Every nation has traditions that came from ancient times, but were preserved in almost their original form. So, the Slavs have been jumping over summer bonfires for more than a millennium, they meet spring sunshine with ruddy pancakes, and on a dark winter night they dress up in animal skins, sing songs, ring bells, inviting happiness and prosperity to every house. One of these ancient traditions is the call of spring.
Pagan origins
Kievan Rus, the cradle of all Slavic civilization, stretched for many kilometers. It was inhabited by many peoples and tribes. Therefore, it is not surprising that in different parts of Russia the rites and terms of the holidays were slightly different. But most historians are convinced that the rite of callings was part of the Pancake Week and coincided in time with the arrival of the first birds. It is possible that in some regions people did not even know what a cry was, because the call of spring and warmth since ancient times completely coincided with the rite of celebration of Maslenitsa. The main characters, as a rule, were young girls - it was they who were assigned an important role - to shout, to call out spring. To do this, you should choose a place higher: the roof of the house, tree, hill. By the way, the word “click”, although it is rarely used now, gives us an idea of what a “call” is. These words have a common root.
Helped girls and boys. They whistled whistles, played the pipes and horns. And they always made a big fire - to warm up and warm the spring.
The meeting of spring in the period of the dual faith of Christian Russia
With the advent of Christianity, the cries of spring, like most other pagan holidays, did not sink into oblivion. They acquired a Christian background and successfully took root in the ritualism of the new faith. The priests first looked through their fingers at the good and bright holiday, so beloved by youth, and soon decided to combine it with the Orthodox calendar. There was still no single date. Somewhere in the spring they clicked on the Annunciation, and somewhere - on the Forty Saints. In general, the rite has not undergone any changes. Except that the callings themselves were slightly corrected, the texts of which used to be an appeal to Moroz, Dazhdbog, Lada, Yaril. With the advent of Christianity, spring-tearing girls began to ask for grace from the Virgin and Christ. Sometimes other saints were remembered: martyrs, saints, blessed ones.
Bookmarks: texts, characters, attributes and props
What did the girls sing from above? What calls should spring answer? The texts of the tags are often simply composed on the go. But there were favorite chant songs. The main essence of the text is the glorification of nature and personalized natural forces, inviting guests to warmth, gratitude to the cold weather and expressing hope for their timely departure. Often, the characters of the song-call were migratory birds, because they are rightfully considered the harbingers of spring. The girls sang:
Come to us, spring is red, with joy!
With mercy!
With grainy rye
With golden wheat
With rich oats
With barbel,
With juicy viburnum
With sweet raspberries
With every little garden garden
With an ant-grass!
In addition to the songs themselves, baking was an important attribute of the holiday. From the sweet dough, the hostesses rolled up special knots, pulling one of the tips in the form of a beak, or simply cut out the birds. These cookies-birds were baked in the oven and handed out to children, hid under the eaves of the roof, treated the sick, ate themselves. The living creature was also delivered to the bun - so as not to hurt.
To quarrel and curse on this day was considered a terrible sin. After all, in essence, what is a call? This is the hope of a simple people for an early warmth, abundant harvest, prosperity. This is a celebration of awakened nature.
Ancient tradition today
What is the spring roll today? This is no longer a cosmic sacred holiday, but rather, festivities, an occasion to recall history, to rejoice at the approach of spring. Do not forget about this wonderful tradition! Children will especially be pleased with her - they will be happy to learn funny song-cries and enjoy buns in the form of birds.