Vasiliev evening has a long history. It has long been accompanied by mass fun, interesting rituals. It is a pity that today very few of our compatriots know how to generously for the Old New Year.
Cheerful god Kolyada
They say that everything new is long forgotten old. The traditions of modern Russians have pagan roots. Researchers offer two versions of when the ancient people celebrated the coming of the New Year. Some believe that this date fell on March 22 - the Day of the vernal equinox. Others are sure that our ancestors counted down from January. Big holidays fell for this month. Then worshiped the newborn god Kolyada. Often he was portrayed as a baby, since he was the smallest of the sons of the supreme ruler Dazhdbog.
The Slavs loved this holiday. Baked cakes, put sweet porridge on the table. Children ran around the yards and portrayed the young Kolyada. They congratulated the hosts on New Year’s songs, for which they received gifts. Today, the feast of the baby god falls on the days when they go caroling and generous. The people called him Christmas time.
First two days
Until the X century, our ancestors used the ancient Slavic calendar. But with the adoption of Christianity in 988, Russia switched to a new countdown, which was called "from the creation of the world." This system was invented by Emperor Vasily II. The bottom line was that the reckoning began in 5509 BC. e. - Estimated date when God created the earth.
This calendar was introduced by the Byzantine church and almost coincided with the Julian style. The only difference is the start date. According to the first, the calculation had to be carried out from September 1, the second marked the start of March 1.
For a long time, the Slavs celebrated both. The reason for this was that pagan customs coincided with Christian rites. So, for example, the New Year according to the Julian calendar fell on the Slavic New Year, and the September holiday - on the Volkh Zmeevich Day, which meant the end of the working season. The cult of the aforementioned god was reincarnated as Christmastime - a week when they go to caroling and generous, thus extolling the birth of Christ.
The king who struck out thousands of years
Peter I changed the situation . The Emperor adopted a lot from Europe, including time. On his initiative, a decree was issued on December 19, 1699, which noted that the New Year would be January 1. The country also adopts a different calendar system. Therefore, from 7208, from the creation of the world, the people moved on to 1700 from the Nativity of Christ. But to finish the matter to the end he never succeeded.
Some countries in Europe as early as 1582 switched from Julian to a more accurate Gregorian calendar. Already during the reign of Peter I, the difference between the two styles was 11 days.
Russians easily accepted the changes, as the holiday began to fall on Vasilyev evening, when they go to be generous. The people carefully prepared for the day of remembrance of the saint. Everywhere they had fun, tables bent over food, people congratulated each other.
Crescent in one night
The case, which Peter did not finish, was completed by the Bolsheviks. At the time of their coming to power, the difference in the reckoning with Europe was 13 days. In order to keep up, in 1918 the Soviet government decided to switch to a new style. Consequently, the country fell asleep on January 31, and woke up when it was already February 14th.
Nevertheless, the church continued to use the Julian calendar. It is with this phenomenon that the difference in dates in Orthodoxy and Catholicism is associated. Therefore, the civil New Year in the Gregorian style falls on the Christmas post. But true believers, according to church tradition, celebrate it on the night of January 13-14, just when you need to carol and be generous.
So a unique holiday arose - the Old New Year. Today it is an unofficial celebration among the former peoples of the Russian Empire.
Unusual guests
The Soviet Union did a lot to forget folk rituals. But symbolic amusements survived in difficult times. Moreover, they are popular now.
The holiday begins on Vasiliev evening, which is met on the night of January 13th. That's when you need to be generous. The table is set richly. It is still believed that the more magnificent the treats on this day, the more successful the year will pass.
Groups of people walk from house to house. They announce their arrival as a song that is started under the windows.
Entering the room, it is worth saying hello to the owners. Need to appeal to everyone: from the oldest to the smallest. In the same manner congratulate and wish all the best.
Folk poems and songs will tell you how to generously spend on the Old New Year and where to start.
Holiday start
Usually improvised scenes are tied with a short greeting. Guests also praise the owners of the house. Then ritual songs are sung. The most popular ones are “Shchedrovochka was generous, I spent the night under the window” and “Good evening to you, affectionate host”. The first has a playful character, the second is religious. In general, absolutely all holiday rhymes are divided by this principle. In order for the performance to be more vivid, it is worth connecting them.
Experienced people know well at what time and on what date they go to be generous. For those who are doing this for the first time, it is worth saying that they begin to sing only when the hosts sat at the table. Usually dinner begins at 18:00, when the holiday of Malanka has ended, which the people celebrate on January 13.
Mix of plots
Depending on the songs, the character of the performance is built. Melodies with a Christian plot are distinguished by special tenderness and sentimentality. So, “Good evening to you, gentle master” reports that Christ was born on earth. The motive calls to praise the Savior.
Much remains of the Gentiles. For example, there are songs where the owner is referred to as the heavenly month, his wife is called the sun, and the children are called stars. With the adoption of a new faith, the context has merged. That is why today Russia has such a variety of ritual melodies.
But not everything can be sung on Old New Year. Some motives need to be performed only on Christmas Eve, others - exclusively on Vasily’s Evening. This is the difference between Christmas odes and songs that are sung on the night of January 14th. Then what number of carols and generosity? Today, these two concepts have almost merged. But initially, with Christmas carols, they went to celebrate the birth of the son of the Lord on Christmas, and with bounties, on the evening of Basil the Great, to wish happiness in the new year.
Congratulations or threats
On a separate step are comic plots. There are hundreds of versions of such songs. Compose them to this day. So, for example, everyone knows the funny and easy rhyme “Shchedryk-Petrik, give dumpling”. With such comedic lines, children not only cheered up, but also hinted that they want to receive a present for their work. Our ancestors treated what was on the table.
Today money is added to sweets and gifts. But here it should be remembered that the main task is not to collect more gifts, but to spread the spirit of the holiday. Joyful mood and positive desires - this is the main rule of how to generously for the Old New Year.
The action may be attended by the owners themselves. So, at the request of the children to give them a patch from the chest or something tasty, the owner may refuse. Then the kid starts a humorous song, such as, for example, “Don’t give me cheesecakes - you’ll get the top of my head.”
Usually such “threats” were just a joke, an impromptu staging.
The main task is to wish wealth to the house. And the more beautiful the words, the more beautiful the gratitude. But even here our ancestors added humor. For example, they used the phrases “how many specks, how many pigs you need” or “where the horse goes with its tail, there is a bush there”.
How to dress?
Generosity go home in funny ways. Fur coats were worn inside out, face smeared with soot. Do not shy away and costumes. Some children depicted Malanka, others - Vasily. They used masks of horses, sheep, chickens - that is, all those animals that were present at the birth of Jesus.
It was necessary to dress so that even the closest people would not recognize you. Everyone knew how many should be generous, so they prepared the images in advance. Rehearsed together various scenes on Christian motives.
Today, boys and girls prefer folk costumes. Such images are vivid and sincere. When a company of people walks along the street, passersby immediately understand what is happening. With this action, young people are encouraged to love their roots.
Today, Ukraine, Belarus and the south of Russia are actively generous. Disguised people roam the streets, look out the windows where the lights are on, knock on strangers at the door, sing, and then sit down with the guests at a lush table.
The future opens on holiday
One of the most colorful Russian traditions is also associated with the evenings of the Great Basil. It was a night not only when you need to carol and be generous, but also to guess. Young people cast their spells on married people, married women and married men - on crops and children, the elderly learned about their life and death.
You can look into previous years today. Young girls who want to know who will be their bridegroom can put a comb under their pillows. At the same time, it is important to say: “Narrated, come to your beloved braid to unravel.” The one whom the beauty sees in a dream will become her husband.
In order to find out the name of the groom, it is worth going out with a spoon of porridge. On the road you need to say: "Honey, go home to dinner." The first one to pass by is the namesake of the betrothed. If a woman meets, then her name is the name of the future mother-in-law.
Old people, grandfathers and grandmothers will tell you what to do, how to enchant, how to generously for the Old New Year.
Adults can also spy on the future. They need to put crumpled piece of paper or a roll of hay on a plate. Then turn off the light and set fire to the material. The shadows from the fire on the wall will draw an amazing story, warn of trouble, tell what awaits.
People believed that miracles happen on the eve of the holiday, so the result of fortune-telling will be good.
Sowing
January 14 is St. Basil’s Day. It has long been customary to sprinkle grain on a house. How and for what date to generous is already known. But what does sowing mean?
The first day in the Old Slavic calendar was also called Ovsenya. Earlier, in the pre-Christian period, it was celebrated on March 1. But after transferring the holiday from spring to winter, one of the rituals also migrated. In order to appease the gods, the children scattered the grain around the house. The hostess collected it in a special container, and then threw it into the ground.
When the New Year date was changed to January 1, the rite also migrated. Usually the ceremony was conducted by the boys who played the role of sowers. At the same time, the words of wishes for a good and successful harvest were pronounced. The simplest lines: "I sow, sow, sow, I wish happiness, joy." Various cereals guys poured into a mittens. There the hosts threw gifts as thanks for the congratulations.
Every child knew about when they go to be generous, sow and carol. It was a good opportunity to have fun and collect delicious goodies.
Rich people
Soviet power in every way fought against religious rites. But to destroy the customs, whose history goes back more than a thousand years, could not. This knowledge was passed from generation to generation.
Unfortunately, today these traditions are partially forgotten, and they are remembered to a greater extent in the villages. But modern youth seeks to restore old rites, although not everyone knows how and when to be generous.
Nevertheless, the cultural program of the Russian Federation is aimed at popularizing folk traditions and restoring ancient values. Creativity houses, church choral groups and people who are simply not indifferent to the past annually go door-to-door on the New Year's Eve and congratulate the hosts on the holiday. The purpose of their actions is not to receive a reward of hotels for their work, but to revive interest and love for the past of their people.
The life of ancestors should not live on paper, but in reality!