Holidays of the Slavs - Turitsy

The holiday of Yar-Tur, or Turitsa, falls on January 19 according to the new style The aurochs is a now extinct wild bull This powerful great-grandfather of modern cattle lived in the Eastern Hemisphere until the 17th century In Slavic mythology, Tur is the son of the goddess of fate Mokosha and the god of the three worlds Veles He possessed remarkable strength, inherited from Perun and Veles, so he was sometimes called a buoy-tur According to pagan beliefs, this mythological bull was the patron saint of shepherds, guslars and buffoons He was often depicted surrounded by seven faithful cows The cult of the divine bull was preserved in jewelry (pendants with the image of a bull's face), in items of clothing (the famous horned headdresses of fashionistas), in games and dances Later, young bulls began to be sacrificed to Perun, and then to the prophet Elijah, who replaced him During the celebration of Turitsa, the priests performed their magical rituals, created protective amulets, and the elder of the clan negotiated with the shepherds about the upcoming spring-summer work Future workers were invited to a festive meal, which necessarily included kutia, vzvar and sochivo, as well as intoxicating drinks The shepherds were fed very heartily and generously so that they would not be offended After all, the safety and health of the herd depended on their work On Turitsa, the cheerful guys put on their sheepskin coats inside out, pretending to be bears Then they staged mock fights with each other The youth spent the entire evening in noisy games and tomfoolery Towards nightfall, one of the guys dressed up as a bull and started chasing the girls Such comic catch-ups and games continued for a long time, then they were replaced by girls' fortune-telling for the future This day was considered the day of initiation, that is, the day when boys become men They went into the winter forest to hunt, simultaneously demonstrating their ability to light a fire, cook food, and arrange a place to spend the night Thus, Turitsy is an ancient holiday rooted in pagan beliefs