Holidays of the Slavs - Ladodenie

On March 30, the famous Slavic holiday Ladodenie is celebrated On this day, it is customary to praise nature, waking up after a long cold winter In other words, this is a holiday of warmth and the arrival of spring, which our ancestors celebrated in honor of the goddess Lada, the patroness of family and love Many historians believe that she was one of two birth goddesses In addition, Lomonosov compared Lada to Venus herself Nowadays, many people know that Lada is a goddess from Slavic mythology However, basically, this is where the knowledge ends But many years ago she was one of the most revered celestials - Lada acted as the female prototype of the Family - the progenitor of all gods and the founder of the world The Slavs turned to the goddess for support in a variety of issues: finding a second half, blessing a family union, asking her for fertility for their soil and easier childbirth for their wives In any large Slavic city there was certainly a temple dedicated to Lada, and the main church of the goddess was located on the coast of Lake Ladoga, as evidenced by the very name of the reservoir (literal translation - the road to Lada) Only the most attractive girls who managed to pass a strict selection, lengthy training and a difficult exam became priestesses in this temple It is noteworthy that the selection of the future candidate began several years before her birth The Magi watched with special care the most beautiful and intelligent representatives of the fair sex, determining for themselves which of them could give birth to a daughter worthy of the honor of serving Lada Thus, a large number of potential priestesses were recruited When the girls turned 5 years old, a kind of exam was held between them Thanks to the competition, the Magi chose children who had not only ideal external data, but also wisdom, courage and determination After all, a girl with such qualities as Lada could be a worthy servant of the temple After this, all the winners underwent a training course lasting 8 years Then a final exam was held, based on the results of which the High Priestess and several girls accompanying her were determined According to tradition, the Ladodeniya holiday necessarily took place with special rituals On March 30, everyone sang of nature awakening from a long frosty winter Girls and boys danced in circles dedicated to the patroness of love and family - Lada Women climbed onto the roofs of buildings, onto high hills and haystacks, and raised their hands to the heavens, thereby calling for the arrival of spring Cranes were made from the dough Basically, such homemade birds were placed in a high place, in particular above the door They served as amulets to protect the hearth An interesting legend is associated with this holiday, according to which birds return from Iriy For this reason, when celebrating the holiday, people imitated dancing birds These ancient rites bring about the return of the sun's life force to the earth