Russian holidays - Khakass New Year (Chyl Pazy)

The Khakass New Year falls on March 22, the Vernal Equinox The celebration of Chyl Pazy in the modern republic was resumed after a long break in 1994 The roots of the celebration go back to ancient times Ancient people associated the cyclical nature of time with the seasons of the year With their replacement, Mother Nature is born, lives and dies With the passing of winter, the earth awakens from sleep, and a new cycle of development of all things begins On March 21, on the day of the spring equinox, light and darkness collide in equal combat, and the line between the world of people and spirits disappears The Sun God comes to earth, and on March 22 a new period of chronology begins Winter as a symbol of death and oblivion is leaving, giving way to spring, rebirth and new life Did you know that? On March 22, not only the people of Khakassia, but also the residents of Kazakhstan, Iran, Afghanistan, India and other Asian countries celebrate the New Year The tradition of celebrating Navruz (Persian for “new day”) in the spring appeared among the countries of the Great Silk Road more than 3 thousand years ago The ancestors of the Turkic-Mongolian peoples of Southern Siberia led a nomadic lifestyle, mainly engaged in cattle breeding The way of life and farming cycles of the ancient Khakass were tied to the lunar calendar According to him, the beginning of the new year fell in spring and was celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox On Chyl Pazy (translated from Khakass as “beginning of the year”), it is customary to clean the house, prepare dishes for the festive feast (toya) and put on good new clothes In ancient times, when clearing a yurt from snow, dust and dirt, they deliberately left a small speck at its door so as not to sweep away their luck (ulus) And the first spring thunder cleared the surrounding world of evil spirits This is interesting Before the baptism of Rus', the ancestors of the Slavs, whose life was closely connected with the land-nurse, also celebrated the New Year in the spring, in March At the end of the 15th century The Orthodox Church moved the celebration to September 1, combining it with the celebrations of the harvest, the time of payment of rent and taxes On January 1, the New Year in Rus' began to be celebrated in 1699 after the calendar reform was carried out by Peter I Modern residents of Khakassia, who honor the traditions of their ancestors, perform a number of rituals on Chyl Pazy:• a rite of purification - they throw black ribbons (chalamas) tied in a knot into the fire, symbolically burning all the sins, failures and illnesses of the past year;• feeding the Goddess of Fire - a libation of wine, feeding flames with pieces of meat, butter or fat; • treating guests to pyzylakh (unleavened cheese), sour cream, cookies and tea from cherbert, bergenia, white cap and rose hips; • worshiping the sacred tree - the birch (khazyn) is walked in circles three times, tying white ribbons on the branches, blue and red colors and making a wish In ancient times, venerable elders said prayers to people at sunrise on March 22 Upon returning to the yurt, symbolic feeding of the ancestral spirits (tesi) was carried out Guests of the house, in addition to festive dishes, were invited to try araki - an alcoholic drink made from kumiss and ayran Milk vodka had a strength from 3 to 20 degrees Araku was poured into bowls from a leather vessel, kogeerzhik The owner of the house on Chyl Pazy, before tasting vodka, asked the gods for well-being for the livestock, sprayed the yurt and the burning hearth with the drink Did you know that? Among the Khakass, like the Chinese, annual cycles are named after 12 animals Among the well-known totems of the traditional eastern horoscope (sheep, mouse, snake, hare and horse), there are symbols of the chicken, crane and fox The 10th period of the 12-year cycle among the Khakass is called Kizi Chyly - the year of man Chyl Pazy is an important holiday, a solemn date in the folk calendar On this day, nature wakes up, so people traditionally ask heaven for health, prosperity and blessings to do good deeds