For a long time New Year came for the Romans on March 1. In 46 AD. Emperor Julius Caesar introduced new calendar is the one in use to this day, and the New Year has moved to January 1st. And in order for the calendar to coincide with the movement of the sun, Caesar “extended” the previous year from 365 to 445 days.

January is a symbolic month for the beginning of the new year, because it got its name in honor of the two-faced Roman god Janus. God is looking back last year and forward to the future.

Roman festivities in honor of the onset of the New Year were called Saturnalia. People decorated their houses, gave gifts to each other. Slaves drank with their masters, and for several days the people did whatever they pleased.
The holiday fell on the last half of December - the time when agricultural work came to an end and everyone was striving for rest and fun in connection with the end of the harvest.

During Saturnalia, public affairs were suspended, schoolchildren were released from classes, criminals were forbidden to be punished. Slaves received special benefits these days: they were freed from ordinary work, had the right to wear pilleus (a symbol of liberation), received permission to eat at a common table in the clothes of masters, and even accepted services from them.

The public festival began with a sacrifice before the temple of Saturn in the forum; then a religious feast was held, in which senators and horsemen dressed in special costumes took part. In families, the day began with a sacrifice (a pig was slaughtered) and passed in fun, with friends and relatives exchanging gifts. The streets were crowded with people; exclamations of Jo Saturnalia (it was called clamare Saturnalia) were heard everywhere.

There were even laws of their own kind for holding Saturnalia, according to which it was not allowed to make any speeches, except for cheerful and mocking ones, it was necessary to prepare money, clothes, silver in advance in order to send them to friends. Moreover, the rich man should not, he was to give gifts to the rich man, and everything had to be sent to scientists in double size, "because they deserve to receive a double share.
The poor man, if he is a learned man, let him send in response to the rich man either a book of one of the ancient writers, or his own work, whichever he can. The rich man is obliged to accept this gift with a bright face, and having accepted it, immediately read it, ”wrote the great satirist of antiquity Lucian.

The Christmas holidays familiar to us are similar to the merry winter Saturnalia.
After dinner on December 16, one of the priests-pontiffs (later this title passed to the popes), sitting under the portico of the temple of Saturn, solemnly proclaimed: “Saturnalia!” And all of Rome was literally shaking from the screams of a crowd of thousands, which, cheerfully running through the streets of the city, loudly announced the upcoming event.

Among the crowd, mummers were certainly present, dressed in animal skins - especially wolves. There are also groups of slaves freed on the occasion of the holiday (they are wearing special headdresses). They all shout joyfully: “I am Saturnalia! I am Saturnalia! On holidays, no wars, no work, no school. Like damned, only bakers and confectioners work. And songs are already heard from the houses, dances are everywhere ...

These days, everything is allowed and drunkenness, and orgies, and gambling. The famous Roman poet Horace dubbed all this "December freedom". Shutovsky dressed up and drove around the city, even some of the prisoners. They did not stand on ceremony at all. And all this for the sake of everyone's fun! Many bans were lifted, and a nationwide theater show began. Slaves dressed in the clothes of their masters, and the masters, in tatters, accepted with pleasure to serve at the table.

This bright and fun party noted in different countries differently, however, everywhere he is loved and expected. This is the most popular of all existing holidays. It took shape over a long period of time and it has its own incredibly curious history. The New Year was celebrated by the ancient Egyptians. This fact is confirmed by archaeologists who, having excavated the Egyptian pyramids, found a vessel with the inscription: “The beginning of the New Year”.

Ancient customs or how and why they celebrated the New Year in the old days

In ancient Greece, New Year's Day was summer solstice- 22nd of June. The celebration opened with a procession in honor of Dionysus, the god of winemaking. The retinue of Dionysus was made up of satyrs - children of earthly women and Pan - the goat-like god of herds, forests and fields. The satyrs sang hymns in honor of Dionysus. Later, during the time of Pericles and Socrates, the satyrs were replaced by priests. Every New Year's Eve, they gathered in the vicinity of Athens, dressed up in goat skins and sang Dionysus with bleating voices.

AT Ancient Egypt The New Year was celebrated in July during the flood of the Nile. On the night of July 19-20, priests in ceremonial robes accompanied by harmonious singing went to a predetermined place, raised their faces to the black southern sky, trying to be the first to notice when the brightest star, Sirius, would rise above the horizon. Her appearance in the sky meant the coming of the New Year.
In ancient Rome, the New Year was also celebrated in early March until Julius Caesar introduced a new calendar (February 28, 46 BC). After that, the first day of January was considered the first day of the New Year. January is named after the Roman god, the two-faced Janus. One face of Janus was turned back to the previous year, the other forward to the new one. On New Year's holiday, the Romans decorated their houses and gave each other gifts and coins with the image of this god. The celebrations continued for several days. In ancient Rome, the first gifts were laurel branches - symbols of happiness and good luck. They also gave each other fruits pasted over with gilding, dates and wine berries, then copper coins and even valuable gifts.

Among the Celts, the inhabitants of Gaul (the territory of modern France and part of England), the New Year began at the end of October. The holiday was called Samhain (end of summer). On this holiday, the Celts decorated their homes with mistletoe to drive away ghosts. They believed that it was on the New Year that the spirits of the dead were alive. In addition, the Celts inherited many Roman traditions, including the requirement of New Year's gifts from subjects.

In the Middle Ages, there was complete confusion in the celebration of the new year. Depending on the countries, the time of the beginning of the year was different: for example, on March 25, the feast of the Annunciation, they celebrated the beginning of the year in Italy, and in Southern Italy and Byzantium, and in Russia, September 1 is considered to be the beginning of the year, and in many countries the year began on holidays Christmas or Easter, and in the Iberian Peninsula, the countdown of the new year was, as it is now - January 1. The Church was categorically against the last date, as it broke the cycle of the Christmas holidays. And only by the 18th century in Europe did they come to a single date (for example, the New Year in medieval England began in March, and only in 1752 was it decided by Parliament to postpone the New Year to January 1) By the same time, modern European traditions of celebrating the New Year began to take shape. of the year
The history of the holiday in Russia

Our ancestors, the Eastern Slavs, celebrated the arrival of the New Year in the same way as other peoples, in the spring. The year was divided into two halves: summer and winter. It began from the first spring month - March, because it is from this time that nature awakens from sleep to life.

In Russia, there was a span for a long time, i.e. the first three months, and the summer month began in March. In honor of him, they celebrated avsen, ovsen or tusen, which later passed to the new year. Summer itself in antiquity consisted of the present three spring and three summer months - the last six months concluded winter time. The transition from autumn to winter was blurred like the transition from summer to autumn. Presumably, initially in Russia, the New Year was celebrated on the day of the spring equinox on March 22. Maslenitsa and New Year were celebrated on the same day. Winter is over and it means the new year has arrived. It was the holiday of Spring and new life.
But even in winter, while we are celebrating now, the ancient Slavs had a holiday - Kolyadas are celebrated from December 25 to January 6 (Veles Day). Thus, December 25 is the beginning of the whole 10 days of the holiday. This time of the birth of the new Sun, as well as the "pass" of the year through the shortest and darkest days, has long been noted as a time of witchcraft and rampant evil spirits. Fortune-telling for Christmas time is one of the echoes of the old Slavic holiday Carols. December 25, as the day "on a sparrow's sock" increased, people were going to carol. It was supposed to be done in terrible masks made of natural materials- fur, leather, bast, birch bark. Putting on masks, the disguised people went home to carol. At the same time, the so-called carols were sung, glorifying the owners and promising wealth, a happy marriage, etc. After caroling, they took to the feast-mountain. In the hut, in the red corner, there was always a sheaf (didukh) with a wooden spoon stuck into it or straw doll representing Kolyada.
They drank honey, kvass, uzvar (a decoction of dried fruit, compote, in our opinion), ate kutya, bagels and loaves, after a feast with songs and dances they went outside to roll a burning wheel up the hill, personifying the sun, with the words “In roll up the mountain, come back with the spring. The most persistent met the real sun - on a cold winter morning.

In 988, Russia adopted Christianity, and along with the new religion, the Byzantine calendar came to us. It was the Julian calendar with Roman names for the months; a seven-day week and a year of 365.25 days. The Byzantine chronology also came into use, where the creation of the world referred to 5508 BC.
According to the new calendar for Russia, the year was supposed to begin in September. As you know, it is very difficult to fight traditions. Even having been baptized, the Russian people stubbornly continued to celebrate the New Year in the old fashioned way on March 1 - with the beginning of spring. Echoes of the customs of that distant holiday have survived to this day in some of the rites of Maslenitsa.
Time passed, and around the XII century. the people completely got used to the new environment and began to celebrate first their traditional New Year in March, and a few months later - in September.
Russian people met the September New Year with pleasure, solemnly and according to rank. Many aspired to come to the holiday in Moscow, where magnificent celebrations were held. Carts and carts of peasants stretched from all cities and villages to Belokamennaya, wagons of noblemen hurried and rattled their wheels on the log decking of the bridges of important boyars. Everyone wanted to visit the Kremlin and see the capital city.
We met the New Year in the same way as we do today, at night. On the last evening of the old year, dear guests and respectful relatives necessarily converged in the house of the head of the family or the eldest in the family. Guests were warmly welcomed, seated at the laid tables, treated to honey, raspberry brew or overseas wine - depending on the wealth of the owners. For a leisurely conversation, they waited for midnight. Exactly at twelve o'clock, in silence, the shot of the messenger cannon rang out, announcing the onset of the New Year, and immediately the big bell on Ivan the Great chimed. Everyone hugged, kissed each other three times, congratulated each other on the New Year and wished good and peace.
And the feast began! Who walked all night until dawn, and who, mindful of tomorrow's affairs, drank a cup, and even on the side. Those who came to celebrate the New Year in Moscow in the morning certainly went to the Kremlin, to Cathedral Square. There was an action that shook the imagination of our ancestors. Myriads of candles burned in the cathedrals, clerks sang in basses, the gold of rich iconostases shone, colorful and festively dressed people crowded. With banners in their hands stood archers dressed in ceremonial caftans, armed with berdysh.
Just a little over two hundred years, the Russians used this system of counting years.
The last time the autumn New Year was celebrated on September 1, 1698 ...
On the eve of 1700, Peter I issued a decree to celebrate the New Year according to European custom - on January 1. Peter ordered all Muscovites to decorate their houses and large passing streets with pine, spruce, juniper branches. Everyone had to congratulate relatives and friends on the holiday. At 12 o'clock at night, Peter I went to Red Square with a torch in his hands and launched the first rocket into the sky. The celebration of the New Year "across Belokamennaya" began: cannons were fired, multi-colored fireworks, never seen before, flashed in the dark sky, illuminations blazed. People had fun, sang, danced, congratulated each other and gave new Year gifts. It was from January 1, 1700 that the people New Year's fun and fun received their recognition, and the celebration of the New Year began to be secular (non-church) in nature. Since then, this holiday has been firmly entrenched in the Russian calendar.
Moscow was then the capital, Petersburg had not yet been built, so all the celebrations took place on Red Square. However, from the new year of 1704, the celebrations were moved to the northern capital. True, the main thing at the New Year's holiday in those days was not a feast, but mass celebrations. Petersburg masquerades were held on the square near the Peter and Paul Fortress, and Peter not only himself took part in festivities, but also obliged the nobles to this. Those who did not appear at the festivities under the pretext of illness were examined by physicians. If the reason turned out to be unconvincing, a fine was imposed on the offender: he had to drink a huge cup of vodka in front of everyone.
After the masquerade, the inexorable tsar invited a narrow circle of especially close associates (80-100 people) to his imperial palace. The doors of the dining room were traditionally locked with a key so that no one would try to leave the premises before 3 days later. Such an agreement operated at the insistence of Peter. They frolicked immensely these days: by the third day, most of the guests quietly crawled under the bench, without disturbing the others. Only the strongest survived such a New Year's feast.
Winter New Year in Russia did not take root right away. However, Peter was persistent and mercilessly punished those who tried to celebrate the new year on September 1 according to the old tradition. He also strictly monitored that by January 1, the houses of nobles and commoners were decorated with spruce, juniper or pine branches. These branches were supposed to be decorated not with toys, as they are now, but with fruits, nuts, vegetables, and even eggs. Moreover, all these products served not only as decoration, but also as symbols: apples - a symbol of fertility, nuts - the incomprehensibility of divine providence, eggs - a symbol of developing life, harmony and complete well-being. Over time, the Russians got used to the new winter holiday. The evening before the new year began to be called "generous." A plentiful festive table popular belief, as if ensuring well-being for the whole coming year and was considered a guarantee of family wealth. Therefore, they sought to decorate it with everything that they would like to have in abundance in their household.
Empress Elizabeth I continued the tradition of celebrating the New Year started by her father. New Year's Eve and New Year's celebrations have become an integral part of palace festivities. Elizabeth, a great lover of balls and amusements, arranged luxurious masquerades in the palace, to which she herself liked to appear in men's suit. But unlike the riotous Peter the Great era, in Elizabethan times court celebrations and feasts were given ceremoniality.

Under Catherine II, the New Year was also celebrated on a grand scale, and the tradition of giving New Year's gifts became widespread. On New Year's Eve, it was brought to the imperial palace great amount various offerings

At the beginning of the 19th century, champagne became popular in Russia - a drink without which not a single New Year's feast can do today. True, at first, Russians perceived sparkling wines with suspicion: they were called the “drink of the devil” because of the flying cork and the foamy jet from the bottle. According to legend, champagne gained wide popularity after the victory over Napoleon. In 1813, having entered Reims, Russian troops, as winners, devastated the wine cellars of the famous Madame Clicquot house. However, Madame Clicquot did not even try to stop the robbery, wisely deciding that "Russia will cover the losses." The perceptive madam, as if looking into the water: the fame of the quality of her products spread throughout Russia. Three years later, the enterprising widow received from Russian Empire more orders than at home.

The appearance of the first public Christmas tree in Russia and St. Petersburg dates back to the reign of Emperor Nicholas I. Before that, as already mentioned, the Russians decorated the house only with coniferous branches. However, any tree was suitable for decoration: cherry, apple, birch. In the middle of the 19th century, only Christmas trees began to be decorated. The first dressed-up beauty lit up with lights indoors in 1852. And by the end of the 19th century, this beautiful custom had already become familiar not only in Russian cities, but also in villages.

From Christmas in St. Petersburg in the early twentieth century, the season of balls and festive festivities began. Numerous Christmas trees with obligatory gifts were arranged for children, for folk entertainment ice palaces and mountains were built, free performances were given. The most solemn moment of the meeting of the New Year was the exit of the Highest Persons in the Winter.

By tradition, St. Petersburg residents celebrated Christmas and Christmas Eve at home, with their families. But in new year's eve booked tables in restaurants or entertainment venues. At that time there were a great many restaurants in St. Petersburg - for every taste and budget. There were aristocratic restaurants: "Kyuba" on Bolshaya Morskaya Street, or "Bear" on Bolshaya Konyushennaya. The more democratic "Donon" gathered writers, artists, scientists, graduates of the School of Law at their tables.
The capital's beau monde - people of art and literature - arranged their evenings in the fashionable "Kontana", on the Moika. The program of the evening includes a lyrical divertissement with the participation of the best Russian and foreign artists, a virtuoso Romanian orchestra; flowers were brought to the ladies free of charge. Literary youth preferred artistic cabarets to ordinary restaurants. The most colorful of them was the "Stray Dog" on Mikhailovskaya Square.

But along with such restaurants for the intelligent public, there were establishments of a completely different kind. Winter cafe "Villa Rode", appeared in St. Petersburg in 1908. Dancers and a gypsy choir performed on the stage. Young ladies and ladies from decent families were not recommended to visit this institution.New Year under Soviet rule. Calendar change

After the October Revolution of 1917, the government of the country raised the issue of reforming the calendar, since most European countries had long since switched to the Gregorian calendar, adopted by Pope Gregory XIII back in 1582, while Russia still lived according to the Julian.
On January 24, 1918, the Council of People's Commissars adopted the "Decree on the introduction of the Western European calendar in the Russian Republic." Signed V.I. The document was published by Lenin the next day and entered into force on February 1, 1918. It, in particular, said: "... The first day after January 31 of this year is not February 1, but February 14, the second day is -m, etc." Thus, Russian Christmas shifted from December 25 to January 7, and the New Year holiday also shifted.
There were immediate conflicts with Orthodox holidays, after all, having changed the dates of civil, the government did not touch the church holidays, and Christians continued to live according to the Julian calendar. Now Christmas was celebrated not before, but after the New Year. But this did not bother the new government at all. On the contrary, it was beneficial to destroy the foundations of Christian culture. The new government introduced its own, new, socialist holidays.
In the first post-revolutionary years, the tradition was still preserved intact. As before, the children were pleased with the "old-fashioned" Santa Claus, and elegant Christmas trees. But still, gradually and steadily, the new government was moving away from the old traditions. It was decided to transform the holiday of the Nativity of Christ into a "Komsomol Christmas", where there was no longer a place for a Christmas tree. And soon, after 1923, the expulsion of Christmas from Russia began altogether. One of the circulars of the anti-Christmas campaign stated that “the everyday atmosphere of the Christmas holiday has a harmful effect on the health and upbringing of children: Christmas stories with devilry; smoke and gas from the Christmas tree; drunken cries of guests ... ". A merciless war was declared on Yolka.

In 1929, Christmas was cancelled. With it, the Christmas tree, which was called the "priestly" custom, was also canceled. New Year's Eve was cancelled. Production has been discontinued New Year's cards, merry Christmas and new year holidays and festivities. New Year's holiday, along with the Christmas tree, following the classic rules of conspiracy, went underground. Ban
However, at the end of 1935, an article by Pavel Petrovich Postyshev appeared in the Pravda newspaper "Let's organize a good Christmas tree for the new year for children!" The society, which has not yet forgotten the beautiful and bright holiday, reacted quite quickly - Christmas trees and Christmas decorations. Pioneers and Komsomol members took upon themselves the organization and holding of New Year trees in schools, orphanages and clubs. On December 31, 1935, the Christmas tree re-entered the homes of our compatriots and became a holiday of "joyful and happy childhood in our country" - a wonderful New Year's holiday that continues to delight us today.
In 1936, the first Kremlin Christmas tree was held, for the most important honors students of the country.

The very next year, detachments of Santa Clauses were formed to throw New Year's gifts to the most remote corners of the country. AT settlements on the eve of 1938, agitation trains, agitation cars and snowmobiles left, planes took off, skiers and even special couriers on reindeer teams set off. The holiday should not leave anyone aside.
In 1949, January 1 became a non-working day.
It is no coincidence that the New Year holidays revived so quickly - they too came to court in our harsh climate, reminding us in the midst of cold winter that we should never forget: life is beautiful, endless, ahead of us are new meetings, achievements, spring.

Dances and masquerades were almost completely excluded from New Year's program: in cramped apartments I had to choose: either a table or dancing. With the advent of TV sets in Soviet families, the table finally won. The main action in the New Year was the opening of a bottle of "Soviet champagne" to the sound of the Kremlin chimes.

For the New Year, television has always prepared an extensive entertainment program: the annual "Blue Lights" were especially popular.

Later, special "New Year's" films began to appear.

In 1991, with the beginning of the Yeltsin era, after an almost 75-year break, Russia began to celebrate Christmas again. January 7 was declared a non-working day: Christmas services were shown on TV and Russians were explained how to celebrate the holy holiday.

old New Year

New Year in ancient times

The ancient Celts also celebrated the New Year when the work in the field ended. But only not after sowing, but after harvesting, in the fall. Samhain or "Samhain" was celebrated on the night of October 31st to November 1st. It was one of the four major Celtic festivals. AT modern world it was replaced by the famous Halloween - the eve of All Saints' Day.
Samhain was considered the time when the border between the ordinary world of Mortals and the Other World disappeared, so spirits at that moment can come to our world, and people can get into another world. “On the eve of Samhain, a ghost sits on every step,” as the old proverb says. For example, there was even a special goblin, Samhanah, who only appears on the night of Samhain. This was a great danger, so no one should be alone that night. And the Celts preferred to get together, feast (the day before, cattle were slaughtered for the holiday), sing, dance and have fun, trying to drive away the ghosts. Mass festivities were held in Tara - the sacred capital of the ancient Celts - the people competed in various games and races.
The ancient Scandinavians also celebrated the New Year on the day winter solstice, December 22. This holiday was called Yule (from the Scandinavian word “wheel”, “spin”, perhaps this meant, as it were, the turn of the year to spring, or maybe there is a solar symbolism of the wheel here). It was very magical holiday. The most long night was supposed to end with the victory of the Sun and the New Year, various magical rituals. Just like the Celts on Samhain, the Scandinavians believed that on Yule night - the longest of the year - the border between the obvious world and the other is erased, and spirits penetrate people. Therefore, the whole clan must be together, feast and have fun.
Yule lasted for 13 nights - perhaps the tradition of the Christmas holidays comes from there. The next day was called the “day of fate”, since the most truthful signs appeared precisely on the “twelfth night”. In addition, all actions and deeds committed before sunset determined all the events of the next year, hence the proverb “as you celebrate the New Year, so you will spend it.”

In ancient Egypt, the New Year was celebrated during the flood of the Nile, when the sacred star Sirius rose (it is difficult to specify the exact date - the spread is somewhere from July to September), and the first season of the ancient Egyptian year - “akhet” began. The flood of the Nile was called the arrival of Hapi, the god of the Upper and Lower Nile, who gives abundance. It was a sacred time for Egypt, because a drought would endanger the very existence of this agricultural state. Therefore, with the rise of Sirius, a new period began in the life of the ancient Egyptians, who by that time had completed the sowing.
4,000 years ago, the New Year was celebrated in ancient Babylon. Here he came with the first new moon (as soon as the first thin month appears) after the vernal equinox, which was considered the first day of spring. Indeed, the arrival of spring is a very logical time to start the new year. This is the time of rebirth, planting seeds and flowering.
During the holiday, the ruler was undressed and sent out of the city, and for 11 days everyone did whatever he wanted. And every day was celebrated somehow in its own way. Then the king returned at the head of a large procession, dressed in fine clothes. Everyone went back to work and behaved decently. Thus, every year people started a new life. As we see, new year tradition making a decision to change something in your life in the coming year is rooted in ancient Babylon. By the way, at that time the most popular solution was to return borrowed agricultural equipment ...

For a long time, the New Year began for the Romans on March 1st. In 46 AD. Emperor Julius Caesar introduced a new calendar - the one that is used to this day, and the New Year moved to January 1. And in order for the calendar to coincide with the movement of the sun, Caesar “extended” the previous year from 365 to 445 days.
January is a symbolic month for the beginning of the new year, because it got its name in honor of the two-faced Roman god Janus. God looks back to the past year and forward to the next.
Roman festivities in honor of the onset of the New Year were called Kalends. People decorated their houses, gave gifts to each other. Slaves drank with their masters, and for several days the people did whatever they pleased.

In a previous publication, I told you in detail about how he became the prototype of the Son of God, and how it happened that the date of his birth (Christmas) was "moved" to the end of December.

Today you will find out why we celebrate Christmas this way - we eat and drink without drying out for several days in a row, dress up like weirdos in costumes, hats and masks, give each other most often useless gifts. You will learn what is common between Christmas and the worship of the ancient Romans to Saturn; what unites Santa Claus, Nicholas the Wonderworker and Death with a scythe; why at Christmas / Christmas tree- five-pointed star; what do they symbolize Christmas candles; and about something else that you will not read about in school textbooks and on-duty magazine articles dedicated to the New Year holidays.

In short, as usual on my blog, you will find out
about the true nature of things - this time in connection with the tradition of celebrating the so-called. Christmas.

So, as you already know, there are very good reasons to believe that in fact Jesus Christ was not born in the dead of winter, but these months, as a possible time for the birth of Christ, logically follow from the analysis of the Gospel of Luke and other Christian chronicles.

The fundamental primary source itself - the Bible - did not preserve information about the birthday of the Son of God. However, this date suddenly becomes known with absolute accuracy - December 25 (Gregorian). Where did it come from and how can this even be?

That's how.

In the 4th century AD, when, through the efforts of Emperor Constantine I, Christianity became the official religion of Rome, in order to make the transition from paganism to Christianity less painful for Roman citizens, it was decided to preserve the most popular pagan holidays, smoothly transforming them into Christian ones. This is what happened with Christmas.

Similarly, many pagan traditions migrated to the Orthodox Church. In particular, numerous rituals associated with the lighting of candles in Christian churches take their roots from pagan fire worship, the Christian Maslenitsa is a modified pagan holiday, dedicated to Dazhbog - the solar deity, which, according to pagan beliefs, "closes the winter and unlocks the spring" (pancake and symbolizes the Sun), funeral feasts on the graves of ancestors on the Christian holidays Easter and Parental Saturday are a purely pagan tradition that the Christian church never defeated could.

In the last days of December - on the days of the winter solstice - the ancient Romans usually celebrated the feast of Saturnalia - these days the sun is in the zodiac sign of Capricorn, which is ruled by Saturn in astrology.

It is with the reason that the sun is in Capricorn that the custom of dressing up as satyrs and devils at Christmas is connected, and it is with Saturn that the figure of "death with a scythe" is associated - a symbol of harvest, chronology (summing up the year and wishes for the future), and winter hungry / cold time, fatal in case of crop shortage. So Santa Claus and Death with a scythe in their mythological essence are one and the same image, two sides of the same coin: they can generously bestow in the event of a good harvest and cause the inevitable death of many people in lean years.

In our time, when lean years have ceased to be the scourge of mankind and the cause of a wholesale pestilence of the population, the terrible hypostasis of "Santa Claus" - Death with a scythe - has been forgotten, and he began to be perceived by the people exclusively as a kind and generous old man from Lapland, although his grandfather was such a good-natured far from always, and there was a time when he came to people not with a bag full of gifts, but with an empty bag and a sharp scythe, gathering his terrible harvest ...

The holiday itself fell on the second half of December - the time when agricultural work came to an end, and people received the right to a well-deserved rest. From that moment on, the long-awaited lengthening of daylight hours began.

The festivities continued for several days in a row, which is why they were called in the plural. During the Saturnalia, public affairs were suspended, schoolchildren were exempted from classes, criminals were forbidden to be punished, slaves were freed from ordinary labor. A religious feast was arranged, in which senators and horsemen (officials appointed to high socially significant positions), dressed in special costumes, took part, the streets were crowded with elegant crowds of people. In families, the day began with a sacrifice to Saturn (usually a pig was slaughtered, which was eaten together in the following days), and passed in fun and drinking, friends and relatives exchanged gifts. ...So that modern tradition to arrange a multi-day New Year's (Christmas) feast and give each other gifts originates from there - from the Roman Saturnalia.

Among the festive attributes of the ancient Romans were, among other things, wax candles, the lighting of which symbolized an increase in the length of daylight hours, as well as figurines fashioned from terracotta (colored clay) or dough as part of the rite of sacrifice to Saturn. In the Christian interpretation, this tradition was combined in the form of candles of various types, often performed in the form of animals, stars, houses, Christmas trees, etc., burned on holiday tables, and their modern technological variations - sparklers, Christmas tree garlands, crackers, fireworks.

So, on the one hand, the traditional Roman Saturnalia - one of the most popular pagan holidays that has been celebrated for many centuries - and which could not be canceled without provoking mass popular unrest, on the other hand, it was necessary to introduce the Nativity of Christ into religious life and not just, but so that it becomes one of the most important Christian holidays; which was done by shifting the date of Christ's birth to the nearest traditional folk holidays which turned out to be the Saturnalia.

As expected, the people gradually forgot the true motives of certain customs, although under the new form they retained their former traditional content.

So in the 4th century, in connection with the transition from paganism to Christianity, the holiday of the pagan Roman Saturnalia was reborn into the Christmas we know (the birthday of Jesus Christ), but remained unchanged in essence. Under the guise of Christmas - all the same worship of Saturn with all the attributes necessary for this: sacrifices, lighting candles, dressing up, exchanging gifts. The role of Saturn is now played by Santa Claus (Finns still call Santa Claus "Youlupukki" which translates as "solstice goat" - an opaque allusion to Capricorn; Yule / Yule - a medieval pagan holiday of the winter solstice among the ancient Germanic peoples).

But the holiday was supplemented by more modern customs associated with Christian mythology. The traditional Christmas tree star is not just one of the symbols former USSR as some people think, star of bethlehem, the outbreak of which, according to legend, accompanied the birth of Jesus. The Magi who came with gifts to the Mother of God are one of the prototypes of the modern Santa Claus among Christians, Santa Claus among Catholics, the Christmas Father / Father Christmas at the Normans. By the way, who does not know, the Orthodox Christian Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, who lived in the 4th century, also became the prototype of Santa Claus, who gives people wonderful gifts at their request.

That is why in modern church mythology the Christian Son of God was "born" precisely at the end of December - from the standpoint of "advancing" the Christian worldview and replacing pagan traditions with it, it turned out to be necessary to "move" the date of birth of Jesus Christ to a more "convenient" time. Although his prototype Yeshua the Nazarene, as we have seen most likely, was actually born in September or October.

From the standpoint of sanity and respect for the history of peoples and the person of Jesus Christ himself, such liberty looks like blasphemy against the religious faith of millions of people and those who are considered to be the Son of God, but the Church has never shied away from such hoaxes - for her, the goal has always justified any means to achieve it, leaving moral aspects far behind the scenes, and church history has a huge number of examples of this.

As for the date of December 25 itself, its first mention is found in the works Sexta Julia Africana, early Christian Greek-speaking writer, one of the first Christian historians - in his chronicle, written in 221 and which has come down to us in fragments, which, among other things, speaks of the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Where he got it from is unknown.

By the way, Julius was a very educated person in his time, which did not prevent him from being convinced that the world was created in 5500 before the birth of Christ and should exist for 6000 years before the Apocalypse... Just like many of my interlocutors , citing to me as proof of their education that they have two or three higher educations and scientific degrees, they show aggressive medieval intolerance to any opinion that does not coincide with their own worldview, immediately writing it down as "erroneous and superficial." ...Do you not know this?..

There is nothing new in celebrating the New Year. Festivals that mark the beginning of a new calendar year have existed for thousands of years, and some are still actively organized by millions of people around the world. These early New Year's celebrations often had important social, religious, and political implications, but in some cultures, the traditional celebration wasn't all that different from the champagne parties and fireworks we have today. Today you can learn facts about how ancient civilizations celebrated the New Year.

Babylonian Akitu

On the day after the first new moon, which followed the spring equinox at the end of March, the Babylonians of ancient Mesopotamia held the Akitu festival to celebrate the rebirth of the natural world. This early New Year's celebration dates back to 2000 BC. It is supposed to be deeply intertwined with religion and mythology. During the festival, statues of the gods were carried around the streets of the city. There were also rituals that symbolized victory over the forces of chaos. The Babylonians believed that with the help of these rites, the world was symbolically cleansed and recreated by the gods during the preparation for the new year and the return of spring.

One fascinating aspect of the Akitu was the sort of ritual humiliation that the Babylonian king endured. During this peculiar tradition, the king had to appear before the statue of the god Marduk without any royal regalia and swear that he rules the city with honor. The high priest then had to slap the king and drag him by the ears, hoping to make him cry. If royal tears were shed, it meant that Marduk was pleased, and he symbolically expanded the rights of the king. Some historians claim that the Akitu festival was used by the monarchs to prove their divine power to the people.

Ancient Roman feast of Janus

The Roman New Year was also originally celebrated after the vernal equinox, but years of manipulation of the solar calendar led to the holiday being celebrated on the first of January. For the Romans, this month had a special meaning. Its name comes from the name of the two-faced Janus, the god of change and beginnings. Janus was depicted as two-faced, which symbolized the past and the future, and this idea was tied to the concept of the transition from one year to another.

The Romans celebrated January 1st by saluting Janus in hopes of gaining good fortune in the new year. This day was perceived as the ground for the next 12 months, so friends and neighbors began the new year positively, exchanging gifts and wishes. It was customary to present figs and honey as gifts. Most Romans were also eager to work for at least part of the day. But idleness was seen as a bad omen for the rest of the year.

New Year in Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egyptian culture was closely associated with the Nile, so the new year began with a flood of the river. The Egyptians celebrated the New Year when Sirius - the brightest star in the night sky - was first visible after a 70-day absence. This phenomenon usually occurred in mid-July, just before the annual flooding of the Nile. This ensured that farmland would be fertile for the following year. The Egyptians celebrated a new beginning during the festival. The New Year was perceived as a time of rejuvenation and rebirth, and therefore special religious rites were held.

But perhaps the Egyptians also used it as an excuse to have some fun. Recent discoveries at the Temple of Mut show that during Hatshepsut's reign, the first month of the year was seen as a "festival of intoxication". These mass festivities were tied to the myth of Sekhmet, the goddess of war, who planned to destroy all mankind, and the sun god Ra, who deceived her and made her unconscious. The Egyptians celebrated the salvation of mankind with music, merriment and large quantity beer.

Chinese New Year

One of the oldest traditions, which has survived to this day, is the Chinese New Year. It is assumed that the holiday originated more than 3 thousand years ago, during the reign of the Shang Dynasty. Initially, it was a way to celebrate the beginning of the spring sowing season, but it soon became overgrown with myths and legends. According to one popular legend, there was once a bloodthirsty creature called "Nian" (now the word means "year"), which hunted the villagers once a year. To frighten the hungry beast, the villagers would go out and decorate their houses in red, burn bamboo, and make loud noises. The trick worked bright colors and the light scared away the Nian, and eventually these activities were integrated into the celebration.

modern celebration

Traditionally, the holiday lasts 15 days and is associated with home and family. People clean houses to get rid of bad luck and try to pay off old debts to deal with last year's business. To give a good start to the new year, they decorate their doors with paper scrolls and gather with relatives to celebrate. After the invention of gunpowder in the 10th century, the Chinese were the first to use fireworks.

Chinese New Year is still based on lunar calendar, which dates back to the second millennium BC. As a rule, the holiday falls at the end of January or the beginning of February, on the second new moon after the winter solstice. Each year is associated with one of the 12 zodiac animals.

Nowruz

Nowruz is still celebrated in Iran and other countries in the Middle East and Asia. But its roots are hidden in deep antiquity. This holiday is often referred to as the Persian New Year. This is a 13-day holiday that falls on the spring equinox or on days close to it. It is assumed that it originated in the territory of modern Iran within the framework of the Zoroastrian religion. Nowruz did not appear in official documents until the second century, but most historians believe its celebration dates back to at least the 6th century BC. Unlike many other ancient Persian festivals, Navruz has been preserved as important holiday even after the conquest of Iran by Alexander the Great in 333 BC.

The ancient rites of Nowruz focus on the rebirth that accompanied the return of spring. Monarchs used the holiday to hold lavish banquets, exchange gifts, and keep their subjects in line. Other traditions include exchanging gifts between family members and friends, lighting fires, dyeing eggs, and sprinkling water to symbolize the creation of the world. Nowruz has changed significantly over time, but many of the ancient traditions of the holiday, especially those associated with bonfires and egg dyeing, are still part of a ritual that brings together 300 million people each year.