Christmas-tide

Main article: Christianity

Connection of the holiday with the winter solstice

In the book by Ivan Bozheryanov "How the Russian Christmas of Christ, New Year, Baptism and Shrovetide" (1895), an electronic copy of which is posted on the portal of the Presidential Library, it is said that the celebration of the Saints came from Greece. Ivan Bozheryanov writes: "There is evidence that the establishment of the feast of the Nativity of Christ (" sun of truth ") on December 25 was made by the Christian church in order to oppose the great Christian holiday to the pagan celebration of the" day of the sun of the invincible '. "

Holy is a time that is close to the winter solstice, at this time, according to pagan beliefs, the border between the world of people and the world of spirits is blurred, and an unclean force roams the earth from which the future can be deduced. A special day, when the holy divination was in full swing, was considered Vasiliev Day (January 14), so named in memory of St. Vasily the Great.

Church rules

"The first three days, according to ancient custom, Christians left all worldly and everyday affairs, not only private, but also civil and public," says priest Grigory Dyachenko's book "Festive Rest of a Christian" (1900). "This week, slaves were given freedom from labor, and prisoners - commemoration, and everyone - universal forgiveness," so as not to "pursue each other with vengeance for the grievances inflicted."

The other nine days were called "holy evenings." These days, it was charged with the obligation to read the holy books and "conduct heartbreaking family conversations."

Yuletide festivities

Yuletide festivities began on the eve of the Nativity of Christ, after sunset. "That same evening, the settlers fill the interior of the hut with straw or hay; sheaves are placed in the corners; under the image and on the table covered with hay, a head of garlic is placed in front of each person to ward off all diseases, "wrote Alexander Tereshchenko in his book"The Life of the Russian People "(1848). In his study, the outstanding ethnographer recalled another excellent tradition: "During the carol days, they forgot the old enmity, reconciled and entered into a new friendship. Hospitality, various feasts, and feasting invitations dominated the world. "

The tradition of masquerade in Russia persisted, passing from century to century. The Russian people called masks "faces," and at court there were special masters "horns" who prepared masks. From time immemorial, buffoons were of great importance - subsequently some of them turned their buffoon vatags into gangs of robbers. Ivan Bozheryanov writes that the time of the Saints in Russia was turbulent: "sometimes festivities led to robberies and robberies - so the saying appeared that" from Christmas to Epiphany, devils run at night '. "

The Christian Church did not bless participation in masquerades and divination, calling them "pernicious and pagan fiction," "alien to Christian life," contrary to the dignity of human nature. " On this basis, it was forbidden on Svyatki "to start, according to ancient idolatrous legends, playing" and, dressing up as "idol robes," "to produce dances and seductive songs along the streets."

Of particular importance on Yuletide days was the carol rite, when the participants visited the houses and performed eulogies to the owners of the house, for which they received ritual treats.

Despite the prohibitions of the Christian church, pagan divination rites, dress-ups and caroling persist to this day, conveying the magic and magic of the Yuletide days.

Shrines in Russian culture

It is important to understand that holy days have formed a huge layer of unique folklore in Russian culture. Rare books can be found in the Presidential Library fund containing detailed descriptions of yuletide games and fortune telling, as well as carols collected by both professionals and lovers of domestic literature.

The miracle of the holy days is displayed in the works of Russian fiction, in which the genre of Christmas or holy story, built on the "holy canon," where the presence of a "Christmas miracle," transformations and a "favorable" ending is mandatory.

As an example of creating a yule story, one can refer to the story of the priest John of Galabut "Christmas Dream." On Christmas Eve, twelve-year-old Petya Candle is preparing to take the psalm reading exam. The dream of receiving a certificate of graduation from a parish school, which he "will insert into a frame under the images in the corner," is associated with an alarming excitement "not to stream or get lost" in the exam. But a miracle happens - in a dream he sees Petya "burning a wonderful, extraordinary light" Christmas star, meets "as if acquaintances, with staffs in the hands" of the Magi and surrounded by the quiet, ethereal radiance of the Baby Christ, who instills faith in him in his strength.