parental or Grandfather Saturday. On the day of forgiveness, there is a tender farewell to each other, which is a kind of request for the forgiveness of each other’s sins. And this forgiveness is accompanied by kisses and the sentence: “let not the sun set on our anger.”
The kids were sledding down the mountains. There was a sign: whoever slides further down the mountain, those in the family will have longer flax.
“Winter entertainment for men and women,” writes historian N.I. Kostomarov, - it was skating on the ice: they made wooden horseshoes with narrow iron strips, which were bent upward in front, so that the iron conveniently cut the ice. The Russians skated with amazing ease and agility.
Winter holiday evenings were spent in the family circle and with friends: songs were sung, khabars (storytellers) told fairy tales, interlocutors asked riddles, dressed up, made each other laugh, girls told fortunes.”
The first pancake was dedicated to the memory of the souls of our parents “our honest parents, here is a pancake for your darling!” – with these words the pancake is placed on the dormer window of the house.
Our ancestors said that the Annunciation is God’s greatest holiday. On this day, as on Easter, Ivan Kupala, the Nativity of Christ, Peter's Day, the sun plays as it rises. Our ancestors not only considered it a grave sin to take on any work at the Annunciation, but they believed that even an unreasonable creature would honor this great holiday. They said that if a bird sleeps through the Annunciation Matins and makes a nest on that day, then as punishment for this, its wings are taken away for a while, and it cannot fly, but instead walks on the ground. According to ancient popular belief, on the day of the Annunciation, God himself blesses the earth and opens it for sowing. This is where the custom began on the eve of this holiday or on the holiday itself to consecrate prosphora or seeds: both are then kept by our rural owners until the first spring sowings, as a sign of God’s visible blessing, for good growth and fertility of the fields. The Day of the Annunciation is associated with many signs and observations by which our common people guess about the weather and the future harvest. Among the rituals and beliefs associated with the Annunciation, some have been preserved from pagan antiquity. Such, for example, is the custom of burning straw beds and old shoes, jumping over fires (whoever jumps higher, his flax will grow taller), fumigation as a preventive remedy against all kinds of diseases. These rituals are close in nature to the Kupala rituals. They expressed faith in the purifying and healing power fire, characteristic of all ancient pagan religions and in particular the ancient Russian one.
Among the Greeks and Romans, during solemn public cleansings, as well as during the performance of cleansing rites by private individuals, fire apparently played on the altar. middle role between the means of burning the sacrifice and the purifying means. Belief in the cleansing power of fire transferred to its derivatives - smoke, coals, brands, ash. We have seen many examples when people explained jumping over ritual fires precisely medicinal purposes. For the same purpose, cattle were driven through the smoke near fires. This also includes fumigation of houses, barns, livestock, etc. with smoke (incense). magical rituals purifications dealt not with one element of fire, but with various combinations: fire was combined with water, iron, garlic and other amulets. The neutralizing properties of fire and smoke, noticed in practice, are transferred to the realm of the supernatural. This is where the idea comes from that fire can destroy all evil, protect from witchcraft, from witches, from evil spirits. Sometimes defense against evil spirits takes very real forms. For example, in some areas of Finland on Thursday Holy Week(3 days before Holy Easter) they drove out evil spirits from the yard: “... they lit a fire in a tar box or in a tar barrel, put it on a sleigh and drove it around the yard. They threw old shoes, pieces of leather, and rags into the fire.”
Many ritual actions associated with fire belong to the complex of fertility magic. It is known to fertilize soil with ash. Scattering firebrands or scattering sparks across fields and gardens is already a magical technique. The Poles tried to put straw with long stems in ritual fires so that the flax would grow tall. The joint jumping of a guy and a girl through the flames of a ritual fire was supposed to cement their future marriage. In some areas of Switzerland, in ancient times, bread baked on the coals of Ivan the Fire (Ivan Kupala) served as a sacrifice to the elements; later it became one of the elements of the daily meal.
Since pagan times, rather rude and ignorant signs have been preserved on the day of the Annunciation: thieves on this day try to steal something in the hope that if they fail to do this now, then they can be confident in the success of their enterprises for the whole year.
To be lucky, you need to burn a pinch or two of salt in the stove: burnt salt is also useful in treating fever or fever.
Whoever happily played toss on the Annunciation will win money in this game all year.
If the housewife on this day, between matins and mass, drives the chickens from their roost with a broom, then by Easter they can already lay fresh eggs for the Revelation of Christ.
If the day on Annunciation is rainy, then in the summer and autumn there will be a lot of mushrooms, and fishermen can count on good catches.
If swallows did not arrive at the Annunciation, then spring is expected to be cold.
As you spend the Annunciation, so will the whole year.
Easter
“During Holy Day, all over Rus' were preparing to celebrate Easter. Everywhere they did Easter, baked Easter cakes, painted eggs, washed, cleaned, cleaned. Young people and children tried to prepare the best and most beautifully painted eggs for the Great Day.
Painted eggs- an inevitable part of the Easter breaking of the fast. There are many legends about the origin of Easter eggs and, in particular, about the origin of Easter eggs. According to one of them, drops of the blood of the Crucified Christ, falling to the ground, took the form of chicken eggs and became hard as stone. The hot tears of the Mother of God, sobbing at the foot of the Cross, fell on these blood-red eggs and left marks on them in the form of beautiful patterns and colored specks. When Christ was taken down from the Cross and laid in the tomb, believers collected His tears and divided them among themselves. And when the joyful news of the Resurrection spread among them, they greeted the tears of Christ from hand to hand. After the Resurrection, this custom was strictly observed among the first Christians, and the sign greatest miracle- tears-eggs - were strictly kept by them and served as the subject of a joyful gift on the day of Bright Resurrection. Later, when people began to sin more, Christ’s tears melted and were carried away along with streams and rivers into the sea, turning them bloody. sea waves... But the most common custom of Easter eggs was preserved even after that ... "
Another legend goes as follows:
“Jesus Christ, as a child, loved chickens, willingly played with them and fed them. And the Mother of God, in order to please Him, painted chicken eggs and gave them to Him as toys. When the trial of Christ began, the Mother of God went to Pilate and, in order to appease him, brought him as a gift eggs painted with the greatest art. She put them in her apron and, when she fell on her face before Pilate, begging for the Son, the eggs rolled out of the apron and rolled all over the world... Since then, they have served for us as a memory of the suffering of Christ and of His resurrection that followed.”
“The images and patterns reproduced on Easter eggs are very diverse and arose in ancient times. Both simple arabesques and stylized images of various sacred and simple objects that serve as decoration for Easter eggs were created a long time ago and are passed on from generation to generation by inheritance and tradition. The technique of making Easter eggs and the art of their tradition. The technique of making Easter eggs and the art of painting them are highly valued among Little Russian and South Slavic women. high level. A special brass handle with horsehair is made, natural colors are selected (yellow, red, green and, less often, black). Paints must be diluted with “clean” water, that is, brought from a well or source that has not yet been contaminated by anyone, especially an “unclean” woman or animal. The Easter egg craftswoman is very wary of any witchcraft and the evil eye. Therefore, everyone who enters the house while painting eggs considers it their duty to spit in the artist’s direction for a long time and say: “Cheer, mind you, don’t jinx it!” And she, in turn, takes a pinch of salt, sprinkles it on paints, eggs, a writing pen and wax and says: “Salt in your eyes.” The culmination of egg painting occurs on Holy Thursday. This is where egg yolk, wax, and both brushes come into play. The artist heats the eggs on the stove and begins to paint them with wax. Wax applied to a warm egg does not allow the paint to soak into the shell in this area. A white pattern will remain under the wax, and paint (say, purple, obtained from sunflower seed husks) will cover the entire egg with a purple tint. The wax will be erased, but the pattern will remain. The process then continues with other colors – in short, a whole art.”
On Easter days, girls do not take salt in their hands so that their palms do not sweat.
They also wash their faces with red water easter egg to be rosy...
"All Easter week– one day; for when Christ was resurrected, then the sun did not set all that week.”
“On Easter,” writes N.I. Kostomarov, “some game organizers made a profit out of this: they set up swings and let them swing, collecting silver money (half a penny) from their faces.”
The Germans of the Rhineland held an “auction of girls”, first timed to coincide with Maslenitsa, later on May 1 or Easter. The girls were played like at a real auction: whichever guy offered the highest price for the girl got her as a dance partner for a month or the whole year. The girl for whom the highest price was paid was considered the “May Queen”, and the guy the “May King”. The guy had to protect and protect the girl in every possible way. Sometimes such comic grooming turned into real. (Spring holidays)
Trinity
When the Magi (aka magicians and astrologers) who lived east of Palestine saw the appearance of a wonderful star, they realized that the Messiah, the “King of the Jews,” was born. They head to Jerusalem to inform the Jewish king Herod about this, and at the same time ask for help in finding this baby. Herod was frightened and called his wise scribes, who reported that, according to ancient predictions, such a messiah should be born in Bethlehem. Herod sends the aliens there so that they find out the name of his future rival, the contender for his throne.
The star accurately indicates to the Magi the place where the baby Christ could be located. The Magi bow before him as a future king, offering him gifts of gold, incense and fragrant resin - myrrh.
A prophetic dream predicts that it is dangerous for them to return to Jerusalem, and the Magi set off for their homeland. Based on the number of gifts presented by the Magi, it was established that there were three of them. This correlated with the three faces of the Trinity, with the three ages of man and the triplicity of the human race, with the Three-Handed Lady - one of the revealed icons of the Mother of God.
The Trinity of fingers makes a cross.
Trinity is Trinity, but three candles are not placed on the table.
But it rains on Trinity Sunday - there are a lot of mushrooms.
Trinity Day is celebrated on the 50th day after Easter. Since ancient times, “Pentecost” has been accompanied by many rituals, such as weaving wreaths, fortune telling, swing rides, boat rides, decorating the house with flowers and birch branches inserted behind the images.
The holiday was associated with the ancient Slavic cult of remembering and honoring ancestors, as well as glorifying the blossoming nature. Its symbol was a young birch tree. On Trinity Saturday, families went to the cemetery. The graves were carefully decorated with wreaths and birch branches.
People have long believed in magical powers naked human body, which can serve as a factor in the fertility of the earth. The Lusatians (a Slavic tribe in Germany) had a custom: a girl who was weeding flax had to, after finishing weeding, run around the field three times, stripping naked and uttering a spell.
On the night of Trinity, it was customary in Rus' to “plow the village” so that the livestock would not die. Girls in all white are harnessed to the plow, and the guy with whips is accompanied in complete silence. They plow the cross with a plow and place incense, bread, juniper or birch branches in the middle. The procession goes around the entire village and returns to this cross. After this, the girls begin to guess.
- They spin around, and whoever falls in which direction, wait for the groom from there.
“They scatter the fragments of an old plow: in which direction the fragment fell, that’s where the betrothed one will come from.”
– They burn old men’s trousers – then there are more brides.
Whit Monday
Every evil spirit fears the spirit of the day. People said: “Since Spiritual Day, not only from the sky, but from under the ground, warmth comes.”
Before the sun rises on Spirits day, the mother of cheese, the earth, reveals her secrets. That is why on this day, after praying to the Holy Spirit, treasure hunters go to “listen for treasures.”
Meeting a wedding on the road means the day will be unprofitable, but a funeral will do the opposite.
Your lip itches - you have to kiss your sweetheart.
Eyebrows itch - for a meeting. If the right eyebrow itches, it’s a sign of a date with your loved one, if left eyebrow itches - a meeting with a deceitful and hypocritical person.
This is how Abbot Pamphilus, who lived in the 16th century in the Pskov region, describes this festival, which has come down from pagan times: “When the holiday comes, on that holy night not all of the city will be in turmoil, and in the villages they will go wild with tambourines and sniffles and the hum of strings, splashing and dancing; wives and girls nod their heads, and their lips are hostile to the screaming, all the nasty songs, and the wobbling of their spines, and the jumping and stomping of their feet; that is, the great fall of man and boy, the whispering of men, women and girls, their fornication, the desecration of married women, and the corruption of virgins.”
“Of these rituals of the Kupala holiday,” writes I.P. Kalinsky, - one cannot help but see that for our ancestors it was some kind of great day of purification by fire and water and at the same time served as the holiday of the summer solstice, when nature acts with a special all-revitalizing and all-exciting force. To prove that it was the ancient Russian Kupala that was a cleansing holiday, it is enough to remember that in general among many peoples of antiquity (we have already talked about this above) fire was considered the highest cleansing element. It is known, for example, that our princes could appear before the Tatar khans only after first passing through fiery bonfires. In the same way, washing with water was constantly recognized by almost all ancient peoples as an action of purification.
In the Rumyantsev collection of 1754 we read: “On Midsummer night they guard treasures, and steam in baths on herbs, and tear herbs, and dig roots, and also tie up birch trees, weave branches, so that the man will live that summer.” In Little Russia, the holiday of the Nativity of John the Baptist is simply called Ivan the Walking, as can be seen from the fact that this day has been celebrated since ancient times with various kinds of folk pleasures, amusements, and entertainments.”
Grass Nechui-wind
Along with fern and other herbs endowed with magical power, our people revered and immortelle. It is called so because it does not wither for a long time, but dries and retains its color and shape well. Ancient people endowed it with supernatural properties, believing that the soul of the deceased moved into this flower so that through it it could communicate with friends and relatives. It is also popularly called by a special name - I can't feel the wind. This intangible wind, according to legends and traditions, helps the blind open treasures. On the night of Ivan Kupala, with a wind, a columbine and a blooming fern in your hands, you had to pick a flower-grass and walk along the lawn until the pain in your eyes appeared. And as soon as it appears, take a spade in your hands and quickly tear up the ground: the sworn treasure must be under your feet.
This grass, according to the legend of sorcerers, grows in winter along the banks of rivers and lakes. Common people think that those who possess this herb can always stop the wind on the water, save themselves and their ships from drowning, and finally, catch fish without nets. The unfeeling wind should be collected on January 1st, on Vasiliev's evening, in the dead of midnight. The villagers think that at this time evil spirits, walking along lakes and rivers, throw the grass Nechui-wind to destroy the storm. Only blind people can find it, and even then they must take it not with their hands, but with their mouths. Then they begin to possess its power.
Adam's head grass is highly respected by the villagers. Sorcerers, like ferns, collect it on Midsummer Day and store it secretly until Maundy Thursday. According to popular belief, the magical power of Adam's head extends only to wild ducks. Hunters who received this herb from the hands of a registered sorcerer fumigate all the shells they use when catching ducks in Maundy Thursday, not otherwise.
It's a starry night on Midsummer - there will be a lot of mushrooms!
Midsummer Day came, I went to collect grass.
On Midsummer's Day, as on the eve of it, bonfires are laid out, lit, jumped over them, and also bathed in water and dew, and danced around the tree. On this day, brownies, mermen, mermaids and goblins commit mischief. The fern blooms at midnight on Ivan Kupala, and with its help treasures are discovered. Kupala dew is sprinkled on the walls of the house, beds and furniture to ward off bedbugs and cockroaches.
On this day, everyone pours water on each other, laughs, and has fun. In the evening the bathhouse is heated. The girls from the roofs of the baths throw a broom and find out which side to wait for the groom.
The night of Ivan Kupala or Kupala night is the time of the highest power of nature: herbs collected on this night were considered the best medicine, just like the dew of this night. IN European countries girls tell fortunes by floating wreaths on the water on Midsummer night. That night the girls roll around naked in the dew. It is customary to do everything silently. Dumbness is a sign of belonging to world of the dead. They silently collect and bring water for magical actions, and it is called “silent water”.
The girl silently picks and brings flowers home to put them under her pillow and see her betrothed in a dream.
Polish girls used flowers to tell fortunes on Ivan Kupala: they pour water taken from a spring or a fast-flowing stream into a basin and throw two flowers without stems into it, say, two daisies; if they go their separate ways, then the lovers will separate; if, while floating, the flowers come together, then they will get married this year.
To bewitch the groom, you need to feed the rooster from the stove damper, saying: “As if this damper would stick to its mouth, so would the rooster stick to its home.”
“Fun and laughter,” writes A.Ya. Gurevich, - are not ordered for a Christian, we see that the preachers themselves often strive to make their listeners smile. But excessive laughter is sinful. Jacques Vitrysky talks about some person who saw Holy Mary with many maidens and wished to be with them. The Mother of God told her: “Don’t laugh for thirty days, and you will be with us.” She did just that, did not laugh for a whole month, after which she died and found the promised glory. Undoubtedly, Jacques de Vitry concludes, that if she had not refrained from laughter, songs and round dances, the Virgin would never have accepted her into her host.
Wet Honey saved
On the first day of the Savior, holy the wells.
On the First Spas the last bathing of horses and other livestock.
Bees stop carrying honey bribes.
Beekeepers break (cut) the honeycombs.
Picking raspberries, bird cherry, preparation medicinal herbs.
If, when raspberries ripen, the first berries are large, then winter rye should be sown earlier.
Poppies are collected in Macabea.
The poppy is not born, we will stay like this.
Wild poppies were also collected as a remedy for witches. It was taken for granted that all you had to do was sprinkle the house with this poppy, and all the intrigues would disappear.
From this day on you are allowed to eat honey.
On the first Spas, peas are pinched.
In the Urals and Siberia, the coning of cedars began.
Cold dew since the first Savior.
In August, the sickles are warm and the water is cold.
The month of August is rich - there is plenty of everything.
It’s August and it’s a good time for fish.
During the harvest, the reapers tried to find the most large number grains Such a spike is called a “wheat uterus” or “ergot”. They are preserved all year until the new sowing; sowing begins with these grains, with the hope of receiving a large harvest from them.
These days you should stock up weeping grass, which protects from all misfortune and human malice. “The grass is a crybaby,” writes I.P. Sakharov - grows like an arrow; the color of her crimson, the horned root. It is good to make a cross from such a root and wear it on yourself - then do not be afraid of the enemy and adversary. God will protect you from every calamity.”
“Healers,” writes Zabylin, “use the root of Plakun to expel brownies, witches and evil spirits guarding treasures. This herb is credited with making unclean spirits cry, which is why it got its name.”
The Second Savior – everything is an hour (the fruits are ripening).
On the second Savior, fruits and honey are blessed, apples are eaten (and before that, only cucumbers).
And there is an increase in hay. Otava - autumn hay, summer hay will be saved.
Love apples
“These are the apples through which you can gain the attention and love of the desired person. This is done very simply: you just have to cut the apple in half, put a note in the middle with the name of your loved one and put it out in the sun. As if, as the apple dries, your beloved person will also suffer for you.”
The first farewell to summer and the meeting of autumn, autumn; people walked into the field singing to see off the sunset.
Nativity of the Virgin Mary
On this day, women welcome autumn by the water. Autumn, the second meeting of autumn. Relatives come to visit the newlyweds. And three days later Fedora - wet your tails. It is believed that on this day autumn rides a bay mare. “Autumn Fedoras tuck up the hem,” says the proverb. And I remember the summer, when girls, while hanging out and playing with guys, didn’t really hold their hems up, flying on rope swings over the heads of amazed men. A.M. Gorky wrote about how guys loved to “reveal the girls’ hems, pulling them right up to their heads...” The girls perceived this quite peacefully, and were not even in a hurry to hide their naked body, but deliberately fiddled with the hem pulled over their heads for a long time. “Not every Indian summer can live up to Fedora.” Rowan ripens. It is collected directly with tassels and hung under the roof. Rowan is used for rowan kvass or strong tincture. Mature viburnum is also displayed. The frost makes the berries sweet. These days, the peasant house is filled with all kinds of vegetables: mountains of carrots, turnips and rutabaga, from which “parenki” are prepared (boiled and dried in a Russian oven). The onions are tied and hung on the walls. Cabbage is chopped and fermented in tubs. Sunflowers are peeling, biting seeds, the whole house has gathered. There is a thick layer of husk on the floor - this is done on purpose to make the day of the harvest celebration memorable. The house smells of apples and vegetables, currant leaves, oak, and dill.
September smells like apples, October smells like cabbage.
In October (in muddy conditions) neither on wheels nor on a sleigh.
“Kapustin’s parties begin these days,” writes I.P. Kalinsky - for two weeks. On Vozdvizhene the grain moved from the field (the last shock from the field), the birds began to fly away, the snakes and grass snakes hid. “The road is by wheel!” - they shout to the cranes to turn them away. IN Astafiev day They tell the weather by the winds: the northern one means it’s cold, the southern one means it’s warm, the western one means bad weather, and the eastern one means it’s a bucket. Among the steppe people, the southern winds are called “sweet” and promise fertility.
Bread is dried in barns by lighting a fire in it. The boys bake potatoes on the fire, they tell different stories, associated with the barn or bean barn - the owner of the barn, who can shove you in the side so that you will take your breath away if you do not please him in some way. It may throw fire onto the sheaves and burn the crop. So you can’t sleep, but you have to guard the fire day and night.”
The owner gets a shovel of bread, and the threshers a pot of porridge.
You cannot thresh a sheaf with folded hands.
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In Russia, traditions are revered and passed on from generation to generation. Some traditions appeared a little earlier, and some later. In this article we will look at those customs that have survived to this day.
Fortune telling for the betrothed
After the baptism of Rus', the traditions of paganism and Christianity intertwined. On the eve of major Christian holidays (Christmas, Epiphany and others), it was customary to carol and tell fortunes. Today there is also such a tradition, the same fortune-telling is used. Fortune tellers gathered in whole groups to find out about their future (wealth, family, children). The most used for fortune telling various items– dishes, clothes, mirrors. Today, girls also get together and tell fortunes, but now this is done more for fun than with the goal of finding out their fate.
People also gathered in groups to sing carols. People gathered and went around houses. Everyone wished the owners all the best, sang songs, and in return they wanted beer, coins, and treats.
At festivities on the occasion of weddings, at fairs and other events, it was customary to dress up in masks and dress up as animals. People hung bells around themselves to make it as noisy as possible. People were dancing and having fun.
Sowing
The tradition of sowing at a party on the eve of Christmas has also reached us. Children and young people gathered in groups, entered houses without permission, threw grain on the floor, singing songs. This ritual promised the owners a rich harvest and happiness. The sowing children were thanked and given coins and sweets.
Advice
This tradition is very fun and the kids love it. Firstly, because they can have fun, and secondly, because they get sweets and coins. At the same time, you can sow not on Christmas, but on Old New Year. Kutya is usually worn at Christmas.
During Maslenitsa week we eat a pancake, and on the last day of the week we burn an effigy. This ritual also came to us a long time ago. The effigy was made from straw. This ritual was a farewell to winter and a welcome to spring.
When did the tradition of celebrating New Year begin?
Previously, the New Year began on September 1. But then Peter the Great issued a decree that the new year begins on January 1. In addition, Peter ordered to decorate houses with pine branches and fire cannon fireworks. And all people had to congratulate each other and wish all sorts of blessings.
Champagne
We didn't always drink champagne. The Russians became acquainted with the sparkling drink after the Napoleonic War. Champagne was served at all social events, in particular at New Year's festivities.
Balls
During Catherine's reign, balls and masquerades were held with dancing and music. The nobility dressed beautifully, everyone tried to stand out. This tradition can be correlated with our New Year celebration.
Tradition of celebrating the Old New Year
Foreigners are always surprised when they hear the name of this holiday. It cannot be said that this tradition began from ancient times, but it is almost 100 years old. After the revolution of 1917 power transferred to Gregorian calendar, and there was a difference of 13 days between them. But people did not stop celebrating the New Year in the old style. And over time it appeared new holiday- Old New Year. This day is always widely celebrated and loved by all residents. They do not prepare for it on such a large scale as for the New Year, but it is still celebrated. As a rule, in a circle of close people.
Conclusion:
There are many traditions. Almost all of them came a long time ago. This is not to say that they are followed everywhere. But most people honor them. We cannot say which traditions will come to us later. And we cannot say how long they will take root, whether entire generations will follow them. But we know for sure that these traditions have existed for a long time, and, for sure, they will continue to be followed.
How did the tradition of celebrating the New Year in January come about?
Since ancient times, pagan beliefs were widespread in Rus', placing the relationship between man and nature above all else. People believed and worshiped various gods, spirits and other creatures. And of course, this faith was accompanied by countless rituals, holidays and sacred events, the most interesting and unusual of which we have collected in this collection.
1. Naming.
Our ancestors took the choice of a name very seriously. It was believed that a name is both a talisman and a person’s destiny. A person’s naming ceremony could occur several times during his life. The first time a newborn baby is named is done by the father. At the same time, everyone understands that this name is temporary, for children. During initiation, when a child turns 12, a naming ceremony is performed during which the priests of the old faith wash away their old childhood names in sacred waters. The name was also changed during life: for girls getting married, or for warriors on the verge of life and death, or when a person did something supernatural, heroic or outstanding.
The naming ceremony for young men took place only in flowing water (river, stream). Girls could undergo this ritual both in flowing water and in still water (lake, creek), or in Temples, Sanctuaries and other places. The ceremony was performed as follows: the person to be named takes a wax candle in his right hand. After the words spoken by the priest in a state of trance, the person being named must plunge his head into the water, holding a burning candle above the water. IN sacred waters little children entered, and nameless, renewed, pure and immaculate people came out, ready to receive adult names from the priests, beginning a completely new independent life, in accordance with the laws of the ancient heavenly gods and their clans.
2. Bath ritual.
The bath ceremony should always begin with a greeting to the Master of the Bath, or the spirit of the bath - Bannik. This greeting is also a kind of conspiracy, a conspiracy of the space and environment in which the bathing ceremony will be carried out. Usually, immediately after reading such a greeting spell, a ladle of hot water is applied to the heater and the steam rising from the heater is evenly distributed in a circular motion of a broom or towel throughout the steam room. This is the creation of light steam. And the bath broom was called in the bathhouse the master, or the largest (the most important), from century to century they repeated: “The bath broom is older than the king, if the king takes a steam bath”; “The broom is the boss of everyone in the bathhouse”; “In a bathhouse, a broom is more valuable than money”; “A bathhouse without a broom is like a table without salt.”
3. Trizna.
Trizna is a funeral military rite among the ancient Slavs, which consists of games, dances and competitions in honor of the deceased; mourning the dead and a funeral feast. Initially, the tributary consisted of an extensive ritual complex of sacrifices, war games, songs, dances and ceremonies in honor of the deceased, mourning, lamentations and a memorial feast both before and after the burning. After the adoption of Christianity in Rus', the funeral feast was preserved for a long time in the form of funeral songs and feasts, and later this ancient pagan term was replaced by the name “wake”. During sincere prayer for the dead, a deep feeling of unity with the family and ancestors always appears in the souls of those who pray, which directly testifies to our constant connection with them. This ritual helps to find peace of mind for the living and the dead, promotes their beneficial interaction and mutual assistance.
4. Unlocking the ground.
According to legend, Yegor the Spring possesses magic keys with which he unlocks the spring land. In many villages, rituals were held during which the saint was asked to “open” the land - to give fertility to the fields, to protect livestock. The ritual action itself looked something like this. First, they chose a guy called “Yury”, gave him a lit torch, decorated him with greenery and put a round pie on his head. Then the procession, led by “Yury,” walked around the winter fields three times. After which they made a fire and asked a prayer to the saint.
In some places, women lay naked on the ground, saying: “As we roll across the field, let the bread grow into a tube.” Sometimes a prayer service was held, after which all those present rode in the winter fields so that the grain would grow well. Saint George released dew onto the ground, which was considered healing “from seven ailments and from the evil eye.” Sometimes people rode along the “St. George’s Dew” to get health, it was not without reason that they wished: “Be healthy, like St. George’s Dew!” This dew was considered beneficial for the sick and infirm, and about the hopeless they said: “Shouldn’t they go out to St. George’s dew?” On the day of Yegor the Spring, the blessing of water on rivers and other sources was performed in many places. This water was sprinkled on crops and pastures.
5. Start of construction of the house.
The beginning of house construction among the ancient Slavs was associated with a whole complex of ritual actions and rituals that prevented possible opposition from evil spirits. The most dangerous period moving to a new hut and starting life in it was considered. It was assumed that the “evil spirits” would seek to interfere with the future well-being of the new settlers. Therefore, until the middle of the 19th century, in many places in Russia, the ancient protective ritual of housewarming was preserved and carried out.
It all started with finding a place and building materials. Sometimes a cast iron pot with a spider was placed on the site. And if he began to weave a web overnight, then this was considered a good sign. In some places on the proposed site, a vessel with honey was placed in a small hole. And if goosebumps climbed into it, the place was considered happy. When choosing a safe place for construction, they often first released the cow and waited for it to lie on the ground. The place where she lay down was considered good for a future home. And in some places, the future owner had to collect four stones from different fields and lay them out on the ground in the form of a quadrangle, inside which he placed a hat on the ground and read the spell. After this, it was necessary to wait three days, and if the stones remained untouched, then the place was considered well chosen. It should also be noted that the house was never built on the site where human bones were found or where someone cut an arm or leg.
6. Mermaid week.
According to popular belief, the entire week before Trinity, mermaids were on earth, settling in forests, groves and living not far from people. The rest of the time they stayed at the bottom of reservoirs or underground. It was believed that dead unbaptized babies, girls who died of their own free will, as well as those who died before marriage or during pregnancy became mermaids. The image of a mermaid with a fish tail instead of legs was first described in literature. The restless souls of the dead, returning to earth, could destroy the growing grain, send disease to livestock, and harm the people themselves and their households.
These days, it was unsafe for people to spend a lot of time in the fields and go far from home. It was not allowed to go into the forest alone or swim (this was of a special nature). They didn't even let me out livestock to pastures. During Trinity Week, women tried not to do their daily household chores in the form of washing clothes, sewing, weaving and other work. The whole week was considered festive, so they organized general festivities, dances, danced in round dances, mummers in mermaid costumes sneaked up on the gape, frightened and tickled them.
7. Funeral rites.
The funeral customs of the ancient Slavs, especially the Vyatichi, Radimichi, Severians, and Krivichi, are described in detail by Nestor. They performed a funeral feast over the deceased - they showed their strength in military games, equestrian competitions, songs, dances in honor of the deceased, made sacrifices, and burned the body on a large bonfire - stealing. Among the Krivichi and Vyatichi, the ashes were placed in an urn and placed on a pillar in the vicinity of roads in order to support the warlike spirit of the people - not to be afraid of death and immediately get used to the idea of corruption human life. A pillar is a small funeral house, a log house, a house. Such houses survived in Russia until the beginning of the 20th century. As for the Kyiv and Volyn Slavs, from ancient times they buried the dead in the ground. Special ladders woven from belts were buried along with the body.
An interesting addition about the funeral rite of the Vyatichi can be found in the story of an unknown traveler, set out in one of Rybakov’s works. “When someone dies among them, their corpse is burned. Women, when they have a dead person, scratch their hands and faces with a knife. When the deceased is burned, they indulge in noisy fun, expressing joy at the mercy shown to him by God.”
The history and culture of the Russian people have been formed over many centuries. During this time, many rituals and customs were formed in Rus', and many of them survived until today. Many traditions are more or less associated with religion, but at the same time have something in common with paganism. Each season has its own rituals aimed at obtaining a good harvest, attracting rain or sun, and also at fighting evil spirits.
Rituals in Rus'
A huge number of traditions are associated with pagan rituals. For example, we can highlight the ritual of caroling, which is dedicated to Christmastide. People go around houses and sing songs called “carols”, and they also send different wishes to the owners, for which they receive different treats. Another famous pagan holiday with which different people are associated is Ivan Kupala. Rituals were carried out mainly in the dark. Single girls they wove wreaths from Ivan-da-Marya flowers and floated them with lighted candles on the water to find out who they would marry. On the day of Ivan Kupala, large-scale celebrations were held, with round dances and jumping over the fire to cleanse the soul and body of various diseases.
There are also Maslenitsa rituals in Rus', for example, on this day there were certainly pancakes on the table, which personified the sun. An indispensable attribute of Maslenitsa is a scarecrow, which was certainly burned, torn into pieces and scattered across arable land. The scarecrow is a symbol of the end of winter and the onset of spring. There are rituals associated with baptism, which symbolizes the spiritual birth of a person. The baptism ceremony must be carried out during the first year. They were chosen for him godparents who had serious responsibilities. The child was named after the name of the saint on the day of baptism. After church rite They held a festive feast, which was attended by all the baby’s relatives.
Traditions and rituals of weddings in Rus'
In ancient times, parents themselves selected matches for their children, and newlyweds often saw each other only in church. A dowry was prepared for the bride, which included dresses, bedding, jewelry, etc.
Family wedding rituals in Rus':
- Not only relatives, but also other residents of the city took part in the wedding feast. It was customary to arrange it even for the poor.
- The bride wore white dress, since this is a symbol of farewell to the old life.
- The newlyweds were sprinkled with grain to make them rich and healthy.
- The bride was kidnapped, which symbolized the girl’s transition to a new family.
- Parents certainly greeted the bride and groom with a loaf and icons.
- The groom always came to pick up the bride in a transport with bells.
- The matchmakers handled the ransom, and the groom entered the house only when the ransom was completed.
- At the celebration, the bride and groom were seated at a separate table, which was located on a hill - a locker. The table was covered with three tablecloths and salt, sea otter and cheese were placed on it.
Funeral rites in Rus'
All rituals associated with funerals are aimed at facilitating the transition of deceased people to the kingdom of God. The deceased was dressed in new and clean clothes, put on a pectoral cross and covered with a funeral veil. The main rite is the funeral service, but it was not performed for suicides, as well as for people who had not confessed for a year before their death. The unbaptized dead were also not buried. IN ancient Rus' Flowers and music were not used at funerals. After the deceased was interred, a memorial meal was certainly held, but bringing food to the graveyard was unacceptable.
The forces of nature are perhaps the only thing that I have not yet been able to cope with in to the fullest Human. The world has learned to treat complex diseases, clone living organisms, conquer space and the endless depths of the ocean, but still remains defenseless against droughts and tsunamis, earthquakes and glacier collapses.
An ancient ritual dedicated to the forces of nature, gave a person a certain unity with the nature of the world, the opportunity to curb it. The amazing, inexplicable power of the period has always interested humanity - it tried to comprehend this secret, join it, make it part of own life. This is how ancient rituals appeared, the rudiments of which have survived to this day.
Man of the metropolis
If you approach a modern person and say: “Name the ancient rituals dedicated to the forces of nature,” he will hardly be able to remember at least one name, describe at least any sacrament that was sacred to distant ancestors. Of course, the world has changed significantly, objects have lost their magical properties in a world where there is practically no room for mystery among skyscrapers, airplanes, the Internet and banal hand dryers. However, this was not always the case.
The Power of the Ancients
In almost every culture there is a place for people who are able to come into contact with natural phenomena: Magi, shamans, sorcerers, clairvoyants, priests and simply elders. Ancient rituals dedicated to the forces of nature were far from uncommon in the past. People had more faith then, and the world itself, as they say in old legends, responded much more willingly to human requests.
Paganism is characteristic of almost all cultures of the world. Of course, there were significant differences between the beliefs of representatives of different races and territories, which was naturally due to the difference in the environments in which they were immersed. However, the key aspects were almost identical. For example, in all cultures there was a cult of sun worship.
Why nature
In fact, why exactly water, air or fire were worshiped in rites dedicated to the forces of nature did not arise out of nowhere. If we think logically, then in ancient times man was directly dependent on the harvest, weather conditions, the whims of the climate. Naturally, he tried with all his might to appease the elements, make friends with the rains, and tame the winds and snowstorms.
Winter rites
For our ancestors, perhaps the most long-awaited season was spring, on which the future harvest directly depended. Ancient rituals dedicated to the forces of nature were in in this case especially important - it was necessary to appease the pretty beauty. And this process began with a holiday called Komoeditsa, which later became familiar to us Maslenitsa. On this day, our ancestors dressed in bearskins, sang songs, and performed ritual dances. The awakening of the clubfooted forest dweller signaled the arrival of spring for our ancestors.
Another traditional winter ritual was the burning of badnyak - a ritual log that was burned on Christmas Eve. Sentencing ritual formulas while striking sparks guaranteed the ancestors not only a successful change of seasons, but also an increase in livestock, which was no less important. By the way, there is a similar ritual in Indo-European culture, where the deity Agi Bukhnya acted as a badnyak.
Slavic rituals
In order to find out how the ancient Slavs used magic, you should turn to history. First of all, a distinctive feature of Slavic culture can be called the fact that human sacrifice has been unacceptable here since ancient times. But there were still animal sacrifices. For example, in order to appease the water element, our ancestors threw a rooster to the bottom, which was supposed to entertain the sea owner, putting him in a good mood.
In order to appease Yarila with light and fertility, the Slavs organized another ancient ritual dedicated to the forces of nature - noisy celebrations with jumping over a fire. These actions had the function of a ritual - the fun of the people in honor of Yarila’s meeting promised people a rich harvest, gentle sunshine and speedy procreation.
The rituals and ceremonies of the ancient Slavs cannot but delight with their beauty and purity. Together with Yarila, in the spring, Svarog and Dazhdbog were honored, for example, in whose honor girls dressed in the best clothes danced in circles.
Farewell to the sun during Ivan Kupala was accompanied by the ritual rolling of a burning wheel into a clear field. The ritual attribute symbolized the transition of the sun to its decline, the reduction of the circle.
At the same time, on Kupala night, young girls preparing to become brides also turned to the water element in a ritual. After performing round dances and songs in honor of Rod, Mokosh, Mother Earth, Water, and Rozhanitsa, the girls stripped naked, unraveled their braids and entered the water, addressing it as an element that took away their old life and gave them a new one.
Rites of the earth
Of course, our ancestors could not help but turn to Mother Earth. Characteristic in this regard is the ritual of sowing and harvesting fields. Only the man had to pour the grain into the field - in this case, the parallel with procreation and the gift of seed is clearly seen.
Initially, naked women were supposed to take care of the fields and harvest the crops, who in this case personified the maternal principle of the earth. From them, power was supposed to be transferred to the fields for the continuers of the family. Harvesting, thus, turned into the birth of new life by the earth.
In fact, ancient rituals dedicated to the forces of nature have survived rudimentarily to this day. Bonfires are still lit on Kupala holidays, New Year celebrations are still associated with sparkling lights, and the scarecrow of Maslenitsa and the subsequent eating of pancakes is still considered perhaps the most beloved winter holiday.
