From May 26 to June 2, the Green Christmastide (Second Rusalia) is celebrated - a series of holy days preceding Yaril the Wet, a magical week dedicated to seeing off spring and the accompanying female spirits - mermaids-beregins.

Green Christmastide (Second Rusalia) - the magical week preceding Yaril the Wet. Nowadays, Water Mermaids come out of reservoirs - they lead round dances (anti-salt) along the banks of rivers and lakes, swing on the branches of trees, as if on a swing, and also like to play tricks on unlucky late travelers when they take them by surprise. At this time, meetings with Mermaids can be quite dangerous for living (living in Yavi) people. The Mermaid can tickle the person she likes half to death and drag him under the water with her, if he does not have any amulets with him - Sun Signs, and his life itself was not particularly righteous... In order to protect himself from the Mermaids, they recite the words:

MERMAID-SISTER RED GIRL VELESOV NEIGHBOR DO NOT RUIN MY SWEAR DO NOT LET ME HANG MYSELF AND LET ME RETURN HOME ON THIS I BOW TO YOU MY WORD IS STRONG BY FIRE NOT SCOED BY WATER NOT UNMOVABLE BY ANYONE ISN’T OVERSURRABLE! GO!

At the very beginning of Rusal Week, beautiful maidens go into the forest to curl wreaths on birch trees:

DON'T REJOICE OAKS DON'T REJOICE THE GREEN ARE NOT TO YOU THE GIRLS ARE NOT COMING TO YOU THE RED PIES ARE NOT TO YOU THEY CARRY FRIED EGGS! REJOICE BIRCHES REJOICE GREEN GIRLS ARE COMING TO YOU RED PIES ARE BRINGING TO YOU FRIED EGGS! GO!

Twisting birch branches, the girls braid wreaths and decorate them with scarlet ribbons. They kiss through wreaths - “kudos” with each other, exchanging body amulets, and sing:

VIEW-VIEW I'M A WREATH BRAID BIRCH! VIEW-VIEW I'M A WREATH, BRAID YOURSELF, CURLY! VIEW-VIEW I'M A WREATH WE'LL GET TO KUMUSHKA! VIEW-VIEW I'M A WREATH LET'S KISS DARLING! GO!

Throughout the Rusal Week, the wreaths remain untouched on the birch trees:

MY WREATH IS GREEN ALL WEEK AND I AM A YOUNG GIRL ALL YEAR FUN! GO!

At the end of the week, they go to unweave wreaths:

REJOICE YOU OAK MAPLE BAR, DON'T REJOICE BELA BEREZONKA WE ARE COMING FOR YOU TO DEVELOP THE RED RIBBON UNBREAK! GO!

Closer to dusk, the whole world performs the ritual of seeing off the Mermaids: the maiden, dressed as a Mermaid, is “seen off” with great noise outside the village - to the river, after which the old people go home, and the young people continue the mystery game. They are divided into two gangs: boys - separately, girls - separately. The latter go into the field, where, having put on unguarded long sleeves and taking off their belts (or even all their clothes), but putting on light masks made of birch bark, they turn into “Mermaids”, performing a “vertible dance” in the middle of the night (as at the First Rusalia ), the speed of which gradually increases from low to incredible. Enraged, the “Mermaids” scatter across the field a stuffed animal of Kostroma, pre-woven from straw and grass (before scattering it across the field, Kostroma is carried to the river and soaked in water - dedicated to Lela and the Mermaids), which should ensure the productivity of the field in the future. And woe to that mortal who during this time turns up under their arm...

This also works differently. The girls stand in a round dance, choosing from among themselves one who has the chance to represent Kostroma - to remain throughout the entire performance next to Her scarecrow in the middle of the circle and answer ritual questions for Her. The round dance sings the chorus:

KOSTROMA! KOSTROMA! MY MARRIAGE KOSTROMA! KOSTROMUSHKA HAS KISSEL WITH MILK KOSTROMUSHKA HAS PANCAKES WITH CHEESE CHEESE! GOY-MA! KOSTROMA! GLORY!

Then someone from the general circle turns to Kostroma: “Great, Kostroma!” The girl representing Kostroma answers her: “Great!” They ask her: - What are you doing? She answers: “I’m wrinkling!” To her - with a bow: - Help those Gods! Then the round dance sings the chorus again, after which Kostroma again asks the question: - What are you doing? Kostroma replies: - I spin, I spin!.. And this is repeated until Kostroma has completed the entire flax processing cycle and further: - I wash, I spin! And finally: - I went to the bathhouse!.. - I sat down for a meal!.. - I got sick!.. - I died! To which they reproach her: “Why are you talking?” Come on, get up, you slacker!!! After which everyone standing in the round dance pounces on the stuffed Kostroma, tears it into small pieces and scatters it all over the field. When this happens, the girl representing Kostroma shouts: “She has come to life!” Alive! All those gathered glorify Kostroma, bow to Her and the field - on all four sides, reciting:

KOSTROMUSHKA HAS RETURNED TO NAVI, RENEWED AND COME BACK TO US! GOY-MA! KOSTROMA! GLORY!

After some time, the young men set off one by one in search of the “Mermaids”. “Mermaids”, when meeting a person, ask him some riddle, for example: - Wormwood or parsley? If he chooses “parsley,” then the “Mermaids” attack him with the words: “Oh, my darling!” They tickle him to the point of colic, and then turn him into a “prowling beast” or a “flying bird,” forcing him to run on all fours until dawn, howl like a wolf, growl like a bear or crow like a cuckoo... If the guy chooses “wormwood” (the grass that is real They are afraid of mermaids), then they answer him: - Navka, perish!

Only in this case does the guy get the right to take the “Mermaid” to the cleansing Fire, jump over it together with her, and then kiss the girl on the mouth... At dawn, when the spell has already been removed from all the “Mermaids”, and they have regained their human form, the girls bathe in the dew, washing off all the remnants of the navy-night (koshny) charms...

Witch Lada Grass cuckoo tears in the women's rite of ritual on Rusal Week

One of the two ways of female cumulation on Rusal Week (otherwise called Green Christmastide and preceding Yaril the Mokry, celebrated on the 3rd of Sunday/June) is known as “cuckoo baptism.” It consists of the following steps: girls make a “cuckoo” from grass (which comes in many different types), then they worship it (which is called its “baptism”), then they bury the cuckoo and in some areas they also dig it up. It is easy to see that this action combined two independent rituals: female rites and the funeral of a stuffed cuckoo with subsequent resurrection, which clearly correlates with the cult of the Divine Vegetation.

The custom associated with the cuckoo is widespread in a fairly narrow circle of neighboring regions: Kaluga, Oryol, Kursk, Kostroma, Tula, Bryansk (and Tomsk), so researcher V.K. Sokolova calls it local South Russian. There is a condition for the grass used in the ritual: it must be pockmarked like a cuckoo. Almost always, the grass used is cuckoo tears (or just cuckoo), which is so named because of the brown specks covering the leaves. Sometimes it is replaced by bird cherry, the leaves of which are also speckled. What kind of grass is this - cuckoo tears? Researchers explain that this is an orchis, orchis latifolia; in other sources it is described as a species of agave, or plantain, or snitka.

According to its magical properties, this is a love herb; it has a forked root, the parts of which correspond to husband and wife.

According to legend, this very root binds husbands; by its shape, young women guess about the gender of their unborn child. This herb can also make a horse tireless (does this mean a literal horse?..). Among other plants, the dawn grass can represent the cuckoo in the ritual of cumulation; it happens that the role of the cuckoo is played by a branch (willow, bird cherry or rowan - note, all are pockmarked). The baptismal ritual consists of cumulating girls over a cuckoo. Actually, baptismal actions are not noted anywhere in ethnographic materials; on the contrary, christenings (“kstins”) and cuckoo are used here to justify cumulation - after all, the church recognizes cumulation only during the baptism of a child. In some cases, the ritual is followed by the second volumetric part of the ritual - the funeral of the cuckoo. It comes to burial quite rarely; usually the funeral is the main and main action. VC. Sokolova points out that out of 17 cases she observed, only in 4 cases did the cuckoo’s baptism continue with a funeral. Although the custom of burying a cuckoo has a completely independent meaning, it is always called “baptizing the cuckoo.”

) is celebrated on May 24. This day was the main boundary between spring and summer. In the popular calendar, with the adoption of Christianity, the Trinity holiday was dedicated to these days. Green Christmastide rituals welcomed the first greenery and the beginning of summer field work.

The main traditions for Green Christmastide

The cycle of the Green Christmastide consisted of several rituals: bringing a birch tree into the village, wreathing wreaths, kumeleniya, and the funeral of a cuckoo (Kostroma or mermaid). The birch tree was a symbol of inexhaustible vitality. As during winter Christmas carols, all rituals were attended by mummers portraying animals, devils and mermaids. In the songs sung during the Green Christmastide, two main themes can be distinguished: love and work. It was believed that imitation of labor activity ensured the well-being of future field work.

It was customary to bring birch branches and bouquets of first flowers into the house. They were dried and stored in a secluded place all year. After the harvest began, the plants were placed in the granary or mixed with fresh hay. Wreaths were made from tree leaves collected during the holiday and placed in pots where cabbage seedlings were planted. Trinity plants were believed to have magical powers.

Beliefs on Green Christmastide

To ensure a high harvest, a special prayer service was sometimes served. Associated with it is the custom of “crying on flowers” ​​- dropping tears on a bunch of flowers. After completing special prayers, all participants went to the cemetery, where they decorated the graves with birch branches and provided refreshments. Having remembered the dead and leaving food at the cemetery, they went home.

Green Christmastide ended with the ritual of funeral or farewell to Kostroma. The image of Kostroma is associated with the end of the green Christmastide; ceremonies and rituals often took the form of ritual funerals. Kostroma could be depicted by a beautiful girl or young woman, dressed in white, with oak branches in her hands. She was chosen from those participating in the ritual, surrounded by a girl’s round dance, after which they began to bow and show signs of respect. “Dead Kostroma” was laid on boards, and the procession moved to the river, where “Kostroma was awakened,” and the celebration ended with a bath.

There are several significant weeks in the Slavic calendar - winter Christmastide weeks and summer Christmastide week, which is called Green Christmastide, Rusal Week, and so on. This is a whole complex of rituals aimed, first of all, at commemorating ancestors and increasing the fertility of the land.

Rusal Week is, let's say, the key moment of the entire Trinity-Kupala-Petrine cycle. It is not surprising that such a time is shrouded in certain myths; many superstitions and beliefs are associated with it. We'll try to figure it all out.

Mermaid Week (Green Christmastide)

Rusal Week (Trinity Christmastide, Green Christmastide, Farewell to the mermaids, Green, Yarilina, Gryanaya, All Saints Week, Week of the Holy Trinity and others, this time of the folk calendar has a lot of names) - the week before Trinity (in some areas after Trinity). Sacred time of remembrance of ancestors and farewell to spring. These holidays are also called Semik and begin to be celebrated on Tuesday or Thursday, and sometimes on Monday.

According to the third version, Green Christmastide is the time before the Kupala holiday. The temporary fork is simply huge, which is not surprising:

1. firstly, the Slavic territories were huge, and in each region this or that holiday was celebrated with some difference;
2. there was an overlap of some traditions with others, everything became very confused;
3. and finally, so much water has flown under the bridge.

There is also an opinion that at the end of spring - beginning of summer the second Rusal Week is celebrated, and the first begins immediately after the holiday of Vodopol.

But we will adhere to the theory that Rusal Week is, after all, closer to the beginning of summer, to Trinity. And Kupala is the holiday of the solstice (summer solstice) and has a slightly different meaning. Although some of the rituals migrated (or maybe were there originally?) to another.

So, if we start from Trinity and Spiritual Day, we get the following dates:

in 2018, Trinity is celebrated on May 27, and, if you follow the folk calendar, then Rusal (Rusal) week will begin either before this holiday, that is, May 21, or after - May 28. Most often, Green Christmastide was celebrated after.

This sacred week has been known since ancient times. Even in the Laurentian Chronicle (around 1068), this ancient Slavic holiday was condemned:

“The devil flatters, predominating not from God with trumpets and buffoons, harps and mermaids”

However, later mentions of him in Christian chronicles are also not the most flattering. This is understandable; one religion supplanted another.

Meaning of names

The names of the holiday are very interesting, some of them are understandable:

For example, Trinity Christmastide or Holy Trinity Sunday. This name is directly related to the Trinity holiday, a week before (or after) which these festivities begin.

Green Christmastide is a reference to Winter Christmastide: these sets of events are very similar, only one is in winter and the other is in summer, when everything is green.

But we will look at the name Mermaid (Mermaid) week/weeks, or, simply, Rusalia, as well as Farewell to the Mermaids in a little more detail.

Our ancestors believed that during the Green Christmastide or Mermaid Week, mermaids leave their ponds, come out to people and can, if desired, cause a lot of trouble. Therefore, many rituals are associated with this mythological Slavic character.

Let us remind you: a mermaid in Slavic mythology is not a half-woman, half-fish. The creature looks more like a nymph or a human, but in essence is the spirit of a drowned girl. This is not a friend to man.

Why a mermaid? Perhaps because the drowned girl is a so-called dead body, that is, a person who did not die a natural death. And Rusalia, these are precisely the days of remembrance of such deceased ones.

Beliefs of Rusal Week

Green Christmastide is a dangerous time of the year. The Slavs thought so. However, if all precautions were taken, then nothing bad should have happened. Hence a certain number of prohibitions.

It was believed that during this magical week, those same hostage dead people come to our world of the living from the world of the dead. Dead people. During Rusal Week, they can be very, very close to people (and not only near the water). A meeting with such a spirit never bodes well; it is better not to allow such meetings. And that is why, before the Green Christmastide, people, closer to midnight and noon, tried to stay further away from:

• road intersections;

After all, it was here that one could most often meet such spirits. Near the water and in the field, mermaids often had fun and swung on the branches of trees. The cemetery, well, of course, is a place where you can meet some spirit even on ordinary days. And the crossroads, in general, is a cursed place, that’s why they put worship crosses there.

Noon and midnight are the most dangerous times during the Green Christmastide, but even at all other times people tried not to walk alone, much less swim. If precautions are not taken, the restless spirit could either drown in a pond or be tickled to death.

The most revelry of mermaids began during the flowering of rye.

Naturally, not all dangerous places could be avoided during this week. Therefore, appeasing mermaids was considered a very important point. This promised not only safety, but also possible benefit, since the spirits could provide answers to questions of interest.

To appease the spirits, during the Green Christmastide, the Slavs organized various festivities and sang songs. Naturally, the church did not approve of all this, and still does not approve.

Plus, on top of everything else, a taboo was imposed on all more or less complex women’s affairs:

it was not allowed to spin, weave, sew, knit, in a word, to do handicrafts;

wash and clean;

field work was prohibited;

All this was done so as not to provoke evil spirits and not get in their way. Zelenin reflected these beliefs in one of his works:

Whoever plows this week, his cattle will fall; whoever sows will break his grain with hail; whoever spins wool, his sheep will circle; whoever builds a fence, twists ropes, knits harrows will wither and bend into an arch. The children of persons who violated the Rusal Week will be born deformed; The livestock offspring of these owners will be abnormal.

Very eloquent and creepy.

Traditions and rituals

Mermaid week is also girlish time. From that time on, young girls entered the circle of their older friends, began to be interested in the opposite sex, began to tell fortunes and participate in other women's gatherings.

The distinctive feature of the Green Christmastide holiday lies in the subtle analogy between the beauty of a young girl and nature blooming from the rays of warmth. After all, summer is a time of fertility, rich harvests and the triumph of natural beauty.

Green Christmastide is full of all sorts of rituals, but the main ones were:

Farewell to the mermaids and Yarila;

Driving the Mermaid Horse;

Funeral of Kostroma.

At each time and in each region, these rituals varied significantly. They are well described on Wikipedia, but these are only a few of the options.

Sacred tree of Rusal Week

The birch tree is considered a particularly revered tree during Rusal Week. The Slavs believed that it was on its branches that spirits sat on the Green Christmastide.

Round dances and festivities were held around her;

its branches were woven into wreaths;

the branches themselves were decorated with ribbons, jewelry and clothes were hung on them, and braided;

they took it to their home to decorate their home;

All kinds of offerings were laid at the birch tree, most often honey and eggs.

Remarkable rite of communion, there birch is one of the “acting” persons. For this ritual, it was necessary to find two young birch trees, bend them to the ground and tie them with the tops. Usually girls did this, but sometimes boys also participated along with the girls.

Braids or wreaths were woven from the branches of birch trees, and a ritual treat was laid out under the trees themselves, among which there had to be scrambled eggs. These foods could also be eaten by people.

Through tree branches intertwined with each other like a wreath, couples had to take turns kissing. And the girls could exchange various gifts, after which they called each other godfather.

In some provinces, a tree was dressed up in a woman’s dress and walked around the courtyards with it, as if “taking it on a visit.” Such a guest was even symbolically treated, then seen off, and then drowned.

Birch has been associated with fertility since ancient times. This is a tree endowed with the power that bestows this very fertility. Hence such reverence.

Rituals associated with marriage

During Rusalnaya Week, the girls wondered; the main question that interested them was, of course, marriage. To this end, in the first day of the festivities, at dawn, we went to the meadow to pick flowers, on which there was still dew. A wreath was woven from them. Such a wreath should have been worn all day, and in the evening you would have seen:

if the wreath looks fresh, then you need to wait for a quick marriage;

if he withered, the darling went on a spree;

if it falls apart, there will be no marriage this year.

On Thursday of Rusal Week, again, in the morning, unmarried girls baked ritual pies filled with meat, and at midnight they went to the pond “to feed the mermaids.” During this process, a certain conspiracy had to be pronounced.

After which, over the course of the next month, it was necessary to look closely at new acquaintances, so as not to miss the betrothed, bestowed by fate. After all, the perfume could only “introduce” the guy, and everything else was the work of the girl herself.

Another ritual could “encourage” the chosen one to propose as quickly as possible. For this I had to ask my closest friend to weave a wreath of wildflowers, wrap the guy’s handkerchief around it, and, putting it on his head in the evening, go to the pond. There it was necessary to lower the wreath into the water with certain words, after which the guy had to make the cherished proposal.

Each day of Green Christmastide or Rusal (Mermaid) week had its own name. Some rituals were precisely dedicated to these specific days.

Days such as Semik, Dzyady (Grandfathers), Spiritual Day, they are all included in the complex of events on Green Christmastide or Rusalia. Everything usually ended on Sunday, so the key rituals took place on this day.

It was believed that on Sunday mermaids, and with them other spirits, leave the world of the living, ponds, fields, forests and meadows become safe.

Green Christmastide
	folk-Christian
	Sunday of the Holy Fathers
Noted:	Eastern and Southern Slavs, Orthodox peoples of Russia
	the week preceding Trinity (for Russians); from Semik to Water Day (for Ukrainians and Belarusians)
Celebration:	round dances, youth celebrations
Traditions:	visiting cemeteries, funeral meals, installing and decorating birch trees, cumulus
Associated with:

Green Christmastide- Slavic folk holiday complex of the spring-summer calendar period, also called after the main day - Semicom. The celebration was widespread among the Eastern Slavs everywhere. Russians often called Green Christmastide the week preceding the holiday of Trinity; among Ukrainians, the period from Thursday (in other places, Tuesday) of the seventh week after Easter to Tuesday of the eighth week after Easter (in other places, after Trinity).

In general, the period of the Trinity-Semitic holidays includes Midsummer, Ascension, Semik, the week preceding Trinity and Trinity week until Peter's fast, after which Peter's fast begins. The festive complex marks the end of spring and the beginning of summer.

Other names

Holiday complex: rus. Green Christmastide, Trinity Christmastide, Mermaid week, Mermaid Week, Rusalia, Great Week,Klechalnaya, Soulful wake, Cuckoos, Wreath curling, Sunday of the Holy Fathers; Belor. Syomukha, Syedmukha, Syomka, Zelyanets, Green Christmastide; Polish Stado; Czech Králový týždeň.

Thursday: Russian Semik, Great Thursday, Magnificent Thursday, Tulpa, Nov. Rusalchin Great Day, Mavsky Great Day, South Russian, forest. Trinity of the dead, Nava Trinity, Azov Ripay, Belarusian Syomukha.

Saturday: Russian Semitskaya Saturday, Dukhovskaya Saturday, Parents' Saturday, Easter of the Dead, Trinity Parents, Kursk Flesh Saturday, Soulful wake, Spiritual day, Belarusian Staurouska, Letniya, Traetskaya, Syomushnye Dzyady, Green Saturday, Klyanovy Saturday, Ukrainian Green Saturday, forest Mikolsky grandfathers, Maple, May Saturday, Spiritual Saturday, Spiritual Saturday, May Saturday, Bulgarian Mermaid stranglers, Serbian Dead SaturdayA.

Symbolism of the holiday

Semitskaya Week occurs in the seventh week after Easter and received its popular name from Semik. In the old days this week was known as Rusal week. The Little Russians call it green, klechalny, and the last three days are green Christmastide. Near Starodub they call it Grenoy, where Semitic songs are also called Grenukhi. Our people call the days of the Semitic week by special names: Tuesday: soulful wake, Thursday: semikom, Saturday: klechalny day, Semitic nights are called: passerine nights. Lithuanians and Poles call our Semitic week the green week, the Czechs and Slovaks call it Rusalna, the Carpatho-Russians call it Rusalya. - Sakharov I. P., Tales of the Russian people

Semik, like Trinity, was considered a girls' holiday. Teenage girls were accepted into the company of girls and they could “get married,” guess about their betrothed, and take part in autumn-winter gatherings (see Kumlenie). Also in nature, the Mother of Cheese, the Earth, was preparing for fruiting - rye and oats were earing in the passage:

As before other major holidays, before Semik (Trinity) the dead were remembered: first the hostages, then the parents.

In the Catholic tradition, Green Christmastide ended on Trinity with rides around the village on horseback (cf. Easter cavalcade), games of “Kralya” and “Kralitsa”.

Rusalia

Rusalia, mermaid days - a holiday in memory of the dead among the ancient Slavs, memorial days, memorial rites.

The first mention of rusalia is contained in the Laurentian Chronicle (under 1068). It condemns the pagan custom of calling on the “devil” to prevent drought: “The devil flatters, prevailing not from God with trumpets and buffoons, harps and mermaids.” In later monuments, Rusalia is characterized as “demonic games” and “fun with dancing,” songs, dressing up in animal masks, etc.

It was believed that on Semik or Trinity (in other places from Ascension) mermaids come out of the water and stay on earth. During the entire period, mermaids are in close proximity to humans, so that they can even come into contact with him. Numerous prohibitions and customs were in effect since Semik, for example, there was a widespread ban on large-scale work, it was forbidden to go into the forest alone, to drive cattle there, to rinse clothes and to do sewing. One of the ancient customs associated with this holiday is the ban on swimming in the river, especially at noon and midnight. There was a belief that mermaids dragged drowned people to themselves. During Mermaid Week, the mermaids had to be appeased - then you could count on their help.

During Rusalia, songs and festivities lasted long after midnight. The Church had an extremely negative attitude towards such holidays: for example, the Stoglavy Cathedral of 1551 sharply condemned such festivities.

Semik

Semik- usually the seventh Thursday or seventh Sunday after Easter, hence the name. In many places, from this day on, birch trees (“Trinity Tree”) were erected in villages, and girls “celebrated.” Opens the ritual complex of the Trinity-Semitic festival. Over the centuries, the ancient rituals of Semik were gradually transferred to Trinity. In some places this process began by the 19th century. completely completed: Trinity (Trinity Saturday and Sunday) absorbed all the rituals of Semik. In others, ritual actions were divided into Semik and Trinity. In Belarus (Belarus. Syomukha) and in the south of Russia Semik was celebrated on Sunday, considering the name “Trinity” to be ecclesiastical.

A distinctive feature of Semik was the commemoration of the “hostage” dead, that is, those who died not by their own death (“who have not outlived their age”). Funerals were usually held on Thursday of Semitskaya Week, in some places on Tuesday (“Soulful Funerals”). It was believed that the souls of the hostage dead returned to the world of the living and continued their existence on earth as mythological creatures (see Rusalka, Mavka). They were forbidden to have funeral services in church, and they were commemorated separately. According to popular beliefs, the earth does not accept the dead who die a bad death, so they remain restless and can annoy the living, are often in the service of evil spirits, and sometimes even have demonic properties. Commemoration of the hostage-laden dead was allowed only on Semik, so this day was considered a “delight” for their souls.

Trinity tree

The Trinity tree is one of the main symbols of the Trinity-Semitic ritual. Along with flowers, wreaths, and branches, the Trinity tree is used to decorate a home, yard, street, or church. Trinity customs with a cut down and decorated birch tree are widespread in the central Russian regions, the Volga region and Siberia. Having chosen a suitable young birch tree outside the village (in the forest, near a rye field, near the water), the girls each decorated it with their own ribbon, scarves, beads, and wildflowers. With a cut down ( broken) and decorated with birch (called in different localities: godfather, beauty, garden, semik, pillar, bush etc.) the youth walked around the village, set up games in place, danced in circles, and then carried them to the river and threw them into the water: “Let’s cut down a birch tree, decorate it with flowers, bring it to the village, dance in a circle with songs. The round dances are over - we’ll throw the birch tree into the river.” In the Tobolsk province, a birch tree dressed in a woman’s dress was “taken to visit”, that is, they were brought into every house, symbolically treated, and in the evening, having gathered in one hut, they had a “funeral service”, after which they went to the river to drown it.

Rituals with a growing tree (“curling” and “developing” a birch tree) are one of the central episodes of the Semitic-Trinity complex among Russians, known almost everywhere. These actions were carried out in two stages at different times: they usually went to “curl” a birch tree in Semik, and “develop” it on Trinity (in other versions: on Trinity and on Spiritual Day; on Trinity and on Peter’s ritual). On Semik, girls went into the forest to “curl a birch tree” (cf. the song “There was a birch tree in the field”).

According to V. Ya. Propp, the reason for such increased attention specifically to the birch is that the young birch was considered the focus of magical fertile energy. This energy is important both for fields, which vitally need fertility, and for people and livestock, which need the energy of fertility. Therefore, they tried to introduce both the fields and people to this life-giving energy of the birch. In addition, the birch in its ritual role can be compared to the “Maypole” of Western European peoples. According to D.K. Zelenin, both of these phenomena have their roots in ancient totemic ideas.

In the south of Russia and Ukraine, the main ritual tree was often the maple, which is why the days were called “clecal Saturday” and “clecle Monday.” Clechalny- from the name of the maple leaves that were used to decorate houses and yards.

Kumlenie

Kumlenie is an initiation rite in the cycle of spring-summer holidays of the Eastern and Southern Slavs, as well as a form of youth union. In the East Slavic territory, cumulation is known in most regions of European Russia (especially in central Russia and to a lesser extent in the Russian North), as well as in the north-east of Ukraine and in the east of Belarus. In the overwhelming majority of cases, it was girls who had reached adulthood who cumulated; they worshiped in pairs (very rarely - in fours); occasionally everyone celebrated together, including putting on one wreath one at a time.

Wreaths were woven from branches. At the same time, they sang songs, danced in circles, and ate food they brought with them under the birch trees (there had to be scrambled eggs). When curling the wreaths, the girls worshiped, that is, they performed a ritual of worship: they hung a cross on the birch branches tied in a circle, the girls kissed in pairs through this wreath, exchanged some things (rings, scarves) and after that called each other kuma (sisterhood). Experts explain this custom as a relic of ancient rites that marked the puberty of girls and their acceptance into a special gender and age group.

Kumlenie was usually the middle episode of the holiday, which began with the establishment (selection in the forest, bringing into the house, decoration, dressing up) of the Trinity tree (birch, maple branches, etc.) or with the dressing up of the “cuckoo” (in the southern Russian regions, kumlenie was part of the ritual of “funeral of the cuckoo”) and ended with a joint meal for the girls (sometimes together with the guys who joined the girls after the ritual), and also very often with fortune-telling with wreaths; At the same stage, as a rule, the development of the birch tree, or rather the wreath curled on it, and the actual dispossession took place.

Green Christmastide is a complex of various holidays, which was often called mermaid week, trinity week. Sometimes they coincided with Rusalia; one of the holidays celebrated during this period of time was Semik.

In the article:

Green Christmas time and mermaid week

As you know, green Christmastide is an important period for the entire Slavic people. The Russians called this the 7 days that were before Trinity; on the territory of Ukraine, Green Christmastide was the name given to the period from Thursday of the 7th week after Trinity to the following Tuesday.

Mermaid Week in 2017 begins immediately after Trinity and lasts from June 4 to June 11.

Several important holidays are celebrated throughout this period.

• Monday: Day of the Spirits, Name Day of the Earth, Seeing off the mermaids, Ivan and Marya, Bathing Day, Holy Spirit.
• Tuesday: Water Day, Kostroma, Farewell to spring, Parents' day, Farewell to mermaids.
• Wednesday: Hailbreaker, Buraloms, Dry environment.
• Thursday: Rusal Easter, Kiselev Day.

Customs of ancestors for Trinity week

On Trinity week, usually all the young people put on beautiful mermaid costumes and held extensive festivities. Young girls tried to frighten passers-by as much as possible, so they let their long hair down and wandered around the houses in their shirts, which frightened the neighbors.

It was believed that during this period one could not only protect oneself from the influence of otherworldly forces, but even communicate with them. That is why our ancestors left shirts on the banks of reservoirs, in forests and swamps, so that...

But it was believed that these water entities needed to be appeased, since otherwise they would plot intrigues and steal livestock. That is why our ancestors left various gifts on the same banks of reservoirs: salt, bread, clothes.

It was believed that if a person ignored such precautions, the mermaids would begin to intrigue him.

Signs and beliefs for green Christmastide

According to tradition, on Tuesday our ancestors began to call upon the mermaids, they performed various rituals and tried to appease them. The belief says that if a person does not leave some food near the house for the sea spirit, then various misfortunes will certainly befall him. For example, the family will be poor, ugly children will be born, someone will get sick.

According to the superstition, in Buraloy, on Wednesday, it was forbidden to whitewash canvases, and a storm awaited from those who violated the ban. At the end of the mermaid week, on Sunday, it was necessary to arrange a big holiday.

It was believed that on this day sea spirits leave people and say goodbye to them for the whole year. If the peasant did not perform the farewell ceremony, then the mermaids could even come for him and drag him away with them.

Rituals and ceremonies during Rusal week

One of the most common methods of fortune telling was this. Starting on Thursday morning, all unmarried girls had to bake meat pies and throw them into ponds at midnight. It was believed that in this way the girl appeases the mermaid and may even ask her to send her a betrothed. The following text must be repeated three times:

Ah, the red maiden is distressed, I am tired of living without my betrothed, my beloved. Mavonka, little mermaid, call upon my destiny, so that my heart does not languish, so that it reaches out to me, so that we see each other and have a wedding.

It was believed that if a girl performed such a ritual, she would meet her love within a month. Often young guys also used this ritual, changing the words in the spell (“the red maiden is spinning” - “well done,” etc.).

Our ancestors were sure that if a girl wanted her lover to finally call her down the aisle, then her close friend had to make her a large wreath of herbs for Mermaid Week and weave the handkerchief of the chosen young man into it.

After this, the girl who wants to get married had to put it on herself and go to the shore of the reservoir exactly at midnight. The wreath was lowered onto the water, and the girl had to whisper:

Wreath, wreath, you were made by my friend’s little hands, but to my joy she gave you to me. You float the wreath, float, and call my beloved, so that you can sit next to him this year and have a wedding.

It was believed that after such a ceremony the guy would soon take the girl as his wife.

What is Semik?

Sometimes this holiday is also called the Trinity of the Dead or Rusalchin Great Day. It is celebrated exactly three days before Trinity. The main feature of such a day is the commemoration of the hostage dead.

On this day, extensive festivities were held, girls told fortunes and performed various magical rituals. For example, on this holiday they usually performed the ancient ritual of burial and commemoration of the poor in poor houses that were located in groves. Initially, rituals were performed on the graves of the deceased.

In addition, our ancestors decorated birch trees, decorating them with various ribbons, wove large wreaths of wildflowers, and curled birch trees. On Wednesday, before Trinity, girls quite often went into the forest and broke birch trees, and on Thursday or Saturday they returned to the selected trees with beer and scrambled eggs.

After that, they curled the trees and left gifts near the trees, sang songs, and danced in circles. Why did you use scrambled eggs? Since ancient times, the circle has been considered a symbol of fertility. Surprisingly, the shells of the eggs that were used to prepare the dish were not thrown away.

It was carefully fired, after which it was crushed very well and collected in a separate bag. It was believed that such a product, obtained on this particular day, has special healing properties. In some villages they also did roe deer. This is a special cake in the shape of a wreath with eggs.

Sometimes, instead of scrambled eggs, the girls took these roes into the forest. In Siberia there was a slightly different tradition: the top of a young birch was completely drawn to the ground and “braids” were made on it, connecting the branches with tall grass.

Rusalia - mermaid days

Rusalia are very important days for our ancestors, on which they commemorated all the deceased. It is worth noting that Rusal days are winter and summer. The first ones were celebrated on Christmas Eve and Epiphany, and the summer ones - after or on.

Usually people held large feasts, brought gifts to the resting places of the dead, such festivities sometimes lasted all night. It is worth noting that the church had an extremely negative attitude towards such celebrations. Rusalia was celebrated in different ways in different places.

For example, the southern Slavs believed that it was on these days that one could meet a mermaid, so they did their best to appease the water spirits. The Bulgarians were sure that Rusal Wednesday is the 25th day after Easter, when these sea creatures get ready to set off.

In Macedonia, Rusal Week, which lasted from until Epiphany, was of particular importance. At this time, men dressed in various costumes, held round dances, and walked along the streets of villages.

It is important that participants in such events had to adhere to clear dogmas. They could not cross themselves before meals, they were forbidden to return greetings from their neighbors, and at night the men did not return to their home or have contact with their family.