The Presidential Library features Christmas customs

One of the most beloved national holidays, Christmastide, traditionally runs from January 6 to 19: “from a star to water”, that is, from the appearance of the first star on Christmas Eve to the blessing of water.

The Presidential Library reflects electronic copies of books telling about traditional amusements, many of which are still popular.

Ivan Bozheryanov in his fundamental research “How Russian people celebrated and celebrate Christmas, New Year, Nativity and Maslenitsa” (1894), before turning to the Russian customs, makes an excursion into the Christmas traditions of European nations. “The celebration of Christmastide probably passed on to us from Greece or from the south-west”, - he suggests, “because among the ancient Greeks, when the old new year passed to the new, men danced in women's dresses, and women — in men’s ... Gothic Christmas games were existed in the presence of the emperor himself".

There was such a custom in Holland: the watchman 8 days before Christmas and 8 days after "announcing the breaking of the clock in the morning, advised the inhabitants to eat porridge with raisins and honey". In England, at Christmas, it was imperative to bow to the apple trees in order to attract a rich harvest, and to burn special candles all night long, not letting them go out, otherwise there would be trouble. The English danced and sang on the streets during the Christmas holidays for several days in a row.

“In Rus’, Christmastide was celebrated since ancient times – it is proved in the Book of the Helmsman, and Stoglav, as well as pastoral messages, where divination and superstition at Christmastide are exposed as pagan customs”, - says Ivan Bozheryanov in the above-mentioned book “How Russian people celebrated and celebrate Christmas, New Year, Nativity and Maslenitsa”.

The festivities began on the eve of Christmas after sunset. “That same evening, villagers covered the inside of the hut with straw or hay; in the corners put sheaves; under the image and on the table covered with hay, they put in front of every person a head of garlic to fight off all diseases”, - said Alexander Tereshchenko in his work “The Life of Russian People”.

Both Bozheryanov and Tereshchenko note the special mood inherent in the Russian Christmastide, which manifest themselves “in a joyful conversation, a warm welcome, beautiful clothes and in the hut with songs, - we read in the part “Christmastide” of the book “The Life of Russian People”. - The feelings of the girls are even more busy. Each of them thinks then to penetrate into their own destiny; find out in advance her betrothed, and whether she is happy with him".

Divination for betrothed is one of the most popular Christmas traditions. Popularly from generation to generation, they transmit ways to know their fate: with the help of a mirror, melted wax, comb, throwing shoes. In the book Tereshchenko there is such a version of fortune telling: "The girls will be enchanted in the villages: they will go out into the yard about midnight, and from which side the dog will bark, from that side the betrothed comes".

The same book covers that girls especially love to guess on figures from bread. Before the New Year (January 13 old style), after dinner, each of them sculpts from the remaining piece of bread an image or a figure he wants; then collect all the figures and lay out on the threshold of the hut. After that, they call some dog, and admit it to the figures: "whose first it grabs - the one to get married".

Christmastide was celebrated by anyone, but mostly it was a youth holiday. For fun games, boys and girls prepared masks of animals and birds, jester's attire. They dressed up as one would like, and with jokes they went Christmas caroling: they went around the house, sang great, ritual songs, danced, congratulated the owners.

The main purpose of caroling is the wish of happiness and wealth. For example, in the province of Tver, they performed Christmas carol songs, promising the owners a good harvest.

Пришла коляда

Накануне Рождества.

Дайте коровку,

Масляну головку.

А дай Бог тому,

Кто в этом дому,

Ему рожь густа,

Рожь ужиниста.

Another excellent tradition is recalled by Alexander Tereshchenko in his study: “During carol days, old enmity was forgotten, reconciled and entered into a new friendship. Hospitality, a variety of gifts and invitations to the feast prevailed everywhere”.

Our ancestors wisely believed that "Fuss is asleep on the holy day" and besides "Summer for striving, winter - for celebrating".