What rituals were there in Rus'? Rituals, life and traditions of ancient Rus'

Our country has rich history, full of many events and achievements. The main way to unite people in the state has always been the traditions and customs of the Russian people, which have been preserved for a long time.

Popular traditions

Feasts

Photo: Traditions and customs of the Russian people. Feast

Noisy feasts are extremely popular. Since ancient times, any respected person considered it his duty to periodically organize feasts and invite a large number of guests to them. Such events were planned in advance and prepared for them on a large scale.

Currently, the tradition of noisy Russian feasts has not changed at all. Relatives, groups of friends, and colleagues can gather around a large table. Such events are always accompanied by the use of large quantity food and alcoholic drinks.

Any reason for a feast can be significant event– visit of a distant relative, farewell to the army, family celebrations, state or professional holidays, etc.

Christening

Photo: Traditions and customs of the Russian people. Christening

The rite of baptism has existed in Rus' since ancient times. The child must be sprinkled with holy water in the temple, and a cross must be put on his neck. This ritual is designed to protect the baby from evil spirits.

Before the baptism ceremony, the child’s parents choose a godmother and godfather from their immediate circle. These people are henceforth responsible for the well-being and life of their ward. In accordance with the traditions of baptism, it is believed that every January 6, a grown-up child should bring a kutya to his godparents, and they present him with sweets in gratitude.

Wake

Photo: Traditions and customs of the Russian people. Wake

After burying the body, all relatives and friends of the deceased go to his house, to the house of someone close to him, or to a special hall for the funeral.

During the ceremony, everyone present at the table remembers the deceased with a kind word. It is customary to hold a funeral directly on the day of the funeral, on the ninth day, or on the fortieth day a year after death.

Holidays

Folk traditions and customs of the Russian people include not only certain rituals, but also rules for celebrating calendar and Orthodox holidays.

Kupala

Photo: Traditions and customs of the Russian people. Kupala

The Kupala holiday was formed in those days when, in honor of the god of fertility, people sang songs in the evenings and jumped over the fire. This ritual eventually became a traditional annual celebration of the summer solstice. It mixes both pagan and Christian traditions.

God Kupala acquired the name Ivan after the baptism of Rus'. The reason is simple - the pagan deity was replaced by the image of John the Baptist created by the people.

Maslenitsa

Photo: Traditions and customs of the Russian people. Maslenitsa

In ancient times, Maslenitsa was considered a day of remembrance for dead people. Therefore, the process of burning an effigy was considered a funeral, and eating pancakes was a wake.

Over time, the Russian people gradually transformed the perception of this holiday. Maslenitsa became a day of farewell to winter and anticipation of the coming of spring. On this day, noisy folk festivals took place, entertainment was held for people - fist fights, fairs, horse-drawn rides, sledding down ice slides, various competitions and competitions.

And the main tradition remained unchanged - baking pancakes in large quantities and inviting guests to get-togethers with pancakes. Traditional pancakes are supplemented with all kinds of additives - sour cream, honey, red caviar, condensed milk, jams, etc.

Easter

Photo: Traditions and customs of the Russian people. Easter

The Easter holiday in Rus' is considered a bright day of universal equality, forgiveness and kindness. On this day, it is customary to prepare standard treats for this holiday. Easter cakes and Easter cakes are traditionally baked by Russian women, housewives, and the eggs are painted by young family members (youth, children). Easter eggs symbolize drops of Christ's blood. Nowadays, they are not only painted in all sorts of colors, but also decorated with themed stickers and patterns.

On Easter Sunday itself, it is customary to say “Christ is Risen” when meeting with friends. Those who hear this greeting should answer it “Truly He is Risen.” After the exchange of traditional phrases, there is a three-time kiss and an exchange of holiday treats (Easter cakes, Easter eggs, eggs).

New Year's and Christmas

Photo: Traditions and customs of the Russian people. Christmas and New Year

New Year in Russia is celebrated in all families; not everyone gathers for Christmas. But, in all churches, services are held on the occasion of the “Nativity of Christ”. Usually on New Year's Day, December 31, they give gifts, set the table, and see off old year, and then they celebrate the New Year with the chimes and the address of the Russian President to citizens. Christmas is an Orthodox holiday that is closely integrated into the life of the Russian people. This bright day is celebrated by all citizens of the country, regardless of their faith. Christmas is traditionally considered a family occasion, celebrated with loved ones.

Photo: Traditions and customs of the Russian people. New Year's and Christmas

The day before Christmas, which falls on January 6, is called “Christmas Eve.” Comes from the word “sochivo”, which means a special Christmas dish consisting of boiled cereals. The cereal is poured with honey on top and sprinkled with nuts and poppy seeds. It is believed that there should be a total of 12 dishes on the table.

They sit down at the table when the first race appears in the night sky. The next day, January 7, comes the family holiday itself, on which the family gets together and relatives give each other gifts.

The next 12 days after Christmas Day are called Christmastide. Previously, during Christmastide, young unmarried girls gathered together to perform various rituals and fortune telling, designed to attract suitors and determine their betrothed. Currently, the tradition has been preserved. Girls still get together on Christmastide and tell fortunes about their suitors.

Wedding customs

A special place in Everyday life are occupied by wedding customs and traditions of the Russian people. Wedding is a day of education new family, filled with many rituals and entertainment.

Matchmaking

Photo: Traditions and customs of the Russian people. Wedding customs

After the young man has decided to choose a candidate for his life partner, the need arises for matchmaking. This custom involves the groom and his authorized representatives (usually parents) paying a visit to the bride’s house. The groom and his accompanying relatives are met by the bride's parents at a laid table. During the feast, a joint decision is made on whether the wedding will take place between the young people. The decision is sealed by the handshake of the parties, marking the engagement.

Nowadays, standard matchmaking is not as popular as it used to be, but the tradition of the groom approaching the bride's parents to receive their blessing still persists.

Dowry

Photo: Traditions and customs of the Russian people. Wedding customs

After making a positive decision regarding the marriage of the newlyweds, the question of preparing the bride's dowry arises. Usually the dowry is prepared by the girl's mother. It includes bed sheets, dishes, furnishings, clothing, etc. Especially rich brides can receive a car, apartment or house from their parents.

The more dowry the girl has prepared, the more enviable bride it counts. In addition, its presence greatly facilitates the life of young people during the first time of their life together.

hen-party

Photo: Traditions and customs of the Russian people. Wedding customs

Closer to the day of celebration, the bride schedules a bachelorette party. On this day, she gets together with her friends and relatives to finally have fun as a free girl, unencumbered family concerns. The bachelorette party can take place anywhere - in a bathhouse, in the bride’s house, etc.

Ransom

Photo: Traditions and customs of the Russian people. Wedding customs

The most fun and spontaneous stage of the wedding celebration. The groom, along with his relatives and friends, arrives at the bride’s doorstep, where all the other guests are waiting for him. At the threshold, the procession is met by representatives of the bride - girlfriends and relatives. Their task is to test the groom’s endurance, ingenuity and generosity. If a young man passes all the tests offered to him or is able to pay for the defeat with money, he gets the opportunity to get closer to the bride.

Competitions during the ransom can be very diverse - from very humorous and light riddles to real tests of physical strength and endurance. Often, to pass the tests, the groom has to resort to the help of his friends.

At the end of the ransom, the groom enters the room where his betrothed is.

Photo: Traditions and customs of the Russian people. Wedding customs

Blessing

Photo: Traditions and customs of the Russian people. Wedding customs

According to tradition, the mother of the bride approaches the newlyweds with a family icon and blesses them for a long and happy life. The icon must be covered with a towel, since touching it with bare hands forbidden.

During the blessing, the newlyweds must kneel. The mother of the bride describes the cross with an icon three times over their heads, while delivering a parting speech. Usually this speech contains wishes to live in peace and quiet, not to quarrel or be offended over trifles, and to always be one.

Wedding feast

Photo: Traditions and customs of the Russian people. Wedding customs

The culmination of the celebration is the wedding feast, during which everyone makes speeches to the newlyweds. These speeches always contain many parting words, wishes, and good jokes.

An unchanging tradition of the Russian wedding feast is shouting the word “Bitter!” Each time this word is mentioned, the newlyweds must stand up and exchange a kiss. There are different theories about the origin of this tradition. According to one version, the word “bitter” in this interpretation comes from the word “slides”, since earlier during weddings an ice slide was built for the celebration, with the bride standing on top of it. The groom had to climb this slide to receive a kiss.

Another version of the origin of the tradition has a rather sad meaning. For a long time, girls did not choose their own grooms, so getting married meant for the bride not only leaving her parents’ house and saying goodbye to her youth, but also the beginning of family life with an unloved person. Now this meaning of the word is irrelevant, since girls have long chosen their own grooms, and marriages are concluded by mutual consent.

According to another version, during the feast, guests drink vodka, which has a bitter taste, to the health of the bride and groom. The newlyweds should kiss during toasts in order to dilute the bitterness of the alcoholic drink with a sweet kiss.

Centuries-old rituals in Rus' go deep into the era of paganism, which, even after the adoption of Christianity, could not completely disappear and is still for a long time continued to exist behind the scenes. Amazing fact: Many of those pagan rituals are still alive today, as one of the integral parts of the rich Russian culture and history.

What spiritual traditions have reached our times and continue to be passed on from generation to generation?

What is the reason for the appearance of the very first rituals in Rus'?

How rituals appeared

The most important and most ancient Russian rituals are inextricably linked with the forces of nature, with mythological personifications of the elements and powerful natural forces. We should not forget that the basis of the life of a simple mortal peasant was the hard work of a farmer, and, consequently, most of the Old Russian rituals, first of all, were associated with the propitiation of nature and the forces existing in it.

For each season there was its own set of rites and rituals aimed at obtaining a generous harvest, at attracting rain or heavy snow, at taming evil spirits, at protecting livestock or obtaining healthy offspring from them, etc. From here, by the way, it begins to be traced the relationship of the first rites with the then existing calendar. This unspoken calendar began in December, when the sun “turned to summer,” and ended in late autumn - with the end of agricultural work and harvesting.

Rituals in Rus' and their relationship with the Church

The ancient Russian rituals that have reached our time are associated not only with deeply rooted paganism, but also with Christianity, which was accepted at that time. For example, among the most important sacraments recognized by all religions are baptism and communion to this day.

Addressing church calendar, you can notice that almost all Orthodox holidays associated with certain ritual acts. Examples here include the Nativity of Christ, Epiphany and the Ascension of the Lord, which are still accompanied by symbolic ceremonies.

Caroling is a kind of ritual dedicated to Christmastide (i.e., the period of twelve holidays among the Slavs, called “from the star to the water”), during which the participants of the ritual went around the houses, sang songs, “carols” and all kinds of sentences addressed to their owners, for which they received a special treat from them.

At that time, it was generally believed that during the Christmas season the sun gained energy in order to soon awaken the earth and revive Mother Nature. In particular, ancient Russian farmers were convinced that by participating in Christmas games, accompanied by various amusements and tasty treats, people doubled the awakening energy of fertility and, thereby, contributed to a generous harvest.

Maslenitsa

This holiday has been celebrated since ancient times by the Slavic peoples at the end of the March days, during the spring equinox. Traditional dish This ancient holiday included pancakes, personifying the golden disk of the heavenly body.

In addition, an indispensable attribute of Maslenitsa festivities was an effigy of Maslenitsa itself, which was burned, buried, or, torn into pieces, scattered across arable land. This effigy, dressed in women's clothing, symbolized the end winter days and the arrival of the long-awaited spring. After ritual burial or burning, Maslenitsa was supposed to transfer its powerful energy to the fields, giving them fertility and protecting them from the treachery of the elements.
Spring rites

With the arrival of spring began new time ritual acts, also aimed at appeasing the forces of nature and protection from the destructive elements and the wrath of pagan deities. Many spring rituals ancient Rus' have reached our days. Eg, bright that confirmation is the tradition of painting chicken eggs, without which such an important religious holiday as Easter is now impossible.

Initially, the painted egg itself was an independent attribute of many ancient rituals (from approximately the 10th century). Many centuries ago it was believed that it had miraculous properties - for example, it could heal a sick person and even extinguish a flame that flared up after a lightning strike.

Also, in the spring, all sorts of agricultural rituals were certainly carried out related to the taming of the evil spirits that were thought in local reservoirs. At that time, the first shoots were already appearing on the arable land, and all that the farmers feared during this period of time was the treachery of mermaids and kikimoras, capable of awakening the water, flooding the crops and leaving the population without a harvest. To lure evil spirits out of the pools, round dances, noisy celebrations and dances were held on the river banks, bonfires were lit and songs were sung.

Yarilin's day

In anticipation of a bountiful harvest, it was necessary not only to protect the first crops from flooding, but also to provide them with sufficient quantities sunlight. For this purpose, the Slavs turned to Yaril, the god of the rising (spring) sun. He was considered the deity who patronized animals and plants, the god of love, courage and strength.

On Yarilin's day, a very important ritual was performed - “unlocking the earth Unlocking the earth” (or, as it was also called zaROD, i.e. a rite associated with the birth). An indispensable part of the Yarila rituals was washing, and, more precisely, bathing in the morning dew. It has long been believed that the dew that fell on Yarilin's day has miraculous, healing properties.
Ivan Kupala

When describing the most famous ancient Russian rituals and customs, one cannot ignore the well-known holiday - Ivan Kupala Day. Under this name, in the mythology of the Slavs, a powerful deity appears, closely associated with the worship of the Sun. It is curious that this holiday was originally tied to summer solstice, but as Christianity took root, it began to be associated with the birthday of John the Baptist.

In terms of ritual content, the night of Ivan Kupala surpasses the day, since all festivities and ritual acts were carried out mainly in the dark. To this day, this day is national and church holidays in many countries of the world.

The symbol of this holiday at all times was the Ivan-da-Marya flowers, from which wreaths were woven and used for fortune-telling. Unmarried girls floated wreaths with lit candles on the water to use them to determine their later life in marriage. It was considered a bad omen if the wreath sank - this spoke of betrayal in the relationship between unmarried girl and her chosen one (“The wreath drowned - the darling deceived”).

According to ancient beliefs, on the night of Ivan Kupala, fern flowers bloom, indicating the right direction to ancient treasures and countless treasures, but finding them, as well as discovering the location of wealth, was considered an almost impossible task for a mere mortal.

An indispensable part of the rituals on the night of this holiday were round dances and jumping over a burning fire, which, according to beliefs, contributed to the purification of the soul and protected against diseases, witchcraft and the evil eye.
Other rituals

Other, less well-known Old Russian rituals occurred at the time of harvest and the beginning of its processing. During this period, the most important holidays were considered:
the ritual period of “first fruits,” which occurred in the first weeks of August when the first harvest was reaped;
season " Indian summer", during which the harvested crop was poured into bins;
flax spinning time, which was in October.

The Russian people carefully honor ancient traditions that appeared during the times of Rus'. These customs reflected paganism and the veneration of idols, which replaced them with Christianity, the ancient way of life. Traditions arose in every household activity of the inhabitants of Rus'. The experience of older generations was passed on to young followers, children learned worldly wisdom from their parents.

The ancient Russian traditions clearly demonstrate such traits of our people as love of nature, hospitality, respect for elders, cheerfulness and breadth of soul. Such customs take root among people; following them is easy and pleasant. They are a reflection of the history of the country and people.

Basic Russian traditions

Russian wedding

The wedding traditions of ancient Rus' go back to pagan times. Weddings within and between tribes were accompanied by the worship of pagan idols, thematic chants and rituals. At that time, the customs of different villages differed from each other. A single ritual originated in Rus' with the advent of Christianity.

Attention was paid to all stages of the event. Acquaintance of families, meeting of the bride and groom, matchmaking and bridesmaids - everything took place according to a strict scenario, with certain actors. Traditions included baking a wedding loaf, preparing a dowry, wedding dresses, feasts.

The wedding was rightfully considered the central event in the wedding celebration. Exactly this church sacrament made the marriage valid.

Russian family

From time immemorial, the Russian family has accepted and honored traditions and family values of his people. And if in past centuries there were strong patriarchal foundations in the family, then 19th century Such foundations were of a more restrained traditional nature; in the 20th century and at present, the Russian family adheres to moderate but familiar traditions of Russian life.

The head of the family is the father, as well as older relatives. In modern Russian families, father and mother are in equal degrees of dominance, equally involved in raising children and organizing and maintaining family life.

Nevertheless, common traditional and Orthodox holidays, as well as national customs, are celebrated in Russian families to this day, such as Christmas, Maslenitsa, Easter, New Year and intra-family traditions of weddings, hospitality and even in some cases tea drinking.

Russian hospitality

Meeting guests in Rus' has always been joyful, good event. The traveler, tired from the journey, was greeted with bread and salt, offered rest, taken to the bathhouse, given attention to his horse, and changed into clean clothes. The guest was sincerely interested in how the journey went, where he was going, and whether his journey had good goals. This shows the generosity of the Russian people, their love for their neighbors.

Russian loaf

One of the most famous Russian flour dishes, which were prepared for holidays (for example, for a wedding) exclusively married women and placed on the table by men, is a loaf, considered a symbol of fertility, wealth and family well-being. The loaf is decorated with various dough figures and baked in the oven, it is distinguished by its richness of taste, attractive appearance worthy of being considered a true work of culinary art.

Russian bath

Bathing customs were created by our ancestors with special love. A visit to a bathhouse in ancient Rus' served not only the purpose of cleansing the body, but also a whole ritual. The bathhouse was visited before important events and holidays. It was customary to wash in the bathhouse slowly, in good mood, with loved ones and friends. Habit of dousing yourself cold water after the steam room - another Russian tradition.

Russian tea party

The appearance of tea in Rus' in the seventeenth century not only made this drink a favorite among Russian people, but also marked the beginning of the classical Russian tea tradition. Tea drinking attributes such as a samovar and its decorations make tea drinking feel homely and cozy. Drinking this aromatic drink from saucers, with bagels and pastries, with sawn sugar as a bite - traditions have been passed down from generation to generation and observed in every Russian home.

Russian fair

In traditional holidays During the folk festivals, various fun fairs opened their doors in Rus'. What could you not find at the fair: delicious gingerbread cookies, painted handicrafts, folk toys. What could you not see at the fair: buffoons, games and amusements, a carousel and round dances, as well as the folk theater and its main regular presenter - the mischievous Petrushka.

Very often, people who are just beginning to be interested in the Native Faith and the history of the Slavic, Russian land, its rites, traditions and rituals are faced with the problem of perceiving information about paganism due to difficult-to-understand terminology and scientific disputes, studies, tables. We will try to briefly and simply, in our own words, explain how and why Slavic beliefs and ancient pagan traditions arose, what meaning they carry, what happens during each ritual and why it is performed.

The most important events for each person have their own point. The most important things for him, his Ancestors and Descendants are birth, creation of a family and death. In addition, it is with these situations that the most common question is connected: where does this similarity between pagan rites and Slavic rituals come from and Christian ones? Therefore, below we will consider and compare them.

Slavic birth and naming rituals

The birth of a child, with or without the help of midwives, was an important Slavic rite. They tried to approach him with all care and accept the Child of the Family from the womb of the Mother, show him and arrange his life in Reveal correctly. The child's umbilical cord was cut off only by special objects symbolizing its gender and purpose. The pagan ritual of the birth of a boy implied cutting the umbilical cord on an arrow, an ax or simply a hunting knife; the birth of a girl and her entry into the Family required the following Slavic rite - cutting the umbilical cord on a spindle or on a wide plate. All this was done by the Ancestors in order to make the children understand their responsibilities and touch the Craft from the first minutes.

At the birth of a child, the ancient Slavs did not carry out the now popular, but transformed to tie a person to the Christian egregor, rite of baptism - naming. Pagan traditions allowed children to be given only Nicknames, that is, names known to everyone. Until the age of 12, and then they could call him that, the child went by this nickname and was protected from the evil eye and slander.

He was called by his real name during the Slavic naming ceremony. Pagan Priests, Magi, Sorcerers or simply Elders of the Family - call it what you want, called the child to them and began the ritual. In running water they dedicated him as a Descendant of the Native Gods, dipping his head into the river several times and, finally, quietly telling him the Name sent by the Gods.

Slavic wedding ceremony

The Slavic wedding ceremony actually includes many rituals and traditions, the pagan roots of many of which have remained in modern times to this day. Typically, wedding events lasted for a year and began with Matchmaking - asking the girl for the consent to start a family with the groom.

Next, Smotriny was held - the acquaintance of two Slavic families uniting their Clans into a Single Slavic family. After their successful completion, Betrothal took place - the final stage of matchmaking, where the hands of the future newlyweds were tied as a sign of the strength and inviolability of the union. Having learned about this, girlfriends and friends of the newlyweds began the ceremony of Weaving wreaths for the newly created family and later placed them on the heads of the bride and groom. Then fun Hen Parties and Well done Evenings were organized and held. To say goodbye to the heroes of the occasion with their parents before creating a new one, another pagan rite- Fathom.

Then began the immediate preparation for the pagan wedding and the Slavic ritual itself of uniting two Fates into a single Family:

• Washing young people with decoctions medicinal herbs to cleanse them of sediment before starting a family.
• Dressing the young groomsmen and in-laws in new Slavic shirts with special symbols for the wedding ceremony.
• Bganie - cooking loaves of various types. During the wedding ceremony of uniting the Fates, the Eastern Slavs baked a round loaf as a symbol of a good and satisfying life without corners or obstacles.
• Requests are an official ritual invitation to the wedding ritual and celebration of relatives, acquaintances and friends of the bride and groom.
• The removal of the young man from the family by the mother to create a new one from the groom's house to the betrothed's house, and then to their new Common House.
• Bride price is a symbolic attempt to keep the bride from getting married and decisive actions by the groom to remove these obstacles. There were several ransoms throughout the ceremony, and they ended with the wedding Singing.
• Posad is the ritual distribution of places in the Family and the roles of each: the newlyweds and their Relatives, the exchange of gifts and the consolidation of the Union of Clans.
• Covering - the bride was unbraided or even cut off as a symbol of binding to the Old One and her head was covered with a scarf - an ochipok, otherwise - a cap. From then on, the girl became a wife.

After the most ancient wedding ceremony with putting on rings with Slavic protective symbols - the Wedding Party, the following pagan rituals began:

• Posag (dowry) – transfer by the Bride’s Parents of the dowry to create a new family and clan. Everything from towels to kitchen utensils began to be collected from the birth of the girl.
• Comora – cycle of rituals of the first wedding night and checking the bride for Purity and Virginity before Childbirth on both sides, the birth of a new Family.
• Kalachins, Svatins, Gostins - pagan traditions of treating and thanking Relatives, Brothers and Sisters in Spirit and Heart - solemn feasts and gifts from all sides for the newlyweds and for everyone who came to congratulate them.

Slavic funeral rite

Ancient pagan burial rites of the Slavs included the custom of burning the deceased. This was done so that the body would not interfere with the person’s soul from going to Nav and starting there new life, wait for the next incarnation in the Cycle of Nature and return to Reality in a new guise. At the beginning of the Slavic funeral rite in Ancient Rus', a boat was prepared to transport the deceased across the Smorodina River to another World. A Krada was installed on it - a fire made of logs, surrounded by sheaves of grass or simply dry branches; the body and gifts to the Navim Gods were placed in it. The power of Krada - the Sacrificial Fire annealed the ties of the deceased with the Real World, and the launch of an already lit boat along the river at sunset, so that the moonlight would indicate the right path, was accompanied by general last words In memory of the Slavic Ancestor and Brother.

In regions where funerals using running water were unavailable due to the aridity of the area, this ancient Slavic burial rite was slightly modified. The resulting ashes were collected in a pot and buried in mounds. Often the personal belongings of the deceased were placed there so that he could arrange a comfortable life in Navi. U Eastern Slavs Before the forced conversion to the Christian faith and insistence on following their rules, the following interesting tradition was preserved. After the ritual of burning and collecting the ashes, the pot was placed on a high pole at the road crossroads of the Fates and covered with a domovina - a wooden house specially made for this purpose. Thus, people could come to the deceased to say goodbye and leave a memorial, and he also ended up in the Navier Kingdom, where he could choose his further path of Renaissance.

After all the types of the above pagan funeral rites, the ancient Slavs held a funeral feast - a feast in memory of the deceased and ritual battles, symbolizing the battle with the Three-Headed Serpent on Kalinov Bridge for the opportunity for the deceased to choose his path, thereby helping him reach his new place of residence.

Trizna as a way of honoring the Ancestors of the Family was also held on special calendar dates for commemorating the dead: Krasnaya Gorka, Rodonitsa and other ancient Slavic holidays. As can be seen from the description of the ancient pagan rite of burial of a Slav, everything possible was done to facilitate his Further Journey; the appearance of mourners as a tradition is interpreted by many as the imposition of its dogmas by Christianity and an attempt to make a person’s departure from Yavi the most difficult and lengthy, to tie him to his living Relatives and to instill guilt.

Calendar holidays and rituals in Rus': spring, winter, summer and autumn

The most important calendar pagan holidays and Slavic rituals on this day were carried out according to the Kolo Goda: on the dates of the Solstice and Equinox. These turning points played a big role in the life of the Slavs, as they announced the beginning of a new Natural season and the passage of the previous one, and made it possible to set a good start and get the desired result: collect bountiful harvest, get rich offspring, build a house, etc.

Such calendar winter, spring, summer and autumn holidays of the ancient Slavs with the most important rituals of sowing, harvesting and other rituals are and were:

• Spring equinox March 19-25 – Komoeditsy or Maslenitsa, Great Day

• Summer solstice June 19-25 – Kupala

• Autumn equinox September 19-25 – Radogoshch

• Winter solstice December 19-25 – Karachun

You can read a description of these ancient pagan holidays and Slavic rites or rituals performed in Rus' on these and other strong days during the Kolo Goda Movement in ours.

Bringing demands as a pagan rite of gratitude to the Native Gods: what is it?

Special attention should be paid to the Requirements of the Native Gods before conducting a Slavic ritual, during the ritual, or the onset of a calendar holiday in honor of one of the Patrons. Gifts from the pure heart and with sincere gratitude to the Gods of the Slavic Pantheon were necessarily brought - they could be of any price, since the wealth of each Slavic family was different, but they had to express respect to the Family and the guardians of Reveal, Navi and Pravi. The place of their offering were Temples and Temples in which the churas of the Gods and Goddesses, as well as Altars, were located.

Very often, demands were brought to Priroda when the Slavs performed ritual pagan actions and glorified this or that Patron on his personal holiday, as well as when activating amulets and. Nowadays, few of the original ancient Slavic rituals of presenting demands and appealing to the Gods have been preserved, so the Sorcerers and Magi advise many, when performing the ritual, to simply communicate with Relatives, as with Relatives - with sincerity and politeness, with an understanding of the importance of their role as a Descendant of the Russian Land and Continuer Slavic Family. If what you ask is really important and necessary, if you have the Right, the Gods will definitely help and come to your defense.

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Old Slavic holidays and customs have their origins in mythology and beliefs that are largely common to all Indo-European peoples.
However, in the process historical development The customs and traditions of the Slavs also acquire special features that are more inherent only to them.
These traits manifest themselves in their mentality, which is formed in the process of various everyday practices. The ordering of life through holidays, rituals, customs, and traditions in ancient societies acquires the character of a universal norm, an unwritten law, which is followed by both an individual and the entire community.

In accordance with the circle of human life and society, holidays, traditions, rites and customs of the ancient Slavs are divided into:

• calendar,
• wedding
• ,funeral.

Information about all these groups has been preserved in many sources. Partially Slavic traditions and the customs have survived to this day precisely as folk customs, and not religious ones. They were partially adopted by Christianity during the baptism of Rus', and today they are perceived as completely Christian. But many of the holidays, traditions, rituals and customs of the ancient Slavs have not survived to this day.
This applies to all the groups listed above.

Calendar holidays, traditions, rites and customs of the ancient Slavs

Associated with agricultural cycles, they corresponded to the change of main jobs throughout the year.

The customs of the Eastern Slavs were preserved in the most ancient evidence from the Ante period. This refers to the famous list of rituals of the 4th century. n. e. on a vessel for water (sacred?), found in the Kiev region, in the zone of settlement in the future of the Polyans. Old Slavic holidays and customs on this unique calendar are associated with the worship of gods, one way or another associated in folk beliefs with the forces of nature. For the most part, they are rain spells, distributed in time in accordance with the sowing, ripening and harvesting of grain.

• On the second of May, the ceremonies of the holiday of the first shoots were performed;
• in the third ten days of May, spells for rain were performed;
• Yarilin's day fell on June 4;
• the entire second ten days of June were spent in prayers for rain, so necessary for the grain filling in the ears;
• June 24 was the holiday of Kupala, withheld folk tradition up to the present day as the holiday of Ivan Kupala (artistic reproduction;
• from the fourth to the sixth of July, prayers and rituals for rain were again performed;
• on the twelfth of July, preparations were made for sacrifices to honor Perun (the choice of sacrifice for Perun in Kyiv: http://slavya.ru/trad/folk/gk/perun.jpg);
• in mid-July, prayers for rain were made again; the origins of this ritual may actually go back to the Trypillian culture, as evidenced by the images on the vessels
• on the twentieth of July, sacrifices were made to Perun (later on this day Elijah will be celebrated); reconstruction of the sanctuary of Perun near Novgorod;
• with the beginning of the harvest, on July 24, prayers are made for the rain to stop;
• At the beginning of August, ceremonies and harvest festivals were performed: on the sixth of August - the holiday of “first fruits”, and on the seventh - “zazhinka”.

The pagan traditions of pre-Christian Rus' will retain the main rituals and holidays of this calendar for many centuries. In honor of Yaril, games were played - with dancing, singing, shouting and even, perhaps, with some exaltation. Much evidence of this has been preserved in the folklore of the East Slavic peoples (we are not talking about “Herborod” and other sources considered by many to be later hoaxes). The spell of rain, prayers, celebrations of the first shoots, the appearance of the first leaves, harvest festivals - all this was preserved by the rituals and customs of the Rus' for many centuries.

Wedding holidays, traditions, rites and customs of the ancient Slavs

A wedding, the rituals and customs that accompany it are always a bright spectacle. This is how it appears in ancient Russian customs. Before the baptism of Rus', they combined in themselves, as usually happened in traditional societies, survival, relict behavioral models.
Today, questions about the relationship between patriarchy and matriarchy of the family in ancient Russian society are still being debated. The fact, however, is that ancient Russian customs and traditions testify to this quite definitely.

This custom was especially widespread among the Drevlyans, who, according to Nestor the Chronicler, did not have any marriage, and “they kidnapped girls near the water.” He also condemns the Radimichi, Northerners, and Vyatichi. The entire wedding ceremony, according to the chronicler, boiled down to “games between neighboring villages,” “to demonic songs and dances,” during which men simply chose girls for themselves and simply, without any ceremony, began to live with them. And they had two and three wives,” the Tale of Bygone Years says condemningly.

Old Russian traditions and customs also retain traces of the phallic cult, widespread in ancient societies. The wedding ceremony, among other things, involved a whole ceremony with a made model of a male penis. Sacrifices are made to the “Shameful Udas,” and during the wedding, the Slovenian woman was immersed—if, again, later evidence is to be believed—a model of the phallus and garlic in buckets and bowls, they drank from them, and when they took them out, they licked and kissed her. In the same connection Some other ritual actions that accompanied weddings in pre-Christian Rus' are also associated with phallic and generally sexual symbolism. Among them are obscene words that punctuate the matchmaking ritual, shameful ditties with very explicit vocabulary.

The world-famous Russian swearing also obviously originates from ritual practices aimed at ensuring soil fertility, fertility livestock and, as during the wedding ceremony, the birth of children by the newlyweds. But much more common in ancient Russian customs were wedding rituals, which demonstrate the respect and love of the newlyweds and all participants in the ceremony for each other.

Among the Polans, whom the chronicler contrasts with their northeastern relatives, the family is based on the modesty of fathers and children, husbands and wives, mothers-in-law and brothers-in-law. They also have a wedding ritual, according to which no one steals the bride, but brings her to the house on the eve of the wedding. The ritual does not provide for a dowry at all - on the next day they bring whatever they want for it.

Funeral holidays, traditions, rites and customs of the ancient Slavs

Death and the repose of loved ones is one of the biggest shocks in a person’s life. Understanding this mystery became one of the incentives for his religiosity. What is death and what will happen after death - these are the existential questions that were followed by religious answers.

Old Russian customs and rituals are also closely connected with funeral rituals, the cult of the dead, and their veneration.

The pagan traditions of pre-Christian Rus' contain many features compared to later centuries. The funeral rite itself differed significantly. From the chronicle we can highlight some of its features among the Vyatichi:

• the beginning of the ritual is the funeral feast
• after the funeral feast the body of the deceased is consigned to fire
• the remaining bones and ashes are collected in vessels
• vessels with ashes are placed on roadside poles.

By the way...

Ethnographic research allows us to fill this ritual with individual details and make it more understandable to modern people.

Thus, the funeral feast here should be understood as competitions in honor of the deceased (as the noble Achilles once organized them in memory of the deceased Patroclus) and actions of a purely ritual nature. Roadside pillars (among the ancient Slavs, often with a kind of “roof” and, for the convenience of souls gathering around them, edges) are proposed to be interpreted as a symbol of the World Tree. They connect the heavenly, otherworldly world with the earthly world. Through them, souls move to another world.

More common, however, was the funeral rite, which the chronicler talks about in connection with the burial of Prince Oleg. Instead of burning there is a burial, instead of pillars there is a high mound. The funeral feast, organized by Princess Olga, is accompanied by the crying of the widow, loved ones, and in the case of the prince, the entire people, a dinner accompanied by the drinking of honey by the Drevlyans.

Old Russian customs that have not survived to this day have left their mark in chronicles, numerous archaeological finds, folklore and in modern ritual practices. We cannot always correctly unravel their deep, sometimes incomprehensible, meaning. Sometimes they seem like prejudices to us.

"Prejudice! he's a wreck
An old truth. The temple fell;
And his ruins, descendant
I didn’t understand the language.”

Sometimes it happens. But “the ancient truth becomes closer to us and more understandable if we take into account the thickness of centuries and the darkness of centuries separating us from it.