Ancient Slavic calendar. Slavic holidays, we are Russian!!! we are Slavs!!! July 21 Slavic holiday

When reconstructing the sacred days of our ancestors, six obstacles arise:

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

2) Due to the original tribal fragmentation, some holidays took place at different times (such as, 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 order. Firstly, many holidays were prohibited, 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 own saints, similar in name to the rejected deity (such as the day Veles was replaced by the day of St. Blaise). Secondly, the “learned” priests could not decide on their holidays, which were rearranged from place to place more than once. For example, the Moscow Council of 1492 moved the New Year celebration from March 1 to September 1; and the 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 starting point of our era), and January 1 as the specific date of Christmas (and although this was not accepted by the church, this is where the pan-European tradition of celebrating the New Year stems from). year January 1, which was introduced in Russia by Peter I).

4) The same Christian “enlighteners” replaced the fixed dates of 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 - the summer solstice, etc. Nowadays these sacred days are separate holidays).

5) The replacement of the Julian calendar by the Gregorian calendar in 1528 by Pope Gregory XIII (which moved the dates forward by 10 days, and forced them to be moved another day every century) 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 anyone 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 The Slavs took seconds into account secretly, distributing them according to the days of the year. See for yourself: the majority 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 full 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 calculation on Earth began, for some reason does not want to take into account the doctrines of humanity and still changes the length of the day on the same dates.

6) Well, and of course, as always, it cannot be done without hoaxers and pseudoscientists who imagine themselves as prophets/Fuhrs and try to invent something new based only on their own speculations and other people’s forgeries. Despite these obstacles, I have tried to reconstruct the rituals and festivals as accurately as possible. And yet, if you find an error somewhere, then make allowances for the six above factors that persistently put a spoke in my wheels.

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

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

January

He is also Szechen (cutting off one year from another), Perezimye, Stuzhaylo, Studen and Prosinets.

January 1 (currently accepted date after all changes in calendars) - New Year's holiday, Tausen or Ovsenya day.

People organized family, clan or community feasts from the best supplies. They considered it their duty to worship the Earth. Children tied table legs with salt in order to better bind household members together. The youth started games - snow wars (a symbol of the struggle between the old and new years) and slides. “The whole world” produced a “living fire” through friction, which was supposed to burn unquenchably for six days (in memory of those times when such a fire burned on the temples for a whole year, and its new kindling symbolized the participation of all people in God’s work to create a new time ). Ovsen himself was also honored as the giver of gifts and the patron of those who give. Similarities to later caroling were held (see below). In Ukraine, analogues of carols, which are sung not at Christmas, but at New Year, are called “shchedrovki”. Songs were sung calling for goodness to the generous and failure of the harvest for the stingy. For example:

1) Oh, oats, oh, carols!
- Is the owner at home?
- He’s not at home;
He went to the field
Sow wheat.
- Sow the wheat,
spiked ear,
The grain is grainy!

2) Tausen, Tausen!
Give me a damn, give me some guts,
Pork leg!
A little bit of everything!
Carry it - don't shake it,
Come on - don't break it!

(if served)

From a good man
Rye is born good:
A spikelet of thick
The straw is empty!

(if they don't serve it)

From a stingy guy
Rye is born good:
The spikelet is empty,
Straw thick.

In those days when Autumn Day and the Winter Solstice were one holiday, the rituals also included fist fights (in pairs, wall-to-wall, general fight), which began with the children fighting each other with snowballs “for starters.”

From 1 to 6 January - the evil spirits, enraged by the human holiday, are especially angry and do not allow anyone passage. At this time, people paid special attention to the hearth and amulets. They made sure that the “living fire” did not go out. They also tried to keep an eye on the children so that they would not get caught by the evil spirits, who were literally going berserk.

House-house,
Give me some brush,
So that there is no trouble,
So that there are raspberries,
So that my dear loves,
So that you can sleep peacefully,
So that it doesn't hurt,
So that the courtyard knows
So that the forest guy doesn’t take it,
So that God knows,
So that everything is neat.

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

4 January - the shaky eggs were prepared, the children bowed to their mother, then everyone bowed to their family, and then to their cattle.

5 January - to protect cattle from evil spirits, the stalls were lined with straw, and the mangers were sprinkled with thistle leaves. The eldest woman in the family secretly kneaded the dough and baked cookies in the shape of all the pets.

6th January - Veles Day (first Veles, Veles the 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 providing 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 - Sunday week. The time when the shlikuns crawl out of the hole and run through the streets. It's time for the Sabbath. Kikimoras give birth to new shlikuns.

Jan. 7 - Kolyada. Sun Festival. Once upon a time, it and the winter solstice were one holiday, and their rituals were merged. After the division, Kolyada was left with the following... From this day until the 13th, caroling lasted: mummers walked around the courtyards and sang songs in which they asked or demanded that the owners bring gifts (food, money, jewelry) and, if successful, sang blessing songs. Example:

Kolyada-kolyada!
Give me some pie
Or a loaf of bread,
Or half a buck,
Or a chicken with a crest,
Cockerel with a comb!
Or a bunch of hay,
Or a pitchfork to the side.

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

Hey you, satanic power!
Tell me what do I deserve?
If I get married, ring the bell,
And if I die, cry with my voice,
I'll stay as a girl - go by,
If they turn themselves into soldiers, shoot them with a gun!
(later interpretation)

During family gatherings, adults used riddles to teach children a correct understanding of the world. They drove out evil spirits by cleaning.

On this day, the Earth absorbed oathbreakers.

In some areas, oatmeal jelly was prepared, after which the elder went out onto the porch with it and called on Frost to help himself, in return asking him not to destroy the oats, flax and hemp. If the housewife found a ball of black thread these days (evil spirits or damage), she hurried to sweep it away with a nettle broom prepared in the summer. The legs of the table were again tangled, but this time for a different purpose - so that the cattle would not run away. To warm the dead parents, huge fires were lit.

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

From 8 to 15 January - It's a crazy week. It is not entirely clear what kind of holiday this is in A. Asov’s view, however, it is quite possible that this is an altered name for Christmastide, 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 give birth correctly. Those who were midwives in one family or another were visited with pies or porridge. Women in labor were also treated. As a symbol of the path 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 in some other way, and they treated them to sweets.

January 9 - on this day, workers, if they had any complaints, could terminate contracts with their employers.

January 10 - a day dedicated to household members. In the twilight of this day, it was supposed to ask children riddles, forming their correct worldview.

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

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

January 14 - they “sowed” grain from the sleeves around the huts and sang, for example, the following songs:

1) I sow, I sow, I sow,
Happy New Year.
For the New Year, for new happiness
Be born wheat,
Peas, lentils.
In the field with heaps,
There are pies on the table.

2) We will tell you, we will show you!
pig legs,
Pyushki-flatbreads
They are sitting in the oven,
They're looking at us!
They want to eat!

A. Buenok suggests that it was the Ovsenya holiday. This is fully confirmed by the belief that this day is a pig holiday (sometimes it was believed that Ovsen arrives 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 pester a person. Therefore, twelve dolls were made, attached 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 from under the Chernobyl site on Kupala night). Also on this day, chickens were glorified ("chicken slavins") and chicken coops were protected: swamp moss ("frog silk") was shaken around them, and cakes made from ash and flour were taken out. On this date, a black seven-year-old rooster lays an egg in the manure, from which a basilisk will hatch.

January 16 - threw out the dolls 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, were able to milk the cows. Therefore, a talisman was hung over the doors of the stable. The cows themselves were treated to flour oatmeal and cow bread sprinkled with clover hay. It was believed that only on this day could a prisoner (spoiled, sick) be brought to his senses.

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

January 18 - Frost day. It was believed that on this day Korochun-Frost, together with the winter wolf and the Navy, come to people. And people invited them to a treat, throwing the first spoon of kutya out the window, and in return they asked Frost to lie all summer, as it should be, in the nettles. On this day, the Fire Serpent was warded off with snow placed at the mouth of the stove. In the garden, the trees were shaken with a sentence so that the harvest would be better. At the end of the Christmas evenings, the girls treated the boys to soaked peas, which the children collected from home for this purpose. This happened in a room that was illuminated by a carol splinter (during carols, the children asked not only for a treat, but also for it: “Give splinters for the New Year, for the old ones to sit, for the little ones to play, to have fun, to make jokes! Whoever doesn’t give a splinter will have a pine coffin!” ).

January 19 - generosity. Lada Day. In honor of Lada, songs were sung, ice holes were made on frozen rivers and lakes, “so that Lada could breathe,” and pies, grain, and especially pancakes were thrown into them for her. Then the feasts and festivities began. On this day, weavers collected snow to whiten canvases. The whole house and those who took part in the mummers' games were thoroughly washed. Brides' viewings were timed to coincide with this day. It was sometimes believed that the sky opened on this day. It was noted that the wind on this date signified the harvest.

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

January 21 - on this day, due to unsuccessful love, the guys were supposed to get rid of their anger and not accumulate any more. Note: if there is a snowstorm, bees will swarm well; a day at the end of the month - the summer will be damp, and the year will be difficult for livestock; if it is warm, then spring will be cold. If there is thick frost or snow flakes, there will be a large harvest of bread. Many stars - there will be a lot of 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 - a harvest of vegetables.

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

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

The 25th of January - it is customary to wash the rugs and note in passing: if the snow falls evenly in winter, in the spring you should sow thicker, and if it lies in beds or swells, sow less often. Girls born on this day become housewives.

January 26 - cold weather sets in for a long time and firmly. If crows and jackdaws sit with their noses towards the sun, it means warmth.

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

28 January - a person born on this day had a linen tow placed under his pillow to ward off bad dreams. On this date, the owners shake off the fruit trees, saying: “As I shake off the white fluffy snow and frost, so the spring will shake off every worm.” If there is fog in the morning, it means harvest.

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

January 30 - Perezimnik. On this day, they entangled the evil spirits: the first person to go out into the street walked from the porch with his heels first, while a line was drawn in the snow across the path with something sharp, cutting off the path to the house. Restless people are born. They baked special oatmeal buns and served them with the saying: “Live smoothly, eat and drink sweetly!” If the moon shines brightly, the next day will be clear. There is nothing to boast about on this day.

January 31 - day of the stove and fire. Healers cast spells on chimneys to protect against witches: they poured ash from seven stoves onto the chimneys and cast a spell on the western fence (and sometimes drove the witches out to the Sabbath). On this date, children conjured the fire burning in the stove in a song-like manner. For example:

Burn, burn hot,
Zakharka will come,
On a gray horse
Wife on a cow
Children on calves
Servants on dogs.

February

Our ancestors called this month Fierce (for severe frosts), Snezhen, Mezhen, Kruzhen and Bokogrey.

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

February 2 - on this day they noted what Maslenitsa and spring would be like. If there is a blizzard, the entire Maslenitsa is blizzardy, if there is sun at noon - it means early spring, if it is cloudy - it means late frosts.

February 3rd - on this day they established family happiness. The husband and wife came out of the porch, holding hands, walked up to the apple tree and shook off the snow with their undivided hands.

4 February I am a half-winter worker. On this day, beekeepers checked the bees: if they hum quietly, they are enduring the winter well, if they are restless, it means that problems have arisen.

February 5th - Half-bread. Only half of the prepared reserves remain. At night they lit a candle and placed it on the windowsill, and from the outside of the hut they left water and a piece of bread for travelers.

February 6 - women born on this day brought into the world the clothes 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, so is spring) and bread prices: if on this date bread in 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 scales, and weigh it again the next morning and, based on the difference in weight, determine whether the price of bread will rise, fall, or remain unchanged.

February 7 - Half-winter. In some regions of Rus', the brownie's name day 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 rings loudly, they were waiting for frost. Stable "pea" people are born. It was believed that on this day the dead were homesick for the earth, and for them hot ash was poured onto the stove (warming their souls) and they said: “Do not go to the courtyard, orphan souls! But go to the western side. There you will have eternal joy.”

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

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

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

12th of February - those born on the day after forest battles are 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 stormy summer.

February 13 - they go to see if anything has happened to the ridge of the roof: after all, if a goblin rides the ridge, the hut will shake.

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

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

Bucket sun, look out, red, from behind the mountain,
Look out, sunshine, until springtime.

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

February 16 - they were repairing the 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 not be torn in time. On this day, the owner's whip, onuchi and mittens were tied to the horse so that the brownie would not ride it to death.

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

February 19 - on this day the mistress of the barn bowed to all corners and said:

Domozhirushko,
Water and feed the cattle,
Eat and keep
Drive smoothly.

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

February 20th - prepared potions and decoctions from the mighty plant (cinquefoil). They noticed: blue clouds float high - to good weather, low - to warmth, and if they begin to melt on the north side - to a warm summer. On this day, witches and healers are born.

24 February - Veles day (second Veles, Veles the beast). It was believed that this holiday of the cattle god was the main, the most ancient, since, unlike the other “Veles”, it retained its 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 knocks off Winter’s horn. On this holiday, sacrifices of milk, butter, cottage cheese and cheese were made to Veles.

February 26 - people went out into the fields, calling out to the stars and deceased loved ones; They looked at the sky for a long time, remembering their family, and believed that the stars would give their eyes vigilance.

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

28th of February - Winter competition. Spring and winter are fighting. On this day, the shepherds called out to the stars, conjuring them to help in breeding sheep and protecting them. After this, the owners treated the shepherds. Also on this day they “spun” the yarn, i.e. the women selected a skein of the best yarn and exposed it to the dawn, believing that the yarn would then be clean, white and strong. Even on this date, seeds prepared for sowing were exposed to the frost for “three dawns.” For those born on this day, to gain health from livestock, they brought a newly born goat or sheep, or a sheepskin coat or a sheepskin hat.

February 29 - a day of misfortune. People believed that nothing good could happen on this date. D. Dudko considers this day dedicated to the underground destroyer Viy (by analogy with the destructive views of him and Saint Kasyan, to whom Christians dedicated February 29). It is quite possible that this holiday appeared during the times 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, Khorovino Sunday and Gluttony Friday.

Small Maslenitsa or Maslenitsa of the Dead was separated from the main one by one non-idle day and took place before Maslenitsa week. On this holiday, they baked some pancakes and invited deceased relatives to treat themselves. The children asked the traveling adults: “Are you bringing Maslenitsa?” Those who answered “No” were beaten with bast shoes with impunity.

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 countdown, then Easter will be the eighth). It was considered a sin not to “go for a walk” this week. Feasts, games and songs demonstrated victory over winter, real and summoned abundance. Maslenitsa Week once began seven days before the spring solstice, and their rituals were merged.

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

Day two - flirting. On this day, boys and girls were invited to eat pancakes and go down the slides. The newlyweds were given a snow bath: they were laid in a specially dug hole and covered with snow.

Day three - gourmet. On this day, mothers-in-law prepared a table and invited relatives to entertain their son-in-law, after which they invited him too. On this day, the men, boasting, took out a pot or clay dish with pancakes for those they met.

Day four is wide. On this day, street skating began. All classes were already baking pancakes. Women made a doll from straw and dressed it in old rags (both straw and clothes were pooled from the entire village/clan). Swings and patchwork booths were set up for buffoons, and tables were set up for refreshments.

Day five - mother-in-law's evening. The son-in-law would invite his mother-in-law in the evening (sometimes with all her relatives), and the next morning he would send mummers and “invitees” to her and arrange a feast.

Day six - sister-in-law's get-togethers . Young daughters-in-law invited relatives from their husband’s side, especially sisters-in-law. On the streets, young people built snow towns and took them by storm, thereby 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). We went sledding. They burned the doll while singing, while wearing masks, so that Morana would not take revenge on her offenders. The youth asked for forgiveness from their elders, thereby symbolizing the departure not only of winter, but also of all evil from human souls.

On the next day from the seventh there occurred Maslenitsa celebrations - they finished the pancakes, cleaned the house, washed in the bathhouse and had fist fights (“to shake out the last pancakes”). Early in the morning, boys, armed with grips, brooms and frying pans, walked from house to house and shouted: “We took Maslenitsa, we lost Christmastide. The light is our dear Maslenitsa! Where did you spend the night? Under a bush on the path, buffoons rode, cut out a rod, made sound the horn, and you, horns, don’t sound the horn, and you won’t wake up Maslenitsa.”

The following songs were sung at Maslenitsa:

1) Our annual Maslenitsa,
Our annual Maslenitsa!
Our annual Maslenitsa,
She's a dear guest
She's a dear guest
She doesn’t come to us on foot,
She doesn’t come to us on foot,
Everyone rides around on rocks,
Everyone rides around on rocks!
So that the conics are black,
So that the servants are young.

2) Maslenitsa-wry neck,
We'll see you well!
With pancakes
With loaves of bread,
With dumplings.

The next Sunday after forgiveness - Khorovino . On this day, the young people received the choir - mother-in-law. The son-in-law went to pick up 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 those passing with brooms and threw snow at them.

On the third week after Forgiveness Sunday - Gluttony 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 Rus' was called Berezozol, Zimobor, Sukhoi, Kapelnik, Sokovik and Protalnik.

March 1 - it was believed that on this day Zhiva comes to earth from Iria, and Yarilo finally finishes off Winter with a pitchfork. People sing spring chants, girls perform “Yarilina” 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 the evil spirits. On this date, people did not expect anything good, but, on the contrary, tried to protect themselves, especially at home, since it was the “domestic” evil spirits that were especially rampant at this time.

March, 3rd - Yarilo tells the birds to sing. On this day, they revered the oatmeal bird, the messenger of warmth, and baked pies from oatmeal, but by nightfall the stove pipes were closed, and the ovens were fumigated with thistles: evil spirits in the form of birds burst through the stoves into the house. On this day, singers, sorcerers and those conceived on 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 they divided the bread among themselves and their neighbors, and the crumbs were thrown over the birds’ heads, behind their backs (it was believed that if you throw the bread back, there will be a lot of it “in front,” that is, in the fall). Fires were burning in the fields.

5th of March - on this day, the peasants tried to take fire from the forge from the blacksmith (and the blacksmiths did not give any fire or coals so that the forge would not cool down) and bring it to the field, thereby sealing the union of land, plow and harrow. The old women baked "kokurki" (round koloboks made with cow's butter). It was forbidden to look at shooting stars.

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

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

March 14th - Oatmeal. In some regions of Russia, larks began to be baked and thrown on this day, as well as throwing snow from the roof, lighting fires and Mara, and giving melt 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 pitchforks, climbed onto the roofs and from there invited summer). Lada (in my opinion, the calendars talk about the patron saint of the day) used a key to unlock spring time and, in return, close winter time. The groundhog announces spring.

March 15th - Windmill. On this day, the wind could cause serious damage. A person born on this date was also like the wind, so they cooked porridge for him with honey so that his thoughts would stick to his home.

March 16 - on this day people walked around the field crosswise, calling on the sun.

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

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

21 March - Lada 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. Palm earrings were baked into bread, which was served with tea, and the girls always ate three palm earrings, since the one who found them sweet was destined for a wedding in the fall. The willow turns 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,
Come and visit us
Bring it to us
Summer is warm,
Take it away from us
The winter is cold;
It's a cold winter for us
I'm bored
Hands-legs
Frostbitten.

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 dancers,
Red-throated bullfinches,
Well done goldfinches, sparrow thieves!
You can fly freely,
You will live in freedom,
Bring spring to us soon!

4) Bring on spring
On your tail
On the plow, harrow,
On a rye hay
On a sheaf of oats.

Also on this day, forty bread balls were baked and every subsequent morning they threw one of them out the window, thereby 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 calendars speaks of the patron saint of the day). The same goddess diverted melt water from houses. Previously, this holiday was the last day of Maslenitsa week and their rituals were the same.

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

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

Spring stars, frequent!
Come see my little beast in the manger,
Multiply and strengthen the income in my household!
You are a clear month!
Come into my cattle's cage,
Comb with your golden comb
Confused by the black plague
There is fur on the ridge and sides!
The sun is omnipotent!
Go into the barns, into the yard,
Take the black ghost away from my beast!

Animals and livestock began to molt.

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

There are also three sliding holidays in March: these are three parents' Saturdays , following in a row one after another. The first is celebrated in the second week from the seventh day of Maslenitsa. These days, a meal is prepared and eaten in silence, symbolizing the closeness of Navi through silence.

April

The Slavs called this month Tsvetny (Kviten), Kapelnik, Snowgon, Caddisfly, Krasovik, Solnechnik, Greenhouse, Aquarius.

April 1 - from that time on they began to whitewash canvases. They noticed: if the water flows noisily, then the grass will be good, and if it is quiet, vice versa.

April 2 - Well. People tried to drink water from wells, since on this day it has special powers.

April 3 - from that day on, it was noted: if the cuckoo sings before the forest is covered with leaves, then this foreshadows crop failure and loss of livestock.

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

5th of April - carried out cleaning and burned ritual fires. Girls with pancakes and donuts went to celebrate summer in the same way as they did on March 14th. In some regions of Rus', they fed Frost with jelly, but they themselves ate this jelly with the whole family in a cold room. One of the guys in an inside-out fur coat scared the children before eating (such scaring and the subsequent joint meal symbolized the agreement between the beast and the children). The finches are arriving.

April 6 - baked cookies in the shape of crosses and agricultural tools. The roads are deteriorating.

April 7 - bird holiday. On this day, people released birds from their cages. Even on this day, they played games that symbolized the choice of happiness (for example, playing “Dream”). 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 rejoicing of people and animals: “Spring has overcome winter!” On this day, sinners are not tormented in hell. Thieves considered it a “professional holiday” and “stole it” for good luck for the whole year. Rain on this day foreshadowed a bountiful harvest of rye.

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

April 10th - the coltsfoot blossoms. Taking out the August wreath. Also on this day, they cleaned the banks of the ponds: they cut down dried thistles and burdocks and burned the garbage on fires.

12th of April - on this day the brownie gets mad and spoils everything nearby. Various reasons are listed for this: Christians say that he is marrying a witch, ignoramuses think that the brownie has woken 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 their mobility until dark).

April 13 - on this day, ancestral fires were honored: they brought fire to the fields and carried plows and harrows through it, burned garbage; the plowman spoke to the bipod. Those born on this date were called Ognishchans. Also on this day they played with chicken eggs and asked riddles related to them. It is still unknown whether this ritual is a Christian stratification or a pagan heritage.

14th of April - day of Lada and Lado. High water. They noted from it: if there is a spill, then there will be a lot of grass; if the water flows on clear nights, there will be fine harvesting.

April 16 - name day of the waterman. The owner of the rivers wakes up from hibernation, just like his younger relative, the ichetik. People threw black bread and salt into the pond. Also on this date, the father-in-law and mother-in-law invited their son-in-law for new beer. They noted: if the ice does not go, there will be poor fishing.

April 17 - a cricket began to sing under the floor. The cranes called out and the children greeted them:

Kurli, curli, curli,
The cranes are flying, flying!
Kurly-si, Kurly-si,
In Rus', in Rus'!

On this day, the girls went to watch the alder bloom (alder viewing). Beekeepers noticed: if the alder blossomed luxuriantly, the hives could be taken out.

20 April - the mermaids wake up. People bring them sacrifices: canvases or towels.

April 21 - the sun meets the month. A clear day portends a good summer, a gloomy one means a quarrel between the luminaries and a bad summer.

April 27 - Crow holiday. Lisogon. On this day, the raven bathes its crows and releases them to live independently. Foxes move from old holes to new ones and, as it was believed, do not see anything at this time.

April 28 - on this day, bees are taken out of the omshaniks for flying around and the apiary is inspected. Also on this day they banish death and conjure rain. Mokoshi donate bread and eggs. Treat fevers with birch sap. The house is being thoroughly cleaned and washed.

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

You are a little bee
Ardent bee!
You fly overseas
Take out the keys
The keys are gold.
You close the winter,
Freezing winter!
Unlock your fly,
Letechko is warm,
Letechko is warm,
Summer is grainy!

Eight sliding holidays were celebrated in April. Basic - Easter . There are still ongoing disputes about whose holiday this is - pagan or Christian. A. Buenok, D. Dudko and G. D. Ryzhenkov consider it pagan. A. N. Afanasyev considers this day to be the holiday of Lada the 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 Semitic peoples and many others (for example, Christmas coincides with the winter solstice, etc.). However, I am not in a hurry to draw conclusions yet, leaving the readers to solve this problem themselves. As for Easter itself, all moving holidays are calculated from it. Easter itself is defined as the first Sunday after the full moon following the spring equinox (March 23).

From Easter there are two Navskih days . One is celebrated on Thursday before Easter week, and the second on Thursday after Easter week.

On the first day, the navyam were brought demands - milk, meat and eggs, and after that (at nightfall) they heated the bathhouse and invited the dead to wash themselves. On this day, oatmeal jelly was left on the window for frost. You could meet evil spirits. In the farmsteads they burned fires of heather and juniper, over which all household members jumped to protect themselves from spirits and diseases. The night of this holiday was considered a witch’s 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.

On Sunday a week before Easter they brought it to the beregin's house in willow buds.

Saturday before Easter - relatives visited the newlyweds. People cast a spell on Frost so that he would not destroy the 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 fires on the hills and danced in circles. On this holiday, brides and grooms testified to the choice of their couple before Dazhdbog and people.

Third Sunday after Easter - Morgossier (female spills).

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

May

May in Rus' was called Travne, Listoluk, Rosenik, Yarts, Proletny and Ranopashets.

1st of May - on this day, the Western Slavs honored the green tree and its embodiment - Lada. Also, according to D. Dudko, Zhiva was also honored on this day. The Eastern Slavs burned fires in "ash pits". The “ash pit” was a pit with a dug pattern in the form of swans, which seemed to be outlined by ditches. Old straw and all the garbage accumulated over the winter, as well as clay loaves of bread, models of grains, figurines of animals and birds, miniature hatchets and vessels were thrown into the “ash pits,” 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, organized a ritual of fertile magic: together they organized a feast on the shore of a reservoir or in the forest. That is why this day is also called a woman’s name day, and the ritual itself is called “sprinkling”. Even on this day, women left a canvas spread out in a field or meadow with a cake on it, called for spring and left. “They dressed spring in new clothes”: they dried new canvases on the grass and bushes.

May 3 - the earth opens and releases the souls of the dead to their relatives. Therefore, early in the morning people brought treats to the ancestral mounds (grave mounds) and called upon their grieving parents. Children played on the mounds with new toys, young people, wearing new clothes made over the winter, organized festivities and danced in circles.

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

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

Give us livestock and wheat
Lyalya, Lyalya, our Lyalya!
In the garden there is haymaking,
Lyalya, Lyalya, our Lyalya!
The ridges are smooth, the ridges are smooth
Lyalya, Lyalya, our Lyalya!

And the girl herself handed out wreaths to the singers.

the 6th of May - Yarilin's day. On this holiday, they put a girl on a white horse, called her Yarilin’s bride, and drove her around the field. They drove the cattle out to pasture and on this day, as the first “working” day of the year for the shepherds, they asked Yarila to calm the wolves. They were especially afraid that witches would spoil livestock. Bonfires were lit. From this day on, plowing began. On this holiday it was recommended to plow new arable land. Early oats, barley and wheat were sown. Sometimes early sowing was done at night to avoid the evil eye. There were many signs for this day: heavy 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 owners had their hair pulled to make their lives thicker.

Rain, rain, more,
I'll give you the grounds
I'll go out onto the porch,
I'll give you a cucumber
I'll give you a loaf of bread too,
Rain, water it more!
And for millet and rye
Water as much as you like!

Songbirds arrive.

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

May 10 - Earth's name day. The fact that this holiday took place on the specified date seems very, very controversial. He was mentioned only in two little-known primary sources (unfortunately, lost). In one of them the date of the holiday was indicated, and in the second, telling about the day of Mikula Selyaninovich, it was noticed that these two holidays were located next to each other for a reason. Name day rituals - on Spiritual Day.

May 11 - sorcerers and healers caught the south wind in their amulet at crossroads, which bestowed health on the owner. On this day, patients with spring fevers were given birch sap.

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

May 14 - Ritual seeding. A ritual was carried out to guarantee the harvest and protect it from bad weather and theft: in the morning, an unkempt woman in white stockings and a shirt would sit on a harrow and ride on it, saying: “As I am weighty and heavy, so my bread will be weighty and heavy on the strip, so no one could remove or blow away the color on my strip, and so that the rain would not wash it away and no one would take it off, except me, the mistress.”

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 that day. The oldest man began to sow. They used a number of personal signs to guess about the harvest. Also on this day oats were sown. [But in general, they tried to time the first sowing of rye to coincide with the appearance of mosquitoes, and the sowing of oats to coincide with the time when frogs begin to call]. Nightingale day: the nightingale begins to sing. Bird catchers 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 in order to make a profit all year.

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

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

22nd of May - on this day the horses were driven out for night grazing. Sacrifices were made to the merman, in particular a horse skull. The rain that fell 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 Rus' it was forbidden to disturb the birthday girl with plowing, while in others, on the contrary, it was believed that sowing on this date would guarantee a bountiful harvest. Even on this day, the Earth absorbs oathbreakers and slanderers.

May 24 - fortune telling about the weather for the summer. Based on the humidity of the day, people assumed the humidity of the entire summer. Wheat, barley and oats could also be sown on this day. Forget-me-not blooms.

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

May 25 - rowan blossoms. The girls wore red sundresses to resemble this tree. It was noted that the better the rowan blossoms, the better the flax harvest, and a clear dawn guaranteed a summer rich in fires.

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

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

Veter Vetrovich,
Don't be angry
In your distant northern palaces
There is plenty of everything
And here it’s a little warm.

Early flax was sown.

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

May 31 - an oak leaf unfolds. They sow flax and wheat. Pike fishing time. On this day it was noted: if the oak turns ahead of the ash, there will be a dry summer; “a leaf on an oak tree costs a nickel - so be it for spring”; “If the top of an oak tree has a edge, you will measure the oats with a tub.”

Five moving holidays are celebrated between May and June.

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

The following holidays were celebrated this week:

Semik - Thursday on Rusalya week. On this day, the girls went into the forest and each worshiped with a chosen birch tree. Also on this day, in order to get suitors and appease the mermaids, the girls wove wreaths, entered the forest, threw them and ran away. At this time the following chants sounded:

1) Let's go, girls,
Curl the wreaths!
Let's curl the wreaths,
The curls are green.
Stop, my little 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 were curling their hair,
Decorated with ribbon
The birch tree was glorified:
- White birch tree,
Come for a walk with us,
Let's go play songs.

3) Do not rejoice, oak trees,
Don't rejoice, greenies!
Girls don't come to you
Reds are not for you,
They are not bringing pies to you,
Flatbread, scrambled eggs.
Io, io, Semik and Trinity.
Rejoice birch trees,
Rejoice, green ones!
The girls are coming to you
Reds to you,
They bring you pies,
Flatbread, scrambled eggs.
Io, io, Semik and Trinity.

4) And the leaves on the birch tree are thick and thick,
Oh, oh, oh, there’s a leaf on the birch tree.
There is nothing thicker than that in rye, wheat,
Oh li, oh lyuli, in rye and wheat.
- gentlemen boyars, peasant peasants!
Oh, oh, oh, peasant peasants!
I can’t stand, I can’t hold the ears,
Oh, oh, oh, Lyuli, hold on to the ears.
The ear is growing wild, the ear is growing wild,
Oh, oh, Lyuli, the ear is going wild.

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

Clue Saturday - Saturday during Rusalya week. On this day, ancestors leave the afterlife and live among people. For their sake, houses were decorated with fresh vegetation. At midnight the water begins to rise from the banks. To protect against it, fires were burned along the banks all night. Mermaids came out of the forest and ran in the rye.

Trinity - Sunday during Rusalya week. On this day we tried not to go without wreaths. Ceremonies for laying new houses began.

Whit Monday - Monday after Trinity. On this day the Earth is the birthday girl. Nobody was working. It was forbidden to jump, jump and stomp. They asked the Earth for forgiveness, thanked them and asked to protect them from harm. They made a sacrifice to a field farmer (they tried to bring it so that no one would see, a couple of eggs and an old voiceless rooster stolen from the neighbors).

June

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

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

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

Sow, young, lenka,
When it's raining on the current.
You grow and grow, little lenok
Thin, long and tall
A root in the land,
What's down is rooty,
And up is a family man.

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

From 4 to 12 June - girls are born, designated as sacrifices to the snake (Lizard, Chernobog).

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

June 6 - 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, the women, crying, “remembered” Yarila’s sexual power, and the men joked vulgarly. Kostroma was depicted 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 out and went to dry. Rose hips are blooming.

June 7 - dead dew falls, which can cause illness. Planting cabbage. If there are many flowers on the rowan tree, there will be a good harvest of oats.

June 8 - The earth is performing magic. Traveling was prohibited on this day. The women carried out the jars and pots under the flowering bushes of currants, gooseberries and rose hips, “getting rid of the stuffiness.” On this day, potters are born who are able to find “living” clay and come to an agreement with the Earth.

the 9th of June - it was forbidden to wash dirty linen in public: both for revenge and for unnecessary chatter, since it was believed that Yaga (according to my version, the calendars speak of the patron saint of the day) would spread what he saw and heard throughout the world. Ceremonies were held in the field.

June 11 - on this day they sowed buckwheat and fed the livestock with baked goods. The youth went to the field and cast a spell on rye (like: “Grow grass towards the forest, and rye towards the barn”).

12 June - planting beans. They were planted after first soaking them 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 Rzhitsa is making ears,
The pig will piglet in the rye,
Seventy piglets, and all pigs,
All the pigs, and all the motley ones,
Their tails are pointed.

They rode along the rye shoots and said: “Grow the grass to the forest, and the rye to the barn!”

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

June 16 - on this day they conjured the winds and noted where they would blow from: the south - for the spring harvest, the north-west - for a damp summer, the east - for diseases. In the evening they call out to the wind and ask: “Blow some warm warmth, pour it, wind-blown wind, on mother rye, on the spring grass, on the field, on the meadows, life-giving rains, in time and in time.”

Let's go for a walk, Thunder!
I'm with the rain, and you're with the lightning.
You will burst out, and I will spread it around the world.

After sunset, the old women gathered outside the outskirts and, waving their arms, prayed to the wind so that it would not cause harm, but would bring benefit.

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

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

June 20 - they noted: if it is clear, the bread will be good, if it is rainy, it will be thin. Girls were forbidden to remove their girdles so as not to run into evil spirits.

21st of June - Stormy day. Weeding and removal of manure. On this day, well workers wondered about the location for the future well: in the evening they would tip a frying pan onto the intended location, and at sunrise they would lift it and see if it was covered with moisture. Note: rain on this day foreshadows the hay season. A. Asov considers this day to be the Lada holiday, which has not yet been proven.

June 23 - the evil spirits are going crazy on this day, rolling around in the grass, dividing responsibilities - who should harm people and how.

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 on July 7 and July 12) witches were especially powerful. After the change of calendars and the division of the holiday into two, all rituals were transferred to Kupala, and Solstice only had the tradition of lowering burning wheels from the hills.

27th of June - in some regions of Rus', 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 women twisted the branches of nearby birch trees into a cradle, threw a scarf there and put a doll. When leaving home, they took the doll with them.

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

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

On the Sunday following Trinity, they celebrated the Rusalnoe (Rusalye) communion . On this day, they made a doll depicting a mermaid and threw it into the water, conjuring it to take the extra rains with it. Personal comment - the author himself had the opportunity to verify the effectiveness of this ritual.

On Monday after the Rusal Convocation three kites were buried, thereby 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 using a knife or an ax; in the afternoon the women went to the pasture, where they sang, waving their scarves towards the forest:

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

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

Chorna bird, our death
Don't bother us,
Knead it.

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

In another version, women made a “shulyak” from scarves, placed it on a large canvas, in the corners of which heaps of grains were poured, and placed bread, onions, cheese and meat between them. Turning the “kite” towards the meat, they said: “don’t go to the chickens, but go to the bastard.” Then they tore the “shulyak” into pieces, had a feast and treated each other to vodka with the words: “Drink up, kumo, so that Shulyak doesn’t drink the 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 Yarila’s holidays. Sickles were sharpened, beds were stuffed with straw and herbs to cure diseases.

Roy, honk, go to the fields!
Go from the fields and bring the honey!
3 July - spider web day and sparrowhawk day. 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 on this day for good luck. It was considered especially lucky to catch a white quail. They noted: if it rains on this day, it will rain for forty days; if the frogs croak and fall silent again (from the cold), there will be cold weather “when the bread is showing off.” Children collect linden blossoms.

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

From 6 to 7 July - on this day they took a steam bath, washed children in forest springs, made wreaths and treated the poor. And with the onset of darkness, the Kupala night began. People went into the forest, where they burned fires, jumped over the fire, danced in circles, swam in the river, burned the “witch” - the skull of an animal, looked for a fern flower that gave wealth and good luck. Married couples and widowers made love in the forest, transferring the power of fertility to the earth. The holiday was dedicated to the sun. This is where its name comes from - Dazhdbozhya or Kupala (from “kopolo” - the archaic name for the sun). On this day and this night the following songs were performed:

Girls, women -
To the Baths!
Ladu-Ladu,
To the Baths!
Oh, who won't come out
To the Baths,
Ladu-Ladu,
To the Baths,
Oh, that one will be
Stump-deck,
Ladu-Ladu,
Stump-deck!
And who will go
To the Baths,
Ladu-Ladu,
To the Baths!
And he will
White birch!
Ladu-Ladu,
White birch!

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

July 10 - signs about Indian summer. Haymaking and haymaking. Note: if it rains on this day, it will be wet until Indian summer (September 14).

July 11 - Nettle plot. It was believed that from this day on, nettles would have their healing powers for the last time, and therefore they whipped each other with nettle brooms. The sun is playing, the lightning is “dawning” the bread.

July, 12 - Yarilin's day. All the night preceding this day, people laid fires on the hills and, while waiting for the sun, spent time in songs and games. The “chariot” ritual was carried out (two wheels were secretly obtained, on which a guy and a woman were seated, depicting the bride and groom, all rituals from matchmaking to wedding were carried out). The sunrise was greeted with a loud cry, after which all the women took off their sundresses, let down their hair and ran around the village, pursued by the guys. Those who did not take off their clothes had their shirt collars torn off or their belts pulled off. At this time the girls whistled, danced and sang. [I note that none of the primary sources says that this erotic acting out turned into anything more - note by Lifantiev S.S.] Also on this day, meat sacrifices were made, and washings were also performed using three springs. People watched the sun "play". It was considered dangerous to swim: the merman was looking for a victim. From this day the harvest and the fair season began. In some regions, Kostroma was buried on this day. It was believed that today (as well as June 24 and July 7) witches were especially powerful; some chased people, turning into a rolling wheel. The cuckoo's crowing on this day prophesied mass misfortunes. According to the old style, on this date they chose cattle and people for sacrifice on Perun’s day.

the 14 th of July - haymaking and weeding of gardens. Women's powder with obligatory plant foods, porridge and chicken.

July 15 - A. Buenok believes that this is the day of Beregini-Earth. On this date, women brought out towels with protective signs, and men, moving away from the haymaking, bathed in the river and dried themselves with these towels. During the times of syncretism, this day was called “The Mother of God of the Animals.”

July 17th - on this day the girls told fortunes by flowers (they walked through twelve meadows, collected twelve flowers, put them under the pillow to see the groom in a dream). Mothers always cooked oatmeal jelly for the girls, seasoned with ripe berries. The jelly was supposed to be eaten and the bowl licked (just 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. “As the month plays, it accumulates strength,” “Under the playing month, and in the midst of a grain field, a fine fellow grows into man.”

July 20 - Perunov day according to the old style. In some regions of Rus' on this day there was a harvest of rye (“Perun’s beard”). Despite the postponement 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 are ripe by this day, then rye is also ripe, which promises a rich harvest.

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

July 23 - duckweed. By this time the water had subsided and many shells with pearls could be found in the shallows. The name of the holiday comes from the name of pearl decorations (duckweed) on the festive maiden crown - duckweed.

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

July 25 - end of haymaking and harvesting. They collected healing dew, which relieves the evil eye, and medicinal herbs.

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

July 31 - farewell to July. Bath day. Women laid sickles in the field and called the sorcerer to bless them, after which they washed themselves in the bathhouse with straw brooms.

There were three sliding holidays in July. The first of them fell on next Monday before the 12th . It was called Farewell to the Mermaids. Round dances of women with stuffed animals gathered in 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 to their homes with despondency.

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

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

August

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

August 1 - Mocrids. The eldest woman in each family took a handful of ears of grain from her field and gave it to the birthday woman (born on that day). The same woman, having collected the bundles into a sheaf, tied it with a towel and, having undressed, entered the river, holding it above her head, after which she plunged and dipped the sheaf (this is how rain was allowed to fall on the fields). The ears of corn floated away as a gift to the gods. By the weather of this day they knew 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 failure of the nut harvest; flying aspen fluff indicated that the boletuses were ripe. Gadflies have been biting for the last day.

August 2 - Perun's 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 A. Asov’s version, there was a tradition of making a wish on this day and being sure that it will come true. Despite the fact that Asov has earned a reputation as a liar, this version has some basis: at the time of writing these lines, I myself celebrated Perun’s Day six times, and while celebrating, I asked the gods to fulfill one or another 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, you need to take into account four factors, since if at least one of them is violated, you cannot count on the wish coming true. These factors are:

a) Not everyone has the right to make a wish, but only those who have earned it through their deeds;

b) The desire must be expressed out loud in its most precise formulation;

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

d) Fulfillment of a wish should not globally affect the fate of other people.

On the day of Perun, the following rituals are also carried out: they reap the first sheaf, decorate it with flowers and ribbons and place it in the “red” corner of the hut - Perun “in the beard”. From the threshing of this sheaf, a loaf was solemnly baked and a piece was distributed to all family members, having previously given it to the eldest man from this family for blessing. Holiday of the goblin and the merman. It was also believed that on this day the goblin opens all the 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 day. They also did not work that day for fear of being killed by a thunderstorm. It was only allowed to dig up flower bulbs and collect wild berries. Note: if the dew was abundant, gray flax (poor quality) was expected.

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

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

11th August - frost hits the bread. People were afraid of the damp fog, which they called darkness. But at the same time, it was believed that on this day Yarilo walked the earth (according to my assumptions, the calendars speak of the patron saint of the day) and “painted” (colored) apples. They noted: if there are no matinees (frosts) on this day, it will not freeze on September 5th.

12th of August - on this day, witches “die” after getting 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. They noted: if at this time the days are cloudy and cool, there is no need to be afraid of rain, but if it is stuffy, painful and insects bother you, then it will rain.

August 14 - Honey cakes (on-water). It was customary to unite the family in friendship and harmony, and for the oldest man in the family to go out onto the porch and bring honey in a comb to the wanderers for testing. The children praised the owners for the treat:

God bless the owner for many years to come.
And he will live long and not anger the gods.
Don't anger the gods, lead God's bees,
Melt hot wax.

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

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

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 expect heavy snow in winter. And what the weather is like on this day - this will prevail in October. Sometimes on this date, a whirlwind was questioned about the winter weather and this was done in the following way: 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 the weather is like on this day, the same should be expected in November. It's raining hay.

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

The following songs were sung during the harvest:

1) And spoke
Arzhanoe Zhito,
Standing in an open field,
Standing in an open field:
- I do not want,
Arzhanoe Zhito,
Yes, stand in the field,
Yes, stand in the field.
I do not want,
Arzhanoe Zhito,
Yes, stand in the field,
mahati ear,
And I want
Arzhanoe Zhito,
Tie into a bun,
Go to bed.
And so that I
Arzhanoe Zhito,
They tied it into a bun,
They chose rye for me.

2) We are already growing a beard,
At Veles's field,
Curling the beard
At our Rodovich
On the Great Field
On a wide strip.
(pagan interpretation of the author)

3) Young people
Golden sickles!
You reap, reap,
Live life, don't be lazy,
And having squeezed the cornfield
Drink, have fun.

4) Oh and thank God,
What a harvest!
What life have you reaped?
And they put them in piles
There are stacks of hay on the threshing floor,
In the cage with bins,
And from the oven with pies.

August 18 - the day of Veles the Zhitnik (Third Veles) and the day of Harvest. To prevent evil spirits from settling in the pastures, they went to the field at dawn, taking hemp oil with them. Turning to the east, they said: “Mother Cheese Earth, stop all unclean reptiles from love spells, turnovers and dashing deeds!”; to the west: “Mother Earth-Cheese, swallow up the evil spirit into the seething abysses, into the flammable resin!”; to the south: “Mother Earth, quench all the midday winds with bad weather, calm the loose sands with blizzards!”; to the north: “Mother Cheese Earth, calm the midnight winds with the clouds, keep the frosts and blizzards at bay!” 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: “Reaper, Reaper! Give my snare to the pestle, to the sack, to the beater, to the reel, to the crooked spindle.” The housewife brought bread, salt and vodka to the field, and, holding the first sheaf, 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 to purify the air.

August 19 - Yablonevki (on the mountains). Apple picking. It was supposed to treat the fruits to the poor. Beekeepers drown the first swarm in the swamp to protect themselves from spills. People sang "sunset songs."

August 20 - flight of swallows. Day of the Sick and Orphans. It was supposed to treat them with apples, honey and pies.

August 21 - Carminative. Warm winds are replaced by cold Sivers. On this day it was customary to question them. Collection of honey mushrooms. They noted: as this day is, so is January, and the frost that falls at the end of summer is for the harvest for the next year.

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

August 27 - Day of the Winds. The weather for September is judged by their strength: if there is a calm wind, it means a clear and warm autumn, and if there is a storm, it means a stormy September. Sometimes leaf fall began on this day.

August 28 - Dozhinki. The last rye is silently torn by hand and made into a “beard”, the most beautiful girl is placed on it, they call her Talaka, they decorate her and sheaf with cornflowers. She carries him off the field. Everyone leaves the field singing:

My jackdaw in advance
Carrying gold keys
Unlocks the box
He takes out his shirt.
Tomorrow to the bathhouse
On Wednesday for soap,
And on Sunday for a housewarming party.
It's time for the jackdaws to fly -
Feast to feast, peck clothes.

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 the treat begins with her. When the sheaf is brought into the house, insects from the home are driven out to heaven for snow. The third harvest feast is held (the first - in Zazhinki, the second - in the afternoon tea of ​​Dozhinki). According to the rituals of another region, the last sheaf was cut and left in the field (“For Veles in the beard” or against the infertility of the earth; sometimes it is fed to livestock in winter in order to protect against diseases). The reapers rolled around the field again with the same spell. They rewarded and married sickles who did not cut their hands during the harvest. Also on this day, cattle meat was sacrificed.

August 29 - Orekhovki (Khlebniki, Kholshchovki, on-canvas). Collecting nuts. People wove a “knotweed” wreath from rye. The departure of the last swallows.

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

There is one moving holiday in August, but very few people know its date. We only know that it takes place between August 2 and August 28. During this period, on a stormy night, accompanied by the most terrible thunderstorm, all the sorcerers and witches gather. I can assume that it is the good magicians who gather, since their opponents are frightened by the thunderstorm (Perun is considered a fighter against any kind of evil spirits), or that it is the malicious magicians who gather, and the Thunderer fights with them. However, these are still only assumptions, since detailed information about this holiday is not available.

September

This month was called Veresen, Howler, Khmuren, Raincall, Goldenflower, Deciduous and Dawn.

September 1 - beet harvesting begins. On this day in Rus' they organized a “marriage of a comin” or a “wedding of a candle.” The first ritual was as follows - the fireplace was whitened, covered with ripe hops and flowers, and when the torches were lit, nuts, melon seeds, pieces of corned beef and lumps of butter were sprinkled on them. The “candle wedding” took place like this - a felled tree was placed, which was hung with fruits, melons and wax candles. Housewarming celebrations begin. The 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 the weather will be good for another four weeks. If mice make nests in flax, then the winter will be snowy.

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

September 5 - the flaxes are peeling. Frost. Cranberries, lingonberries and oats have arrived. The cranes begin to fly away.

6 September - they 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 is carried away with songs from the field and placed in the yard (or in the hut, in the red corner). In the evening there was a treat of oat pancakes and oatmeal with sour milk or water with honey (money). When leaving, the guests thanked the hostess for the treat. It was believed that on this day the rowan was the birthday girl. They collected it and viburnum.

10 September - Skirdnitsa. All the grain was collected in stacks and taken out of the field. Hemp harvesting.

11 September - Collecting turnips. Birds begin to fly to Iriy. On this day, witches walk around the courtyards and beg for alms, through which they then cause damage. If the cranes have already reached Iriy, it means 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 meeting. Departure of the cranes. Harvesting carrots and beets. Also on this day, potatoes, which were brought to Rus' much later than Epiphany, are harvested from gardens.

September 14 - Indian summer begins. Sowing winter crops. Birds fly to Prav, snakes crawl away to Nav. On this day, girls, dressed up, bury flies and cockroaches in coffins made of vegetables, saying: “You are flies, mosquito friends, it’s time to die. Fly to bury the flies.” The devil measures the sparrows with a yardstick: how many to take and how many to let out, so the sparrows are nowhere to be seen. The fields are plowed with evil spirits. From this day the wedding time began. Also, this day was a holiday for canine hunters, and they organized the first trip for hares and foxes. It was believed that the eel was capable of walking three miles across the meadows on this date. At the same time there was the last thunderstorm. In some regions of Rus', Ovsen was celebrated on this day. Housewarming on this date foreshadowed great happiness. The stormy day promised a dry autumn.

September 18 - holiday of witches. On this day, they tried to honor all the priests, magi, sorcerers and magicians as best as possible. On this day, the ichetik goes into hibernation. They drove out the kumokha.

September 19 - first brother. The whole clan or the whole village gathered together and, turning to the gods, decided worldly and family matters, after which everyone made peace and organized a feast together. The ritual dish of the brotherhood was the meat of a bull or ram, which was obtained by pooling, and the drink was beer. Frost.

September 21 - the day of Ovsenya, otherwise - the day of Mokosha and Rozhanitsa, otherwise - the day of Rod and Rozhanitsa, otherwise - autumn. On this day, early in the morning women go to the banks of rivers, lakes and ponds to welcome autumn. The older woman stands with oatmeal bread, and the young people around her sing songs. After this, the bread is broken according to the number of participants in the ceremony and these pieces are fed to the cattle. Recently married people give a treat to their relatives. The owner took the guests into the yard, showed them the barn and treated them to beer. In ancient times, meat sacrifice was offered to the gods on this day.

September 22nd - autumn equinox. Present day. The rituals are unknown, but it is quite possible that they are used the day before.

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

September 24 - 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 attires walked from house to house singing songs to chop cabbage, and boys followed the girls with their gifts, looking for brides. In the houses where cabbage was chopped, tables were set with snacks and beer. The removal of the stacks begins. Frogs, mice and snakes go into the ground. People do not go into the forest for fear of getting into a gathering of snakes and foresters who say goodbye to the beast until next spring. In some areas it was the feast of the barn; it was believed that the barn should not be heated before this day, otherwise it would burn. Ovinnik was treated to porridge, pies or a rooster.

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

Tiga-si, Tiga-si,
In Rus', in Rus'.
Toga-toga-toga
Road by wheel.

On this day, a goose without a head was thrown to the vodyanoy (they kept the head for themselves so that the yard servant would not notice the damage).

September 29 - fortune telling about winter using a bird bone. The whole family looked at a duck or goose bone and, based on how much fat it had, they judged what kind of winter it would be: a skinny, lean bone promised a mild winter, and a bone with a fat float indicated that a severe winter was coming. Those born on this day have a special voice, comparable to that of a bird.

September 30th - women's name day (crying). On this day, women were supposed to drive away all their melancholy by crying. They tried to coincide with this day the end of field work. It was also believed that on this date “the elk celebrate their funeral 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 this day, then the first frost was expected in two weeks, but if they were delayed, then in a month.

2 October - wrapping the hives and cleaning them in omshaniks. Also on this day, parties were held where boys and girls chose a mate. The end of porcini mushrooms. The first snowfall is possible.

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

The 4th of October - matchmaking, the so-called “yards” ritual. Mothers wash their brides for the last time in the "woman's corner" on straw. The soil and winter crops are fed with ash (it is taken to the fields). Even on this day, they drove away the “leaf” wind from the courtyards so that prosperity and happiness would not disappear. It was noted that the weather of that day would remain unchanged for four weeks.

From October 5 - time of fevers. If the birch tree leaves have not fallen, the snow will fall late.

October 6 - on this day they always lit the stove and looked to see if it was smoking or carbon monoxide? They prepared to wash in it. The new folded stoves were certainly praised [I think, however, that the old ones were not ignored either - note by Lifantiev S.S.].

October 7th - day of the barn, gumnik and rizhnik (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 threshing men gather around the barn, treat the barn-keeper and spend the whole night singing and feasting. Buckwheat porridge was cooked for the threshing and barn workers. Sitting down to breakfast, the workers said: “A heap of bread for the owner, and a pot of porridge for the threshing men.” After the “threshing”, the eldest of the threshers picked up grain with a shovel cut from fresh aspen 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, samples of “novi” took place - the first bread from the grain of the new harvest. During this action, they washed their hands, ate bread (pulling their ears, “so that it would be sweeter”) and carried a loaf of bread to the wise men. Sometimes the testing of bread happened differently: they baked a huge loaf, the head of the family hid behind it and asked if they saw him. When they answered that they didn’t see it, he wished that they wouldn’t see it next year either. This day was also considered the last day for picking mushrooms.

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

October 10 - cleaning of the hives ends. On this day, beekeepers asked children to pray to the gods for the bees. Also (according to a lost source) in some regions of Rus', it was on this day that the entire village produced “living fire” by friction and celebrated the beginning of the New Year.

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

October 13 - updating beds and burning old things. Children were bathed on a sieve doorstep to protect them from illness.

October 14 - according to D. Dudko’s version, Lada day. All payments for work, hires and transactions are completed. Women's work in the hut begins. A bucket of beer was sacrificed to the gooseberry. Ovinnik was congratulated on the holiday and treated to porridge, pies or a rooster. They fed the cattle and held family gatherings (it was important to “sit down” with the whole family on this day). During gatherings, there were all sorts of pickles on the table, especially forest and field gifts.

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

From October 18 - the time of weaving begins. The first canvases. They begin to roll their felt boots.

October 19 - accession of the Sivers. Conspiracies of bins. The birthday boy of this day was baked wheat bread.

October 23 - signs for the month. People went out and looked at the month - “where the horns point, the winds will come from there” (if the horns pointed to the north, then the winter was expected to be quick and dry, and if to the south, then there would be slush until November). This is also the last day on which flax is crumpled.

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

27th October - day of Mokoshi the spinner. Yarn was thrown into the well as a sacrifice to this goddess. Spinning on this date was prohibited, only sewing was allowed. Anyone who laughed on this day was punished with failure for the whole year. Mokoshi also served porridge and a spoon for it. The Kudelnitsa holiday was sometimes dedicated to this day, which lasted about a week and began with the weaving of an ordinary (i.e., done in one day) thing.

November

The Slavs called November Gruden, Bezdorozhnik, Listognoy, Snegovey, Poluzimnik, Icebreaker and Chicken Coop.

Nov. 1 - meeting Winter. Celebration of the servants and grooms. On this day, the courtyard braids the mares' manes. Grooms are entitled to rest. Winter birds are arriving.

November 4 - change from 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 on this day, then cold weather was expected soon.

November 5 - repairing harness and sleigh. The girls decorated the reins with ornaments for the grooms for the wedding trip.

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

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

10th of November - Flaxseeds. Flax crushing. Girls pray for suitors. The Kudelnitsa holiday was sometimes dedicated to this day, which lasted about a week and began with the weaving of an ordinary (i.e., done in one day) thing. All subsequent days, including this one, are preparing for Svarozhki: girls collect funds, guys going to visit Svarozhki are obliged to grab wine for themselves and the owner, and sweets for his family.

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

November 12 - holiday of canine hunters. On this day, hunters tried to hunt at least one hare so as not to lose luck for the year. Titmouse's holiday - it was supposed to feed winter birds.

November 14 - Svarog day. Svarog forges ice for water. On this day, chicken was brought to the table with honor, since it was believed that today they should not be ignored. However, when eating chicken bones, they did not break them, so that ugly chickens would not be born later. The girls pooled together to organize get-togethers and invite guys. And on this day the guys themselves wore bright hats with the likeness of cockscombs. A chicken was brought to the Magi. Also on this day they said: “Treat the brownie like your own - either cajole or drive away!” Accordingly, depending on the character of the brownie, a sacrifice was either made to him or he was driven out with a broom. Ovinnik was honored with porridge.

From November 15 to January 16 - Conflicts. All this time they were spinning flax under the light of a torch. Girls were specially invited to this task. From that time on, Swedes (tailors) walked around the villages in search of work.

15th of November - threshing. When drying and threshing, it was necessary to remember the barn farmer, the gum farmer and the rizhnik with a kind word.

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

20 November - freezing. “Two friends met - ringing frost and white blizzard.”

November 21 - according to A. Asov's version - the day of Semargl. On the one hand, it has not been 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 on visits. "Winter forges frosts." Note: if the path is disrupted on this day (the road becomes muddy), then this will last until December 19. If the morning was frosty, heavy snow was expected, and if it was foggy, a thaw was expected. Also on this day, cattle were driven in for winter feed.

November 22 - they noted: if the goose goes out on the ice, then the ice is still not strong. Cloudy, snowy weather portends a stormy May. Frost means frost and an oat harvest, rain means a wheat harvest, fog means a thaw.

November 27 - carded and wound yarn. The brownie was brought a snack into the yard. The end of the wedding season. They noted: frost promised frost and an oat harvest, fog promised a thaw, and night frost said that snow would not fall during the day; The crow also foreshadowed a thaw.

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

December

The Slavs called it Jelly, Khmuren, Icy, Zaledki, Rekostav and Wolf Time.

December 1 - noted: what the weather will be like on this day, this will be the case in winter and early spring.

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

December 4 - real winter begins (it is believed that she arrives on a piebald mare). Horse riding. They were supposed to be started by newlyweds who were getting married 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, the parents laid a sheep's coat inside out, on which the guides handed over the young woman from hand to hand to her fathers-in-law, and they thanked the guides for saving her from all sorts of misfortune. It ended with a feast.

From December 5 - a good sled track was established. People placed markers along the roads. The time for fairy tales had begun.

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

December 7 - Sannitsa. A young winter girl rides down from the mountains on a sleigh. 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 - December will be clear. If it snows, the blizzard will last a week. If the field is smooth, expect a crop failure.

December 13th - fortune telling about winter. At night, people walked to the river and, based on the intensity of its noise under the ice, judged the weather for the winter: if it was making steady noise, it would be a smooth winter, but if it was seething, it would be a blizzard. On this day you can take over someone else's fate, so it was not recommended to step on someone else's footsteps.

December 16 - Silent. After sunrise, they tried not to sing, since evil spirits could take away their voice.

December 19th - second brother. The clan or village gathered together, sorted out worldly and family matters, made peace and organized a feast together. The poor were supposed to be treated to pies. According to A. Asov, on this day the Black Sea Water Serpent was revered. Considering the presence of this archaic character in games, epics and images, the existence of his feast day cannot be denied; however, it remains unclear where A. Asov got this particular date from. 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 Mokoshi. The girls used the needle to tell fortunes about their betrothed: they looked into her ear with a verdict.

December 22 or 25 - Solstice, Korochun, Holy Day, Wolf's Day, birth of the gods, birth of the Sun. On this day, people gathered on the hills before dawn, lit bonfires, greeted the sunrise, rolled burning wheels, and held feasts. Symbolizing the victory of the sun over winter, fist fights were held on the ice of the rivers, which began with children's "snowball fights", continued with a brawl among teenagers and ended with a "wall to wall" clash between adults. “The bear in its den moves with the sun, winter walks through the yards in a bear’s skin, knocking on the roof.” It was believed (according to A. N. Afanasyev) that on this day Perun, with lightning, rekindles the sun extinguished by demons. Before the change of calendars, Solstice and New Year were one holiday and their rituals 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 dating back to ancient times).

December 22 - holiday of pregnant women and beekeepers. Pregnant women were prohibited from engaging in any significant work. They sewed dowries for children. The wolves are herding.

From December 24 to January 8 - Gatherings (otherwise known as 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 gatherings ended with round dances.

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

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

December 28th - Ridicule: boys and girls had a comic squabble so as not to accumulate grudges against each other in the new year.

December 29th - fortune telling about Christmastide: if there is frost on this day, then Christmastide will be warm, and if it is frosty, it will last until mid-January.

Night from December 31 to January 1 - they cooked Ovsenya’s porridge all night: having brought the cereal, they did not touch it until the stove was hot, they put the pot in the stove with bows. By baking the porridge, they guessed: thick porridge means a harvest, pale and thin porridge means a shortage, and if the porridge runs away or the pot cracks, it means trouble. Also that night the mummers walked

There was another sliding holiday - family holiday . Each clan, village or community celebrated it individually - on the day that was considered the founding date 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 Kresen* (Asov A.) Velesen. / A. Asov // Science and Religion No. 9, 1994 / ch. ed. V. F. Pravotorov - M.: Press, 1994

Bus Kresen (Asov A.) Gruden. / A. Asov // Science and religion No. 10, 1994 / ch. ed. V. F. Pravotorov - M.: Press, 1994

Bus Kresen (Asov A.) Ovsen. / A. Asov // Science and Religion No. 11, 1994 / ch. 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 / ch. ed. V. F. Pravotorov - M.: Press, 1994

Bus Kresen (Asov A.) Serpen. / A. Asov // Science and Religion No. 8, 1994 / chapter. ed. V. F. Pravotorov - M.: Press, 1994

Bus Kresen (Asov A.) Jelly. / A. Asov // Science and Religion No. 12, 1994 / ch. ed. V. F. Pravotorov - M.: Press, 1994

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

Ryzhenkov G.D. People's month book: Proverbs, sayings, signs, sayings about the 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 articles by such an author as A. Asov, who is repeatedly and rightly criticized in “The ABC of a Beginner Pagan.” This is quite easy to explain: as you know, to make a lie believable, you need to mix a little truth into an ordinary lie. And I used these very grains of truth from his works, as well as those logical chains that seemed consistent to me.

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 called wolf days. These days you need to pray to the patron saint of cattle - God Hair and Cattle. Protect your flock these days from the outrages 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 throughout the centuries with her deeds worthy of memory and glory - she took revenge on the Drevlyans for her murdered husband, gave birth to the Great Prince Svyatoslav and united Rus'.

6-Turitsy. The holiday of Yar-Tur, a bull symbolizing fertility and vitality. On this day, people wear bull masks and dance in circles. Young people play games - fun games. This day marks the end of the New Year holidays.

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

18 – Day of Intra (lord of snakes). According to Slavic mythology, Intra is the god of clouds, snakes, wells, and springs. Identified with Navy (spirit of the dead). At night, the sorcerers had to cast a spell on 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. Midwinter, the return of the sun's heat to the earth. Prosinets was celebrated with a blessing of water. The Slavs swam in cold ponds and set rich tables. Among other foods, there must have been dairy products on the table - milk, cottage cheese, curdled milk, cheeses and others.

30 – Day of Father Frost and the merry Snow Maiden. The symbolic end of winter. On this day, it is customary to tell stories about Father Frost and his daughter, Snegurochka.

February (sec)

10 – Kudesy, Velesici. Brownie Day. On the most important holidays of the Slavs, on this day, offerings must be made to the brownie in order to appease him. They left a pot of porridge behind the stove, having previously wrapped it and surrounded it with hot coals so that the food would not cool down when the brownie arrived. “Grandfather-neighbor! Help yourself, eat the porridge, and protect our hut from evil! Eat the pies and take care of your master’s house!” The brownie helps the family, where he is valued. This is a good spirit, sometimes a little mischievous. On the contrary, if you don’t feed your “master”, he begins to go wild and causes a lot of trouble for the residents.

15 – Meeting. The border between winter and spring. If it gets warmer on Candlemas, wait for early spring. On the contrary, a cold day means cold spring. On Candlemas, common people set fire to each other's hair, believing that this was a good remedy for headaches. The hair should be set on fire in a crisscross pattern using Sretensky candles. On this day, round golden pancakes are baked, symbolizing the sun, bonfires are lit, people dance and have fun.

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

29 – Day of Kashchei Chernobog. Kashchei is the ruler 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-Naviy day (loaches). Day of the Dead among the ancient Slavs. Today people invite their ancestors to the festive table by making sacrifices. Vyunitsy is 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, and went to Constantinople. The Varangians helped him fight his enemies and govern the principality. Their cruel and greedy actions destroyed Igor - he was killed by the Drevlyans during Polyudye.

21 – Maslenitsa. Today people celebrate the Spring Equinox, the end of winter, the ancient Maslenitsa. On this day you should have fun, feast, and dress up. On Maslenitsa they bake pancakes, pancakes and yarn, symbolizing the Sun.

24 – Komoeditsy. One of the oldest holidays of Paganism. Today they pray to the Bear God and make sacrifices to the Great Honey Beast - the bear. It is believed that this day was a continuation of the Week of Olives.

April (berezozol)

7th Day of the Goddess Karna. The second day of prayer to dead ancestors, the day of the goddess of lamentation and crying. On this day, it was customary to light fires at the gates of houses and burn rags, old things, etc. on them. “... by that fire the souls passing by warm up...” There should be kutia and water for the dead on the table.

22 – Lelya’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 saint of the family and the universe. Day of remembrance and third prayer to the ancestors. Today the dead are given vodka, beer and food. Memorial workers invite their dead to the table - to drink and eat at the funeral feast.

20-30 – Breasts are dewy. These days they made sacrifices to Rod, praying to him for a good harvest.

June (Kresen) – summer pagan holidays of the Slavs

4 – Yarilin Day. Fertility Day, Yarila - the Sun God. On this day, the Slavs organized mass games and dances, which were accompanied by voluptuous movements and loud screams.

19-24 – Mermaid week. The deities of reservoirs and rivers - Mermaids - are glorified. There are many fortune telling, traditions and legends associated with this week. It is common 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 celebrated as the 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, tell fortunes, and dance in circles. Fires are lit near reservoirs, rituals are performed and Kupala is drowned in the river. The victim was later replaced with a doll made of straw.

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

Prince Svyatoslav waged war with Byzantium. He had contempt for Christianity. Having captured the lands from the Volga to the Danube (from the Khazar White Vezha to the Balkan lands), he drove back the Pecheneg detachments and stopped the penetration of Christianity. However, during the siege of Constantinople, due to the presence of Christians in the army, he suffered failure.

20 – Perunov Day

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

August (serpen)
7 – Grain Harvest Festival

Spozhinki. The harvesting and processing of the grain harvest is being completed. People feast, bless apples, honey, and 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 Okiyan Sea, on Buyan Island. 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, to prevent the formation of tornadoes, they called on Perun for help, beat the wind with sticks, and threw knives and stones at it. For the winds - the children of Stribog, names were invented that reflect their essence: Midnighter, Poludennik, Siverko, Posvist, Podaga. To appease Stribog, people scattered rags and bright ribbons, grain, cereals, and flour into the wind, hoping for a rich harvest.

September (spring)
2nd Day of Remembrance of Prophetic Oleg

The history of Rus the Viking is mysterious and instructive. The Chud Magi predicted his death from his horse - which happened after Oleg’s horse fell. The 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 – Childbirth and Mother in labor

On the eighth of September there is a holiday honoring family well-being. It begins with the glorification of Lada, Rod and Lelya, and moves on to the ritual of “burying the flies.” A fly is placed in a carrot house; in its absence, a mosquito, wasp or cockroach is placed and, in a solemn atmosphere, it is taken to a vacant lot, where it is buried in a grave in order to numb the insect until the warm season.

After the funeral, it’s time for the next ritual – hunting for the so-called “moose cows”. Two young girls, dressed as moose cows, run into the forest. The guys who are hunters must catch them. One “moose” is left behind, the second is brought to the temple, where they are scolded for running away and released.

The holiday ends with a birthday cake (food during the ritual: beef, oatmeal, berry wine, cheese, cottage cheese, eggs) and games.

A round dance around the oldest woman begins the games. The woman holds oatmeal bread in her hands, which is then distributed to heal domestic animals and people. After the end of the Slavic holiday, Indian summer comes.

8 – Lada Festival

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

The remaining rituals were dedicated to prayers for rain, the celebration of young greenery, the first shoots and the first ripened ears of corn. On the red hill the girls played the game “And we sowed and sowed millet.”

The game took place on a hill called the red hill. The players, divided into two groups, sang songs.

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

Often, in mid-summer and towards the beginning of autumn, young people agreed to marry, but the wedding took place after the completion of field work.

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

9 – Autumn

These are Slavic harvest festivals, celebrating the completion of the harvest, which was supposed to provide for the family for the coming year. Autumn was greeted with a renewal of fire. The old fire was extinguished and a new one was struck with flint strikes.

During the “autumn” all activities were transferred from the fields to the garden or into the house, vegetables were harvested. On the Nativity of the Mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a treat was arranged for all family members. The flour of the new harvest was used to make a pie, beer was brewed, and a sheep or ram was slaughtered with it. 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 Slavs Among the ancient Slavs, the Fiery Volkh is the courageous god of war, the husband of Lelya, born from the connection of Mother-Raw-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.

The magus turned into a falcon and entered the heavenly garden with the goal of pecking the golden apples and thereby gaining immortality and power over the world. But in the garden he listened to Lelya’s singing and, forgetting about everything, became her secret lover.

Volkh belonged to the underworld and could not become Lelya’s husband. Lelya's sisters, not wanting the Volkh-Falcon to fly to her at night, poked needles at the window. Volkh injured his wings and was forced to return to his kingdom.

Soon Lelya went in search of him. Having trampled three pairs of iron shoes, broken three cast iron staffs and chewed 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 occurs during 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 turn to Zhiva with gratitude. It was she who sent fertility to the earth and did not allow her to die of hunger. From this day on, the spirits of ancestors stop descending to the earth.

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

21 – Day of Svarog

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

In the rented hut, the girls organize a fraternity. They invite guys to a party, where the bride is considered the mistress of the house. The evenings are dominated by games with kisses, magical and scary fairy tales.

27 – Rodogoshch

When the entire harvest is harvested, it is shining, but the sun does not bake the holidays that are significant for the Slavs, the trees shed their leaves and prepare for winter sleep, the Slavs celebrate Rodogoshch. For the holiday, a huge pie is baked. In the old days, it was equal to human height; a priest hid behind it with the question: “Can you see me?”

In response to a positive answer, the priest wished that next year a more abundant harvest would be harvested and that an even larger pie could be baked.

After the beginning and fortune telling for the next year, the mountain feast began. The dishes on the table were placed in a heap, which gradually decreased.

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

To carry out the ritual of purification, at nightfall a fire was lit, over which one had to jump. With the song “Even, even trampling!” – the priests walked on hot coals with bare feet.
Merry games served as the end of the holiday.

October (leaf fall)
14 – Pokrov

With the introduction of Christianity, this holiday was celebrated in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. People consider Pokrov to be the day when Autumn meets Winter. The holiday owes its name to the first frost, which by this time had already completely covered the entire earth. The end of field work and the Intercession coincided. From that time on, heating began in the huts and the weavers and spinners began their work.

On this day, the brownie went to bed, and the inhabitants of the hut performed the ritual of “Baking the 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. Thus began the bachelorette parties.

28 – Mokosh-Friday Day

Makosh (Makosha) is the protector of girls and women, the goddess of marriage and childbirth, and she controls the craft of yarn. For a long time, people turned to her with requests 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 a spindle are a symbol of the goddess. Her servants are spiders, so the web that arrives is a good omen. The amulet - a string on the right wrist, also has a connection with Makosha.

On Mokosh Day, women were forbidden to do housework, bathe children, or bathe themselves. The goddess could punish for disobedience - tearing the canvas, tangling the threads on the spindle and even sending illnesses.

November (chest)
25 – Madder

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

The food consumed on this day is: turnips, carrots, pancakes and jelly.

December (jelly)
3 – Memorial Day of the Russian Knight Svyatogor

In the boyar mound Gulbishche, Slavic holidays found their last refuge - the day of the saint, the great Russian hero Svyatogor. 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 of the whole year and one of the worst days of winter. Karachun is the deity of death, who rules frosts.

Connecting bears are the servants of Karachun; snowstorms turn into them, and blizzards, according to legend, 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 its other side, exactly half of the winter had passed.

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

25 – Kolyada

On winter holidays, on December 25th, Kolyada was celebrated. holidays of the ancient Slavs Once Kolyada was an influential deity. The days before the New Year were dedicated to Kolyada. Games were held in her honor, which later became Christmastide. The ban on worshiping Kolyada came on December 24, 1684.

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

Remnants of the ancient holiday are manifested in sacred 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, the holiday “Shchedrets” is celebrated. It is famous for its festive cake and generous gifts. On the table there are dishes made from pork, which signifies fertility.

Before starting the pie, people amuse themselves with generous gifts. The mummers are present in the same composition as on Kolyada. Carolers go to houses or gatherings of people and sing: “Generous evening! Good evening!"

Carolers beg gifts from the owners of the house, complaining that they walked from afar and now the goat’s legs hurt. The owners laugh it off, and then the mummers perform generosity with comic threats. Not giving gifts to carolers is considered a great shame; greedy owners are called “curses.”

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

March (Berezol, Sukhy)

March 1(birch, dry) Madder Day or Naviy Day is celebrated - the holiday of the resurrection of the dead and the last day of strength and power of the evil Naviy Gods before the arrival of Spring.

For Orthodox Christians, this date was the day of Saint Eudoxia, who presided over the coming of Spring.

With the onset of March, the Slavs begin ritual visits to graves with the offering of required items. On this day, people who have died long ago are brought to the water, saying:

"Shine, shine, Sunshine!

I'll give you an egg

Like a hen laying eggs in an oak grove,

Take him to heaven

May it bring joy to all souls."

The shell of an illuminated, red-painted 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) on Mermaid Day.

On the night before Navya Day, navys (strangers, abandoned, “pawned” dead, buried without a ritual and not buried dead at all) rise from their graves, which is why people dress up in their disguises again for the spring holidays.

She was also popularly nicknamed the One-Eyed Kikimora (probably because she is the leader of all kikimoras, including domestic and swamp ones). There is a saying remembered on this day: " Yarilo took winter (Madder) onto his pitchfork!"

On this day, they remember and honor this formidable goddess, who will lead the people after death to the Kalinov Bridge. The possessions of Morena, according to ancient tales, lie beyond the black river Smorodina, separating Yav and Nav, across which the Kalinov Bridge, guarded by the Three-Headed Serpent, is thrown.

Folk signs for this day:

“If the sun is visible at noon on this day, spring will be early; if there is a snowstorm, the whole week will be snowy,”

“The more snow falls, the higher the grain harvest,”

“If the windows and frames sweat in the cold, wait for warmer weather,”

“Snow plants” are climbing up the glass - the frost will continue, their shoots are bent - towards the thaw.

9th of March(Berezola) conduct the second Calls of Spring (Goddess Alive), performed from the tops of the hills from which the snow has already begun to melt, popularly called “Yarilin’s bald spots.”

According to Slavic beliefs, on this day forty birds fly from Bright Iriy (that’s why this holiday is called Magpies), marking the approach of the Virgin of Spring. On whose field the birds land first, the Gods will send him special luck and a good harvest this year.

From 18 to 24 March(Berezola) Maslenitsa Week (week) takes place on Slavic land, which separates the two main seasons in the Slavic folk calendar - winter and spring.

This is a cheerful farewell, illuminated by the joyful anticipation of the coming warmth, the spring renewal of nature. In the old days, street celebrations began on these days and ice slides were built. To see off Maslenitsa, fist fights were held and an effigy of Maslenitsa was burned. In ancient times, Maslenitsa festivities lasted not one, but two weeks.

March 20 (in 2017)(bereznya, berezola) - on the day of the spring equinox, the Slavs celebrate the great holiday of Maslenitsa. The second name of this holiday is “Komoyeditsa” (white), which is celebrated when the day becomes longer than the night, when nature awakens and the Sun-child Khors becomes the youth Yarila.

Options for the celebration date are also possible: March 21 and 22, as well as March 25. Being a purely pagan holiday, Maslenitsa was also adopted by Christianity, but not according to the solar (pagan) calendar, but according to the lunar calendar, which is why in Orthodox Christianity Maslenitsa has a floating date.

March 25(bereznya) Svarga opens, and Spring finally descends to Earth - the goddess Alive. Not only people, but also all living things celebrate in her honor. On this day you cannot work, but only glorify Spring, the triumph of life over death. For the third time they call for spring. When morning comes, they treat themselves to cookies in the shape of larks, and release live birds from their cages into the wild, calling for spring.

30th of March(Berezola) the Domovoi's Name Day is celebrated - honoring the House owner and bringing him special needs. For Orthodox Christians, this date was the day of St. John the Climacus.

In Rus' on this day it was customary to bake “ladders (ladders) for the future ascent to heaven” from Lenten rye dough. The sizes, shapes and number of steps were very diverse, but usually there were 12 of them - “according to the number of months in the year.” Also on this day they tried to appease everyone who was “furious” until midnight (or until the first roosters) Domovoi.

On March 21, the Majestic Sun announces the advent of the astrological New Year. The day of the vernal equinox is truly a great holiday of Earthlings.

This day is significant because the Sun rises exactly in the east and sets exactly in the west.
The transition of the Sun from the southern to the northern hemisphere marks not only a new astronomical year, but also the arrival of spring. From an astronomical point of view, spring begins on March 21 and continues until June 22, the summer solstice.

People have long endowed this day with special magical properties.

It was the Day of the Equinox that astrologers and esotericists even chose as their unofficial professional holiday.

On this day, the paths of the Earth and the Sun intersect, creating a kind of “stairway to heaven.” The vernal equinox is the point of intersection of the equatorial plane with the ecliptic plane.

Only on the days of the equinoxes do the rays of the Sun fall on the Earth at right angles to its axis of rotation. At these moments, relative to the Earth, a person’s energy changes like water in a vessel in which electrical wires are placed and voltage is applied. The human body is filled with strength and heat. It is important that the water and the vessel are clean - therefore fasting is recommended on the eve of the holiday.

In many countries around the world, the day of the vernal equinox is celebrated as a solemn holiday, calling it by different names. Among the Celts of Ostara, in Asian countries, for example, this is the holiday of Navruz; Vedic India also honors this period as a special festival.

What is the name of the holiday of the spring equinox among the Slavs?

Historians have found several options for the name of the spring equinox holiday:
- Komoeditsa
- Great Day;
- Red hill;
- Great day;
- Krasnogor.

On the week of the spring equinox, it was customary to dance in circles, glorifying the gods with songs and dances, to feast at tables where dough figurines of larks, pancakes and dishes with the symbolism of the sun were an indispensable treat, and there was a complete absence of intoxicating drinks. Both old and young fed grain and dry bread to the birds that flocked to the Red Hill, personifying the souls of deceased ancestors, and rolled into the winter hand a burning wheel, decorated with bright ribbons as a symbol of the new Sun and the coming to earth of the goddess of spring Vesta.

One of the favorite pastimes of the Slavs was riding on a rope swing and burning straw dolls in a fireplace with wishes for long years, prosperity, a rich harvest and happiness in the year. With dolls, grain was thrown into the fire as an offering to the gods in their favor to the people, and to cleanse the soul, special daredevils jumped over a smaller fire.

In ancient times, the holiday was also called Komoeditsa, and was celebrated exactly when the sun passed from the Southern Hemisphere to the Northern Hemisphere - March 20-21.
The holiday had not only ritual significance, but also helped people “wake up” after a difficult winter, and prepare for the hard work of farmers - they celebrated it for 2 weeks, and then immediately began to work in order to live the next winter in warmth and relative satiety.

On the same day, the Slavs revered the Bear God - the first pancakes baked on the holiday were taken to the forest to him. Every Russian person has heard the expression “the first pancake is lumpy”, but few people know that it is not “lumpy”, but “kom” - bears were called komas in Rus', and they were considered sacred animals. The real ancient proverb goes like this: “The first pancake is for cowards, the second is for acquaintances, the third is for distant relatives, and the fourth is for me.”

It is known that many modern church holidays - including Easter - are closely intertwined with the traditions of paganism, but their ancient essence is either lost or changed beyond recognition.

So, instead of Komoeditsa, it was decided to allow the celebration of Maslenitsa: it is otherwise called Cheese Week, and is celebrated before Lent. Many Maslenitsa rituals seem so incomprehensible that no one even tries to explain them: people simply celebrate, and hardly remember where this holiday came from in this form - especially since today it is really difficult to understand.

Easter eggs were also not always Easter: they have another meaning, much more ancient - among the peoples of Northern Europe and Asia, even in pre-Christian times, colored eggs meant resurrection and rebirth - they were often placed in burials. Many ancient games are also associated with eggs - the same as those played by Christians: eggs were beaten against each other, rolled, given to each other, etc.

It was not for nothing that our ancestors considered the day of the vernal equinox a great holiday: the beginning of spring is the awakening of all living things to new life, but we, too, always look forward to spring, and are very happy when it comes after the winter cold. Let's celebrate the arrival of spring with joy and smiles, and then the sun will always be gentle and warm for us, and life will be abundant and rich.

Ancient Slavic prayer

“Oh, Great Sun!

Revive me with the light of Your beneficial rays!

May clear thoughts awaken in my soul!

May the strength rise in my chest and lead me there,

where the eternal light of Your everlasting triumph burns.”

The magical meaning of the spring equinox

Since pagan times, magical properties have been attributed to the day of the spring equinox. This is the only time of the year when winter meets spring, and the day is equal in length to the night.

According to legend, on this day the Sun God himself descends to Earth in order to check how his earthly sons and daughters are doing and to help them implement all their good endeavors.

Fortune telling and conspiracies for the day of the spring equinox

The day of the spring equinox is great for fortune telling and rituals for the fulfillment of desires. Since this holiday is the historical “predecessor” of Maslenitsa, you can safely use Maslenitsa fortune-telling and conspiracies: for example, try to find out what awaits you in the new year by the shape of a pancake.

There is also a very simple conspiracy to make wishes come true, which “works” perfectly on the night of the spring equinox: on the eve of the holiday, bake a cheesecake (among the ancient Slavs it is a symbol of the Sun and prosperity) and before it cools down, tell it your wish. At night, eat a cheesecake, pinching off small pieces and mentally repeating what you wished for.

It is better to carry out the ritual alone, by candlelight.

What is the magical power of the Spring Equinox?
On March 20, this is a unique event - the Sun and Earth will be in absolute balance and harmony.

The Sun will be centered between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, exactly centered between the sky and the earth. This will create the Holy Cross, which will balance all energies and lead to complete harmony of all living things around. According to esotericists, the equinox point is a powerful time for the realization of desires, a strong day for the transformation of thoughts and words. Rituals to attract well-being on the day of the spring equinox The most important advice is to think and talk only about good and pleasant things on March 20th.

Bad thoughts, anxieties, swear words, quarrels and negativity will lead to the fact that everything you talked about and thought about on this day will come true. So esotericists recommend spending this day only with positive emotions. Cleansing ritual. On the day of the spring equinox, it is recommended to carry out a cleansing ritual. Carry out a general cleaning, throw away all old and unnecessary things from the house. When sweeping out trash, imagine that you are getting rid of failures, illnesses, and negative emotions. Ventilate the room, fumigate it with herbs, take a shower. At the end of the day, write down on a piece of paper everything you would like to cleanse your life of.

Re-read what you wrote and burn it in the fire. Ritual to fulfill a wish. On the Day of the Vernal Equinox, all words and desires are material, which means it’s time to tell the Universe about your dreams. On this unique day, everything you want becomes a reality! Seclude yourself in a room where no one will disturb you, light a candle, breathe deeply, relax. Close your eyes and imagine your deepest desire as if it has already come true. Feel it, feel the joy of its implementation.

The most important thing is to feel the positive energy from the picture in your head. Then mentally place the image of your desire in the pink sphere. Let it rise up - this way you release your desire to freedom, to the Universe. Let it fly upward to become your reality very soon. Open your eyes and breathe lightly and joyfully - now everything will be fine. Use the power of the Spring Equinox to benefit yourself, change your life for the better!

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 severe 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 kind of kind old man, Santa Claus, who himself gives out gifts. This is how it became quite recently, in the middle of the 19th century. By the way, there is a deep ritual meaning in decorating a Christmas tree: according to legend, the spirits of ancestors live in evergreens. Therefore, by decorating the tree with sweets, we bring gifts to our ancestors. This is an ancient custom. New Year is a family holiday. On this day it is better to visit your family. During the New Year celebration, spells were cast for the entire next year and at the same time fortune telling was made about the future. The number 12 is most often found in New Year’s rituals: 12 “elders” leading the ritual, 12 sheaves used to tell fortunes about the future harvest in the beginning of the 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 ancient epics), and ended with fortune-telling about the future. It was the end of Christmastide, the famous “Epiphany evening”, that was considered the most convenient time to question fate. For January spells and fortune-telling associated with sub-bowl 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 running around the entire vessel just under the rim. Agrarian-magical character these fortune-telling have been sufficiently clarified by the works of V.I. Chicherov; One of the main sub-bread songs was “glory to the bread.” Water and gold are obligatory attributes of New Year's agrarian-magical fortune-telling, just like water and the sun, provided the ancient Slav with a harvest.

Day of Ilya Muromets (Avegi of Perun)

Ilya Muromets was from the village of Karacharova, near the city of Murom. At that time, the Finno-Ugrians, the Murom tribe, lived here (it is known that many local Finno-Ugrians still adhere to the faith of their ancestors, and their neighbors - the Meadow Mari - were never Christians and retained the priesthood). Because Ilya Muromets was from the Murom tribe, he also says Name- distorted Finnish Ilmarinen. Ilmarinen is the Finnish Perun, the warrior god and blacksmith, forge. However, people from Belogorye-Caucasus - Karachais - could also live in this village. For his exorbitant strength and for his military exploits, Ilya Muromets, who lived in the 12th century, was revered by both the Slavs and Finno-Ugrians as the embodiment of the Thunderer (by the Finns - Ilmarinen, by the Slavs of the Vedic faith - by Perun or Ilm, by Christians - by 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. Those born on this day were entrusted by people to conduct fair and just justice. “If the first day of the year is cheerful (happy), then the year will be so (and vice versa).” On this day, they tell fortunes: they peel 12 onions from the top scales, pour a pile of salt on each onion and put them on the stove overnight. On which onion the salt becomes moist overnight, the month will be rainy. Or they took 12 cups out of the bulbs, poured salt into them and placed them on the window on the night of New Year. Whether the salt was wet or not, that month will be wet, rainy or dry. On this day, the Russian Orthodox Church also commemorates Saint Ilya of Murom, whose relics rest in the catacombs of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. According to the testimony of 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.

Turitsy

Turitsa are dedicated to the aurochs, one of the oldest animals revered among the Slavs and possessing magical powers. The tour embodies the union of Veles and Perun for the glory and prosperity of the Slavic Family. The son of Veles and Mokosha, Tour, like the Greek Pan, patronizes shepherds, guslars and buffoons, valiant prowess, games, dancing and fun, as well as groves and forest animals. In the North, Tur appears as a proud deer, and in the taiga forests as an elk. On this day, people make fortunes for the entire next year, since the holiday closes the winter holidays. The 12th day of Christmastide corresponds to the 12th month of the year. Fortune telling occurs in the evening, with the onset of darkness. They collect snow to bleach the canvas. Snow collected this evening and thrown into a well can store water for the whole year. The Slavs saw in the holiday of Tours the most ancient rite of youthful initiation into men, when, incarnating as a wolf, young man had to show hunting abilities and military courage and kill his first round. The ancient Slavs took their example from these formidable animals, who did not take care of themselves in order to protect the herd. They tried to teach the younger generation to attack and defend, to show resourcefulness and perseverance, endurance, courage, the ability to unite to repel enemies, to protect the weak and to find the enemy’s weak point. For many years, aurochs, wild bulls, served people as a symbol of honor and courage. Cups and horns were made from turk horns, which were blown invitingly during military campaigns, and even bows were made from especially large horns. But Turitsa is also a shepherd’s holiday, at this time the community invites a shepherd to its place for the next season, negotiates with him about work, entrusting him with a precious herd 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 agreement 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 to calve in February from various misfortunes and diseases.

Babi's porridge

On Baby Porridge Day, celebrated on January 8, it was customary to honor midwives. They were brought generous gifts and treats. They came with their children so that the grandmothers would bless them. Especially on this day, expectant mothers and young girls were recommended to visit their grandmothers. Later, the Orthodox Church began to celebrate the Feast of the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary on this day. The midwife is a distant relative to everyone 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 her hands. Knowing the customs of the old days, the grandmother knew her business. In the throes of the woman in labor, she flooded the bathhouse and carried the woman in labor out into the sun. The babbling - the waving - was accomplished with a kind word, kind herbs, kind prayers. By smoking the woman in labor, that is, by lighting a birch splinter and setting fire to wormwood with immortelle grass, the grandmother cared about easy homelands. And also, not so distant times, mother gathered the children in the evening and taught them to glorify Christmas, sprinkle it with grain - for a long life, for happiness, for well-being. It was as easy as shelling pears to give out a slice of pie at the holiday hour and pamper the children with cranberries and honey. But mother knew: “Not every house bakes a loaf of bread, especially so that there is enough for the whole family.” And so the children had to earn a treat, the whole childish world had to taste equally both food and sweets. “Give me the cow, the buttered head, the baked cow, the gilded cow!” And from every house both the big women and the bride-maids carried ritual cookies, which in their appearance were akin to cattle, into a child’s box. And the kids egged me on: “You, mistress, give it to me!” You, sweetheart, give it to me! Give it - don't break it! If you break it off a little, it will be Ermoshka. If you break off the top, it will be Andryushka. And if you serve the middle, there will be a wedding!” And so the childish box grew heavier. And a crowd of praisers ran to someone’s heated bathhouse and shared the treat among themselves. It was a joyful time of games and fun. The children recognized each other and were childishly happy, remembering this wonderful winter time. They also observed signs: if this day is clear, then there will be a good harvest of millet. The porridge will brown in the oven - it will turn into snow. If tits squeak in the morning, you can expect frost by night. But the continuous cry of crows and jackdaws promises snowfalls and blizzards.

Kidnapping 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, then 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 kidnapped his wife Marena from Dazhdbog (God of summer and happiness). From the connection between Koshchei and Marena, the Snow Queen was 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 more severe, and the blizzards will sweep everything around.

Intra

Intra (Zmiulan, Indrik-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 his Navya nature (Nav in East Slavic mythology is the spirit of death, as well as the dead man). At night, the sorcerers cast a spell on the pipes of the houses, through which Nav penetrated into the houses. Intra is an inhabitant of the dungeon, and in the legends of the Slavs it is said: “Like the Sun in the sky, so Intra is in Navi.” In the Indian Vedas, Intra is a demon and a serpent king. The latter is indicated by the fact that Interia is inhabited by snakes, and Intra himself is the husband of the Snake Paraskeva. According to our knowledge, Zmiulan is the winner of the goat Pan (son of Viy), essentially his cousin (since Dyy and Viy are brothers). Intra's deeds contain valor and baseness, honest victories and cruelty. Despite the fact that he is the husband of the snake demon, he fights on the same side with Perun. He is closest to the people from “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 personifying military valor and courage. Sensitive Intra, hear our call! Receive our chants! Oh, we know you, you raging bull! Defeat the enemy, powerful Intra! Crush the power of the Viev tribe!

Prosinets

Prosinets is the name of January, it is celebrated with the blessing of water. Today they glorify the Heavenly Svarga - the Host of all Gods. “Shine” means the rebirth of the Sun. Prosinets falls in the middle of Winter - it is believed that the Cold begins to subside, and the warmth of the sun returns to the lands of the Slavs at the behest of the gods. On this day, in Vedic temples they remember how in ancient times Kryshen gave fire to people who died from the cold during the Great Glaciation. Then he rained the magical Surya from the heavenly Svarga onto the Earth. Surya is honey fermented on herbs! Surya is also the Red Sun! Surya - Vedas understanding is clear! Surya is the trace of the Most High! Surya is the truth of the god Krsna! Milk and dairy products were sure to be present on the table that day. Surya poured onto the earth on this day makes all waters healing, so believers bathe in the blessed waters. In the annual circle of Perun's festivities, this day also corresponds to Perun's victory over the Skipper-beast and the bathing of his sisters Zhiva, Marena and Lelya in the milk river. On this day, the Slavs bathed in cold river water and gave grandiose feasts, which certainly had to include milk and dairy products.

Brownie Treat Day - Velesici, Kudesy

Kudesy is 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 ears with music: Grandfather-next-door! Eat the porridge and take care of our hut! If the grandfather-next-door is left without gifts, then from a kind keeper of the hearth, he will turn into a rather fierce spirit. After dinner, they leave a pot of porridge behind the stove, surrounded by hot coals, so that the porridge does not cool down until midnight, when the brownie comes for dinner. On this day, both Veles himself and his army are revered. It tells about the origin of the Velesichs, the heavenly warriors of Veles. Usually the Velesichs are revered as the children of Veles, the Svarozhichs, who obeyed Veles, the head of the heavenly armies. On this day, the brownie is fed porridge... But among them there are also those who came down from heaven to Earth and settled among people: these are ancient heroes: volotomans, asilks, spirits of ancestors, as well as spirits of forests, fields, waters and mountains. Those of them who ended up in the forest became goblin, those in the water became water goblins, those in the field became field goblins, and those in the house became brownies. Brownie is a good spirit. Usually he is a zealous owner who helps a friendly family. Sometimes he gets mischievous and plays pranks if he doesn’t like something. He frightens those who do not care about households and livestock. On this day, the brownie is fed porridge, leaving it on the bench. They feed and say: Master-father, accept our porridge! And eat pies - take care of our house! In some areas the holiday is celebrated on February 10th.

Father Frost and Snow Maiden Day

The Day of Frost and Snow Maiden is an ancient pagan holiday. These days they usually tell fairy tales and legends about Father Frost and the Snow Maiden. About how the Snow Maiden at the whim of God love Lelya fell in love with the man and therefore, with the arrival of Spring, she did not fly to the North. But as soon as “a bright ray of sun cuts through the morning fog and falls on the Snow Maiden,” she melts. On this day, the Slavs revered the enemy of Perun - Moroz - the hypostasis of Veles. We can say that Frost is the winter aspect of Veles, just as Yar (the son of Veles and Diva) is the spring form. Frost was married to the Snow Queen, daughter of Mary and Koshchei. Frost and the Snow Queen had a beautiful daughter - Snegurochka. The Day of Father Frost and the Snow Maiden was a symbolic end of winter, and the wide and generous Maslenitsa was just around the corner.

Gromnitsa

Gromnitsa is the only day in winter when a thunderstorm can occur - you can hear thunder and see lightning. That’s why the Serbs call this holiday “Svetlo”. The day is dedicated to Perun’s wife Dodola-Malanitsa (Lightning) - the goddess of lightning and feeding children. Thunderstorms in the dead of winter remind us that even in the midst of the worst disasters, there can be a ray of light—like a bright bolt of lightning in the middle of a bitter winter. There is always hope. The Slavs honored Malanitsa because she gave them hope for a speedy spring. “Oh Dodola-Dodolyushka, bright Perunitsa! Your husband is on a campaign, He is leading the war; Diva in the forests, Kryshen in the skies. Come down to the Slavs with zealous lightning! We have plenty of bread - Come down to us from heaven! We have plenty of salt - Don't deprive us of our share! Come down loudly, Come down happily, Come down beautifully - Honest people are amazed! Dodola is glorious, given hope!” The weather for Gromnitsa was predicted based on the weather. What the weather is like on this day, so is the whole month of February. A clear, sunny day brought early spring. On the Thunderstorm of Drops - believe in early spring, if the blizzard clears up - there will be blizzard weather for a long time, until the end of the month.

Great Veles Day

The Great Veles Day is the middle of winter. All nature is still in an icy sleep. And only lonely Veles Korovin, playing his magic pipe, walks and wanders through cities and towns, not letting people become sad. Marena-winter is angry with Veles, unleashing a severe frost on him, and “cow death” on the cattle, but he cannot overcome it in any way. On this day, villagers sprinkle water on their livestock, saying: “Veles, god of cattle! Give happiness to sleek heifers, To fat bulls, So that they come from the yard and play, And when they come from the field, they gallop.” On this day, young women drink strong honey so that “the cows will be gentle,” and then beat their husbands with a bottom (flax spinning board) so that “the oxen will be obedient.” On this day, cow butter is brought to the demand. After conception, women perform the plowing ritual to ward off “cow death.” For this purpose, a narrator is selected, which announces to all houses: “It’s time to calm down the cow’s fury!” Women wash their hands with water and wipe them with the towel worn by the narrator. Then the narrator orders the male sex “not to leave the hut for the sake of great misfortune.” Veles is the patron saint of livestock and shepherds. The announcer screams - “Ay! Ay!” - hits the frying pan and leaves the village. Behind her come women with grips, brooms, sickles and clubs. The narrator, throwing off his shirt, furiously pronounces an oath to “cow death.” They put on a collar, bring the plow and harness it up. Then, with lighted torches three times, they plow the village (temple) with a “inter-water” furrow. Women follow the narrator on brooms wearing only their shirts with their hair down. Woe to anyone who comes across during the procession, be it an animal or a person. The person they meet is beaten with sticks without mercy, suggesting that “cow death” is hidden in his image. In ancient times, those who came across them were beaten to death. Now it’s hard to believe that women suspected of malicious intent were tied into 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 those gathered: “Veles, knock the horn off the winter!”, a mummer dressed as Veles (Turkey mask, skin, spear) knocks the “horn off Madder.” Then a feast begins, at which it was forbidden to eat beef, accompanied by games.

Candlemas

Meeting serves as the border between winter and spring, which is why the very name of the holiday of Meeting is explained by the common people as the meeting of winter and spring: at Meeting, winter met spring; At Candlemas the sun turned to summer, winter turned to frost. Common people of the Western Russian region have the custom of setting fire to each other's hair in a cross shape with Sretenya candles on the Feast of the Presentation, considering this very useful for headaches. In agricultural life, based on the weather conditions on the Candlemas holiday, rural residents judge the coming spring and summer, especially the weather and the harvest. Spring was judged like this:

What is the weather on Candlemas, such will be the spring. If a thaw sets in at Candlemas, it will be an early warm spring, if the cold weather has turned away, it will be a cold spring; Snow falling on this day means a long and rainy spring. If snow blows across the road on Candlemas, spring is late and cold. It was on this day that they used to say: sun for summer - winter for frost. And also: there will be snow - there will be yeast in the spring. When a blizzard sweeps the road, spring is late and cold; if it’s warm, early and warm. On Candlemas morning, snow is a harvest of early grain; if at noon - medium; if in the evening - late. On the Meeting of Drops - the wheat harvest. From name On the holiday of the Presentation, in our common people the last winter frosts and the first spring thaws are called Sretensky. At Candlemas, breeding birds are fed (fed): chickens are given oats so that they lay eggs better and the eggs are larger and tastier. From this day on, it was possible to drive the cattle out of the barn and into the paddock - for warming up and warming up; they also began to prepare seeds for sowing, clean them up, work on them, and check for germination. Fruit trees were whitewashed. On this day, peasants usually made calculations of their reserves of bread, hay, straw and other feed: did they fill half of them, and if not, they made adjustments to the feeders, and even tightened their belts. On this day, festivities used to be held in villages. On Candlemas they bake pancakes, round and golden - they symbolized the Sun. On the Day of the Presentation, our ancient ancestors worshiped the Sun: the priests of the Sun performed rituals of meeting and greeting the luminary and invoked warmth. And when the Sun was at its zenith, they burned a doll made of straw - the so-called Erzovka. 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 by burning, Erzovka destroyed the cold, brought warm summers and a good harvest. And while the doll was carried on a pole, lovers turned to it for help in love and with requests for happiness in the house. On Candlemas they bake pancakes, round and golden - they symbolized the Sun. This was the call for his return. In the Kostroma province, peasant women baked bagels and fed these bagels to livestock in order to protect the animals from diseases. On this day, bonfires were lit and people had fun with ritual dances. You cannot be bored on Candlemas - the God of Love does not accept sadness, but responds to a joyful meeting with joy.

Pochinki

Pochinki is one of the holidays of the Slavic calendar, which was celebrated the day after Candlemas. Following the saying “Prepare the sleigh in summer and the cart in winter,” the owners, immediately after Candlemas, began early in the morning to repair agricultural equipment, calling this February day “Mending.” While clearing Pochinki, the peasants remembered: the sooner you start farming, the more you will please the spring. It is not appropriate for a real owner to delay repairs until the real warm days. Opening the sheds, the peasants wondered: what work should they take on first? They worked together as a family, finding something feasible for both the young and the old: “In Pochinki, Grandfather gets up at first light, repairing a summer’s harness and a hundred-year-old plow.” Not without pride, the repaired harness was hung out in a prominent place - they say, we are ready for plowing and sowing. And the housewives did not sit idle at this time: they cooked, washed, and sorted through things in chests. There is a misconception, mentioned specifically in Pochinki, that Domovoy disturbs horses at night and can drive them to death. A brownie is an assistant to a good owner, and not an enemy, otherwise why would a brownie be carried to a new house from the old one in a scoop with coal from the old stove. Brownie is a talisman for the home and not an evil spirit!

Troyan Winter

Winter Trojan is an important date for the ancient Slavs. Our ancestors considered this day the day of Military Glory, when many Russian soldiers fell from Roman soldiers in the Danube region, near Troyan Val (the etymology of the name has not yet been clarified). 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 arms and without showing their backs. This holiday is also known as “Stribozh’s grandchildren”, “commemoration of those fallen at Troyanov Val”. Unfortunately, today much has not been clarified from the history of the heroic deed at Troy Val, including the exact date (about 101 AD) and other details. This episode in the history of Ancient Rus' is clearly mentioned in the Book of Veles and praised in the “Tale of Igor’s Campaign”:

“The Romans were jealous of us and planned evil against us - they came with their carts and iron armor and attacked us, and therefore they fought them off for a long time and drove them away from our land; and the Romans, seeing that we were firmly defending our lives, left us” (Veles’s book). “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 in the cold winter they lament about them. And the wondrous doves say that they died gloriously and left their lands not to their enemies, but to their sons. And so we are their descendants, and we will not lose our land” (Veles’s book). The ancient Slavic warriors thought about their descendants and the Greatness of the Russian Lands - they were not afraid of death, but entered into battle, not even allowing thoughts of betrayal, retreat or surrender to their enemies. So let us also 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 on this day and remember brave warriors at the table.

Madder Day

The last holiday of the evil Navya Gods before the arrival of Spring is the Day of Mary Madder - 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. She was popularly called the one-eyed Kikimora. There is a proverb remembered on this day: “Yarilo took the winter (Madder!) on a pitchfork.” On this day they remember and honor the goddess who will lead the people to the Kalinov Bridge. Madder's possessions, according to ancient Tales, lie beyond the black Currant River, separating Yav and Nav, across which the Kalinov Bridge, guarded by the Three-Headed Serpent, is thrown. Folk signs for this day: If the sun is visible at noon on this day, spring will be early; if there is a snowstorm, the whole week will be snowy. The more snow falls, the higher the grain harvest. If the windows and frames sweat in the cold, wait for warmer weather. “Snow plants” are climbing up the glass - the frost will continue, their shoots are bent - towards the thaw.

Memorial Day of Prince Igor

The pagan prince Igor (life: about 875-945, reign: 912-945) was the son of Rurik, after whose death Prince Oleg became Igor’s guardian. Oleg, having accepted the reign from Rurik, was for a long time the regent of the young Igor. In 912, after the death of Prince Oleg, Igor occupied the Kiev throne as sole ruler. The Drevlyans, one of the tribal associations of the Eastern Slavs, learned about the change of power and 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 Drevlyan tribes, Igor forced them to pay greater tribute than before. In 915, one of the governors of Prince Igor moved south and, after a three-year siege, took the city of Peresechen - as a reward for the victory, he received Drevlyan tribute. During his reign, Prince Igor summoned many Varangians who helped him govern the principality and fight his enemies. But something did not work out in Igor’s policy with the Slavic tribes, so 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 took revenge on the Drevlyans for the death of her husband. Olga imposed a heavy tribute on them, ordered the extermination of many people and the destruction of the elders. Subsequently, in 945, Iskorosten was burned on her orders. With the support of the squad 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 rule.

Small oatmeal

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 were widespread because the beginning of a new year was a symbol of the beginning of a new time. From this day it was possible to begin a new cycle of field work and engage in other agricultural work. This is the most ancient of the reliable and known New Year celebrations. After the adoption of Christianity, this holiday began to be celebrated as the day of the Venerable Martyr Evdokia, who took upon herself the image of Vesna (Vesenitsa). At the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea in 325, it was decided to move the start of the New Year from March 1 to September 1.

Day of Gerasim the Rooker

This holiday in Rus' coincided with the arrival of rooks, which is why it received such a popular name - the day of Gerasim the rook. People used to say: “The rook is on the mountain - so spring is in the yard”, “I saw the rook - welcome spring.” The behavior of the rooks on this day was used to judge the nature of spring: “If the rooks fly straight to 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 Gerasim’s day they baked birds called “rooks” from rye sour dough. There was another belief about this day: “Gerasim the rook-keeper will return the rook to Rus', and drive the kikimora out of holy Rus'.” On the day of Gerasim, birds were baked - “rooks” Kikimora - one of the varieties of the brownie from the ancient Russian belief. She was represented as a dwarf or a small woman. If she was depicted as a woman, then her head was small, about the size of a thimble, and her body was thin, like a straw. Her appearance was ugly, her clothes were sloppy and unkempt. If they were depicted as a dwarf, then they must have eyes of different colors: one for the evil eye, the other for leprosy. Less often, the 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 your eyes, then you should expect trouble in the house. She was a harbinger of the death of one of the family members. They didn’t like kikimoras 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 protected 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 is one of the varieties of the brownie from the ancient Russian belief. She is afraid of the juniper kikimora, the branches of which were hung throughout the house, especially carefully protecting the salt shakers so that at night she would not spill the salt, which in the old days was very expensive. And if the kikimora was annoying with the rattling of dishes, then it was necessary to wash it with water infused with fern. It was imperative to find a doll or foreign object in the house, with the help of which the kikimora was sent to the family. This item should have been carefully taken out of the house and thrown away, or best of all, burned. There is still 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 in a house with a wormwood broom, then evil spirits will not appear, including kikimora. The belief is based on the attitude towards wormwood as one of the amulets. 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 welcoming of spring. Perhaps few people will remember the assumption that earlier in Rus' Maslenitsa was called Komoeditsa, marking the onset of the spring equinox. The vernal equinox, which falls on March 20 or 21 in the modern calendar, is one of the four main holidays of the year in the ancient pagan tradition and one of the most ancient. In essence, this is an agricultural New Year. In addition to welcoming 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 (and hence the saying - “the first pancake to the Kom,” i.e., bears). Therefore, early in the morning, before breakfast, with songs, dances and jokes, the villagers brought “pancake sacrifices” (pancakes baked for the holiday) to the forest to the Bear God and laid them out on tree stumps. And only after that the feasts and wide celebrations began. They were waiting for Komoeditsa, they carefully prepared for it: steep slopes of the banks were poured for skiing, high ice and snow mountains, fortresses, and towns were built. It was considered obligatory to go to the bathhouse before the last days of the holiday in order to wash away all the bad things that happened in the past year. It was forbidden to work on these days. On the ice of lakes and rivers, snowy towns were stormed, in which the stuffed Madder was hiding under the protection of mummers. Fierce fist fights were also held there, to which men of different ages and from different villages came running. They fought seriously, believing that the shed blood would serve as a good sacrifice for the coming harvest. On the last day of the festive festivities, ritual actions were mainly performed, saying goodbye to the winter. They burned an effigy of Madder, impaled on a pole, onto which they attached “nauzs” - old, worn-out Amulets or just old rags with a curse, in order to burn everything bad and outdated on the fire of a ritual fire. And immediately after the holiday, hard everyday life began, people began agricultural work, which continued throughout the warm season.

Magpies, Larks

At Zhavoronki day and night are measured. 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 on these dates). Russians everywhere believed that on this day forty different birds flew from warm countries, and the first of them was the lark. At Zhavoronki they usually baked “larks,” in most cases with outstretched wings, as if flying, and with tufts. The birds were distributed to the children, and they ran screaming and loudly laughing to call the larks, and with them spring. Baked larks were impaled on long sticks and ran out with them onto the hills, or birds were impaled on poles, on fence sticks and, huddled together, they shouted with all their strength: “Larks, fly in, Take away the cold winter, Bring the warmth of spring: We are tired of winter, All She ate our bread!” After the baked birds, they usually ate them, and their heads were given to the cattle or given to the mother with the words: “As the lark flew high, so may your flax be high. What kind of head does my lark have, so that the flax has a big head.” With the help of such birds, a family seeder was selected for Zhavoronki. To do this, a coin, a splinter, etc., was baked into the lark, and men, regardless of age, pulled out the baked bird for themselves. Whoever got the lot scattered the first handfuls of grains when sowing began.

Opening of Svarga - invocation of Spring

Larks, fly!
We're tired of winter
I ate a lot of bread!
You fly and carry
Red spring, hot summer!
Spring is red, what did you come with?
You're on the field, on the harrow...
Spring is red, what have you brought us?
I brought you three lands:
The first place -
Animal in a pole;
Another sweet spot -
With bipod in pole;
Third site -
Bees in flight;
Yes, even a good man -
Good health to the world!

Svarga opens, and the goddess Alive-Spring comes down to the people. Today, Spring is called and glorified not only by people, but by every living thing in the world, celebrating the victory of life over death. At the Opening, Spring calls for the third and last time, when Svarga opens, no one is working. The ritual of invoking Spring was associated with the first arrival of birds and the beginning of the melting of snow. When morning comes, they treat themselves to rye cookies in the shape of larks, and 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” and sing the famous song “And we sowed millet, sowed.” Everyone also plays the ritual game “round burners”.

Palm making

On this spring day, it is customary to glorify 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 two birth goddesses (there are similar deities in the pantheons of almost all Indo-European peoples). Meanwhile, Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov compared Lada with Venus. The Ladodeniya holiday was traditionally accompanied by special rituals among the Slavs. Everyone sings of the awakening nature. Girls and young people hold their first round dances dedicated to the Goddess Lada, the patroness of love and marriage. Women climb onto 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 birds made of lean dough are placed in a high place - above the door, like amulets, to maintain space. A belief is associated with Ladodeniya, according to which birds return from Iriy, the Slavic paradise, and therefore it is customary to imitate the dances of birds - to squabble (remember the expression: why are you quaking?). These ancient rites are associated with the return of the solar power of Life to earth.

Awakening of the Brownie

Many people know that they don’t trust anyone on April 1st. Where did this saying come from? After all, any proverb has some basis. In order to find out, we need to dive into the past; this is where the roots of many sayings and sayings are hidden. The history of our ancestors has deep pagan roots, echoes of which we can still observe today. Everything is in the same proverbs, sayings, beliefs and signs. On April 1, our pagan ancestors celebrated one interesting holiday. More likely, not even a holiday, but a certain milestone. This day was considered the Day of the Awakening of the Brownie. The ancient Slavs believed that during the winter he, like many animals and spirits, hibernated and woke up only occasionally to do the necessary housework. The brownie slept exactly until the time when spring fully came into its own. And she came, according to the ancestors, not in March at all, but in April. More precisely, the arrival of spring was marked by the vernal equinox, and all subsequent days until April 1 were the days of welcoming spring. On the first day, spring came finally and irrevocably, and the main guardian spirit of the hearth - the brownie - had to wake up to restore 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 be capricious. And our brownie sometimes has the habits of a child, and after a long hibernation he wakes up not very happy either. And then he begins to play pranks, and sometimes become hooligans. Either he will pour out the remains of flour from the sacks, or he will tangle the horses' manes, he will scare the cows, he will dirty the laundry... Of course, our distant ancestor tried to butter the dissatisfied brownie with porridge, milk and bread... Of course, our distant ancestor tried to butter the dissatisfied brownie with porridge, milk and bread, but, as you know, circuses must also come with bread. Such spectacles for the awakened spirit were the widespread festivities, jokes, and laughter of people in the house who played pranks on each other all day long. In addition, to make it more fun for the brownie, and for everyone around him, the inhabitants of the house put on their clothes inside out, like the ancestor spirit himself, who, as you know, wears his fur vest with the seams facing out. There had to be different socks or shoes on their feet, and in conversation everyone tried to deceive each other or joke so that the owner-father of the brownie would forget that he had recently woken up. Over time, they forgot about welcoming spring and cajoling the brownie on the first of April, but the tradition of joking, pranking and deceiving on this day remained. Some Slavic communities celebrated Domovoy's Name Day on March 30th.

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

Day of Karna the Mourner

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 will be the first to mourn him. Heavenly Goddess is the patroness of all new births and human reincarnations. From the name of the Goddess, words appeared that have survived to this day: incarnation, reincarnation. It grants the right to every person to get rid of mistakes and unseemly actions committed in his life and to 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, far away go the falcon, beating the bird, to the sea! But don’t christen Igor’s brave regiment! I’ll call Karn after him, and I’ll jump across the Russian land, and I’ll moo in the flaming rose. The Russian wives burst into tears and muttered: “We can no longer comprehend our dear ones in thought, nor in thought, nor in eyes, but we can even crush gold and silver!” (Oh, the falcon flew far, beating birds, to the sea! But the brave regiment of Igor can no longer be resurrected! Karna called for him, and Zhelya galloped across the Russian land, sowing fire from a fiery horn. The Russian wives burst into tears, saying: “We already have our dear ones okay, you can’t understand with your mind, you can’t think with your mind, you can’t bewitch with your eyes, but you can’t even hold gold and silver in your hands!”). On the table on the night of Karna, they leave funeral kutia (this is wheat porridge with raisins or honey), and in the courtyards of houses they burn fires, around which the souls of their ancestors warm themselves. Treasures are also brought to Karne-Kručina - flowers, especially carnations. Since pagan times, there has been an old Slavic tradition of bringing carnations to graves - a symbol of grief and sadness.

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

Semargl (or Simargl) - Fire God. Its purpose has not yet been fully clarified. It is believed that this is the God of fire and the Moon, fire sacrifices, home and hearth. The Fire God guards seeds and crops and can turn into a sacred winged dog. Semargl is revered on those days when the folk calendar mentions rituals and signs associated with fire and bonfires. April 14 Semargl drowns the last snow. There are references to the emergence of Semargl from the flame. They say that once the heavenly blacksmith Svarog himself, striking the Alatyr stone with a magic hammer, struck divine sparks from the stone. The sparks flared up brightly, and in their flames the fiery god Semargl appeared, sitting on a golden-maned horse of a silver color. But, seeming to be a quiet and peaceful hero, Semargl left a scorched trail wherever his horse stepped. The name of the God of Fire is not known for certain, most likely because his name is extremely sacred. Holiness is explained by the fact that this God does not live 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. The Slavs have long 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 allow 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, 9 months later, children are born to Semargl and Kupalnitsa - Kostroma and Kupalo.

Navy day(the date is different for each year)

Navi day is a ritual of resurrecting the dead (in general, with the onset of dry days - birch), the Slavs begin ritual visits to graves with the offering of necessities). Treba is an original Slavic term meaning worship, offering, sacrifice, administration of a sacrament or sacred rite. In Slavic “treba” means “T” - teyu (I create), “R” - Ra (God), “B” - ba (soul) = “I create for God’s soul.” The Slavs buried their relatives in mounds; on these high mounds they performed funeral feasts, laid out the required food, and poured libations. On this day, people who have died long ago are brought to the water, saying:

Shine, shine, Sunshine! I’ll give you an egg, Like a hen lays in the oak grove, Take it to heaven, May it bring joy to all souls. 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: kutia, pies, rolls, pancakes, cheesecakes, colored eggs, wine, beer, kanun (a type of mash). “Already behold Rod and Rozhanitsa to steal bread and orchards and honey...”, i.e. The requirements of each God are accordingly determined. The shell of a blessed 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) on Mermaid Day. On the night before Navya Day, the Navyas (alien, abandoned, buried without ritual and not at all buried dead) rise from their graves, which is why people dress up in their disguises again for the spring holidays.

Lelnik

The holiday "Lelnik" was usually celebrated on April 22, on the eve of St. George's Day (Yegory of the Spring). These days were also called “Red Hill” because the scene of action was a hill located not far from the village. A small wooden or turf bench was installed there. The most beautiful girl was placed on it, who played the role of Lyalya (Leli). To the right and left of the girl on the hill, offerings were placed on the bench. On one side there was a loaf of bread, and on the other side there was a jug of milk, cheese, butter, 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 glorified the deity as a nurse and giver of the future harvest. While dancing and singing, she was sitting on a bench young woman I put wreaths on my friends. Sometimes after the holiday, a fire (olelia) was lit on the hill, around which they also danced and sang songs. For modern people, the name Lelya is associated with the fairy tale by A.N. Ostrovsky's "Snow Maiden", where Lel is presented as a beautiful young man playing the pipe. In folk songs, Lel is a feminine character - Lelya, and the main participants in the holiday dedicated to him were girls. It is significant that the rituals dedicated to Lelya always lacked the funeral motif present in other summer holidays, for example, Rusal Week and Ivan Kupala Day. In spring rituals, various magical actions with eggs were widely used throughout the Slavic world. Throughout the spring, eggs were painted - “pysankas”, “painted eggs” - and various games were played with them. The church Easter calendar has largely obscured the archaic essence of rituals associated with eggs, but the content of the painting of Easter eggs takes us into deep archaism. There are celestial deer, pictures of the world, and many ancient symbols of life and fertility. Ethnographic museums store thousands of Easter eggs, which are the most widespread heritage of pagan ideas. Eggs, both colored and white, played an important role in spring rituals: departure for the first plowing was carried out “with salt, with bread, with a white egg”; the egg was broken on the head of a horse or a plowing ox; eggs and cross cookies were a mandatory part of sowing rituals. Often eggs were buried in the ground and rolled across a field sown with rye. Eggs were placed under the feet of cattle during pasture on St. George's Day and Lelnik, they were placed in the barn gates so that the cattle would step over them; They walked around the cattle with the eggs and gave them to the shepherd. Similar holidays exist among many peoples of Europe. In Italy they celebrate Primavera - the day of the first greenery; in Greece, since ancient times, they have been celebrating on this day the return to earth of Persephone, the daughter of the fertility goddess Demeter.

Yarilo Veshny

You save the little cattle, Our little orphan, The whole little animal, In the field, and beyond the field, In the forest, and beyond the forest, In the forest behind the mountains, Behind the wide valleys, Give the cattle grass and water, And give the evil bear a stump and a log! With such a verdict, the youth walked 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 pasture, to the so-called Yarilin dew. Before driving out the cattle, the owners stroked the animals along the backbone with a red or yellow-green egg, which they then presented to the shepherd. After which the cattle were driven into the yard with a willow branch and fed with “byashki” - special bread. Before being driven out of the yard, a belt was placed under the cattle’s feet so that it could step over it. This was done so that the cattle knew the way home. They grazed the cattle until the dew dried. 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 blows his horn, notifying the people about the beginning of the “walking” ritual, after which, taking a sieve in his hands, he walks around the herd three times, salting (for life) and three times salting (for death). After a correctly performed ritual, an invisible magical fence was built around the herd, which protected “from the creeping serpent, from the mighty bear, from the running wolf.” After which the magic circle was closed with an iron lock. On this day, an important rite was also carried out - the Unlocking of the Earth, or in other words - the Origin. On this day, Yarila “unlocks” (fertilizes) Mother Cheese-Earth and releases dew, after which the rapid growth of grass begins. They plowed the arable land to Yarila and said: “Even a lazy plow goes to Yarila.” From this day spring weddings began. Men and women rode through the fields, hoping with the help of the miraculous dew to become strong and healthy. The evening ended with a general celebration.

Rodonitsa

On the thirtieth of April the last spring cold ends. At sunset the opening is opened. On this day they commemorate their ancestors and encourage them to visit the land: “Fly, dear grandfathers...”. They go to the graves, bringing funeral gifts: pancakes, oatmeal jelly, millet porridge, painted eggs. After the beginning, the funeral service begins: the warriors on the mountain “wrestle with the dead,” showing their martial art. They roll colored eggs from a high mountain in competition. The winner is the one whose egg rolls further without breaking. By midnight, wood is laid out on the same mountain for a large fire. The holiday begins at midnight - 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 the Earth. Women perform a ritual dance around the fire... Everyone jumps over the Fire, cleansing themselves of obsessions (Naviy) after a long winter. On the same high mountain there are merry games and round dances around the fire. They play a fairy tale about a journey to the world of Navii and return to Yav. When morning comes, they treat themselves to cookies in the shape of larks, and release live birds from their cages into the wild, calling for spring. Let us recall that the Orthodox Church celebrates Radonitsa on Tuesday of the second week after Easter, the day after St. Thomas Sunday (or Antipascha).

Zhivin's day

On the first of May, at midnight, the spring Slavic holiday begins - Zhivin’s Day. Zhiva (abbreviated form of the name Zhivena, or Ziewonia, which means “life-giving”) is the goddess of life, spring, fertility, birth, life-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 seething 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 Day, women, taking brooms, perform a ritual dance around the fire, cleansing the place of evil spirits. In this way they glorify Zhiva, who revives nature, sending spring to the Earth. Everyone jumps over the Fire, cleansing themselves of obsessions (Navi forces) after a long winter:

Whoever jumps high has death far away. Here, funny games are started and round dances are held around the fire: Kolo Yari with light, we will dawn Mara, we fight, we thank Yarilo, Yarilo, show your strength! They play a fairy tale about a journey to the world of Navi and return to Yav. When morning comes, they treat themselves to cookies in the shape of larks, release live birds from their cages into the wild, calling on spring: Larks, fly! We're tired of winter. We ate a lot of bread! You fly and bring a red Spring, a hot summer! The entire coming day of the first grass is devoted to rest. On this day, in the evening, ritual fires are lit along the banks of the rivers, they bathe, cleansing themselves with cold spring water.

Dazhdbog Day - Big Oats

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 first ancestor of the Slavs (the Slavs, according to the text of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”, are the grandchildren of God). According to Slavic legends, Dazhdbog and Zhiva together revived the world after the Flood. Lada, Zhiva’s mother, united Dazhdbog and Zhiva in marriage. Then the betrothed gods gave birth to Arius, according to legend, the progenitor of many Slavic peoples - Czechs, Croats, Kyiv glades. Yarilo (Sun), the face of Dazhdbog, the revival of nature, was also revered on this day. God Yar was often compared to the plowman and warrior Arius, the son of Dazhdbog. Arius was revered, like Yar, as the embodiment 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 in plowed fields. “We praise Dazhdbog. May he be our patron and protector from Kolyada to Kolyada! And the patron of fruits in the fields. He gives grass to our cattle all the days. And the cows multiply, and the grains multiply in the granaries. And he does not allow the honey to ferment. He is the God of Light. Glory to Svarozhich, who renounces Winter and flows towards Summer. And we sing his glory in the fields, for he is our father” / Vel. 31/. Dazhdbog Day is also the time for the first cattle drive to pasture. That’s why they lit fires for Dazhdbog and asked him to protect the cattle: You, Dazhdbozh, are brave! Save the cattle, protect them from kidnappers! Protect from the fierce bear, Protect from the predatory wolf! It was believed that on this day the god Veles stole cloud-cows from Perun and imprisoned them in the Caucasus mountains. Therefore, Yara, Dazhdbog and Perun asked to free the clouds, otherwise all life on Earth would die. On this day they glorify the victory of Rain God over Veles.

Proletye

Many have heard that the end of winter is called Proletya. On this day, the Slavs perform protective rituals of awakening the earth, bringing strength and health. Maya Goldilocks, the Mother of All Gods, is famous; she was given a ritual of worship at the Temple of the goddess of fate Makoshi. Also in her honor, a sacred fire was lit, marking the beginning of summer. In general, in Proletye it was customary to light large bonfires so that they would burn in honor of the coming summer. A ritual of plowing was also carried out, bringing health and good luck, and the magical sorcery of Trigla (an ancient Slavic goddess, united in three forms: creating, preserving and destroying), which helps a woman maintain harmony in the family. The Proletya holiday was celebrated noisily, cheerfully and popularly. Traditionally, on this day there were buffoons and youthful entertainments, games, songs and round dances. Dances and songs took place to the accompaniment of Slavic instruments: drum, kugikly, pipes, pipes.

Veshnee Makoshye (Earth Day)

Holy Day, when Mother Earth, awakening from her winter sleep, is honored as the “birthday girl.” It is believed that on this day the Earth “rests”, so it cannot be plowed, dug, harrowed, stakes cannot be stuck into it and knives cannot be thrown into it. Veles and Makosh, the Earthly Intercessors, are especially honored on this day. The Magi go out into the field, lie down on the grass - listen to the Earth. At the beginning, grain is placed in the furrow plowed ahead of time and beer is poured, saying, facing the east: Mother of Cheese-Earth! Quiet all unclean reptiles from love spells, turnovers and dashing deeds. Turning to the west, they continue: Mother Earth of Cheese! Absorb the evil spirits into seething abysses, into flammable resin. Turning to noon, they say: Mother Cheese Earth! Quench all the midday winds with bad weather, calm the shifting sands with blizzards. At midnight they say: Mother Earth of Cheese! Calm the midnight winds with the clouds, hold back the frosts and 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 ritual with a furrow and grain, after which children were born, but now, due to changes in morals, the ritual is limited to spells on the cardinal directions. After the spells, the Magi, digging up the earth with their fingers and whispering: “Mother Cheese-Earth, tell me, tell me the whole truth, show me on (name),” they guess about the future using signs found in the ground. The warriors, putting aside their weapons and placing a piece of turf on their heads, swear allegiance to Mother Raw Earth, pledging to protect her from enemies. The opening ends with the glorification: Goy, You are the raw Earth, You are the hardened Earth, You are our dear mother, She gave birth to us all, She gave us water, fed us, And gave us land. For the sake of us, your children, you gave birth to potions and gave every grain to drink with Polga to drive away the demon and help in illnesses. They took off themselves to grab various supplies, lands for the sake of polga on the stomach. After conception, the consecrated handful of Earth is collected in bags and stored as amulets. A drunken feast and games complete the holiday. Yandex.Direct

Semik (Green Christmastide) (the date is different for each year)

Semik (Green Christmastide) was the main boundary between spring and summer. In the popular calendar, with the adoption of Christianity, the Trinity holiday was dedicated to these days. Green Christmastide rituals welcomed the first greenery and the beginning of summer field work. The cycle of the Green Christmastide consisted of several rituals: bringing a birch tree into the village, wreathing wreaths, kumeleniya, and the funeral of a cuckoo (Kostroma or mermaid). The birch tree was a symbol of inexhaustible vitality. As during winter Christmas carols, all rituals were attended by mummers portraying animals, devils and mermaids. In the songs sung during the Green Christmastide, two main themes can be distinguished: love and work. It was believed that imitation of labor activity ensured the well-being of future field work. While singing the song “You succeed, succeed, my flax,” the girls showed the process of sowing flax, weeding it, harvesting it, carding it and spinning it. The singing of the song “We sowed millet” was accompanied by movements in which the participants reproduced the processes of sowing, collecting, threshing, and pouring millet into the cellar. In ancient times, both songs were performed in the fields and performed a magical function. Later, the ritual meaning was lost, and they began to be sung in places of celebration. 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. After the harvest began, the plants were placed in the granary or mixed with fresh hay. Wreaths were made from tree leaves collected during the holiday and 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. Associated with it is the custom of “crying on flowers” ​​- dropping tears on the turf or a bunch of flowers. After completing special prayers, all participants went to the cemetery, where they decorated the graves with birch branches and provided refreshments. Having remembered the dead, they went home, leaving food at the cemetery. Green Christmastide ended with the ritual of funeral or farewell to Kostroma. The image of Kostroma is associated with the end of the green Christmastide; ceremonies and rituals often took the form of ritual funerals. Kostroma could be depicted by a beautiful girl or young woman, dressed in white, with oak branches in her hands. She was chosen from those participating in the ritual, surrounded by a girl’s round dance, after which they began to bow and show signs of respect. “Dead Kostroma” was laid on boards, and the procession moved to the river, where “Kostroma was awakened,” and the celebration ended with a bath. In addition, the Kostroma funeral ceremony could be carried out with a straw effigy. Accompanied by a round dance, the effigy was carried around the village and then buried in the ground, burned at the stake or thrown into the river. It was believed that the following year Kostroma would resurrect and come to earth again, bringing fertility to the fields and plants.

Cuckoo Festival (cumulation) (the date is different for each year)

On the last Sunday of May, the Slavs celebrate the Cuckoo Festival or Kumleniya Day. 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 in circles, sang funny songs about spring and Zhiva (the cuckoo represents the link between Zhiva and the young girls), jumped over a ritual fire and had a small symbolic feast. On this holiday, the only time a year, it was possible to make love, that is, become related in soul with any close person. To do this, you had to kiss through a birch wreath (birch is a symbol of love and purity among the Slavs) and say the following words:

Kumiš, kumiš, become dear, become dear, the two of us have a common life. Neither joy, nor tears, nor a word, nor an incident will separate us. Then, it was necessary to exchange something for memory. At the same time, the girl, dressed up as Zhiva, 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 Rus', the holiday had its own rituals and customs, but the idea of ​​cumulation remained common to all.

Spirits day (beginning of mermaid week) (the date is different for each year)

Spirits Day - the holiday of Pitchfork and Madder, the Earthly Moisture, begins with the honoring of ancestors, who are invited to stay in the house, scattering fresh birch branches in the corners of the house. This is also a day of remembrance and communication with water, meadow and forest navyas - mermaid spirits of a kind. According to legends, those who die prematurely without becoming an adult or who pass away voluntarily become mermaids and merman. Women perform secret rituals, leaving the housework to men, sometimes for the entire week. And those who have children leave their children’s old clothes, towels, and linens for the mermaid children in the field or on the branches near the springs. We need 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, and give them the juices of the Earth to drink. According to legend, during 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, mermaids perform a ritual related to the protection of crops. They could also punish those who tried to work on the holiday: trample the sprouted ears, send a crop failure, rainstorms, storms or drought. A meeting with a mermaid promised untold riches or turned into misfortune. Girls, as well as children, should be wary of mermaids. It was believed that mermaids could take a child into their round dance, tickle or dance to death. Therefore, during Mermaid Week, children and girls were strictly forbidden to go into the field or meadow. If during Mermaid Week (the week after Trinity, already during Christianity) children died or died, they said that they were taken in by mermaids. To protect yourself from a mermaid's love spell, you had to carry sharp-smelling plants with you: wormwood, horseradish and garlic.

Yarilo Mokry, Troyan

Troyan (Tribog's Day) is a holiday of the end of spring and the beginning of summer, when the Trisvetny Dazhdbog replaces the young Yaril-Spring. A sanctuary dedicated to the victory of the Trojan God over the Black Serpent. At this time, Rodnovers glorify Svarog Triglav - Svarog-Perun-Veles, strong in Rule, Reveal and Navi. According to legends, Troyan was the embodiment of the power of Svarog, Perun and Veles, who joined forces in the fight against the Serpent, the offspring of Chernobog, who once threatened to destroy the entire Three Worlds. At this time, since ancient times, they commemorated their ancestors and created amulets against atrocities committed by mermaids and the restless souls of the “hostage” dead (who died “not their own,” that is, an unnatural death). On the night of Trojan, girls and women “plowed” the village in order to protect themselves from evil forces. The people said: “Since Spiritual Day, not only from heaven, but warmth comes from under the ground,” “When the Holy Spirit comes, it will be in the yard, as on a stove.” According to popular beliefs, all evil spirits are afraid of this day, like fire, and just before the sun rises on the Spirits, Mother Cheese-Earth reveals her secrets, and therefore healers go at this time to “listen to treasures.” As on Yaril Veshny, dew on this day is considered sacred and healing. After the beginning, the rite of tonsure is carried out for young men - initiation into warriors. Next they have a feast in the field. Ritual food: sweets, scrambled eggs, pies. When required, ritual beer is brought. Before the games, a fairy tale or an ancient legend is played out. Love games and dancing are required. After Yarila's day, hot weather usually sets in for seven days.

Birth of Vyshnya-Perun

Skipper Snake Day (Snake Day)

After the birth of Perun, the Skipper-Snake came to the Russian Land. He buried baby Perun in a deep cellar and took his sisters to Nav: Zhiva, Marena and Lelya - goddesses of life, death and love. It is not dust that is scattered in the field, It is not fogs that rise from the sea, It is from the eastern land, from the high mountains, that a herd of animals ran out, That the herd of animals is a snake. The fierce Skipper-beast was running ahead! “Veda of Perun” Then Perun will be freed by Veles, Khors and Stribog, and he will defeat the Skipper-beast. And these days, when the Skipper-beast with his army comes to the Russian land, many see wandering ghosts, signs of death and troubles. Suddenly, flocks of mice and wolves appear in the fields, and clouds of crows fly in. And if you bend your ear to the ground, you can hear the Mother of Cheese Earth moaning. Others see fire running across a winter field. Nav is especially strong, and therefore enemy invasions were expected in Rus' these days. 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 the Skipper-Snake. Tales of Perun and Skipper were sung on this day by the wise men in Vedic temples and called upon believers to go to rivers and lakes to perform sacred ablutions in order to cleanse themselves of sins. According to the folk calendar, this day fell during the period of snake weddings. It is believed that at this time snakes crawl down and go by train to the snake wedding. In many settlements there are still “cursed places”, the so-called “snake hills”.