Winter Christmas tree what is it? How were winter Christmas trees?

Russian Christmas trees are a period of time, usually confined to the so-called winter sun. Usually they open a popular solar year. At present, Christmas trees are celebrated all over Russia and, as a rule, are considered a youth holiday. Favorite entertainment for young people in this period - carols and various fortune-telling. But how did young people spend their holy days in Russia? Let's talk about all this in more detail.

What kind of holiday is this - Christmas?

What are holy days? This is a whole holiday complex, which is of Slavic origin. The Christmas period consists of 12 festive days (according to the number of months) and continues from the appearance of the first star (on the eve of Christmas, in Kolyada) to the Epiphany. Such a Christian tradition has the famous holiday of Christmas tree.

What is the Christian tradition in this case? It's simple! Under the influence of the Christian church in Russia, the originally Slavic holiday - Svyatki - merged with many January Christmas rituals. All this led to the fact that he was celebrated according to the church calendar - from Christ's Nativity (on the first star) to the Epiphany.

Christmas trees in Russia were always divided into 2 periods: holy evenings and terrible evenings. The first period began with Christmas and lasted a week. The second began right after the first and lasted until Baptism. If everything is clear with holy evenings, then why did terrible evenings begin after them?

The fact is that in the old days the Russian peasants blindly believed in evil spirits. They believed that before the Baptism of the Lord, a dark force begins to walk on the earth in such a way that the smoke is a yoke. True, not everyone understood that the role of evil forces was played by young boys and girls, who actively ozornichavshie during these holidays. For example, it was customary for Christmas trees to shut up chimney pipes, and also to fire wood for the peaceful inhabitants of the yards.

How were Christmas trees in Russia?

By the turn of January holidays, village youth in the old days began to prepare in advance. Girls and guys like to spend time these days as much as possible fun. Their favorite occupation was, of course, the legendary caroling. By the way, this custom is due to the ancient pagan god - Kolyada. So, how did the chants pass in the winter Christmas season?

To carols were successful, young people had to walk through the villages, holding in their hands glued from a silver paper star. Girls and boys knocked on different houses, and when they were opened doors, they joyfully sang (caroled) and congratulated the hosts on current holidays. In return, the guys received some edible (and not so) gifts.

In the old days it was customary not only to give gifts to caroling young people, but also to invite young men and women hospitably to their homes, sitting at their table and treating them with holy things. What can we say here: it was a pleasant work - caroling for Christmas trees!

What is a holy masquerade? We will learn more about this.

Masquerades for Christmas Eve

On the second day after the Nativity of Christ, the so-called holy masquerades began. Each of the guys tried to make themselves some original mask-mask. For example, young men dressed up as wolves and bears, and girls dressed in chickens and goats. The essence of this masquerade was to dress up as skillfully as possible: no one from the whole village should have known you!

To do this, it was necessary not only to sew an animal's costume, but also fairly make-up. The guys rubbed their cheeks with black soot, a long sponge was tied to the chin, a mustache was attached under the nose, the horns were cut on the head, the tooth-fangs were cut from the turnip, and so on. Then a whole crowd of rival young people wandered around the villages, singing and dancing, frightening the kids. Passers-by tried to see in them their friends, children, grandchildren. Who was recognized, he was obliged to take off his mask mask.

The most important occupation on holy days

What else are the winter Christmas trees famous for? Of course, fortune-telling! Better time than the January holidays, for this and not imagine. As is known, young people in Russia were envied with an enviable desire to know their near future: young men and especially curious maidens loved to open the veil of the secrets of their destiny on holy days.

The girls, for example, wanted to know when the day of their wedding would come and who they were - their suitors. The guys, in turn, were interested in the character of the future bride, her external data. At this time, young people mostly gathered in churches, in bathhouses and in so-called evening parties, in short, in places intended for fortune-telling.

Vorozhba and the camel songs

Christmas trees in January are known for a lot of fortune-telling, they can not all be listed, so let's just talk about one thing. One of the most vivid holy-day fortune-telling was the so-called divination with camarader songs. The girls needed to dress up and sit down on the benches, standing along someone's hut. On the contrary, the boys sat down. Between them stood a table with a tablecloth laid on it. He was put on a huge dish of water.

In this dish you had to throw your jewelry: earrings, rings, rings. When a girl threw in the water, for example, a ring, she had to make a wish and sing a song. Such songs were called sub-watches. When the song ended, the young men shook the dish, after which they dragged out one piece of jewelry. According to the content of the sung camel song and judged the future fate of the owner of this decoration.

Interesting Facts

So, in this article we learned what the Christmas trees were: what is this holiday, how and when it was held. But we still do not know something! For example, at one time in the Russian Empire, the law was in effect according to which "Christmas games according to ancient idolatrous legends" were strictly forbidden on holy days, and "to make dances in the streets and sing tempting songs, dressing up in idol and demonic clothes". Fortunately, now all these are remnants of the past.