Semik (Green Christmastide) among the Slavs

Semik falls on the seventh Thursday after Easter Sunday (three days before Trinity) The first chronicle mentions of it date back to the 11th century In some areas it merges with the Trinity Sometimes it is called Rusalchin Great Day, Trinity of the Dead or Green Christmastide VI Dal in his dictionary gives it the name Tulpa It was believed that this week late spring was finally leaving, and summer was coming into its own Semik, popular among the Eastern Slavs, is considered to be a folk Christian holiday, which means that the pagan rituals performed on it were closely intertwined with Orthodox rites The Russian Church has an ambivalent attitude towards him, condemning those walking for “demonic games” In Semik they commemorated the dead who died an unnatural death: suicides, drowned people, murdered people This is due to the belief that their souls return to earth on Rusal Week (the seventh week after Easter) in search of peace If during the times of paganism funeral feasts were held for them, then with the adoption of Christianity, memorial services began to be held for them Semik refers to agricultural and maiden holidays From this day on, it was customary to begin sowing barley Women walked around the fields, celebrating the future harvest After the meal, which necessarily included scrambled eggs, they began playing games with motifs of sowing and growing grain crops, and riding on a swing Sometimes girls, led by an older godmother, performed a rite of worship, which allowed them to find a friend They curled the birch tree (in the south - maple), decorated it with wreaths, pectoral crosses, and scarves Be sure to tell fortunes on wreaths and sing chants for summer Young men and girls, the so-called semishniks, walked around the courtyards with congratulations, treating themselves to boiled eggs and collecting food for a meal during Trinity Sometimes some guy and the most lively girl, dressed up as Semik and Semichikha, joined the festive procession called the Vyun Young people decorated the birch tree, or Trinity tree, took it for a visit, and then drowned it in the river Afterwards, the guys took part in fist fights, the girls treated everyone to jelly, pancakes and scrambled eggs Dwellings, courtyards and even streets were decorated with birch branches On Semik it was forbidden to do housework, sewing or touch water: the latter could lead to drowning in the family There was also a ban on bathing in rivers and visiting forests alone There they could meet and lure mermaids riding on tree branches According to Slavic beliefs, mermaids contain the souls of drowned girls In the seventh week after Easter, they were placated with treats and asked to help in business