Autumn among the Slavs

The oldest date of the Slavs - Oseniny was celebrated on September 24 Like other ancient Slavic holidays, the day was associated with the cult of nature and the agricultural calendar For the farmer, who lives by the fruits of his labor, the beginning of each season in the annual cycle was an important date The days of the summer and winter solstices, as well as the days of the spring and autumn equinoxes, were especially revered Since Neolithic times, these periods have been identified, associated with the length of the solar day The autumnal equinox fell just in the last ten days of September, after which the daylight hours became noticeably shorter, giving way to dark, cold nights According to the beliefs of the Slavs, the Sun of the current year grew decrepit and slowly died in the fall Until recently it was in full force, generously bestowing its heat on the earth and crops, and now its end is near, which will come in December But in the pitch darkness of long winter nights, the birth of a young sun will occur, which will gain strength by next spring and show all its power in the summer It was in this sacrificial cycle of birth and dying that the universal order was felt Everything went on as usual, and each person realized and accepted the harmony surrounding him In each village, the old luminary was seen off with a symbolic renewal of bonfires The old fire was extinguished, and a new one was produced by striking flint or rubbing dry branches, which emphasizes the ancient roots of the autumn celebration This is how people communicated with nature, recognizing its wisdom and greatness In addition to solar symbolism, autumns carried within them the worship of mother earth and her fertile beginning By this time, the peasants had completed the harvest, their granaries were full and ready for winter This means that the frosts were not terrible; on the contrary, they could be survived in satiety and fun It is not for nothing that Belarusians have retained the old name of the autumn holiday - Zasidki Now both old and young will spend more time in the huts, because field and garden work is coming to an end But the time had come for handicrafts and craftsmanship; household work by firelight was allowed For the holiday, it was customary to prepare special dishes from the fruits of the new harvest They baked bread and pies from freshly ground flour, brewed beer, and feasted on honeyed berries and fruits Families or whole villages gathered at large tables, remembered and praised their ancestors, discussed the affairs of the clan, and simply enjoyed life Hence the names - “Bagach”, “Bagatukha”, “Harvest Festival” With the adoption of Christianity, Slavic pagan holidays gradually acquire new meanings associated with the official religion The autumn cult of Mother Earth was reborn into the veneration of the Mother of God, which was reflected in the renaming of the date “Women’s Nativity”, “Virgin Day”, “Little Most Pure One” In ritual songs and poems, Mother Osenina was glorified along with the Most Pure Virgin Mary Early in the morning, the female part of the villages went out to the river or lake with a ritual treat, singing songs and prayers According to widespread custom, relatives visited the newlyweds After a plentiful meal, the guests inspected the well-established life and household The young people were given advice and kind words The meeting of the Osenins was celebrated among peasants until the beginning of the 20th century, then the important ancient date was erased from the memory of descendants for a long time And only nowadays, with the revival of interest in Slavic origins, the holiday is collected from scraps of memories, reconstructed and breathed new life into it