Slavic traditions. Komoyeditsa - a meeting of spring. Slavic traditions of Komoyeditsa the history of the holiday and its traditions briefly

From an astronomical point of view, on March 20 at 20:31 Moscow time, the Sun, moving along the ecliptic, will reach a point on the celestial sphere with coordinates of 0 hours 0 minutes in right ascension and 0 degrees 0 minutes in declination. This point on the celestial sphere is called the point spring equinox. It is located in the constellation Pisces. On the day of the vernal equinox, the sun throughout the Earth rises exactly in the east, and sets exactly in the west. At the poles on this day, the Sun moves exactly along the horizon during the day (due to refraction, which raises the Sun above the horizon, it moves above the horizon by the amount of refraction at the horizon - half a degree). When the Sun crosses this point of the celestial sphere, according to the condition generally accepted in modern astronomy, astronomical spring sets in in the northern hemisphere of the Earth. Autumn is coming to the southern hemisphere. On this day, the length of day and night are the same throughout the Earth. Of course, this is strictly mathematical. In fact, on the day of the spring (as well as the autumn) equinox, the day is still slightly longer than the night, again due to atmospheric refraction, which raises the luminaries above the horizon. After the day of the vernal equinox, the Sun at noon will rise higher and higher above the horizon, until the day of the summer solstice, overcoming a quarter of its path through the zodiac constellations and in orbit around the Sun.

And in the Slavic Cultural Tradition this day means the victory of the Forces of Life, Summer over the Forces of Death, Winter. It is believed that at this time Winter leaves, and Spring comes, and the Bear wakes up in his lair from winter sleep.

Maslenitsa, cheese week (before the spelling reform, it was also often Maslenitsa) is a festive cycle that has been preserved in Russia since pagan (pre-Christian) times. The rite is associated with the farewell to Winter and the meeting of Spring. The main attributes of Shrovetide are pancakes and folk festivals.

Before the introduction of Christianity, Maslenitsa (Komoeditsy) was celebrated during the 7 days preceding the spring equinox and 7 days after that day. Maslenitsa is the time when Nature awakens and the Sun-child Kolyada becomes the young man Yarila, and the hormonal system is reconfigured in the human body, preparing for the spring form of activity. The alien Christian church left the main celebration of Spring, not having the strength to conflict with the Traditions of the Russian People (similarly, Christmas was timed to the day winter solstice), but she shifted the people’s favorite holiday of seeing off winter in time so that it would not contradict Great Lent, and reduced the holiday to 7 days.

Maslenitsa is a mischievous and cheerful farewell to Winter and a meeting of Spring, which brings revival in Nature and solar warmth. From time immemorial, people have perceived Spring as the beginning of a new life and revered the Sun, which gives life and strength to all living things. In honor of the Sun, at first they baked unleavened cakes, and when they learned how to cook leavened dough, they began to bake pancakes.

The ancients considered the pancake a symbol of the Sun, because, like the Sun, it is yellow, round and hot, and they believed that together with the pancake they eat a piece of its warmth and power.

With the introduction of Christianity, the rite of celebration also changed. Maslenitsa got its name from the church calendar, because during this period of time - the last week before Great Lent, it is allowed to eat butter, dairy products and fish, otherwise this week in the Orthodox Church is called cheese. The days of Shrovetide change depending on when Lent begins.

Every day of Shrove Tuesday has its own name.

Monday is a meeting. By this day, mountains, swings, booths were being completed. They started baking pancakes. The first pancake was given to the poor in remembrance of the dead.

Tuesday - games. In the morning, young people were invited to ride down the mountains and eat pancakes. They called relatives and friends: “We have mountains ready, and pancakes are baked - please favor.”

Wednesday - gourmets. On this day, the son-in-law came "to the mother-in-law for pancakes." In addition to the son-in-law, the mother-in-law invited other guests.

Thursday is a wide day. From that day on, Maslenitsa unfolded in full breadth. The people indulged in all kinds of fun: ice mountains, booths, swings, horseback riding, carnivals, fist fights, noisy revels.

Friday - mother-in-law evenings. Sons-in-law invited their mother-in-laws to visit, treated them to pancakes.

Shestnitsa - sister-in-law gatherings. Young daughters-in-law invited their sister-in-laws to visit. The newlywed daughter-in-law had to give her sister-in-law a gift.

The last day of Maslenitsa is a forgiveness week. People asked for forgiveness for the grievances delivered to each other, and said goodbye to Winter.

In the "Forgiveness Week" in Russia, the "effigy of Maslenitsa" (also referred to as the "effigy of Winter" or "the scarecrow of Maslenitsa") was solemnly burned. Usually, a “scarecrow”, which is a bunch of straw in a scarf tied “like a woman”, and a jacket, was placed on firewood, stacked in the form of a well, inside which a fire was lit. Sometimes the effigy was drowned in a hole or torn apart. Sometimes living costumed people acted as the "Scarecrow", who were taken around the village, and towards the end of the holiday they were taken out to dump them in the snow. With a scarecrow they played pranks during Shrovetide week, bringing them under the windows and frightening the people. However, most often Shrove Tuesday was burned. Sometimes a scarecrow - "Madame-Maslenitsa" was put on a sleigh together with beautiful girl, and three young people were harnessed to the sleigh, who were carrying Maslenitsa. Other sleighs followed the oiler, accompanying her. The procession ended with the burning of Maslenitsa outside the village, in the field. Not only a scarecrow of Winter was thrown into the fire, but also various old things, the remnants of festive food, which symbolized the funeral of Winter, everything obsolete, old, at the same time, the renewal of Nature, the birth of spring, new forces of fertility. Pancakes were brought to the fire and treated to each other; jumped over the fire; round dances were made around it and folk songs were sung and danced. At the burning fire, people in Russia shouted: “Where is the smoke, there is a pancake, there is the Maslenka!”, “Farewell, Shrovetide Maslenitsa!”, “Burn on, Maslenitsa, so that it does not go out!”... Various competitions were also held on the Maslenitsa - "fistfight", walking on stilts, on pole walkers, riding wheelbarrows, pulling weights, throwing a broom for a distance, tug of war, and getting the main prize from the top of a smooth high pole. In those places where they did not make effigies of Maslenitsa, the rite of seeing off Winter consisted in kindling all-village bonfires on a hill outside the village.

The tradition of this holiday lives on to this day.

However, this is not all about the meaning of Maslenitsa. For the Slavs, for a long time it was also a meeting of the new year! Indeed, until the XIV century, the year in Russia began in March. And according to old beliefs, it was believed: as a person meets the year, so he will be. That is why the Russians did not skimp on this holiday for a generous feast and unbridled fun. And the people called Maslenitsa "honest", "wide", "gluttonous", and even "the ruiner".

Neither the introduction of Christianity, nor the change in the time of the New Year's countdown forced Russia to abandon its favorite holiday - hospitable and recklessly cheerful, in which Russian nature seemed to be reflected, sometimes not knowing the measure and holding back. We can judge this from the testimonies of contemporaries that have come down to us - domestic and foreign. The Englishman S. Collins, who served in the middle of the 17th century as a doctor with Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, wrote in his notes: "At Shrove Tuesday, Russians indulge in all kinds of amusements with unbridledness."

From the history of pagan, folk and church Maslenitsa

Shrovetide (until the 16th century - pagan Komoyeditsa) - "transformed" by Christian churchmen, one of the oldest holidays of the religion of the Druids (Magi), before the adoption of Christianity, one among all the "barbarian" peoples of Europe, before - the ancient Slavic pagan multi-day holiday of the solemn "meeting of Spring", which there was a transition to spring agricultural work after the day of the vernal equinox.

Initially, during the time of the pagan religion of the Druids (Magi) and until the 16th century, the Slavs had pagan holiday Komoyeditsa (or Komoyeditsa), which was celebrated by our pagan ancestors on the day of the spring equinox, i.e. on the day of the onset of astronomical spring (March 20 or 21 according to the modern calendar), after which the day begins to become longer than the night, when nature awakens and the Yarilo-sun melts the snow.

Komoyeditsa is one of the oldest pagan Slavic holidays. In addition to celebrating the sacred entry of Spring into its own rights, the Slavic Bear God was also revered on this day: they made "pancake sacrifices" to the great Honey Beast. The ancient Slavs called the bear Kom (hence - "the first pancake to the koms", i.e. bears).

From time immemorial, people have perceived spring as the beginning of a new life and revered the Sun, which gives life and strength to all living things. In ancient times, in honor of the sun, the Slavs baked unleavened cakes, and when they learned how to make leavened dough (IX century), they began to bake pancakes.

The ancients considered the pancake a symbol of the sun, because, like the sun, it is yellow, round and hot, and they believed that together with the pancake they eat a piece of its warmth and power.

Komoyeditsy began to celebrate a week before the day of the spring equinox and continued the festival a week after. For these two weeks, all relatives from each Slavic clan necessarily gathered together for a joint multi-day celebration and rituals.

In pre-Christian antiquity, the holiday consisted of various ritual actions of a magical-religious nature, interspersed with merry games and feasts, which, gradually changing, then passed into later traditional folk customs and rituals (burning a straw effigy, baking sacrificial bread - pancakes, dressing, etc.). d.). For many centuries, Maslenitsa has retained the character of a folk festival, accompanied by feasts, games, sleigh rides from the mountains, and fast horseback riding.

Immediately after the holiday, people turned to hard agricultural work, which continued throughout the warm season.

After the adoption of Christianity in Russia and the ensuing ban on pagan customs, the clergy and authorities struggled for a long time and unsuccessfully with the traditional folk holiday.

In the 16th century Maslenitsa was adopted by the Church to replace the ancient Slavic Komoyeditsa. This is the only pagan holiday, although significantly "shifted" in time, officially recognized by the Russian Orthodox Church. New church Orthodox holiday began to be called "cheese" or "meat-empty" week (week).

Because the former pagan Komoyeditsa fell on a great post, when holidays and fun were strictly prohibited by the church, the church holiday was "shifted" in time by almost a month closer to the beginning of the year. Church "cheese week" began to precede the Great Lent.

In the "cheese week" the church charter already forbids believers to eat meat, but allows butter, dairy products, eggs and fish. From these products allowed by the church calendar, the holiday soon, in the same 16th century, acquired its second, popular name - Shrovetide.

Despite the official inclusion in church holidays, Maslenitsa has not received a complete rethinking and remains both a popular secular and a religious Christian holiday. It depends on the perception of the celebrant.

The "shift" of the holiday in time made the interpretation of the current Shrovetide in the ancient pagan way incorrect - as "seeing off winter and welcoming spring" - at this time it is too early to celebrate spring among the snows and winter cold, especially in Russia with its cold climate.

In our time, folk Maslenitsa begins to be celebrated ON MONDAY, simultaneously with the beginning of the church "cheese week", but earlier and until the middle of the 20th century, the traditional beginning of the celebration of folk Maslenitsa among Russians fell on SUNDAY a week before Lent - on the so-called "meat conspiracy", when was the last time you were allowed to eat meat, i.e. a day before the start of the church Maslenitsa.

One should not confuse, as it often happens now, the current folk Maslenitsa with the pagan Komoyeditsa.

The current folk Maslenitsa, the dates of which are determined by the clergy, is in no way supposedly just the former pagan holiday of Komoyeditsa "shifted" in time, which has always been and will be inextricably linked with the Day of the spring equinox. And the meaning of the folk Maslenitsa is already completely different than that of the Slavic Komoyeditsa. In addition, no Christianity is able to determine or transfer the dates of the holidays of other faiths.

The ancient pagan holiday of our Slavic ancestors Komoyeditsa always remains in time in its original place (in different years March 20 or 21), determined only by an annual astronomical event, is a great celebration of the entry into its rights of the long-awaited and world-renewing Holy Spring, bestowed by Heaven itself on people, animals, birds, plants and all earthly nature.

The day of the vernal equinox is the beginning of the astronomical spring, which no churchmen and no god can "move" in force.

For Orthodox Christians, this wonderful time for all nature falls on Great Lent, which is why it is poorly and drearily called "Lenten Spring."

And in our time, everyone can cheerfully celebrate the annual ancient holiday of our ancestors - the meeting of Spring and the spring renewal of Nature.

In recent decades, in Europe and North America, the celebration of the "pagan" Day of the vernal equinox has become more and more popular and massive every year, more people in different countries want to study and festively honor the primordial traditions of their peoples, previously diligently or even cruelly erased from the people's memory by churchmen. In Russia, there are still few such enthusiasts for studying ancient history and playing costumed restoration of traditions - the current emotional and financial limitations of the majority of Russians, more often perceiving the holidays only as an excuse to drink extra, are having an effect.

In some countries, the Spring Equinox Day is an official national holiday.

Glory of Life! Glory to Spring!

Komoyeditsy is the pre-Christian name of the now famous folk holiday Maslenitsa. This holiday (the day of the vernal equinox) since ancient times symbolized the arrival of spring and reminded the Slavs of the beginning of field work. Perhaps that is why it is also called the agricultural New Year. How are Komoyeditsy celebrated and on what date are they celebrated in 2018? What features of the celebration of Maslenitsa with its traditions and rituals are relevant today?

Looking back into antiquity...

The holiday called Maslenitsa has been widely known in Russia for a long time, but the primary name of this day - Komoyeditsy, says little to anyone. So, what is the holiday of Komoyeditsy and why was it named that way?

The very name Komoyeditsy comes from the name of the bear God Kom, to whom the first pancakes baked on that day were sacrificed in early spring. After all, it was during this period that bears woke up from hibernation and went to the forest in search of food. Transformation under the church foundations turned the pagan Komoyeditsy into Maslenitsa - a folk holiday with a secular bias.

When is the holiday of Komoyeditsy 2018 celebrated?

In the old days, our ancestors always celebrated the vernal equinox at the same time - March 21. With the adoption of Christianity in Russia, the Maslenitsa holiday, which supplanted Komoyeditsa, began to be celebrated from year to year at different times, determined by the lunar (astrological) calendar. The so-called "floating schedule" of the holiday also determined the day when they will celebrate Komoeditsa-Maslenitsa in 2018 in Russia. And that date is March 20th.

Ideally, for the celebration of Maslenitsa (Oil Week) and the big farewell to winter, seven whole days are allotted from February 20 to February 26. AT church calendar this period is called Cheese week. Its end is the beginning of Lent, which precedes Easter.

Table: the main holidays of the year among the Slavs, dedicated to the cult of the Sun

Title, date	Hypostasis of the sun god	Ratio of day and night
Spring equinox, March 21	Strengthening Sun (Yarilo)
Summer Solstice, June 21	Mighty Sun (Kupala)	The day is the longest and the night is the shortest
Autumn Equinox Day, September 21	Departing Sun (Svetovit)	The day is equal in length to the night
Winter Solstice, December 21	Birth of the Sun (Kolyada)	Longest night of the year and shortest day

Rites for Komoyeditsa

The main rite of Maslenitsa-Komoeditsa is the farewell to winter. For its implementation, a straw effigy called Madder is burned. According to Slavic mythology, this female character was considered the deity of Winter and at the same time was the embodiment of her death.

On a pole entwined with straw, which was the frame of Marena, our ancestors also tied old and unnecessary rags, as well as amulets that had already served their appointed time. According to legend, all the troubles and hardships that were before in families should go away with fire.

Mass fun and fun on Maslenitsa included:

• fairs and booths,
• riding,
• descent on a sled from the ice slides,
• round dances and singing ritual songs,
• walking around the village of mummers,
• newlyweds and evening gatherings,
• visiting relatives and friends.

A special emphasis on the celebration of Komoyeditsa is also placed on funeral rites, the main of which is the kindling of bonfires. The blazing fire served as an invitation to the souls of the dead for a festive dinner that preceded the start of Lent.

As for the culinary component of the holiday, ritual pancakes (flat cakes) are traditionally baked on Maslenitsa, as well as cheesecakes, which resemble the Sun in their shape. Everyone is treated to them, because after tasting a piece of delicious round-shaped pancake, a person, according to legend, is filled with life-giving force and the energy of sunlight. It is noteworthy that once pancakes were kneaded only on melted water.

Fortune telling on Komoyeditsy

One of the most interesting views Fortune-telling on Komoyeditsy was baking gingerbread with an unusual "stuffing". Certain small objects were placed in the raw dough, each of which had its own prediction. Gingerbread cookies were baked in the morning and eaten in the evening. What little thing the girl will find by breaking the gingerbread, such a fate will be prepared for her this year. So, the objects hidden in the dough, and their meaning.

1. Coin - life in abundance.
2. Button - household updates are coming.
3. Ring - it's time to prepare for the wedding.
4. Necklace bead - pregnancy.
5. The key is an inheritance, buying a house, big profits.
6. Nail - to sadness.

Maslenitsa, which replaced Komoyeditsa, can be conditionally divided into two holidays: church and folk. In the first case, it involves preparation for Great Lent, and in the second, a celebration with wild festivities and fun. But at the same time, Komoyeditsa in villages and villages reminds of the start of agricultural work, which will last all the warm season and end only in late autumn.

Shrovetide, Maslenitsa, Komoyeditsa, Komoyeditsy, Velikden. New Year - Spring Equinox - one of the four important holidays Kologoda, timed to coincide with the Spring Equinox and celebrated on 25 Berezosol/March, as well as the preceding Maslyany week (from 18 to 24 Berezosol/March). According to Slavic beliefs, Svarga is “opened” now, and the Light Gods “return” to Reality - they enter into force after winter, and the souls of the Ancestors “fly on bird wings” from Heavenly Iriy to visit us - their descendants. The time of rebirth is the spring "resurrection" (from kres - "fire") of Mother Earth and all Nature.

The history of the celebration of Shrovetide

One of the most ancient Slavic folk holidays that have come down to our days. Maslenitsa is a ceremony dedicated to the farewell to winter and the joyful greeting of spring. In fact, it was a meeting of the New Year, only at the beginning of spring (March 1, or March 23 - before the 15th century). Different regions of the state had their own, special rituals, however, the concept of the ceremony was the same. Of course, today's celebration format is very different from the original traditions. The dominant place is occupied by the entertaining side of the rite, which includes inviting guests, a fair, round dances, bonfires and, of course, a huge number of pancakes.

It is known from history that before the adoption of Christianity, people who lived on the territory of modern Russia were pagans, worshiped the sun god Yarila (according to some sources, a ritual character personifying spring fertility and sexual power). Even then, it was customary to bake pancakes as a symbol of the sun and a certain expression of gratitude to the sun god for life on earth.

Later, until the 17th century, Shrovetide, as "demonic fun", was constantly condemned by the Orthodox Church. But already in the 18th century, the persecution weakened (this was greatly facilitated by the royal people, who celebrated the holiday on a special scale), and very soon this truly Russian rite was adopted by the church, regulated taking into account its interests. Today, Maslenitsa is considered an Orthodox (and not pagan) holiday cycle. AT Orthodox calendar this cycle plays the role of preparing Christians for Lent, known for its severity and duration.

There is no consensus on the origin of the name of this holiday cycle. More often you can find a version according to which “maslenitsa”, “shrovetide” has a gastronomic root. It is in the spring, in March, that cows calve, thanks to which there is a lot of milk, dairy products and butter in the house - “smeared”. Oil, as a symbol of prosperity in the family, and a round, hot pancake, as the personification of the sun, were obligatory attributes in the ritual of “anointing” the deity, striving to appease him. After all, the fertility of the earth directly depended on the sun.

In addition, there is an opinion that Shrovetide goes back even deeper, and initially the ceremony was dedicated to the worship of the Slavic god of cattle breeding - Veles.

Another version of the origin of the name of the holiday is based on the assumption that during the week of Maslenitsa, meat was excluded from the diet, but dairy products (cheese, butter, cottage cheese, etc.) are allowed. The hostesses baked buttered pancakes. By the way, hence the second name of the holiday - Cheese Week.

In fairness, let's recall another legend. It is believed that the birthplace of the holiday is the far North. Once, on a harsh winter day, people who were exhausted from the frost noticed Maslenitsa - the daughter of Frost, hiding behind snowdrifts, and called her to warm, cheer them up, help them survive the cold. Maslenitsa appeared to people, but not as a little girl, which she seemed when she was hiding, but as a healthy, strong woman: her cheeks were ruddy and greasy from oil, her eyes were cunning, and her laughter was insidious. Carrying people into cheerful round dances, the daughter of Frost warmed them and allowed them to forget about the cold. From here came the fun with which every year the Russian people see off the cold and celebrate the spring.

cheese week

The week preceding Great Lent is referred to in the calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church as Cheese Week (seven days, a week). It comes immediately after the meat-fare week, and, according to church custom, is intended so that the believer can prepare for Great Lent, reconcile with his neighbors. According to the rules of the church, there is no Divine Liturgy on Wednesday and Friday of Cheese Week. And on Tuesday evening, the prayer of the Orthodox Saint Ephraim the Syrian is read. In addition, the services on the eve of Great Lent include the chants of the Lenten Triodion, the Octoechos, and the Menaion. On the Sabbath day, the commemoration of the venerable Fathers of the Church takes place.

Some Rules for Shrovetide Days

Shrovetide is ancient custom, which over time "overgrown" with many rules, rituals, features of the celebration. Within the framework of this article, we cannot afford to enumerate the entire list of such rules. However, let us dwell on the key ones that are relevant today.

During this period, meat is not allowed, but dairy products and fish are not excluded from the diet. The main treat of the week is pancakes. They are baked throughout the week, and from Thursday to Sunday - in large quantities.

A feature of the holiday cycle is the permissibility to eat as much as the soul desires. The clearest evidence of this can be considered numerous legends, according to which the number of meals could be safely equated with the number of waving of the dog's tail, or the sum of crows crowing, rooster crowing, etc. Going to visit and gluttony at home is an obligatory component of the custom.

Mass celebrations are another significant part of the holiday cycle. Round dances, singing, Shrovetide rides in a sleigh pulled by horses, amusing fights, burning fires, huge scarecrows, fairs - motley crowds of people rejoiced at the approach of heat. In the old days, mass entertainment, and especially horseback riding, was of great importance for young men and women who sought to attract each other's attention.

The whole Cheese Week should be devoted to fun and food, and you should not think about business. Great Lent will come - business and worries will come.

Newlyweds who got married in the past year enjoy special attention on this holiday. Amusing tests are arranged for young people, they put them in an awkward position, they come to visit without an invitation.

On Sunday, which ends the festivities of the Cheese Week, it is customary to ask for forgiveness from loved ones, relatives: first, the younger ones ask for forgiveness from the elders of the clan, then vice versa. In addition, they ask for forgiveness from the dead by visiting cemeteries and leaving pancakes on the graves of relatives.

Shrovetide: the conceptual component of the ceremony

As mentioned above, the holiday came to us from antiquity. Its ritual component is quite multifaceted and complex. In the center of the custom is the idea of ​​the beginning of a new year, a cycle. Hence the other side - the inducement of fertility in nature (a person also applies to natural components). No less significant are some elements of the cult of the ancient Slavs, which are still preserved in the rites of Shrovetide. It is worth noting that most traditional religions are characterized by the ratio of the new year and rituals dedicated to the creation of the world, the renewal of the universe, and the rejection of the past. In the rites of Shrovetide, the destruction of the old and the stimulation of rebirth, fertility are conveyed in many details. These include burning garbage and stuffed Maslenitsa. An important role in this concept is played by the memorial component of Shrovetide. It was believed that the dead, being both in the earth and in the other world, could influence the fertility of the earth. Hence the special, honorable attitude to the ancestors, a lot of funeral rites.

Family traditions

It's obvious that family traditions a lot of attention is paid to Shrovetide. The theme of love and marriage is reflected in many customs. So, for example, young married couples honored Shrove Tuesday. They were subjected to various amusing trials: they arranged a bride, rolled in the snow, forced to kiss in public, threw straw or bast shoes on them, and even arranged a “kissing party” when guests could kiss their young wife. Young people and girls who did not marry during the past year underwent "punishments" in the form of various ordeal ceremonies.

Funeral rites

An important part of the holiday week. The rituals of this subject include: burning a scarecrow, a special diet, bonfires, fortune-telling on melted water (snow, as the embodiment of the souls of the dead). It was not permissible to perform household work for the reason that it could offend the dead, who are close to the living, and bring various troubles to the economy and people. In a word, Maslenitsa, in its essence, is a rite of “oiling”, appeasing higher powers for the coming year.

Special customs

A number of funs belong to special customs. The main place among them is sledding. Assorted teams rushed through the village or city in a race. The focus, however, was on the young families formed during the winter. Couples organized original shows, made visits to relatives. It happened that the groom took out his future wife, to the surprise of the people. Thus, the newlyweds or future newlyweds seemed to enlist universal approval and blessing.

Another fun custom is rollercoaster riding. This is a favorite activity for both children and adults. Skating from the slides to Shrovetide has always been a widespread custom. As a rule, everyone took part in it, from small to large. We rode on large and small sledges, short logs, boxes with frozen bottoms, pieces of ice from the river, overturned benches. It is interesting that the children rode the slides all week, and the adults - only from Wednesday. The newlyweds, according to custom, rolled down once.

Fair

It is a long tradition to arrange refreshments at Shrovetide at home, to visit each other. All sorts of pickles, pies, pancakes, sbiten and other goodies were sold on the streets of villages and cities for Shrove Tuesday. The fun took place on ice slides and in booths, people were entertained by buffoons. Today, fairs are held just as fun and on a grand scale. Folk festivals, concerts, pancakes and tea from a samovar are an integral part of many modern fairs. The audience is entertained not only by professional artists, but also by amateur citizens. And on Forgiveness Sunday, you can admire the things created by craftsmen, and even buy something for memory.

Days of Pancake week

Until the 17th century, Maslenitsa was celebrated for 2 weeks, later it began to include only 7 days, each of which had a specific name and involved the performance of certain rites. Every day was full of traditional fun, religious or ritual activities.

Small Maslenitsa

In some provinces, they prepared for Shrove Tuesday from the Saturday preceding the onset of the Cheese Week. For some, such preparation was accompanied by baking pancakes, with which the children were supposed to perform the ceremony of meeting Shrovetide. For others, it was customary for children to collect old bast shoes around the village and greet those who came from the market with the question: “Are you bringing Shrovetide?”. With a negative answer, the person encountered could be beaten with these same bast shoes. In some settlements, the Sabbath was dedicated to dead parents, pancakes were left for their souls on the shrine, roof or graves.

Meat Sunday

This is the last Sunday before Cheese Week, or Shrovetide. On this day, it is customary to visit and invite relatives and friends to visit. The father-in-law invited the son-in-law to generous meat treats. They ate a lot and tasty, saying: "I'm talking about cheese and butter."

Shrovetide Week is conditionally divided into Narrow and Wide Maslenitsa. The first period was three days of the week (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday). These days, you can do any homework. And already from Thursday to Sunday, the Broad Maslenitsa came, and all economic affairs ceased.

Monday - carnival meeting

In the morning, the daughter-in-law from the house of her husband's parents went to her parents. In the evening, the father-in-law and mother-in-law also came to visit them, discussing the “program of events” for Shrove Tuesday: the composition of the guests, the places for the festivities. On Monday, the housewives started baking pancakes. From straw and various rags they collected a stuffed animal, carried it through the streets.

Tuesday - win

Shrovetide was invited, relatives and friends were invited to visit for pancakes. The key rite of Tuesday is the bride's bride. We have already mentioned that special attention was paid to the family, marriage on Shrove Tuesday: matchmaking was an important part of the rites, since many aspired to get married on the Red Hill feast (immediately following Lent).

Wednesday - gourmets

The mother-in-law calls her son-in-law for pancakes. Of course, other guests were also invited. But the expression of affection for the son-in-law was a key rite on this day.

Thursday - revelry, or Broad Thursday

The Broad Maslenitsa began, and they had fun already on a grand scale. Horseback riding, competitions, fisticuffs, the capture of a town from snow and feasting - all this allowed the people to free negative energy accumulated over long winter days.

Friday - mother-in-law evening

The son-in-law invited his mother-in-law, her relatives and friends to visit pancakes baked by his wife. The key meaning of this custom was the demonstration by the son-in-law of affection for the wife's mother.
Saturday - sister-in-law gatherings

Sisters-in-law and other relatives from the husband's side gathered to visit the daughters-in-law. The daughter-in-law gave her husband's sister a gift. According to church custom, on Saturday, the celebration of all the venerable fathers is celebrated.

Sunday - seeing off carnival

This is the last day of the holiday cycle, its climax. It is customary to ask for forgiveness from loved ones, and in the evening to commemorate deceased relatives. On this day, people go to the bathhouse, it is customary to get rid of the remnants of festive food. At the end of the day, the effigy of Maslenitsa is publicly burned, and the ashes are fluttered over the fields. Church custom involves holding the rite of forgiveness and the beginning of Lenten services.

Briefly about pancakes for Shrovetide

Pancake is a Slavic word, its pronunciation is similar in many nations. So, for Ukrainians, a pancake sounds like “mlynets”, in Bulgarian - “mlyn” (millstone, flat and round stone). This word came from the mill business, one of the main crafts among the Slavs.

Despite the simplicity of the recipe, pancakes are a complex culinary dish that requires special skill and patience. In ancient times, each housewife had her own recipe for making pancakes for Shrovetide, passed down from generation to generation. When baking, they used flour from wheat, buckwheat, corn, adding potatoes, cream, apples, semolina. They ate pancakes all year round, but on Shrove Tuesday - during all public holidays along with other treats.

The main ritual dishes for Shrovetide: pancakes, cheese, cottage cheese, butter. During Maslyany week, they also celebrate Komoyeditsa - the Bear holiday. According to popular belief, the Bear (Forest Master, the incarnation of Veles Himself) is waking up in his lair after a long winter hibernation. Male Rodnovers honor him with a special Bear dance and Veles struggle. Koma, which are baked by the eldest women in the family on Komoyeditsa, are ceremonial breads made from a mixture of oat flour, peas and barley. Some of the lumps are taken out into the forest and placed on a stump-deck, inviting the Forest Master himself to the meal, who is asked not to flog cattle and not to be angry in apiaries throughout the year. At the time of dual faith in Russia, on March 25, the Annunciation was celebrated, which was revered as the third (after the Tomb / Candlemas and Forty / Forty Martyrs) Calls of Spring. The people said: “On the Annunciation, spring overcame winter,” which makes all living things happy: “The red girl does not weave braids, the bird does not build nests,” and even the Sun itself “plays”; “With the Annunciation, the bear rises from the lair”, “The Annunciation - let the birds go free.” It was also noted about this time: “A thunderstorm on the Annunciation (First Thunder - Spring Perunya) - for a warm summer.” Actually, the Annunciation was preceded by: 12 berezosol / March Feofan Prolomi Nast - “Fog on Feofan - to be a big harvest for flax and hemp”; 17 berezosol / March Alexey Teply (Alexey Vodotek) - “Alexey came - the ice broke”, “Alexey - pour a jug from each snowdrift”, “Alexey - streams of water from the mountains, and fish from wintering”, “Alexey - turn the shafts out of the sled »; 19 berezosol/March Daria Dirty Holes (Daria Poplavikha) - the time from which canvases began to be whitened. Shortly after the Annunciation, Matryona Nastovnitsa or Matryona Polurepnitsa was celebrated (Berezosol / March 27) - the time of the last snow crust and the arrival of the “pigalits-nastovnits” (lapwings).

It is usually celebrated when the Sun crosses the point of the Equinox. Many Rodnovers are celebrating about this time the New Year - the New Year, born on Kolyada, but coming to Reality only on the Spring Equinox, when winter ends and the Earth blooms.
In antiquity, the Maslenitsa festivities lasted not one, but two weeks.
Since ancient times, pancakes, resembling the Sun in their shape, have been revered as the main ritual event on Maslyanitsa. They usually didn’t eat the first baked pancake themselves, but put it on the dormer window in the hut, dedicating it to the souls of the Ancestors.
Each of the days of the Pancake week had its own name among the people: Meeting (Slanting, or Crooked, Monday), Flirting, Lakomka, Razgul (Korovye, or Velesovo, Holy), Mother-in-law Vecherki, Zolovkin Gatherings and Forgiveness Sunday. Starting from Thursday (Razgula) - Maslyanitsa was called "wide".
According to other ideas, the Bear leaves the den only on Vasily Pariysky (12th flowering / April), when “Vasily gives a couple to the Earth” and “The Earth will steam up like in a bathhouse.”
According to the Gospels, on this day an “angel” appeared to the Virgin Mary and announced that she would soon become the mother of the “Savior”.
“Half-turnip” Matryona was called because until now, in the villages, suitable turnips were selected for planting, which made up the “inviolable half”.

Spring-Kostroma.

After the day of the vernal equinox, when the Sun-child Horse becomes the youth Yarila, the Russian people celebrate Great Holiday NEW YEARS.

The name "New Year (Clan)" has two definitions. The first - because the time is coming for a new natural KIND. The second is an ancient Svetorusskaya legend, according to which the Svetorus family was formed during the period of the Yarila-Sun. That is why he is revered as the Didom of the Light Russians. Therefore, the clan previously bore his name - yary (yaryi-ariyans-aryans). Therefore, Yarila's Christmas is the Christmas of the New Summer - the New Year.

The onset of Spring-Kostroma is also the Feast of the Virgin Lada. For Spring is the time of Love and Lada subject to it. In turn, Lada, being the Mother of the Sun, gave the modern name of the holiday - Maslenitsa. And although some interpret this name from the word "oil" - this is not so, because oil and fatty foods are eaten on other holidays and more than in spring.

Being a Great Holiday, Maslenitsa is also called Merry, Wide, Honest, Gluttonous, etc. Among the great pagan Slavic holidays, Maslenitsa is the first not only in significance and order, but also in the sacred sphere of ritual action.

The spectral color background of the Sun at the vernal equinox is red. Therefore, another name for the holiday is also legitimate - Krasnogor.

Yesterday the day was equal to the night, but from this day the daylight will begin to increase, and the night will decrease. That is why this day is also called Svetobor.

With the advent of Spring, the Forest Master wakes up in his lair after a long winter hibernation, the incarnation of Veles himself - the Bear. Men honor him with a special bear dance and Veles wrestling.

Koma, which are baked by the eldest women in the family, on this day determined another name for the holiday - Komoyeditsa (s). Coma - is the essence of ritual loaves made from several flour batches: oats, peas and barley. Some of the lumps are taken out of the forest and put on a stump-deck, calling for a meal the Master of the Forest, who is asked not to tear cattle and not to be mischievous in apiaries throughout the year. In some regions, the bear itself is called a lump on this day, because at this time it looks like a lump of spring mud.

To whom will we give the first pancake?
- How to whom? - to whom!
- To whom shall we give spring honey?
- How to whom? - to whom!
- To whom shall we give a piece of cheese?
- How to whom? - To whom!

Maslenitsa is one of the four most important holidays of Kologod. According to Slavic beliefs, Svarga is “opened” now, and the Light Gods “return” to Reality - enters the Force after winter, and the souls of ancestors “fly on bird wings” from Iriy Heavenly to visit us - their descendants. Time of rebirth - spring "resurrection" (from "Cres" - "Fire") of Mother Earth and all NATURE.

In the morning, people rush to the temple, a high place where the earth has dried up. Near the temple at the crossroads they scatter grain. This is done in order to navi (devils, devilry), who took the form of forty, ate grain and did not interfere with the holiday.

The priests kindle the Fire, praising the gods and ancestors, and the entire Slavic ROD. General and private requests are brought.

The glorification of the Sun-Yarila and Spring-Kostroma - Invocations begin. The girls call on Spring, meet her at the edge of the forest and bring her to the people. Everyone begins to honor "Spring", and Spring goes around everyone with a kiss. Since that time, she has been at the center of the Holiday.

To help the Light overcome the Darkness (become involved in the temporary Day-Night change), and help the Spring overcome the Winter, various confrontation games are arranged.

Town. The girls stand on a high fenced place (town), armed with long sticks, and beat off the attack of the guys, beating them mercilessly. Guys "on horses" are trying to break into the town, take it by storm. The one who first breaks into the town gets the right to kiss all the defending girls.

Fortress. The girls (representing the Force of Winter) are inside the fortress, and the boys (representing the Force of Spring) are outside. At the signal, the assault begins. "Winter" throws snowballs and snow at the attackers, pushes them away from the fortress and interferes with their assault in every possible way. The task of the "Forces of Spring" is to completely destroy the winter fortress. In the end, Spring defeats Winter and the girls find themselves in snowdrifts.

After the assault on the fortress, the rest of the Maslenitsa fun begins: fists, horses, swings, climbing a pole for a gift ...

The Maslenitsa pillar is the earthly embodiment of the pillar of heaven, the "world tree" on which Iriy is located, and it is not easy to get there.

After the games, they begin to treat each other with pancakes. From that day on, the sun-young Yarilo begins to rage, fry. The sun's rays are getting hotter and brighter. Streams flow with might and main. However, the owner of the forest, by whose ancient name the holiday is named, is still sleeping in the lair. That is why the first pancake is donated to koms (bears), it is taken to the thicket. This trip is called the "Wake Up" ritual.

People, armed with burning firebrands, go to "wake up the bear". In the pit, covered with deadwood, lies a mummer, depicting a sleeping bear. The participants of the holiday lead a round dance around the lair, shouting with all their might, trying to wake the clubfoot, then they begin to throw branches, snowballs, twigs at him (a method of primitive hunting that has survived to this day in the form of a rite). "Bear" does not wake up until one of the girls sits on his back and jumps on him. That's when the "bear" starts to wake up. The girl runs away, tearing off a piece of a bear's skin or a bear's "leg". The mummer gets up and starts dancing, imitating the awakening of a bear, then goes to look for his loss, leaning on a crutch, singing a "bear" song:

"Squeak, leg, creak, fake!
And the water sleeps, and the earth sleeps,
And they sleep in the villages, they sleep in the villages.
One woman does not sleep, but sits on the skin,
Spins my fur, cooks my meat,
It dries my skin."

Having caught his offender, the "bear" tries to strangle her in his arms with a bear's grip. The girl pays off with a lump.

Komoyeditsy can be translated as "the holiday of eating lumps" (or "eating lumps"), special pancakes dedicated to this beast. A similar holiday in Ancient Hellas was called "comedia" (bear holiday), from where the ancient comedy came from. It must be clarified that the modern name of the beast is allegorical ("the real" name cannot be pronounced aloud, so as not to call by chance): "bear" is in charge of honey. In addition, it is quite ancient: not a bear, but a bear. But this name stuck, becoming "real". After that, the beginning was already supplanted by new allegories: a bear, toptygin, clubfoot, etc. "Kom" is also an allegorical name: the bear looks like a large woolen ball due to its apparent clumsiness. The primordial name, perhaps, is contained in the name of the bear's house: a lair - "a ber's lair", hence the berendei.

The doll of Spring-Kostroma is solemnly carried to the temple on a straw "mare" (the doll is knitted from straw and dressed only by women). All stand along the road and call the goddess:

"Come to our wide yard, ride in the mountains,
Roll in pancakes, amuse your heart.
Maslenitsa - red beauty, blond braid,
thirty brothers sister, magpie grandmothers granddaughter,
Three mothers a daughter, a little flower, a berry, a quail.

Spring is called Kostroma because it begins from the moment it is lit and it thereby determines the beginning of campfire gatherings. Kostroma - KOSTRA Mother.

And now Kostroma is hoisted with all honors on a festive steal and solemnly lit - "Hurrah! Spring-Kostroma has come and Yarilo-Sun has been born!" Around sunny Kostroma, salting round dances begin (according to the Sun, clockwise):

"How pancakes flew out of the chimney during Shrove Week!
You are pancakes, pancakes, pancakes, you are my pancakes...
And cheese, and cottage cheese, everything flew under the threshold!
You are pancakes, pancakes, pancakes, you are my pancakes ... "
"Come, Spring-Red! Come, Summer is hot!
With a suffering time, with flowers, with grass!

When the effigy of Kostroma burns down, they start jumping over the burning fire, turning to Semargl to light the snow. There is a belief - if you stumble in front of the Shrovetide bonfire - there will be trouble in the first half of the coming year, after the bonfire - in the second. if you fall into a fire, expect big trouble. Well, if you jumped over without poking, the year will be successful.

After the fire, they must wash themselves with snow or melt water. It is believed that melt water gives beauty to the face. Then they glorify Yarila, Vesna-Kostroma and Lada, and the feast begins.

The main dish of the great Maslenitsa holiday is a pancake - in the Slavic pagan tradition, symbolizing the Sun. Cookies, hot pancakes and pies, oatmeal jelly, honey, kvass and snacks are placed on tables covered with a tablecloth. The treat is divided into five parts, and the fifth part is placed in an open place near the sacred Fire, saying: "Our honest parents! Here is a pancake for your soul."

At parting, they give each other gingerbread, saying: "Forgive me, perhaps you will be guilty of something before you." The farewell ended with a kiss and friendly hugs.

The spirits of the Great Ancestors, invisibly present at the festival, rejoice at the place with us. The Slavic ROD has not yet died out, just like thousands of years ago, the Slavs come to the holiday in order to observe the custom. What is a holiday? The memory of a person about himself through the gods and about the gods through himself, the purification of the soul from vain worries and empty memory. Under the gaze of Heaven, the holiday ends, the songs subside, the Fire goes out. The words of the Book of Veles sound, awakening the memory of ancestors in the souls:

"And the Heavenly Svarog will say:
You go, my son, to that eternal beauty!
There you will see grandfather and grandmother.
O! How happy they will be to see you suddenly!
To this day, they shed tears,
And now they can rejoice
About your eternal life until the end of time!"

Spring Equinox - Shrovetide, Komoyeditsa

Shrovetide is one of the four most important Solar Holidays of the Year, timed to coincide with the Spring Equinox; a cheerful folk festival dedicated to the meeting of spring, which, as a rule, lasts for a whole week. (The Spring Equinox itself is honored by prophetic people separately: to meet Spring, special gates are built, located so that the Herald of Spring-Red - the Sunbeam - can penetrate through them exactly at the moment of the Equinox).

Many Rodnovers also celebrate the New Year this time: the arrival of the New Year in Yav, born on Kolyada - the 25th cold / December month.

Komoyeditsa - Bear Holiday, celebrated on 25 berezosol / March month.

According to popular belief, the Bear (Forest Master, the incarnation of Veles Himself) is waking up in his lair after a long winter hibernation. Male Rodnovers honor him with a special Bear dance and Veles struggle. Koma, which are baked by the eldest women in the family on Komoeditsa, are ceremonial breads made from several flour mixtures: oats, peas and barley. Some of the lumps are taken out into the forest and placed on a stump-deck, inviting the Forest Master himself to the meal, who is asked not to tear cattle and not to be mischievous in apiaries throughout the year. (There is also a version of the origin of the word “Komoeditsa” from Old Russian komon - “horse”.

According to popular beliefs, now the Trisvetny Dazhdbog sits on His Golden-Maned Horse, the sound of whose hooves on the Heavenly Firmament awakens the Forest Master from winter sleep on Earth.)

About the same time, cows calve, and milk, butter, cheese appear in abundance in houses, for which Veles, the God of Cattle, is thanked. Snow begins to melt in the fields, which marks the near end of winter and the onset of spring: the time is coming when the spell of the Old Woman-Mary must be dispelled by the magician of the Young Zhiva, stepping on Earth in the guise of the Maiden-Spring... According to Slavic tales, the Spring-Virgo comes about this time to people on a horse as golden as the sun, or as green as grass...

What is said in the word thing:

SPRING IS GOING ON THE GOLDEN KOMON IN THE GREEN SAYAN ON THE SOKHA SITTING THE CHEESE EARTH ORUCHI SEYUCHI SEEDS! GOY!

The celebration of Maslenitsa begins with the speech of the blasphemer by the magi:

Goy you are light-brown-loser, our red sun, you rebel you, in your bright tower, you wash yourself with dews and water in a whipping horse of good in the field of light-lazorer as a golden-haired horse with the heavenly expanses past the bore of the label and on the red on the mountain as on that one A grass grows on Gorushka Green as the white swans flickered on it, young young girls, all the red girls became over a river on a high on a tall on a mountain sang songs-wingers clicked the spring red: you spring bright you go in our direction, you have scarlet flowers all the same MEDVYANE DEW YOU CALL THE HOT SUMMER DRIVE THE WINTER COLD! LET THE STREAMS RUNN TO THE SEA TO THE OKIYAN-SEA BLUE LET THEY SING SONIC SONGS LET THEY SING THE SONGS OF SPRING GLORYING THE RED SUN OF SOME DAZHBOZHUSHKA GLORYING LELYUSHKA LIGHT YES CHEESE MOTHER EARTH! GLORY! GOY!

Then, a blessing is asked from the Native Gods for the invocation of Spring:

BLESS GOD BLESS MOTHER WINTER SEEING OFF SPRING CALL HAY MATI LADO-MATI WINTER SEEING AH MATI LADO-MATI SPRING CALL ZIMUSHKA IN THE CARRIER FLIGHT IN THE SHUTTER! GOY!

This is followed by the very invocations of Spring, which are created by the maidens from the high hills - Yarilin's Pleshey, already free from snow oppression, from the steep banks and from the roofs of the barns. They call Spring with a drawn-out “gurgle”, they say the words:

YOU VYRYY VYRYY YARYY YOU FLY OUT FROM THE SEA YOU TAKE OUT THE KEYS THE GOLDEN KEYS YOU LOCK THE ZIMONKA THE ZIMONKA STUDENTA LOCK THE LECHKO THE LECHKO HOT! GOY!

(According to Slavic tales, the souls of the Ancestors return from Iriy (Vyriy) Heaven in the spring on bird wings to stay on Earth with their descendants until next autumn.)

SPRING VIRGIN RED COME TO US WITH JOY WITH GREAT MERCY WITH HIGH-ROOTED FLAX WITH AN AMAZING BREAD! GOY!

Honoring Shrovetide, pancakes are certainly baked, which repeat the Sun with their very outlines. The first pancake is always given to the Ancestors - it is placed in the attic on the dormer window. They also bake a special form of cookies - "larks", which are thrown as high as possible, calling out to Spring:

LARKS-LARKS ARRIVE FROM THE FAR SIDE BRING THE RED SPRING CARRY AWAY THE WINTER! GOY!

The feast (the beginning of the mystery act) begins with the capture of the Winter Support, erected in advance, in which there is a scarecrow of Moraine-Winter. (It should be noted here that this scarecrow is created without fail by virgins and wives, who open Morena’s eyes only at the very last moment before the rite, covering them with rags or not depicting them at all until the very beginning of the action, for the Terrible-eyed Lady of Death is not worthy of honest people ahead of time look.) The Fortress is defended by the “servants of Morena” - girls dressed in “hari” (ritual masks), who, reviling all those gathered opposite them, must resist the guys going on the attack - “servants of Yarila”, sitting on top of each other, as during a game into horses. The first one who breaks into the Fortress gets the right to kiss all the girls, tearing off their "hari" and thereby removing the okruta from them...

After the Fortress is taken, a cart appears with the Virgin-Spring, which is accompanied by dressed-up "young servants" - old men, gray-haired, carrying a conquered scarecrow and a cage with birds. A procession with songs and fun goes around the field, after which Spring blesses the people, leads everyone to the Fire, where the Magi hoist a scarecrow of Morena over a ritual fire - they see off Mara-Winter, thanking for all Her Gifts. Here, special nauses are imposed on the scarecrow, so that everything obsolete, bad, unclean goes with them to Nav.
They set fire to Steal, they say the words:

Fire-Flame Flame Flame Flame Cudri Golden Eyes Flame Flame with a bright golden Falcon of the wing of the fire-fire flame wake up spring let the fire-fie-fingered bloody Blorious yar-fuel fuel flame flame Spring Spring Flame Flame Flame Flame UP FLY SVARGA SHALLOW THE EARTH LIGHT! GLORY! GOY!

Spring releases birds from the cage. Magi recite, and all the people pick up:

GOY ESI SVA! VYREY GOT WINGS! YOUNG SPRING GLORY! YARIL-SPRING GLORY! GLORY TO MOTHER EARTH! SVA! GLORY! GLORY! GLORY! GOY!

This Holy Day is certainly celebrated with fistfights and all sorts of valiant fun, all with noise, with din - buzz and songs, and prophetic words:

YARI YARILA US BY YOUR POWER VELMI GREAT BECOME SUNNY GREAT IN THE SKY CLEAR IN SPRING-RED LIGHT THE MOUNTAIN ABOUT THIS TIME ONE HUNDRED MOUNTAIN IS RED VELMI IS BEAUTIFUL HUNDRED MOUNTAIN IS HOLY AND ALL IS RICH TO THE GODS AND PEOPLE ALSO THE BRIGHT FORCE OF YOU YARIL! GLORY! GOY!

About the same time they go to the forest to "wake up the Bear." In a specially prepared "lair" one of the knowledgeable people lies in advance, transformed into a Bear. They "wake up" him with a cheerful noise - screams, blows to the coben-tambourine, the sounds of bells and rattles. In order to appease the "angry" Forest Master, they give him a "wife" a red maiden, who leads him to the set table, treats him - feeds and waters, honors him in every possible way. The "Bear" is no longer angry, forgives those who woke him up, and blesses all those gathered, after which he removes the okruta - throws off the guise of the Bear and glorifies the Prophetic God:

GOY YOU GRANDFATHER GOY MEDVEDUSHKO GENEROUS FATUSHKA! WE POUR YOU BEER SLAVUSHKA SING YES BOW BOW! IN A HAIRY FUR COAT IN A GOLDEN HAT WAKE DREAMS! GOY! GLORY TO VELES!

The festival ends with the erection of the Fiery Kol (Wheel) on a high pole, around which they dance salting (according to the movement of the Sun), glorifying the flaring Spring Sun with the whole world:

THE HIGHEST KOLO YARI WHITE LIGHT RAISE THE SKY OPEN MARU-WINTER DRIVE THE HIGHER KOLO YARI TO THE EARTH GIVE BY THE STRENGTH OF THE HIGHER GLORY FOR THE SAKE OF THE HIGHEST! GLORY! GLORY! GLORY! GOY!

Horse.
Sundress.

1. Morenin lot in Kologod

Mara Morena - Lady of the Winter, Young in the morning of winter (i.e., at the beginning of winter) and Old in the evening (i.e., at the end of winter). Rodovichi are honest, in Reveal their earthly belly is long, they meet and call Mara Temyanaya about the autumn season - on Marin Day, celebrated no earlier than 9 breasts / November-month, but not later than 21 breasts. They escort Her to Shrovetide week, timed to coincide with the Spring Equinox and the Bear Holiday - Komoyeditsa.
2. Honoring Morena on Komoyeditsa

About this time, having honored in the proper way the Prophetic God Veles in the form of the Shaggy Bear - the Master of the Forest, knowledgeable people recite a special magnification to Mara: VELESOV MARA! PROTECT WE FROM ALL TROUBLES OPEN THE DOORS OF THE VEDAS LEAD WE NEVER ARE IN ANGER WE CARE HISTORICALLY ABOUT THE WINTER MAID WE DAY! GOY BLACK MATI! GOY-MA!

3. Small trizna according to the Ancestors

Shrovetide week has been revered by the people since ancient times as a time for valiant daring and games, fun and merry festivities. But knowledgeable people, who know the timing of the opening of the Navi Gates from the Other to Reality, are doing feasts for the Ancestors at this time, giving special honors to the Navi Hosts: Veles Koshchny and Mare-Morena - the Lady of Navi. This is what happens:

1. After bringing the common requirement (for more on this, see our “Small Officer”), the priest approaches Krada, pours grain into the Fire and says the words:

IN GOOD IN NOVO DNESE RECOMMENDED TO THE KIND OF HEAVEN THE WORDS ARE HONEST THE JOY OF THE ISTA YES THE REQUIREMENTS ARE PURE TO US BE HEALTHY AND GLORY TO THE ANCESTORS! GOY!

2. Then the priest gives way to a devotee who says:

CHURY ANCESTORS IN THE TRUTH STRONG OLD ANCIENT GENERATION FAITHFUL HOLY PURE IN FAITH ISTS IN VED ARE STRONG PROTECT FROM THE WORSE FROM THE DASHING FROM THE INSH FROM THE BONE! GOY!

3. Further, the devotee gives way to the priest, who completes the short feast with the words: GOY HOLY GRANDFATHERS KEEP THE VEDAS BORYASH ILLNESS DRIVE TROUBLE GIVE YOUR SHARE AND FREE WILL TO OUR WEIGHTS BY THE KING BE STRONG TODAY IN GENERAL FORCE BY RIGHT JUDGE WITH US! GOY!

4. Burning of the effigy of Mary

In a prophetic tale, about Shrovetide time recommended, it is told about this taco:

Mara walks down the street, Carries pancakes on a saucer - Whoever takes it out will come true, Tom will come true, it will not pass ... About the bright time on Red Mountain, they called out to Spring-Virgo, they saw off Winter-Old: “Go away, Winter-Morenushka, Go away other care! Come to us, Spring-Virgin Red, Come to us, Lelya the Beautiful! Spring-Virgo Red answered people: “You are a goy, you are Russian people! Winter is still strong in its right, The icy support stands high, Therefore, there is no way for me to go to Russia!

As the Russian people heard those words, They gathered all over Bright Russia, The Russian people are honest Rodovichi, Good fellows are Yarilina's supporters. How they mounted fast horses, Ride on the Morinina Ice crepe, Scattered the crepe across the open field, Picked up the scarecrow of Morena from it. They took Morena, through the sleeves, Carried her out to the front of the yard, Knitted it on a scarecrow of the Naviya Nauz, Raised the scarecrow on a fiery fire. It burned smoky - the Old Winter went away, the Young Spring came to Russia! On that, the Russian people sing glory to the Red Spring, And they are waiting for the Morena-Winter in time: “Glory to this day, Spring-Virgin Red! Be magnified, Dark Mother in Your time! Goy, Great Mother! Goy-Ma!

1. Prophetic virgins call out to Spring from the hillocks and hills, sing spring songs, especially call out - drawl out the Light Goddess.

2. Spring comes from the eastern or southern side with His retinue and says, addressing all those gathered, that she will not be able to enter their circle until there is a snow fortress on the other side of the ravine, in which there is a scarecrow of Morena-Winter. At the same time, it must be said that the eyes of a scarecrow are “opened” only at the very last moment before the start of the action, so that the Navi Eyes of the One Who Rules in Death do not peer into Reality before the due date: the special priestesses of Morena, when the time comes, draw Marina Ochi on the face of a scarecrow (sometimes they are depicted as half-covered) or remove the bandage from the eyes that were previously opened.

3. As a rule, the snow fortress is defended by the maiden gang - Morenin's accomplices, and the gang of young men - Yarilin's supporters - goes on the assault. Sometimes the girls come to the aid of several young men in Navi disguises. During the storming of the fortress, one should be very careful and careful with the effigy being conquered, so as not to accidentally blaspheme the Dark Lady, who justly punishes every belly for her faults and untruths.

4. When the fortress is taken, and the effigy of Morena is recaptured, it is solemnly carried to the place where the funeral Krada has already been laid out, and handed over to the Naviya priest or his accomplice, who will certainly accept the effigy through mittens or through the sleeves and install it near the Naviya Bozhnitsa, located on the northern or western side of Krada. All those gathered, at will, approach the scarecrow in turn and impose special nouzes on it, “tying” all the sorrows and pains of the past summer to it. If there are a lot of people at the festival, then the Naviy priest and his accomplice surround the entire gathering with a scarecrow.

5. Saying goodbye to Morena until next winter, the adherent of the Navi priest says the words:

YOU FORGIVE-FAREWELL, MORENUSHKA PRINCESS LEDYANA PRIESTESS TEMYANA ON KOLO FROM US YOU LEAVING WINTER LITU WITH YOU, TAKE WITH YOUR COLD DAY DO NOT COOL RODE OUR DAY DO NOT JUDGE GO AWAY FROM US NOT IN ANGER HONORING THE WINTER MAID! GOY BLACK MATI! GOY-MA!

6. Then the Navi priest himself speaks the words:

Hear Mara Honors the lessons of your shots of your people who are staring at the ears of the right of you with the stake of the year, rotate for our time, come back with a new winter not with the troubles with the snow white not with Black Moro, but the stitching of our weight, leaving Mara Khdnea away remotely ALL THE DASHING OUR UNHAPPINESS-GRIEF WITH YOU CARRY WITH YOU OVER THE BLUE SEA FOR A STONE LATYR FOR THE BLACK WASTEL WHERE NAVIA IS AND ALIVE CARRY YES BE TACO TO NOVA KOLA AND HERE NONE IS NOT YOUR TIME! GOY BLACK MATI! GOY-MA!

7. The Navi priest and the devotee carry the effigy to Krada (different from the common ritual fire, into which the Light Gods were previously placed) and plunge it into the Fire. Then, standing opposite each other on opposite sides of Krada, in turn, as if calling to each other, they utter words on the burning scarecrow, while waving their hands over the Fire and driving taco Force:

CARRY MARA! SHUT MARA! A NEW LIVING WITH A FURIOUS FAST CARRY MAR! SHUT MARA! FULL MEASURE FOR EVERYONE IN THE CASE OF CARIS MARA! SHUT MARA! YOUNG CHILD OLD OLD OLD CARS MARA! SHUT MARA! FOR GOOD QUIET TO OTHER DASHING KARSYA MARA! SHUT MARA! PAY A SHARE TO OTHERS FOR THE GAIN OF KARSIA MARA! SHUT MARA! THE WHITE BONE ASSEMBLE OF THE CARS MAR! SHUT MARA! APPEAR IN BEAUTY AND OTHER IN STRAS CARIS MARA! SHUT MARA! TAKE SEA-GLADY YES FEVER KARSYA MARA! SHUT MARA! GET AWAY FROM THIS AND GET OUT OF CARS MAR! SHUT MARA! CARRY AWAY FOR OKIYAN-SEA KARSYA MARA! SHUT MARA! MATI IS GREAT IN ALL FORMS! GOY BLACK MATI! GOY-MA!

8. And in conclusion, the priest speaks three times, and all those assembled repeat the words after him:

GET OUT MAR! GET RECOVERED ALIVE! GOY-MA!

9. After that, all participants in the action, as a rule, gather for a brotherhood
where they raise cups to the glory of the Native Gods and Ancestors, as well as for the health of all their relatives, in Reveal their belly. And only the radars of Morena, led by the Navi priest, do not participate in the general fun, leaving to perform special rejoicings in honor of the One Who rules in Death...

In the era of dual faith in Russia, Matryona Zimnyaya was celebrated on the 9th breast / November month. They noted: “On Matryona, frost on the trees - to frost”, “If there is fog on Matryona - to a thaw”, “If on this day the goose goes out onto the ice, it will still float on the water.” 21 breasts marked the Introduction of the Theotokos (Mary) into the temple. The people believed that on this day Morena-Winter finally comes into its own in the world of Revealing the Earth: “Winter is introduced at the Introduction”, “Introduction is the gate of winter”, “Introduction has come - winter has brought”.
Old Russian. we - "us".
Those. Gate of Spiritual Knowledge.
Old Russian. nikolizhe - "never".
Mara is both Living and Dead, Maiden and Old Woman, Dying and Reviving, just like Her Light in the sky - the Moon. At the beginning of winter, Mara is young, at the end she is old. When accepting the Power of Mary, they address Her as a Young Maiden, when daring, they call Her an Old Woman. True radars of the Dark Lady see Her in the form of a Beautiful Beloved, but to others She reveals Herself in the form of a Terrible Old Woman-Death with an iron jagged scythe or with a bloodied sickle in her hands.
See, for example, the following. publishing house: 1) Vlkh. Veleslav. Ritualist. - M., 2003; 2) Vlkh. Veleslav and others. Ritualist Explanatory. — M.: Ed. Communities "Rodolyubie", 2004.
Here: on "Yarylina Plesha" - on a hill from which the snow has already melted. Not to be confused with Krasnaya Gorka - Rodnoverie Holy Day, celebrated on Veshniye Grandfathers at the beginning of the month of May / May and dedicated to the Memory of the Ancestors.
Fortress.
During the Shrovetide games with the capture of a snowy fortress, a gang of attackers, young guys, often appears as when playing "Konyashki" - riding each other.
That is, without touching the scarecrow with bare hands, as Naviu required - so that Yav and Naviu do not interfere before the due date.
So that together with them everything that the term of stay in Reveal and in human souls went to Nav.
Joint feast.

Our ancestors revered the Sun, professed the cult of the Sun - the cult of Life, and their calendar was based on the solar calendar, according to which today is the vernal equinox. This article provides the author's version of how the Solar Komoyeditsa turned into a Christian Maslenitsa.

From February 20 to 26, the holiday is celebrated on a grand scale throughout our vast country. Shrovetide. Local administrations, to the best of their ability, organize various entertainment events in the settlements entrusted to them. Entire courtyards are being built on the territories of the parks - Shrovetide towns with village houses and shopping arcades, which are bursting with all kinds of delicacies. There are huge samovars with tea, and bundles of bagels, and mountains of painted gingerbread, and various smoked pickles, shish kebabs, fish and caviar, but pancakes are, of course, the main delicacy these days. Piping hot, with butter, sour cream, caviar, mushrooms or fish - for every taste.

Theatrical performances, round dances with folk songs, the solemn burning of an effigy of Maslenitsa and all sorts of various pyrotechnic entertainments are arranged on Maslenitsa, special “Shrovetide tours”, exhibitions of arts and crafts are organized. People are happy to ride sleighs and huge carousels, participate in stilted races and contests with prizes, lead round dances, children enthusiastically slide down ice slides, girls dress up in town scarves, hot with tea (and not only) young people without (s) terribly climb the Shrovetide pole for gifts.

There is high spirits everywhere. Yes, this is understandable. The long, cold winter is already tired of everything, the celebration of the new year has already been slightly forgotten, and the soul asks for a holiday. And this is right - it is necessary to celebrate, and it is also necessary to have fun. But here's the question: What is the essence of this holiday? What do we celebrate on Maslenitsa, Russians?

Answers will be, in general, a little. I will assume that the faithful Christians in the meat and cheese week, because this is what they call this holiday, are preparing for Great Lent before, and the rest will answer that this is a pagan holiday, and they see off the winter and meet the spring. But, have mercy in February in Russia it is still too early to meet spring in the midst of cold weather, among snowdrifts and blizzards. What spring? Look at the thermometer! And isn’t it logical to celebrate spring not a month before it, but, in fact, in spring? It was then that the so-called "pagans" met her - in day of spring equinox- the day of the astronomical, not calendar, beginning of spring. Interestingly, in some European countries, in particular in Spain, spring even now “comes” on March 21, and winter on December 21.

Unfortunately, the true meaning of this holiday was lost long ago, or rather, the servants of the lunar cult deliberately tried to lose it in order to beat off the genetic memory of an entire people. At different times and in different countries, the ministers of this black cult called it differently, and now we know it under the name. However, some fragments have been preserved, because, despite the thousand-year yoke of the Christian church and the burning of true folk traditions with fire and sword, they sit in our genetics. We just need to wake her up. We only need recall who we are and where we came from.

The fact is that no ancient Slavic holiday Maslenitsa is not, and it has no "pagan" roots. This holiday received the name "Maslenitsa" from the abundant oil food, which was supposed to be consumed throughout last week before Lent, when meat was no longer allowed, and dairy products were still allowed. In addition, Shrovetide in its modern form, as such, began to be celebrated only in the 16th century, when the Christian church abandoned vain attempts to erase the Vedic holiday from the people's memory, but did not want to leave everything to chance, and simply decided to “edit” it a little, just as she did with other Vedic festivals. As they say, you cannot defeat the enemy, join him, and, I will add, destroy him from the inside.

A significant role in this black deed was played by the reform of Patriarch Nikon in the 17th century, the essence of which was not at all in correcting liturgical books according to the Greek model and changing Christian rites, such as two-fingered to three-fingered, as they are now trying to present it to us. Nikon launched information virus replacing the Vedic worldview with the obscurantism of Christianity, "dressing" their clothes for Vedic holidays. All Vedic holidays were “fastened” according to a Christian saint, since the church had more than enough of them, or a holiday. After that, the holidays that the Rus have been celebrating for millennia, and some for tens of thousands of years (for example, the ancient spring holiday in honor of the destruction of the moon Lely by Dazhdbog with the bases of the Dark Forces on it), while maintaining the Vedic form, acquired a completely different meaning, very far from the original, but so necessary for the enslavement of the most recalcitrant people on earth, which the Dark forces could never defeat in a fair fight . However, they almost succeeded with the help of deceit, using a social weapon - by placing their Christian cuckoo in the Vedic nest of the Rus, who forced the Vedic traditions out of their consciousness and replaced them with their own, so much so that the substitution is not noticed in order to lull their genetic memory and impose their religion of death on them (on the "cuckoo principle" see the wonderful book of academician N.V. Levashova]]> Mirror of My Soul ]]> , Vol. 2, Chap. 5).

After the bloody baptism of Russia in the 10th century, which was a real genocide of the Slavs, after which the population of European Russia decreased from 12 to 3 million people, a dual faith. In order to save their lives, people formally observed church traditions, but continued to live according to Vedic laws. This went on for centuries, but stubborn in its policy of imposing its obscurantist rituals (see the film Alexandra Atakina) the Christian church gradually replaced the Vedic holidays with its own, for which it also gradually destroyed total literacy among the Slavs. Illiterate and ignorant people are much easier to manage! But back in the 10th century, ordinary Novgorod farmers from distant villages wrote notes to each other, counted the harvest, collected debts, exchanged jokes and wrote homework instructions. And this despite the fact that at the same time the king of France was illiterate and put a cross instead of a signature!

So. The same cuckoo parsley happened to the Vedic holiday, which is now called Maslenitsa. It is quite possible that under the guise of Maslenitsa we covertly imposed celebration of the Jewish happy holiday» Purim, which annually reminds everyone of the unprecedented, bloody atrocity Jews who vilely slaughtered the Persian elite 2400 years ago, which did them nothing wrong! (The Bible talks about this in a book).

The Christian Church “recognized” the ineradicable Vedic holiday from the memory of the people, but called it in its own way, moved its celebration to the week preceding Great Lent (just in time for the celebration of Purim), and now Purim is “celebrated” under different names in many countries of the world. unsuspecting people. This is confirmed by the date of this holiday, which for some reason turned out to be "floating", depending on the date of the "floating" Christian Easter, which, in turn, is calculated by lunar calendar. So not only among orthodox Christians, their god dies every year in different days, but by their grace we also meet spring in different days and even sometimes different months.

In order to more reliably fix the "novelty" in the people's memory, secular authorities also joined in the celebration of Maslenitsa. At the beginning of the 18th century, Peter I, or rather, false Peter(on the substitution of Peter I, see the wonderful film by Alexander Atakin), wanting to resemble “enlightened” Europe in everything, he issued a decree according to which Maslenitsa was celebrated in the European manner, like carnivals with funny carnival processions of mummers, antics of jesters, plentiful booze and partying. The holiday was headed by the clownish "Patriarch" appointed for the time of Maslenitsa, who headed the "most jesting and most drunken cathedral."

So what kind the ancient Vedic festival was corrupted this time?

This holiday was called komoeditsa. He always celebrated on the vernal equinox 21 March according to the modern calendar, after which the day becomes longer than the night, and nature awakens. This holiday also had a functional significance. It was necessary to invigorate and strengthen the strength of people after a long and cold, and often half-starved winter, with fun and plentiful food before the start of intense agricultural work, which continued throughout the warm season. The solemn holiday of the meeting of spring lasted 2 weeks- a week before the vernal equinox and a week after it. And right after it, hard intensive work began from sunrise to sunset in order to provide food for the next long winter, fix or build housing, stock up on fuel, etc., in general, “prepare sledges in the summer.”

In addition to the main meaning of the sacred holiday - the meeting of spring and the transition to agricultural work - the Slavic Bear God was revered on this day: the first baked holiday pancakes were sacrificed to the owner of the forest, which were solemnly taken to the forest. Hence the Russian proverb "The first pancake is for coma, the second pancake is for acquaintances, the third pancake is for distant relatives, and the fourth pancake is for me." Komam, and not in a lump, as we were taught to say, that is, sacred animals - bears. Hence the name of the holiday - komoeditsa.

The fact is that the Slavs called this animal in different ways: a bear - in charge of honey, a ber - hence the lair (beer's lair) and com. Hence "komanika", coma berries - raspberries, which were called bear berries for the passion of bears to feast on raspberries. In addition, raspberry juice is very often popularly called bear blood. The ancient name of this plant is mentioned in the "Glorious Aryan Vedas" - the oldest source of information about the past of our people.

Plant each next to the Source
The properties changed and the initial growth.
Mushrooms rose to arshinabove ground
But they were endowed with stone flesh.
Feather-grass rose to a span,
And the berries coma grown like trees...

("Slavic-Aryan Vedas", Circle One, "Source of Life", Message Two).

So our wise, ancient ancestors - "pagans" - children and grandchildren of the gods- met spring on a much more suitable day for this than modern orthodox Russians, turned into servants of God by diligence. Our ancestors had a Vedic worldview, not a religion, and therefore they knew about the laws of the universe immeasurably more than we do, and, as a result, their holidays had more meaning and connection with nature. Their main holidays were four astronomically important days - four holidays focused on the natural solar cycle, expressed in four annually repeated annual incarnations of the sun god:

- day of spring equinox(March 21) - holiday komoeditsa in honor of the rising sun Yarila.

- summer solstice(June 21) - a holiday in honor of the mighty Sun-husband Kupala.

- autumnal equinox(September 21) - a holiday in honor of the retiring aging Sun - Svetovit.

- winter solstice(December 21) - a holiday in honor of the nascent Baby Sun carols.

Our ancestors revered the Sun, professed the cult of the Sun - cult of life, and their calendar was based on the solar calendar, which over the past thousand years has been supplanted by the lunar cult - the cult of Death, imposed on the Russians in order to keep their genetic memory in a drugged state, so that the Russians continue to remain "Ivans, who do not remember kinship".

That's why the Vedic holiday komoeditsy, celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox, and was replaced by Maslenitsa with a floating "schedule" tied to Christian Easter (to lunar calendar). That is why the Vedic festival Kupala on the summer solstice was replaced by "Ivan Kupala", coinciding with the birthday of the biblical John the Baptist (June 24), the holiday of the autumn equinox of the Sun-Svetovit was replaced by the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, and the winter equinox of the Sun-Kolyada turned into.

We are Russian people. We are Russians. And we must know and honor their holidays, and celebrate them the way our ancestors celebrated them, and at the time required by our custom. Someone likes to celebrate the “holy” dates of Death, such as “beheadings”, “position in the coffin”, “exaltation of the cross” - the instruments of execution, this is their business. Someone likes to pray to the black gods and demons of death - this is also their business.

Our business and our right is to be reasonable people and celebrate Light and Life!

Elena Lyubimova

]]> ]]>

Start of the day

Stuffed Madder

A straw effigy of Marena is solemnly carried to the temple on a pole. Everyone is standing along the road, bowing at the waist and calling Marena Svarogovna:

“Come visit us In the wide yard: Ride on the mountains, Roll in pancakes, Have fun with your heart. Shrovetide - red beauty, fair-haired braid, Thirty brothers sister, Forty grandmothers granddaughter, Three mothers' daughter, little flower, Berry, quail.

pancake treat

They begin to treat each other with pancakes. The first pancake is komam (Kom is a bear, hence the “komanika” is a bearberry, it is also a blackberry (Fasmer’s etymological dictionary produces a blackberry from the word hedgehog), a snob), it is taken to the thicket, sacrificing to the clubfoot owner of the forest.

After the beginning is carried out. Kindle the Fire. Praise the gods and ancestors, the entire Slavic race. Salting is spinning a round dance, dressed in hari, so that evil spirits do not recognize, buffoons show a performance, they are helped by kolobrods:

“Like on Shrovetide week Pancakes flew from the chimney! You are pancakes, pancakes, pancakes, you are my pancakes ... "

Fire jumping

Then everyone jumps over the fire, and after that they always wash themselves with snow or melt water. It is believed that melt water gives beauty to the face.

They call young people who got married during the past year. Unmarried and unmarried people are tied with a bandage or rope. To remove it, you need to pay off, bringing a treat with you to the common table.

drinking surya

Burning Madder

Then they solemnly burn an effigy of Madder at the stake, throwing garbage, straw and old things into the fire:

"Marena got tanned, the whole world is tired!"

Again they jump over the fire, turning to Semargl to light the snow. Burning wheels roll. Then they glorify Yarila, rolling burning wheels down the mountain in honor of the flaring sun:

“Roll down the mountain, Come back with spring!”

"Awake"

Then, armed with burning brands, they go to “wake up the bear” (wake up). In the pit, covered with deadwood, lies a mummer, depicting a sleeping bear. The participants of the holiday lead a round dance around the lair, shouting with all their might, trying to wake up the clubfoot. Then they begin to throw branches, snowballs, twigs at him.

"Bear" does not wake up until one of the girls sits on his back and jumps on him. That's when the "bear" starts to wake up. The girl runs away, tearing off a piece of a bear's skin or a bear's leg. The mummer gets up and starts dancing, imitating the awakening of a bear, then goes to look for his loss, leaning on a crutch:

“Squeaky leg, squeaky fake! And the water is sleeping, And the earth is sleeping. And they sleep in the villages, They sleep in the villages. One woman does not sleep, She sits on my skin. Spins my fur, cooks my meat. My skin is dry."

Having caught his offender, the "bear" tries to strangle her in his arms with a bear's grip.

games

After awakening, the games begin. The first game is a town.

Girls stand on a high fenced place (town). Armed with long sticks, they repel the attack of the guys, beating them mercilessly. The guys "on horseback" are trying to break into the town, take it by storm. The one who first breaks into the town gets the right to kiss all the defending girls.

After the capture of the town, a feast begins with a mountain, and then the rest of the Maslenitsa fun:

• cams,
• horses,
• climbing a pole for a gift,
• brook...

Parting

At parting, they give each other gingerbread and say:

"Forgive me, perhaps, Bude is guilty of what before you."

The farewell ended with a kiss and a deep bow.

Sacred

The spirits of the great ancestors, invisibly present at the festival, rejoice together with everyone. They glorify the Slavic clan, just like thousands of years ago, the Slavs come to the holiday in order to observe the Custom.

Links

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

Synonyms: