Holidays of the Slavs - Kikimora Day

The Slavs honored not only Perun, Svarog, Yarilo, Mokosh, Lelya and Mara, but also the “small gods”, organizing holidays in honor of the brownie, the goblin and the kikimora It was believed that these conventionally evil spirits also helped people, like other representatives of the pagan pantheon One of the gods constantly in the dwelling was the kikimora, which IV Dahl called it an “invisible girl” in his dictionary The dry old woman was depicted with disheveled and tangled hair with a ball of tangled threads, because loved to spin A playful and restless spirit could take the form of a little girl or girl with a long braid, and sometimes a dog, pig or hare In the northern regions, kikimora was called Shishimora, Shishiga, and even simply Mara She lived in a hut behind the stove, a bathhouse, a barn and other outbuildings, as well as in the forest and swamps In order to appease the evil spirit that brought trouble to people, the Slavs came up with Kikimora Day, which was celebrated on March 2 It was believed that it started in a hut built in a bad place or cursed during construction According to legend, a sloppy and ugly old woman appeared as a result of curses and the abduction of children by evil spirits, the death of an unbaptized or murdered child, the passing of suicides, etc Kikimora creaked the floorboards in the hut at night, drove horses, attacked sheep and cows - plucked feathers and cut wool with livestock, she loved to play pranks in the house, hiding spindles and tows To protect the animal from its mischief, the Slavs hung a stone with a hole in the poultry house (chicken god) or a throat cut off from the jug It was believed that the kikimora could not sit still, so it constantly jumped up and stomped its feet People most often hear the noise that this playful spirit makes, but they see it much less often With established contact with the owner of the house, the kikimora could warn of impending trouble A sloppy, ugly old woman dressed in rags, living in a swamp, could have a husband - a devil She was famous for taking children left unattended by their parents into the thicket This is how the kikimora taught her careless father and mother to be smart A prankster living in a hut was often called the brownie's wife Both of these spirits only caused trouble if people disrespected them That is why our ancestors celebrated holidays dedicated to the minor gods throughout the year In honor of Kikimora Day, stories about an evil spirit were told, and fortune-telling was carried out for the future by deciphering the knocking sound it makes Yarn, spinning wheels, and bobbins for weaving lace were hidden from the evil old woman, who was treated in honor of the holiday The noisy kikimora was driven out with a juniper broom, which was used to sweep the hut, and amulets were hung on windows and doors for protection All this helped to calm the evil spirit and turn her neighborhood into a benefit for the residents of the house