Kolyada, Sunny Christmas among the Slavs

Kolyada is a holiday starting with the first star, Christmas Eve among the Slavs, Christmas Eve Kolyada falls on December 25th Scientists believe that the holiday, although associated with Christmas, has pagan roots Christian, pagan and everyday motifs are miraculously intertwined in this celebration: sometimes it is difficult to determine the origin of certain rituals Sometimes the word “kolyada” is used to refer to the winter solstice, or solstice In the minds of the Slavs, Kolyada is the turn of the winter sun to spring, the beginning of a new year and a new agricultural cycle According to legend, on December 25, the Slavic god Kolyada begins the fight against winter Before celebrating Kolyada, housewives clean their homes and yards All family members wash and steam in the bathhouse to cleanse themselves not only physically, but also mentally Caroling is a congratulatory tour of the courtyards by a group of people, often young people, singing ritual songs and receiving a treat for this In the old days, groups of congratulating people were clearly differentiated by age, but later such differentiation was erased The hosts are obliged to welcome guests cordially, otherwise the coming year will be full of sorrows and sorrows Folklorists note that caroling is more common among Ukrainians and Belarusians; among Russians, the church especially struggled with these visits An invariable attribute of caroling is considered to be mumming, that is, changing one's appearance with the help of skins, masks, and horns Most often, sheepskin coats are worn inside out, with the fur facing up, to create the image of a formidable bear Sometimes people dress up as a goat, bull, goose, crane or horse In the old days, they also dressed up as old people and gypsies In the Christian era, a group of carolers began to carry a pole with a star at the end, symbolizing the Star of Bethlehem And the carols themselves began to include the glorification of Jesus In some areas, carolers are seated on hay and asked to cluck to help the chickens lay eggs better Before Christmas, unmarried girls tell fortunes about their betrothed or their fate Boys and men participate in fist fights Women voice everything that happens with songs Sometimes young people organize festive gatherings with games Couples often form at such gatherings In honor of the pagan belief about the birth of a new sun, the Slavs burned large bonfires on Kolyada with wishes for a good harvest next year They also performed magical rituals with grain so that the bread would be born Bread, porridge and pork dishes must be present on the table In the north, they used to bake special ritual cookies in the shape of animals and birds The Slavs have long held funeral dinners on Kolyada or left the remains of the festive meal for the spirits at night