Calendar and family rituals arose on a common basis, they are genetically linked. However, there was a big difference between them. The heroes of calendar poetry were the deified forces of nature, the hero of family rites - real person. Rites accompanied many events of his life, among which the most important were birth, marriage and death. The most artistically developed was the folk wedding ceremony, so it will be discussed in detail below.

Birthing rites and rites of the first year of life (the period of infancy) were filled with ritual actions of a magical nature: the first bathing of a newborn, baptism, the first laying in the cradle, the rite of treating relatives and neighbors (“babina porridge”), the custom of presenting the mother of the newborn and the midwife, the rite of the first girdling, the first tonsure, etc. The actions had two directions: protecting the newborn and his mother and ensuring him a prosperous and long life. Traces of ritual songs-wishes are preserved in lullabies; traces of conspiracies remained in everyday practice, for example: “Like water off a goose, so sickness and pain from you”(when bathing). The Christian sacrament of baptism has significantly supplanted the ancient maternity rites.

Religious worldview was also the basis of the funeral rite. At the same time, the Orthodox funeral ritual adopted and absorbed many rituals and beliefs dating back to paganism. Death is a transition to another existence, which in ancient times was interpreted as an initiation. The funeral rite is permeated by one idea - the belief in the continued existence of the deceased. On the one hand, the deceased needed to be propitiated, to make it easier for him way to another world; on the other hand, it was required to protect the living from the possible harmful actions of the deceased. The most diverse magic was aimed at these two goals: washing the deceased, dressing in new clothes and shoes, taking them out with their feet forward, showering grain on the bench on which the deceased lay, washing the hut after taking out the body, throwing money into the grave (“So that the soul has something to pay for transporting it to the next world”), distribution of alms at the funeral, commemoration (on the day of the funeral - they buried on the third day after death; on the ninth, fortieth day, on the anniversary). Wake gradually turned into calendar funeral rites.

A funeral is the loss of a loved one. The feeling of grief was expressed by special poetic works - lamentations. They began to be performed from the onset of death, performed during the entire funeral rite, and then at the wake. In addition to funeral lamentations, wedding and recruiting lamentations are known, caused by the upcoming long, and possibly eternal, separation. Escorting daughter to I need the far side or son at the service of the sovereign mother mourned her offspring. Other relatives lamented, the bride lamented. Despite repeated church prohibitions to mourn the dead, lamentations have survived to this day. Their records, made in the 19th and 20th centuries, recorded a rich layer of folk poetry, so the lamentations will be considered specially.

wedding ceremony

An old Russian wedding is one of the most complex and very beautiful rituals of Russian family rituals. The traditional wedding reflected not only the worldview of the Russian population, but also folk pedagogy, and artistic and aesthetic ideas, and ethnographic features that distinguish the Russian wedding from other East Slavic (Ukrainian and Belarusian) wedding ceremonies.

The Russian wedding has preserved traces of early historical periods with their marital relations. The most archaic are the echoes of pre-monogamous (group) forms of marriage, which go back to matriarchy. In its original meaning, the rite is a female initiation, the initiation of a bride-girl into a group of mothers. The ancient collective character of such initiations is reflected in the bachelorette party.

In the marriage customs of the period of matriarchy, the initiative belonged to the woman, the self-promotion of girls was a normal phenomenon. In a patriarchal society, everything has changed. The main wedding game unfolded around the kidnapping of the bride (they hid her from the groom, blocked the way for the groom's train, played scenes of the groom's access to the yard, to the upper room, etc.). The active beginning on the part of the groom and the ritual “unwillingness” of the bride to get married were emphasized. Songs were sung in the bride's house in which the arrival of the groom was portrayed as wind, storm, he himself was called destroyer and destroyer. All these are traces of a marriage-abduction, that is, one in which the bride was kidnapped (at first by force, and later by mutual agreement).

The next form of marriage is "purchase and sale", which apparently existed among the glades. The groom had to pay for the bride vein, similar to the kalym known among Muslims. In the Russian wedding game, scenes were played of buying a place next to the bride, her braid (or herself, which was equivalent), dowry. The ransom was small, almost symbolic: gifts, treats, small money. Sometimes it was necessary to guess riddles (“Who is redder than the sun, who is brighter than the bright moon?”). One of the pre-wedding rituals was called handshaking: the matchmakers and the bride's father "beat on the hands", as if concluding a trade deal ("You have goods, we have a merchant"). Subsequently, the vein was replaced by a dowry.

In the feudal era, marriage took place in the patriarchal family at the behest of the elders, which, until the reforms of Peter I, was preserved in all strata of Russian society. Later he remained only in the peasant environment. Marriage by the will of the elders reflected the idea of ​​the people about the family life of the feudal era: stable, with protected traditions.

Ethnologists believe that the marriageable age has historically changed, rising from 11-12 to 16-17 years. The rules of behavior associated with marriage at the behest of the elders were enshrined in the proverb: “To the bench with a oak tree on the back - here you are under the crown!” It was also affirmed: “Whom to marry, to end with”; "The priest will crown, and the coffin will dethrone."

Patriarchal marriage by the will of the elders included the church wedding ceremony as an obligatory element and began to obey church restrictions. They extended to the time for the wedding and the degree of relationship between the bride and groom.

Christianity had a great influence on the formation of the Russian wedding ceremony, becoming from the end of the 10th - beginning of the 11th century. dominant religion in Russia. Since that time, church marriages have gradually become obligatory, and the wedding ceremony is included in the folk wedding ceremony as an integral part of it. Consequently, two traditions participated in the formation of the Russian wedding ceremony: the church tradition, based on Byzantine marriage law, and the folk tradition, based on old marriage norms. By the 16th century, the terminology of the Russian wedding ceremony had developed, the nomenclature of wedding rites and their functions were determined, special wedding clothes, food, paraphernalia were adopted, the main ritual stages of the wedding were determined, and there was wedding folklore.

From the second half of the XVII century. the church persistently fights for the introduction of church marriage and at the same time strengthens opposition to the folk ritual. In the official documents of that time, the wedding ceremony was called a "demonic act", about which “It is strange not only to speak, but also to think.” Undoubtedly, Orthodoxy began to exert a noticeable influence on the folk wedding ceremony. Numerous prayers are associated with it with the lighting of candles and lamps, a special attitude to blessings, crosses and icons, to participation in the rite of the clergy. Christian stories also penetrated into the wedding ceremony.

The time of traditional peasant weddings was determined by the agricultural peasant and church calendar: most marriages were performed in the fall (from Intercession), in winter - from Epiphany to Maslenitsa; in the posts of the wedding "did not play." It was believed that if you play a wedding in May - "the young will toil all their lives." In some places, weddings were still played in the spring, on Krasnaya Gorka, after Easter.

Throughout the wedding, Christian prayers were performed, blessings with an icon or a cross, lighting of candles, etc.

With the growth of cities, the stratification of the countryside and the destruction of the patriarchal family, marriage at the behest of the elders gradually began to fade away. The impoverished peasants, not having the means to celebrate a wedding, found a way out in the so-called hand-rolled weddings(their other name is escape). Young people got married secretly, and then asked for forgiveness (sometimes it was an imitation, since the parents knew everything in advance). There were no celebrations.

The urban wedding ritual was formed on the basis of the traditions of the rural environment of a particular city. However, it was reoriented towards urban forms, urban fashion(the wedding loaf began to be replaced with a cake, dances - with dances, the importance of instrumental ensembles increased, city songs were performed). In the conditions of the city, the role of professional

In the XX century. the processes of destruction of the traditional peasant wedding accelerated. For the 20-30s. was characteristic of the elimination of the church wedding, the official rite turned into a clerical

The expressive image of the Moscow matchmaker A.N. Ostrovsky captured from the comedy "Truth is good, but happiness is better."

marriage registration. At the same time, the scheme of the rite was greatly simplified and its poetry almost disappeared.

In the poetry of a modern village wedding, ditties began to play the main role, in which a new, unconventional image of a bride girl appeared: lively, cheerful, sharp-tongued.

General characteristics of the traditional wedding ceremony

The folk wedding ceremony was not frozen, its general properties were specifically developed in different localities. Typical differences made it possible to single out three main geographical areas of the Russian wedding: Central Russian, North Russian and South Russian.

The South Russian wedding is close to the Ukrainian and, apparently, to the original Old Slavic. Her distinguishing feature is the absence of wedding lamentations, a general cheerful tone.

The main poetic genre of the South Russian wedding is songs. Among Russians, this type of rite is local (Don, Kuban).

The North Russian wedding is dramatic, so its main genre is lamentations. They were performed throughout the ritual. A bath was obligatory, which ended the bachelorette party. The Northern Russian wedding was played in Pomorye, in the Arkhangelsk, Olonets, Petersburg, Vyatka, Novgorod, Pskov, Perm provinces.

The most characteristic was the wedding ceremony of the Central Russian type. It covered a huge geographical area, the central axis of which ran along the line Moscow - Ryazan - Nizhny Novgorod. A wedding of the Central Russian type, in addition to those mentioned above, was also played in Tula, Tambov, Penza, Kursk, Kaluga, Oryol, Simbirsk, Samara and other provinces. The poetry of the Central Russian wedding combined songs and lamentations, but songs prevailed. They created a rich emotional and psychological palette of feelings and experiences, the poles of which were cheerful and sad tones.

On the territory of Siberia, folklorists recorded all types of Russian weddings: among Russian old-timers of Siberia - the North Russian type of wedding ceremony, from settlers from the south of Russia - the South Russian type of wedding ceremony and from the descendants of settlers from the central part of Russia - the wedding ceremony of the Central Russian type.

On the whole, the Russian wedding ceremony can be conditionally divided into three main periods: matchmaking/proclamation, the period of preparation for the wedding, and the post-wedding cycle.

1. Matchmaking. The first period began with the choice of the bride, which was carried out, as a rule,
the groom's parents. When choosing a bride, parents first of all paid attention to the behavior and
health of the girl, pedigree, property status of her parents. Having outlined a bride for his son,
parents sent matchmakers (uncle, brother or godfather) to the girl's house.

Matchmaking included several ceremonies or acts, the fulfillment of which was considered mandatory: arrival of matchmakers, bride(Wooing or conspiracy or woo), handshake(betrothal or zaruchiny or zaruchany or propoiny).

Everywhere these acts of matchmaking had different local degrees of detail, but the following rules were observed everywhere: the arrival of matchmakers from one to three times, the landing of matchmakers under the womb / beam / mate or only on the bench that goes along the length of the floor, an allegorical symbolic form of conversation ( matchmaking). An obligatory ritual of the bride was a mutual treat, gifting the bride and groom, including wine. At this stage of the wedding, the bride could / had the right to refuse marriage. After the handshake, refusing to marry was considered a disgrace. The indispensable actions of handshaking were the lighting of candles, a feast, the beginning of singing special ritual songs (reproaches of the bride that they had entrusted).

Often, between the courtship and the bride, an evening was held, the main purpose of which was the general cheerful celebration of the youth. In many respects, the wedding party was a peculiar version of an ordinary rural party, differing only in the accentuated attention of all those present to the bride, whom everyone had to present.

2. After the handshake, the period began training to wedding. In Siberia, this stage was called
Team Week. It could last from one to three weeks or up to a month. At this time the girls
help the bride sew a dowry, gifts for the groom and boyfriends, so in the Altai locus this
the period is called "shitnik". During the team week, a number of customs were observed, accompanied by
special songs and lamentations. Until the middle of the XX century. rites of withdrawal were observed in Siberia
bride for the morning and evening dawn (among the Old Believers of Khakassia it is called "beating off the dawns", in

Trans-Urals - "shouting the dawn"), going to the cemetery to the deceased parents for a blessing, daily unweaving and braiding braids (kosokoryanie).

The farewell of the bride with her age group took place at a bachelorette party, which was usually arranged on the eve of the wedding. However, there is no single definition of a bachelorette party in the literature on the Russian wedding ceremony. During the bachelorette party, the girl's dress, "beauty" (farewell to the girl's beauty) was removed from the bride's head. The braiding was usually combined with the ritual bath of the bride, which, like many other rites, did not have a single time (it could be arranged in the morning on the day of the bachelorette party / in the morning on the wedding day / in the evening on the eve wedding day. In the Old Believer villages (Altai Territory, Kurgan Region), the custom of riding girls with a dressed-up broom ("look for the way") before the rite of the bath has been preserved. In Altai, the groom brings a quarter of beer for a bath - to give steam; among the Old Believers of the Kurgan region, the groom brought soap and a milestone to the bathhouse. In Siberia, the bride's going to the bathhouse and back, washing in the bathhouse was accompanied by the lamentations of the bride, mother, and special lamentations of the bridesmaids.

The second group of rituals before the wedding cycle is formed by "bride getting ready for the wedding", "waiting for the groom's train", "farewell table" with kurniks, "arrival of the wedding train", "swearing", "redemption of the scythe", dining, blessing and "departure to the crown". ". In parallel with the "gathering of the bride" in the groom's house, there is a "collection of the train" (the distribution of wedding rites, a bath, dressing the groom, eating, blessing the groom, a prayer service, "departure of the train for the bride).

3. The post-wedding cycle is the least regulated stage of the wedding ceremony. Usually, from the crown, the young went to the groom's house, where the blessing of the young took place, the bride was "wrapped", the wedding feast, and the young were put to bed. The next day began with "waking up the young", after which they were taken to the bathhouse. This was followed by the "pancake table", "garbage sweeping". In the following days, the young people visit relatives' houses, including the house of the young's parents ("khlebiny").

The Russian wedding ceremony is a complex and well-thought-out performance, directed by a skillful "conductor" - a friend (in some areas - a thousand).

As in any dramatic work, the wedding has its own permanent composition. actors- "officials" who performed certain traditional roles. Their behavior was clearly regulated, but did not exclude improvisation. The main, central figures of the wedding ceremony - the bride and groom - are passive characters around whom the action unfolded. The bride had to express humility and gratitude to her parents, mourning her "woe" in numerous lamentations and other sad, lyrical songs, right up to the crown.

Active participants in the wedding were the parents of the bride and groom (especially the groom), the closest relatives on both sides, godparents, as well as matchmakers, the thousand, the bride’s brother, boyfriend, bridesmaids (boyars), etc. Druzhka(druzhko) - the representative of the groom, the main steward at the wedding, who monitored the observance of the custom, was the main steward at the wedding. He must be able to joke, to amuse the wedding participants. Constant improvisation required intelligence and resourcefulness from the friend. According to popular beliefs, the friend was endowed with magical powers. In terms of significance in the wedding and the nature of the role, she is close to the boyfriend matchmaker. To help a friend elected friend, and to help the thousandth - senior boyar. In addition, active participants in the ritual were relatives from both sides. They participated in the wedding feast, exchanged gifts, etc.

The groom's spiritual parents - the godfather or mother - usually acted as matchmakers. Or one of the relatives - an uncle, aunt, married brother or sister, elder son-in-law. But it was more honorable to send one of the fellow villagers with eloquence - a clever, lively woman, known for her ability to arrange wedding affairs.

Each character was distinguished by his clothing or some additional ritual element of it. Usually these were towels, ribbons, scarves, wreaths, flowers, green branches. The bride, in the days preceding the wedding and on the days of the wedding itself, changed clothes and headdress several times, which meant changes in her condition. The groom's attire included a flower or a bouquet on the headdress or on the chest, a scarf or towel on the shoulders, etc. On the day of the wedding, the bride and groom dressed smartly and, if possible, in everything new.

An organic and largely organizing part of the wedding ritual was a multi-genre wedding folklore. Most of the examples of wedding folklore are poetic masterpieces.

The pre-wedding part of the Russian wedding was dominated by lyric songs, reflecting the internal state of the bride: her unwillingness to part with her home, girlish freedom.

Similar songs were sung at a bachelorette party, on the morning of the wedding day. The drama of the situation was often intensified with the help of emotionally expressive lamentations.

However, after the wooing, in the bride's house there was usually a evening, filled with sparkling fun. Evening is a gathering of young people at the bride's with the obligatory arrival of the groom with friends, who presented the bride with gifts, treated those present with nuts, seeds, and gingerbread. At evening parties, they usually sing dedicated to the wedding gaming,"kissing" songs of a light, joyful nature, ditties, as well as majestic songs 23 thousand, friend, bride, groom. During scolding- the ceremony of handing over the bride to the groom on the wedding day - they sang corilny 24 songs.

An important place in wedding folklore was occupied by the non-song genre - sentences friends. Almost all sentences are pronounced after prayer and immediately before the ritual action, regulating the specific actions of the ritual participants.

During the most important wedding ceremonies (unbraiding the bride's braid, blessing the bride and groom, twisting the young) ritual songs. Such songs were performed once in the course of the rite and made it possible to recreate and restore all its main, ethnographically and ritually significant milestones.

The first wedding ceremony was preceded by the choice of the bride, which, with rare exceptions, was carried out by the groom's parents. The age of marriage in Siberia was set at 16-19 for a girl and 18-25 for a guy. When choosing, the main attention was paid not to the prosperity of the family, but to the diligence and skills of the girl. Popular wisdom also speaks of this: “Our bride didn’t walk around the forest, didn’t shake her skirt, but gathered bumps and wove the crown.”

Later, the traditional peasant wedding ceremony served as the basis of the city. In the conditions of the city, it has changed significantly both in general and in details. Gradually, a universal, one might say, “interethnic” ritual took shape. So, by the middle of the 19th century, specific features were observed in the rituals of the townspeople, distinguishing them from the peasant tradition: the weakening of magical elements, the strengthening of the role of professional matchmakers, changes in ritual food and the order of feasts, the replacement of dances with dances, and the folklore repertoire with urban songs.

The October Revolution of 1917 became a new frontier in the existence of a traditional wedding: having declared war on religion, they launched an attack on traditional folk culture, including weddings. Instead of the old traditions, they tried to create a new ritual, corresponding to the new ideology, but far from the old one. folk tradition. Most of the experiments turned out to be unviable, while the old rite, to one degree or another, continues to exist up to the present time.

Now, the mere desire to “play a wedding according to the old custom,” according to the rules of the old rite, is not enough. Over the long years of neglect and disregard for folk culture, the natural transmission of folk knowledge was disrupted, irreversible changes occurred in the general cultural and spiritual appearance of the village, ritual culture was almost completely lost. Whether its revival is possible in the future, time will tell.

Mythological in a Russian wedding

The main meaning of the wedding ceremony was to procreate, for which it was necessary to awaken the fertile forces in man and nature. This idea linked together all the wedding elements, identified the living on the basis of life.

For example, the construction of a bed for the young was filled with magic, ensuring the reproduction of life in all its forms. The bed was made on sheaves, in places where grain was processed and stored (in a barn, on a threshing floor, in a barn) or in livestock premises (in a barn, in a cellar).

The rite was permeated through and through with magic. All types were used. The purpose of producing magic (from the Latin producentis - “producing”) was to ensure the well-being of the bride and groom, the strength and large families of their future family, and also to get a rich harvest,

The main function of laudatory songs is to exaggerate the merits of a particular wedding rite. Often, one song was performed by different "wedding men" with a change only in the proper name and title of the rank. It is believed that having arisen as magical works, laudatory songs have lost their connection with magic, retaining and developing their utilitarian and aesthetic functions.

The task of reproaching songs is to amuse the participants in the wedding game and encourage them to give gifts. Their content contains a lot of humor, not always harmless, and well-aimed negative characteristics.

Good livestock. Apotropaic magic (from the Greek apotropaios - “averting misfortune”) manifested itself in numerous amulets aimed at protecting young people from everything bad. He served it!; allegorical speech, the ringing of bells, a sharp smell and taste, dressing up the young, covering (or * hiding) the bride, as well as a wide variety of amulets.

A universal amulet was a belt - a piece of clothing that takes the form of a circle. It was believed that the belted “the devil is afraid”, so they went to get married in a belt. magical properties belts fastened the union of the young: they tied the bride and groom, a knot with a dowry, a wedding cake, etc. At the same time, with the help of a twisted belt, a witch could turn the entire wedding train into wolves (among Belarusians).

A variety of magical functions were associated with a towel: they tied the young, girded the bride, tied up the travellers, covered the loaf, spread it like a "cuff" at the wedding, and so on. Towels were made from canvas and embroidered with a traditional pattern that retained mythological symbolism and, in accordance with this, was presented with a characteristic color combination: white - red - black.

Many magical actions date back to ancient rite initiation. Since the continuation of the family depended primarily on the woman, the wedding ceremony reflected female initiation, its center was the bride. In the pre-wedding period, the bride wore white clothes (the ancient color of mourning), and on the wedding day she always wore red (red symbolized life). Indications of ritual "death" contained the poetry of the pre-wedding period. In her lamentation, the bride reported nightmare: as if on her street there is an empty open coffin, waiting for the victim. She expressed a desire to go into the forest to the river and drown herself - and so on.

The initiation included rituals with hair, changing hairstyles: braid untwisting, braid sale, twisting. This ancient custom was associated with belief in the magical power of hair.

Many rituals with the oven were performed throughout the wedding, both in the house of the bride's parents and in the groom's house. All important matters (for example, the removal of beauty) began literally from the stove. To make the matchmaking successful, the matchmaker tried to touch the stove. They blessed the young at the stove pillar. In the house of her husband, the young woman bowed three times to the stove, and only then to the icons. With the introduction of the bride to the new hearth, the custom of staining was associated: in the morning, after waking up the young, everyone's faces were blackened with soot from the furnace.

The flora of the Russian wedding is associated with ancient animistic ideas. All wedding participants were decorated with live or artificial flowers. Flowers and berries were embroidered on wedding clothes and on towels. The evergreen periwinkle (a symbol of the strength of love and marriage) and viburnum berries (a symbol of girlhood) were especially revered. Kalinka was the name given to rituals associated with the establishment of premarital innocence for a young woman, as well as her wedding shirt.

The animal world of the wedding ritual goes back to ancient Slavic totems. In many elements of the ritual, one can see the cult of a bear (dressing up as a bear, fur clothes and fur gifts, the use of an inside-out sheepskin coat, symbolizing the skin of an animal). The bear was supposed to provide wealth and fertility. In some places, an attribute of the wedding feast was a fried pig's head, which had a magical meaning (scenes of ironic honoring were played with it). At the wedding, Christmas time and Shrovetide, they dressed up as a bull, while they arranged games with an erotic meaning.

Images of birds were associated with the bride. First of all, the chicken had a fertile power. She figured both as ritual food and as a live bird (chicken-dowry).

The wedding ritual of the Eastern Slavs had a pronounced agrarian, agricultural character.

The cult of water was associated with the idea of ​​fertility. In the Northern Russian wedding, he appeared in the bath rite, which ended the bachelorette party. Magical actions were performed with water and with bathing attributes (oven-heater, broom). Unlike the northern one, the Central Russian wedding is characterized by a post-wedding douche - a kind of game, the magnificence of a young woman, perhaps already carrying in her womb new life. When dousing, the woman-mother was identified with mother-damp earth: for the earth moistened by rains could also manifest its fertile nature.

In premarital, marriage, and postmarital rites, the young were showered with hops, oats, sunflower seeds, or any other cereal. Actions are known not only with grain, but also with ears, with sourdough. The cult of bread manifested itself primarily as a celebration of the loaf, which in the southern zones was developed into the loaf rite: it began in the pre-wedding cycle, and ended with prince of the feast distribution of loaves.

The ancient Slavic cult of the sun is connected with agrarian magic. According to the ideas of the ancients, love relationships between people were generated by the supernatural participation of heavenly bodies.

The image of the sun carried the wedding wreath of the bride. The song reported that it fell from the sky and was so bright that it could light the way. Especially significant was the concentration of heavenly radiance at the most dramatic climax of the wedding, namely, when the bride, sitting at the table and waiting for the arrival of the groom, seemed to part with her girl's soul. The bride was supposed to cry (“Does not cry at the table, will cry at the pole”). At the same time, she rolled her wreath on the table. The round shape of the wreath, its "radiance" and the custom of its rolling on small table depicted the sun as the supreme patron of ritual sacraments.

wedding poetry

As it was already seen, the ancient cults were present at the wedding in their material (objective) expression and in the form of poetic images of folklore. In ancient times, the main function of wedding folklore was utilitarian and magical: oral works contributed to a happy fate and well-being. But gradually they began to play a different role: ceremonial and aesthetic.

The poetry of the wedding had a deep psychologism, depicted the feelings of the bride and groom, their development throughout the ceremony. Particularly difficult in psychologically was the role of the bride, so folklore painted a rich palette of her emotional states. The first half of the wedding ceremony, while the bride was still in parental home, was filled with drama, accompanied by sad, elegiac works. At the feast (in the groom's house), the emotional tone changed dramatically: idealization of the participants in the feast prevailed in folklore, fun sparkled.

wedding songs- the most significant, best-preserved cycle of family ritual poetry.

The courtship was conducted in a conditional poetic and allegorical manner. The matchmakers called themselves fishermen, hunters, the bride - a white fish, a marten. During the matchmaking, the bridesmaids could already sing songs: ritual(“Three matchmakers came to Pashechka at once ...“) and lyric, in which the theme of the girl’s loss of her will began to be developed (“Viburnum boasted ...”).

The song “They didn’t blow the pipe early at dawn ...” could be sung on collusion on the bachelorette party and on the morning of the wedding day. This ritual song marked the upcoming, ongoing or already completed rite of braiding.

There were no monologic forms in colloquial songs; the songs were a narrative or a dialogue.

In songs bachelorette party monologues appeared on behalf of the bride. She said goodbye to the free will and her stepfather's house, reproached her parents for giving her away in marriage. Reflecting on her future life, the bride imagined herself as a white swan caught in a herd of gray geese that nibble at her. The mother or married sister taught the bride how to behave in new family:

"You wear a dress, do not wear it out, You endure grief, do not say."

If the bride was an orphan, then lamentation: daughter invited her parents to watch her orphan wedding.

The image of the girls-girlfriends was drawn as a flock of small birds, flocked to the canary, enclosed in a box. Girlfriends either sympathized with the bride, or reproached her for her broken promise not to marry. devishnik was saturated ritual and lyrical songs.

The culmination of the entire wedding ritual was the wedding day, on which the marriage was concluded and the young family was glorified.

In the morning, the bride woke up her friends with a song in which she reported her bad dream: she crept up to her cursed woman's life. While dressing the bride and waiting for the groom's wedding train, lyrical songs were sung, expressing the extreme degree of her sorrowful experiences (“How the white birch tree was shaken ...”). Ritual songs were also filled with deep lyricism, in which marriage was portrayed as an inevitable event (“Mother, what is not dust in the field ...”). At the same time, songs of a different content were sung in the groom’s house, for example: with a squad of fellows, he sets off from his wonderful house for a gray duck-beautiful, the groom floats along the river on a boat, pulls an arrow on his knee and shoots a duck into sulfur (“Oh, at Ivan the mansions are good...”).

But the wedding train has arrived. Guests in the house are like a hurricane, sweeping away everything in its path. This is depicted through hyperbolas: broke down a new hall, melted a couple of gold, released

the nightingale from the garden, shed tears of the red maiden. The bridegroom consoles the bride (“There was no wind, there was no wind - Suddenly it’s windy-lo ...”).

At this time, scenes were played out, which were based on the ransom of the bride or her double - girlish beauty. Their execution was facilitated by wedding sentences, having a ritual character. Sentences also had other functions: they idealized the whole setting and participants of the wedding, humorously discharged a complex psychological situation associated with the departure of the bride from the parental home.

Sentences- These are rhymed or rhythmic poetic works. In the Kostroma region, after the arrival of the wedding train, a scene was played out of the removal of a Christmas tree - a maiden's beauty, which was accompanied by a big sentence. One of the bride's girlfriends hung the Christmas tree, she also pronounced the verdict. There was improvisation in the construction of the sentence, but the core was the same. The verdict began with an introductory part, in which the atmosphere of the chamber was depicted fantastically sublimely. Epithets were used that idealized the surrounding objects:

... I go up to the table, I go up to the oak one.

To tablecloths to scolds.

To copper drinks<медовым>,

To sugary dishes.

To gilded plates.

To turned forks,

To damask knives,

To you, sweet matchmakers.

Then a greeting was uttered to the travelers. Their idealization could take on an epic development: they followed the bride through clean fields, green meadows, dark forests... The difficult journey of the groom's train was conveyed by hyperbole. Hyperbolas were also used in another epic part - the story about how the girls got and decorated the Christmas tree:

... They trampled on the shoes, Tore off the stockings, They broke the green Christmas tree. They tore off the gloves, broke the ring...

herringbone was main character. She was uttered a magnificence, at the end of which candles were lit on her:

... Our maiden beauty is good. She is smartly dressed with scarlet ribbons. Undressed for various bows, Decorated with expensive stones, Arranged for wax candles. Scarlet ribbons were scarlet, Different bows were blue. Road stones spilled, Beskovy candles kindled.

Then the detours of those present were made and the demand for payment for the Christmas tree. They started with the groom, then turned to friends, matchmakers, relatives. The ways in which they were encouraged to “bestow” beauty were different: for example, they made riddles. Especially often gifting required rhyme:

Here's the last word for you: Give me a gold ring. I will say the words of heels- Give me a silk scarf. The matchmaker, who has a red shirt,-

Put a five-ruble note; And in blue - put it on the other ...

Each giver extinguished a candle. When all the candles were extinguished, the girl who pronounced the sentence turned to the bride. She spoke of the inevitable parting with beauty and the bride's loss of her girlhood forever. The Christmas tree was taken out of the hut, the bride was crying. Through the whole game situation a red thread ran a psychological parallel between herringbone beauty and bride.

Sentences compositionally consisted of a monologue, however, appeals to the participants in the ritual led to the emergence of dialogic forms and gave the sentences the character of a dramatic performance.

Family is a great value for any person. Family holidays are a special spiritual atmosphere in the house, customs and habits of its inhabitants. In some families, they prefer quick breakfasts in the morning, going to work, and in the evening not to pester each other with questions about what happened at work during the day. It is customary for other families to have breakfast together in the morning, to call up and write off during the working day, to gather in the evenings to have dinner at a round table and discuss the sore points of the day. Everyone chooses their own family traditions and customs.

There is such an opinion - “Since you don’t have family traditions, then you don’t have a family.” And this is not home decoration for the new year and Easter cakes, but your own habits, customs, holidays invented by you.

There are a number of general actions that are part of the rite, which are present to one degree or another in all the above types of naming. These actions are:

Charm of the place where the ceremony will be held. As a rule, a knowledgeable person (a sorcerer or a priest) conducting the naming outlines a protective circle around the naming, moving salting and drawing a visible or conditional line along the Earth with his priestly staff or the edge of a forged weapon (sword, knife, ax ...). When the circle closes, the lower end of the staff or the tip of the weapon is cleaned by hovering over the flame of Fire (as a rule, the one who is called is facing the Fire).

2) Amulet of the accused. Before the beginning of the rite, the one who is called gets on one knee before the Fire or the Goddess. (As it is said: “The Rus and the Slav do not stand on both knees in front of anyone, on one knee - in front of the Native Gods and Ancestors.”) A clean towel is laid under his knee or a planed log is placed. Military naming is carried out, as a rule, on a shield round shape. The name of the newborn is on the shirt or the ports of his father.

Rite of purification. If necessary, and at the personal request of the person named, they conduct a rite of purification with Fire and Iron. A knowledgeable person conducting the ceremony cuts off with the “Svarog Iron” (usually a forged knife or ax) all “evil eyes and nauzes, all vows and tributaries” from the beneficiary, after which he brings him a bowl with Fire burning in it. The one who is called leads over the flame with both palms, cleaning them from all filth, then “draws” Fire and “washes” his face first, then his whole head and especially the crown (Rodnik-Kolorod is a connection with Rod). Cleansing helps to get rid of many pains and ailments that weigh on the soul of former connections and false worldviews. At the end of it, the old shirt is torn on the accused, thrown over his left shoulder, after which they trample underfoot, saying at the same time: FAREWELL TO OLD LIFE! HELLO BE NEW LIFE! GOY!

Communion with the Elements. A knowledgeable person, leading the ceremony, sprinkles the one who is called with grain, symbolizing the Earth (so that several grains will certainly remain on the crown), says the Words: HOW GENEROUS AND FERTILATED IS THE NATIVE EARTH, BE THE SAME YOU! GOY!

19. Family holidays. The culture of wedding rituals.

A wedding is a very important moment in a person's life. It's a ritual an important event and holiday. She is the beginning of a new family life two people. Of course, the rituals and customs characteristic of the pre-wedding period, as well as the wedding itself, were not always the same. Gradually coming from the depths of centuries, these rituals and customs have been transformed, some of them have completely disappeared. That is, they are not represented in modern culture, or they are preserved as echoes of those distant times.

Marriage is a universal ritual. All peoples - African tribes, Eskimos, American Indians - have it, regardless of their geographical location and the degree of development of society. All these peoples can trace many similarities in marriage rituals and traditions, despite the fact that their territories of settlement are located thousands of kilometers from each other.

Russian culture has an extensive layer of wedding customs and rituals, which received their diversity due to the wide area of ​​​​Russian settlement, therefore, due to the numerous regional variations among the Slavic tribes. The wedding is surrounded by many customs, symbols, ritual actions - a bride's veil, sprinkling of newlyweds with hops, grain, wedding rings ... But a modern person hardly knows what meaning lies behind these customs and symbols. Knowledge of the history of the ritual of marriage helps to better understand the culture of your people and to delve deeper into ritual actions, to perform them meaningfully.

The Russian wedding ceremony is one of the most important family rituals. The wedding ceremony consists of many elements, among them: ritual songs, chants, obligatory ritual actions of the bride, boyfriend and other participants.

The Russian wedding ceremony is very different in different regions. So, in the north of Russia, the “musical” part consists almost entirely of parables, and in the south - almost entirely of cheerful songs, the role of the parable there is more formal. At the same time, a rite is always not an arbitrary set of songs and ritual actions, but a system that is very harmoniously organized.

The time of the formation of the wedding ceremony is considered to be the XIII - XIV century. At the same time, in some regional traditions, pre-Christian origins are felt in the structure and some details of the rite, there are elements of magic.

With all the variability of the rite of his general structure remains unchanged, including the following main components: Courtship - Bridging - Handshaking - Vytiye - Bachelorette / Bachelor Party - Ransom - After this follows the sacrament of the wedding - Walking - Wedding feast

The rites originally symbolized the transition of a girl from her father's clan to her husband's clan. This entails the transition under the protection of male spirits. Such a transition was akin to death in one's own way and birth in another kind. For example, wailing is the same as lamenting for the dead. At a bachelorette party, a trip to the bathhouse is the washing of the dead. The bride is often led to church by the arms, thus symbolizing the lack of strength, lifelessness. The young woman leaves the church herself. The groom brings the bride into the house in his arms in order to deceive the brownie, to force him to accept the girl as a newborn family member who did not enter the house, but ended up in the house. When the bride was wooed, they put on a red sundress and said: "You have goods - we have a merchant."

Matchmaking The matchmaker was usually the relatives of the groom - the father, brother, etc., less often - the mother, although the matchmaker could not be a relative. Matchmaking was preceded by a certain agreement between the parents of the bride and groom.

Often the matchmaker did not speak directly about the purpose of his arrival, but recited some ritual text. In the same manner, the bride's parents answered him. This was done in order to protect the rite from the actions of evil spirits. The bride's parents had to refuse for the first time, even if they were happy about the wedding. The matchmaker had to persuade them.

After the matchmaking, the parents gave the matchmaker an answer. The consent of the girl was not required (if asked, it was a formality), sometimes even the matchmaking could take place in the absence of the girl.

Smotriny A few days after the matchmaking, the bride's parents (or relatives, if the bride is an orphan) came to the groom's house to look at his household. This part of the wedding was more "utilitarian" than all the others, and did not involve special ceremonies. The groom was required to guarantee the prosperity of his future wife. Therefore, her parents examined the farm very carefully. The main requirements for the economy were the abundance of cattle and bread, clothes, utensils. Often, after inspecting the household, the bride's parents refused the groom.

If, after examining the groom's household, the bride's parents did not refuse him, the day of the public announcement of the decision on the wedding was appointed. In different traditions, this rite was called differently (“engagement”, “handshake”, “zaruchiny”, “zaporuki” - from the words “hit hands”, “collusion”, “binge”, “sing” - from the word “sing ”, “proclamation”, “vaults” and many other names), but in any tradition, it was from this day that the actual wedding began, and the girl and the guy become the “bride and groom”. After the public announcement, only exceptional circumstances could upset the wedding (such as the escape of the bride).

Usually, the "conspiracy" takes place about two weeks after the matchmaking at the bride's house. It was usually attended by relatives and friends of the family, villagers, since the day of the "conspiracy" was determined after inspecting the groom's household, and a few days before the "conspiracy" itself, this news spread throughout the village. At the "conspiracy" it was supposed to treat the guests.

The promise to marry was often backed up by deposits and pledges. Refusal of betrothal was considered a dishonorable act, which should bring both heavenly and earthly punishment on the guilty person, in the form of collection of expenses, gifts, payment for dishonor, and sometimes even criminal punishment.

The announcement of the engagement usually took place at the table. The girl's father announced the engagement to the guests. After his speech, the young went out to the guests. The parents were the first to bless the couple, then the guests brought their congratulations, after which the feast continued.

After the engagement, the parents of the bride and groom agreed on the wedding day, who would be the boyfriend, etc. The groom gave the bride his first gift - often a ring, as a symbol of strong love. The bride, accepting him, gave her consent to become his wife.

The church view in ancient Russia adapted to the popular one: it sanctified the betrothal, which often took place long before marriage, with a church blessing, and recognized its indissolubility; but the church saw the decisive moment in concluding a marriage in the wedding, for the strengthening of which in life she fought hard.

Vytiye The next period in some traditions was called a "week" (although it did not necessarily last a week, sometimes up to two weeks). At this time, the dowry was being prepared. In northern traditions, the bride constantly lamented. In the southern ones, every evening the groom and friends came to the bride's house (this was called "gatherings", "evenings", etc.), they sang and danced.

The bride, with the help of her friends, had to prepare a large amount of dowry for the wedding. Basically, the dowry was made by the bride with my own hands previously.

The dowry usually included a bed (featherbed, pillow, blanket) and gifts to the groom and relatives: shirts, scarves, belts, patterned towels.

On the eve and in the morning of the wedding day, the bride had to perform a series of ritual actions. Their set is not fixed (for example, in some regions the bride had to visit the cemetery), but there are obligatory rites inherent in most regional traditions.

The bride's going to the bathhouse is an indispensable attribute of most regional traditions. This ceremony could take place both on the eve of the wedding day, and on the wedding day itself in the morning. Usually the bride did not go to the bathhouse alone, with her friends or with her parents. Going to the bath was accompanied by both special verses and songs, and a number of ritual actions, some of which were given magical significance. So, in the Vologda region, a healer went to the bathhouse with the bride, who collected her sweat in a special vial, and at the wedding feast it was poured into the beer of the groom.

hen-party

A bachelorette party is a meeting between the bride and her friends before the wedding. This was their last meeting before the wedding, so there was a ritual farewell of the bride to her friends.

At the bachelorette party, the second key moment of the entire wedding ceremony (after the “hanging”) took place - the untwisting of the girl’s braid. The braid was untwisted by the bridesmaids. Unweaving the braid symbolizes the end of the girl's former life. In many traditions, the untwisting of the braid is accompanied by a "farewell to the red beauty." "Red beauty" - a ribbon or ribbons woven into a girl's braid.

The bachelorette party is accompanied by rhymes and special songs. Often the bride's reckoning sounds simultaneously with the song that the bridesmaids sing. At the same time, there is a contrast between the parable and the song - the parable sounds very dramatic, while it is accompanied by a cheerful song of girlfriends.

First wedding day

On the first day of the wedding, the following usually happens: the arrival of the groom, departure to the crown, the transfer of dowry, the arrival of the young at the groom's house, blessing, wedding feast.

Redemption wedding

In some traditions, on the morning of the wedding day, the groom must visit the bride's house and check if she is ready for the arrival of the groom. The bride should already be in wedding clothes by the arrival of her bridesmaid and sit in the red corner.

The groom with his boyfriend, friends and relatives make up the wedding train. While the train is moving to the bride's house, its participants (trainers) sang special "trainer" songs.

The groom's arrival was accompanied by one or more ransoms. In most regional traditions, this is the ransom of the entrance to the house. A gate, a door, etc. can be redeemed. Both the groom himself and his friend can redeem.

Wedding

Before going to church, the bride's parents blessed the young with an icon and bread. Before the wedding, the bride was untwisted with a girl's braid, and after the young people were married, two “woman's” braids were braided for her and her hair was carefully covered with a female headdress (warrior). Sometimes this happened already at a wedding feast, but among the Old Believers they braided two braids and put on a warrior either between betrothal and wedding, or even before betrothal.

After the wedding, the groom takes the bride to his house. Here their parents should bless them. There is also a combination of Christian elements with pagan ones. In many traditions, the bride and groom were put on a fur coat. The skin of the animal performs the function of a talisman. Mandatory in the rite of blessing in one form or another is bread. Usually, during the blessing, he is next to the icon. In some traditions, both the groom and the bride are supposed to bite off the bread. A magical effect was also attributed to this bread. In some regions, it was then fed to a cow so that it would give more offspring.

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wedding feast

After the wedding, the bride never laments. From this moment begins the joyful and cheerful part of the ceremony. Then the young people go to the bride's house for gifts.

Then the groom brings the bride to his house. There should already be ready a plentiful treat for the guests. The wedding feast begins.

You hold in your hands a unique encyclopedia of practical Slavic magic, which contains time-tested, handed down from century to century magical rites, conspiracies and amulets. When and where did Slavic witchcraft originate? How did Slavic magicians and soothsayers look into the future? How to attract wealth, prosperity and good luck? How to be happy in intimate relationships and family life? In this book you will find effective magical recipes that will help you heal from diseases, reliably protect yourself from the evil eye and damage, as well as over 40 various ways predictions of the future, conspiracies to attract girls and boys and powerful love spells that will help you become loved and happy.

* * *

The following excerpt from the book Slavic rites of the tribal circle. Ancient Power of Ancestors (Dmitry Nevsky, 2009) provided by our book partner - the company LitRes.

Household rituals

In native studies, or magic, of our ancestors, there are a large number of various rites. Their goal is unambiguous and understandable - the achievement of the plan, patronage, protection, success. In general, our ancestors strove for the same thing that our contemporaries strive for.

Some of these aspirations have been transferred from the realm of the unknown or mysterious to quite material and understandable sciences. But some part has remained beyond the threshold of modern knowledge.

So, household rituals. Most of them were carried out by girls and women. Therefore, this direction can be safely called female tribal magic. And not because men could not do this, but because women are more practical in matters of family, home and life. And the connection with nature in women is stronger than in men. Do not forget that the main god of the Slavs was Makosh - the mother of the cheese earth, she is also the goddess of fate, and besides, it was the woman who gave life to a person and, therefore, could dispose of it.

Household rituals were either carried out as part of the Great Holiday, or turned into an independent action, depending on what purpose they pursued.

In most cases, the place of the household ritual was a house, a bathhouse or an area near the house. Rarely other places or territories were involved in this process.

Each specific rite indicates exactly when it is performed - the day of the week or the number. For us, modern people living at a frantic urban pace, it seems not entirely natural to wait for a day, and even more so for a month, when one or another rite can be performed. But remember that the rite is connected with the forces of a certain natural manifestation, with the forces of nature, which has a phase of activity and a phase of rest. Given them, you can achieve more than if you do everything on your own whim.

Makosh (Mokosh)- the goddess of fate (“kosh”, “kosht” - fate, “ma” - abbreviated as “mother”), the main goddess of the female pantheon of gods, whose idol was present not only in individual places of rituals, but also in common temples. In particular, on the temple of ancient Kyiv, the idol of Mokosh stood on a par with Perun.

Makosh was also revered as a goddess, patronizing fertility, childbearing, women's activities and, of course, the women themselves. They turned to her for help, she helped in household affairs and contributed to prosperity in the house.

“Occasional rites are non-calendar rites aimed at overcoming a possible or erupted crisis in nature, society or the mental and biological state of a person and domestic animals, or, conversely, at creating a crisis, a deviation from the norm. Anti-crisis occasional rites are aimed at achieving the best results or at least the norm, crisis rites (rites of inducing damage) are aimed at creating a crisis, deviation from the norm for the worse.

Loginov K.K. "Family Rituals and Beliefs of the Russians of Zaonezhie"

love rites

Track

The ceremony begins on Friday evening.

It is necessary to take the earth from the place where the bewitched stepped. If this is a trace, then this is almost ideal. You can pour some earth on the floor yourself so that a person walks on it, or you can remove part of the earth from his shoes.

Next, you need to go to the cemetery and dig a flower. It must be a wild flower or plant. You can, of course, buy a flower, but this will greatly reduce the effectiveness of the action. In a new pot, bought on Friday, you pour the earth taken from the trail and plant a grave flower in it. As long as the flower in the pot is alive, the relationship between people will be wonderful. If it becomes necessary to end the relationship, throw away the flower. Strengthen - plant a second one, but do not throw away the first flower until the second one is strengthened and grows.

This technique belongs to the category of everyday love magic, it is almost ideal for young couples, as it is based only on the function of a person’s memory and fixing memories for the required period.

Lada- the ancient Slavic goddess of beauty and love. But Lada personifies both happy and unhappy love that she can send to a person. At the wedding as a gift to Lada, in gratitude for the union and to receive the blessing of the goddess, the young brought gifts - flowers, honey, berries.

Apple

If a quarrel occurred between a man and a woman and it is necessary to neutralize the conflict, then one of the most effective means is the following method.

Take an apple, the more ideal it is, the more ideal the relationship will become. Hold it in your hands for some time (necessarily in both palms), remembering all the good moments that were in the relationship. For three days, carry an apple with you. Cut into two equal parts, connecting them after that with honey, as if gluing. Leave in the house for a day, and then eat: one half is eaten by a woman, the other by a man. Moreover, if the conflict arose on sexual grounds, then it is best to hold an apple under the bed for a day. If the conflict arose on the basis of everyday life, leave an apple for a day in the places of the most frequent visits - in the room or in the kitchen.

You must eat your part of the apple whole or bake a pie. The only condition is that the apple should not be in direct contact with fire. Otherwise, the effect of the rite will be zero.

Love spells, love spells were never considered immoral or unnatural for the simple reason that the goal pursued by the girls when performing such a ceremony was natural and simple - to find a person who will take care of the continuation of the family, produce strong offspring, and be able to provide for the family. At the same time, feelings were not always at the head of the act. In fact, our ancestors cared not so much about their own profit, but about their own kind, about its strength.

Luchinka

Previously, to perform this rite, it was only necessary to go to the woodshed and take everything you need there. Now, when firewood in everyday life has become an exception, you will have to do the following.

Take a kitchen knife. It must be well honed. Go to the forest and find a tree on the edge. You should like it.

Grasp the trunk with your right hand and mentally ask the spirit of the forest to help you in your business. Then cut off a small branch. Take her with you.

Resin was used in the past, but in our case this condition is rather difficult to fulfill. Therefore, you will need fresh honey.

Take the Y-shaped torch in right hand, and I-shaped - to the left. Close your eyes and imagine your relationship with your betrothed. Then connect the torches, after dipping the tip of the I-shaped torch in honey.

Say the following words to the connection:

We are together. So be it, as long as there is white light!

Take your handkerchief and wrap the connected torches in it. Keep them out of prying eyes.

intoxicating ash

This method is called so due to the fact that alcohol (wine) and ashes are equally important ingredients of a love spell.

It is necessary to take birch bark, the whiter and thinner - the better. Go to the forest and try to take the right piece of birch bark (birch bark), but do not cause much harm to the tree.

In the evening, light a candle, remember the image of a loved one and write on birch bark:

We are close, we are together, we are inseparable, we are happy. Bless us, Mother Lada.

Set fire to the birch bark and say the same phrase a second time.

When you pour the ashes into the alcohol, say the phrase a third time.

If you add your own blood to the ashes, this will undoubtedly enhance the effect. While doing so, say these words:

One share, one share. As the mother says, so the daughter will do.

Now it remains only to make sure that the wine is drunk by those who are bewitched.

In ancient times, many rituals were performed on alcoholic beverages - from completely harmless love rituals to dangerous ones associated with harm to human health. Knowing this, our ancestors tried to protect themselves by applying special charms to the dishes from which they ate and drank.

family hearth

The main focus of the rite is a love spell to the house of one of the spouses. However, it also contains a passing effect - the impossibility of sexual intercourse on the side. The rite is also acceptable to prevent adultery, even if they are suspected.

To carry out this action, birch bark (or paper), the blood of both family members, male sperm and female menstrual blood are needed.

A sheet of paper (birch bark) is taken, on which the following words are written (it is best to write with blood):

I am your share. You are my share. A share apart, a share everywhere where I am not. Mother told, punished - the child did, listened. You listen and know where your share and your happiness are.

After that, the paper should be burned, the ashes mixed with blood and other ingredients, then added to the food or drink of the one on whom the rite is performed. But it is preferable to mix everything with red wine. Before putting magical ingredients into food or drink, the following should be said:

Seven brothers came out to meet me: seven brothers, seven violent winds. Where did you go?

We were in an open field, in a wide steppe, we swept over stunted grasses, miserable forests, rich arable land.

Come to us, violent winds, comfort widows, orphans and little children, take earthly sorrow and instill it in an indomitable heart (name). With a steel ax, cut her (his) heart, and let mournful sadness bloom in it.

Birch- a female tree that gives strength and support. Also, birch is considered the Mokosh tree, which always helps a woman in her affairs. It was in commemoration of the connection with Makosh the mother that ribbons were tied on the branches of a birch.

The effect of this love spell is very strong, but it should be applied only to married couples. In addition to this rite, you can duplicate its action as follows.

Sew a bag of fabric in three colors - green, blue, orange. Its size should be small. Place in it the mixture that was obtained during the ceremony: birch bark ash mixed with blood and other indicated components. The mixture must be dried beforehand. Place the bag inside the pillow on which the bewitched sleeps.

Check your feelings

This method is not a love spell, it is aimed only at checking one's own feelings and the feelings of a partner.

Pour water into a pot. The pot should be clay and opaque. Let the water sit at the head of your bed for three days.

On Friday evening, when no one bothers you, sit down and focus on the object of passion. If you have a photo handy, even better. While looking into the pot, say the following:

I call you (name), come to me.

After that, get up and open the door as if a person has come. (I repeat: this should be done in the evening or at night in order to make contact in a dream.) Then you need to talk with the prospective visitor, tell him everything that is on your heart. At the end of the conversation, discuss some sign confirming the favorable outcome of the plan. This sign will be received later, with real contact with a person.

During the entire conversation, you must look into the pot.

After "communication" you need to open the door and say goodbye. If this is not done, then this can threaten with great trouble for the object of love.

Drink a sip of water from the pot and go to bed.

The whole procedure must be repeated within three days. Even if you received a sign after the first day of action, repeat the procedure until the end of three days. This will not only give excellent results, but also simplify the process of communicating with a person, help to bind him to you. However, this is not a spell.

Friday- the day when women gathered for weekly meetings. They not only communicated, but also spun, knitted, exchanged advice.

Friday is considered a mystical day, "acquired" by our ancestors, which is why it is most suitable for domestic and love rituals.

Money rituals

Metal money appeared in Russia only at the end of the 10th century. Of course, even before that time, coins brought from other countries were in circulation. Before the advent of coins, the ancient Slavs used furs as a means of payment - skins of sables, squirrels, foxes, martens and other valuable fur-bearing animals. Pieces of cloth were also used - canvases. From here, by the way, the well-known word “pay” came to us. Nevertheless, how old money is, how many years people have been trying to "tame" it.

Here are some of the ancient rites.

Pot of money

The pot for our ancestors was considered a sacred, sacred object. It was used as an urn for the burial of the ashes of the deceased, which determined his connection with his ancestors. The first fruits were cooked in it, celebrating the harvest festival. The pot was always guarded, as a defective (chipped) pot indicated that problems were starting in the family.

Take a clay pot and for seven days, starting on Friday, throw into it all the little change that you have left in your pockets at the end of the day. On the last day, take out all the coins and put them around the pot in two circles. Light a wax candle, drip wax on the coins from the inner circle - drop by drop, - saying:

Money in a circle! Money around! So Belun said!

These coins (from the inner circle) become your money talisman. They must be put back in a clay pot with a lid and never wasted.

Coins from the outer circle were distributed to the poor or simply thrown at the crossroads with the words: "Chernobog will take away."

Belobog (Belun)- the personification of goodness, good luck, happiness, prosperity. In principle, Belobog is not a personified image, but personifies all the bright gods. He was remembered as a giver of wealth and good luck, retaining the saying: "A man made friends with Belun."

Money and brownie

We have yet to discuss the brownie in more detail, but it must be emphasized that this patron of the house is directly related to monetary issues.

First you need to "acquaint" the brownie with the energy of money. Collect all the money around the house, fold it according to its value: a penny, a ruble, a hundred-ruble bill, etc. - and put it on a saucer. It is not scary if any bills are not available. This indicates some limited cash receipts, but you can repeat the ceremony over time and correct the financial situation.

You should not prepare in advance, collect the necessary money everywhere. As it is - so it is.

It used to be that the brownie's place was under the stove. Now - next to the battery or stove in the kitchen. Leave a saucer of money for three days in this place. Before placing the saucer there, say:

Hello, father-owner. Save what you have earned, save the power of my labors, tell me how to multiply.

After three days, take the money and return it to the family budget. You don't have to spend them all at once.

In a saucer, pour milk with a spoonful of honey and thank the brownie. Leave the milk for a day.

You can repeat the ceremony if necessary, but not earlier than a month later.

Dirty money

This is a very old, little-known rite. And the reason for this is that most people, including magicians, use only the first part of the rite, and forget about the second.

The first part of the rite is aimed at transferring most often the disease, less often problems to other people. This is done with money. But this rite has one remarkable feature: it represents an opportunity to regain lost health and strength, and not getting rid of something, but, on the contrary, gaining it. The rite contributes to the activation of all life processes and the purification of possible negativity.

To conduct it, you will need: spring water, 10 candles, some salt mixed with ashes from the furnace.

Since stove ash is now a curiosity, prepare it yourself from wood.

You also need a dish - a plate with a diameter of at least 15 centimeters.

The rite is long, so get ready to patiently follow all the procedures.

The ceremony begins on the day of the new moon. Most often it is held in the fall, starting from the day of the autumnal equinox.

You need to collect all the small money that is in the house and spend it on the same day. It is advisable to purchase food on them.

After that, in the evening you need to take a dish, put 10 candles on it in a circle and say:

Chernobog brought. Belobog will save. The family will save.

Then pour salt and ash into the center of the plate.

All these preparations are aimed primarily at protecting against the negative that you will receive along with the money.

Starting from this day, carefully look under your feet in the truest sense of the word. All money - most often these are coins that are lying on the floor, on the street, in a store, accidentally dropped out from you or household members - you need to collect in a separate place, and in the evening put in a circle on a dish, after lighting candles. Throw a coin and say the same words that you said when you lit the candles. Then you can put out the candles and put the dish away until the next evening.

Do this for forty days. During this time, a decent handful of coins will be collected, but maybe there will be very few of them. It all depends on the number of your problems.

On the evening of the fortieth day, take a dish, put it in front of you. Also take a container of water. Light the candles. Say the following words:

Money to buy, money to sell. Health from father-mother, strength from nature, mind from God. I do not confuse, and I cannot be confused, not deceived. Whoever wanted it will be returned to him, and mine to me. Let it be so.

Extinguish the candles and, together with the salt, pour all the coins into the water.

Say the plot a second time, over the water. And leave it like that until the morning.

Then, after rinsing the coins in water, pull them out and, without wiping, put them to dry.

Divide the coins into three piles. Take the first one on the first day. First, throw three candles on the ground no closer than 500 meters from the house. Spend all coins.

On the second day, throw away the candles at the crossroads, and spend the second part of the coins on this day as well.

Throw away the remaining three candles at the entrance to the cemetery. Leave the coins on the nominal grave, that is, on the grave of the person whose name matches yours.

Arriving home in the evening, light a candle and pray for your health until the candle burns out completely.

The rite is very effective, but there are some subtleties:

- within three days you can not give someone money, especially if they ask. It is to give, not to pay;

- if suddenly you decide to return the old debt (and this happens), do not take the money, postpone it until the end of the rite.

In ancient times, it was believed that someone else's thing brought into the house could contain negativity, not necessarily intentional damage, but someone else's thing could bring trouble. Ancestors vigilantly watched everything that crossed the threshold of their house. However, money is an everyday object, it comes and goes. Nevertheless, the ancient Slavs tried in every possible way to protect themselves not only from fakes, but also from damaged coins. So, there was a belief that if spoiled money was thrown on the anvil, then all the “dirt” would come off of them.

Transfer

An old way of transferring a disease to an animal. Transferring is effective, but used as a last resort. Previously, ailments were brought to wild animals, birds, throwing meat over the outskirts. Now it is done on wild dogs and cats. Speaking of compassion, one should not forget that a person is more important than an animal.

To transfer, you will need a piece of fresh meat, preferably beef liver, and an ordinary kitchen knife.

Put the knife in front of you. Place your hands in a house over the meat. Focus on the disease, its symptoms, sensations, energy in the area where the disease is.

Then begin to transfer energy into a piece of meat, as if exhaling the disease.

The whole process can take up to half an hour. You should be guided by your feelings from the transfer of energy. After you have finished transferring, take a knife and pierce the meat with it.

Then go outside and find a stray dog ​​or cat. Perhaps the search process will be delayed. When you throw meat to an animal, say, "Take mine," and leave.

Pay attention to the processes, situations that will occur around you. You should receive a sign that someone in your environment has been healed. If you received this confirmation within one day, then everything is in order. If later, then the action is not very effective and the ceremony should be repeated.

Conspiracy practices known since ancient times. In fact, these are words that are built in a certain sequence. The author of the conspiracy tried to liken the process of human life to a natural process.

Creating a conspiracy is a creative business. There were conspiracies that were passed down from generation to generation, and above all because they were the most successful. Now most of the old conspiracies and rituals have lost their force due to changes taking place in society itself, as well as due to the formation of other relationships with natural forces. But that doesn't mean the conspiracy culture has disappeared. If you are careful when reading the book, you will learn how to create conspiracies yourself.

Relationships

This ceremony is best done two weeks after the key days of the year - the summer and winter solstice, spring and autumn equinoxes.

It happens that a person seems to be not stupid, and with a good character, and with a beautiful appearance, but ... his relationships with other people do not go well. To a greater extent, this issue concerns women who react very painfully to many failures in their personal lives.

Let's conduct a ritual test that will reveal the existing shortcomings, if any, and help you build relationships and manage them.

For the ceremony you will need five rings. It does not matter what metal they will be, new or old, with or without stones. Each ring for each finger of the left hand.

Five candles of medium diameter. A glass of spring water.

Take a plate, preferably flat. Arrange the candles in the five directions of the plate, at equal distances from each other. Light the candles.

Take the first ring in your hand - the thumb ring. Say the words:

Ring - power, ring - strength, ring - wisdom, ring - feelings, ring - mystery.

I know, I see, I can, I understand, I do.

Because they are me. There is nothing in me that I would not see (a).

Let it be so.

Place this ring on the candle.

Then do the same with the ring of the index finger, then the middle, then the ring, then the little finger.

Wait for the candles to burn out. All candles lit at about the same time should burn out at about the same time. But if it happens that one of the candles goes out or burns out before the others, then this means that you have problems in this matter that you need to solve with the help of techniques for diagnosing and eliminating magical influences.

If everything went well, take the rings and throw one by one into a glass of water, saying:

I feel, I see, I know. Clean, strong, flawless.

Leave the rings overnight in the water.

After that, putting on one ring a day on each finger, say the words:

Ring, show me what I can do on my own (on my own)

Depending on which ring you put on, pay attention to the processes that will occur after that during the day.

So, remember that each finger represents certain processes associated with the personality:

thumb - manifestations of will and reason;

index - authority and ability to manage people;

medium - attitude and internal balance; ring finger - the ability to contact with others;

little finger - hidden talents.

Wear the ring during the day and pay attention to how people react to you, how you behave in a given situation. In fact, it will be possible to draw three conclusions, each of which will give a certain clue.

Negative - conflicts, quarrels, pressure exerted on you or, conversely, coming from you. This means that you are holding yourself back, incorrectly and not fully realizing the possibilities that exist in the aspect that interests you.

Neutral - you are doing everything correctly and correctly in the aspect about which in question. Do not expect anything more, everything goes on as usual.

Positive - you begin to discover new opportunities and abilities. Pay attention to the essence of the situations that caught your attention: they contain a clue.

In addition to the conclusions that you can draw after five days, one for each ring, you can also use the rings after the ceremony.

They have acquired two important characteristics for you - protection and assistance in the aspect that each finger symbolizes. And you can use any ring when you think it's necessary. But keep in mind that the ring is not active on its own, but only on your finger.

Ring since ancient times it was considered a symbol of power. In addition, the ring can serve as the strongest amulet, which enhances the talents of its owner, and also protects him.

bad friends

Suppose there is a person for whom everything always goes well. But if he contacts any partner, then this will end in discord. And so at least three times in a row, naturally with different partners. However, without a partner it can be difficult to conduct serious business, to achieve the intended goal. Therefore, it is necessary to do something with such partner bad luck. You will need:

headdress of a person (who is constantly unlucky); winter or summer - it does not matter;

pins - by the number of unsuccessful partnerships;

one candle;

kitchen knife;

a piece of beeswax.

Light a candle in front of you. Put on a headdress. Take the pin in your hand. Dip the tip of the pin in the candle wax and say the following words:

(Partner's name) was with me. Thanks to him.

Pins, after you dip them in wax, stick them into the headdress.

When you finish the whole procedure, remove one pin from the headdress, warm them up a little on a candle and, having pierced the wax, say:

(Partner's name) left. See you.

And so all the pins in a row.

After that, leave the house and throw the hat in the trash. Leave the wax with pins as a talisman.

Headdress always displayed the status of its owner. Moreover, it was forbidden to put on a “hat not according to Senka”. Everyone has their own: what you have is what you wear.

But in addition to the status, the hat also carried an important ritual meaning. So, being on the head of the owner, she was in close relationship with his thoughts. Witch doctors used this connection to influence a person.

Theft

Theft, which is allowed by the employees of the company, employees, is an evil that slowly undermines the business from the inside. According to the thieves themselves, “there will not be any loss from the owner,” but it is not easy to identify and stop such a phenomenon.

However, there are techniques in ancient magic that can help you.

You will need the following.

Knife - buy it in the store. And it is better if it is a knife resembling a hunting one.

Branch, preferably dry. You can pick it up from the ground, you can break it off a tree. But it must be dead - dry and not rotten. Remove the bark from it with a knife.

Threads - black, white, gold and silver. Candle.

The action can be performed at the workplace, but you can also do it at home if you are the owner of the business.

Take the branch in your hands and, visualizing, that is, mentally imagining employee after employee, transfer the energy of memories to the branch. Do this with everyone who works with you.

Then take a knife, burn it on a candle with the words:

Harm is only to the one who harms. It pricks, it is cut, the pain is given. Don't hide, don't hide. By right!

Let the knife cool naturally. Then take a branch and, attaching it to the tip of the knife, wind it to it with the help of threads. Start winding from the base of the knife to the tip with gold, silver, white and black threads.

Then take a candle and use drops of wax to fix the thread along the entire length of the knife. Wrap the received magic item in a cloth and store it.

It is necessary to repeat the ceremony if your staff changes by more than 25%.

The main manifestation of the rite is the illness and injury of employees who allowed themselves to steal. Observe and make decisions or try to investigate what is happening.

Chernobog(as opposed to Belobog) - the image of the dark gods. He personifies all those who bring misfortune, evil, destruction to a person. However, as a manifestation of the destructive power of nature, it is often present in the rites of white magic.

Enemies

The purpose of this rite is to find out if a person has enemies, who they are and what their actions are connected with.

The ritual requires preparation. You will need seven pins that you need to pin to your clothes so that they are not visible and that they are located in different places. With these pins, you need to walk for three days. Guess so that the last, third, day ends on Friday.

In the evening, after sunset, take a bowl of water, collect pins. Also take some salt.

Once the water boils, add a pinch of salt to it. Then throw pins into the water with the words:

According to the law and the covenant of the ancestors! Whoever brings harm, tomorrow Chernobog will bring. Let it be so!

After that, the pins should remain in the water for a day. They can be used later if you want to "work out" the person who performed the impact with these pins. They are the keys of the ritual performed against you.

During the day that has passed since the ceremony, observe your surroundings. Everything is important here - anomalies, unexpected meetings, the appearance of those whom you have not seen for a long time. All this gives you information about enemies, overt or covert.

Well, if the day went smoothly, then thank Rod - you are all right.

For our ancestors, the main criterion for evaluating actions and deeds was not only the moral aspects of the individual, but also the pokon.

Pokon is a kind of set of laws, rules and principles that was given to people by the gods and which had to be observed.

Undoubtedly, the ancestors, the Magi, took part in the creation and formation of the pokone, who monitored its observance, and also developed human culture and social norms.

rituals for health

Ritual for male power

On Saturday morning, as early as possible, you need to go to the market where they sell slaughtered hares or rabbits, and, without bargaining, buy an animal carcass. Do not take change.

You will also need dried peas, carrots and salt.

Take the carcass, lay it on a dish with dried peas. Say a spell:

Give your strength to my husband. Give fornication to the peas.

Take a piece of peas and throw it out the window into the street. Soak the other part and stew with carrots.

Before cooking a rabbit (hare), cut off some wool from its legs and wrap it in a scarf with the words:

Your strength is mine.

Cut the carcass into portions of your choice and stew using only salt as spices.

After that, you need to feed your husband a dinner of rabbit meat with peas and get drunk.

The bones that remain after the meal should not be thrown away, but buried.

Folklore Slavic materials about hares are very diverse. Known songs and sayings associated with the hare; games and dances that have preserved reminiscences of ancient rituals. The hare in folklore is regarded as a symbol of male fertilizing power; many erotic songs and proverbs are associated with it, which were widely used among the Slavic peoples in the process of wedding rituals. The connection of the hare with the phallic cult is noted.

For tone

Another one of the most effective folk remedies, which can be used to increase physical tone and energy immunity, is the following rite.

It should be carried out from the 1st to the 7th of each month if you are haunted by general weakness and depression.

Take a mug of milk. Heat it up to a boil. As soon as the milk begins to boil, say:

As milk runs and rises, so do my strengths rise. As I hold these forces in my hands, I can take them into myself.

Before the milk has cooled, add a tablespoon of honey to it, reading:

The powers of flowers in honey gathered. The earth gave strength to flowers. So the earth gives me strength, like thousands of flowers, like thousands of bees, that they didn’t know they were tired.

Allow milk to cool slightly and drink on an empty stomach. In the morning and in the evening.

In the process of cooking, pay special attention to the boiling process. If the milk runs away, then you are wasting your energy, you are not controlling your energy. Be careful!

If for some reason you lost your rhythm, that is, you didn’t perform the ceremony in the morning or in the evening, find out the source of the failure. It can be someone else's will, a hindrance, or your forgetfulness. In any case, this will be a hint to you that someone is interfering with your plans and the causes of physical weakness should be looked for in your environment.

One of the offerings for the holiday of Rod and Rozhanitsa was bread and honey, which were considered the most important products for a person.

Prosperity in the house

For the ceremony, a clay pot is needed - the more, the better. Cereals - millet, buckwheat, oatmeal. Peas. Fresh honey, milk. These are required components. All the rest, if necessary, you can get at your discretion.

The ceremony begins on Friday morning. You need to prepare four dishes of three cereals and peas for breakfast for the family. What it will be dishes - you decide. You can cook whatever you want with the ingredients. Milk and honey are served separately.

Before putting the dishes on the table, you need to say a conspiracy:

Rod gave life. And Makosh is wealth. The family is full, the ancestors are happy. The hostess is happy.

Bow in gratitude for help, put food on the table and feed the family, and also eat yourself.

On Friday night, cook the same thing - four dishes. Put the rest in a pot.

When everyone is in bed, put the pot of leftovers in the corner next to the brownie for storage. Nearby is a saucer of milk in gratitude.

In the morning, while everyone is sleeping, take the pot outside the threshold and throw the rest to the birds and animals, saying:

I have been fed and I will feed.

Then you need to wash the pot, wipe it dry and pour into it the cereal that everyone ate with great appetite. The pot should be used to store this cereal and make sure that it is always full. Then there will be prosperity in the house.

Needlework

In order to achieve what you want, you can use the magic of needles.

In this chapter, we will describe three techniques that, while partly repeating and complementing each other, will differ in strength and duration of exposure.

The simplest technique will allow you to realize the simplest desire. And the most difficult thing is to achieve unrealizable, as it seems at first glance, aspirations.

For any of these rituals, you need to prepare a little. First, give up meat food, including fish, poultry and eggs. For the third rite, it is also worth giving up dairy products.

Such a diet begins three days before the start of the magical action and continues until it ends.

Buy a needle. It is better to do this on Thursday - the day before the ceremony. In addition, you must select or purchase an item that will become a talisman of desire. It can be a handkerchief, a cosmetic bag, a shirt - in general, everything that, in your opinion, is most closely connected with a conceived desire.

Stock up on threads - cotton, linen, silk, but not synthetic. As for the color of the threads, for love wishes, you can take pink or green threads; for desires related to well-being - yellow, silver, gold, green or gray; for desires related to health, yellow, orange or gold. If this is protection from danger, choose red threads; protection from evil forces - red or green.

End of introductory segment.

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Family and household traditions and rituals in Russia

Introduction

The desire of people to brightly, solemnly and colorfully celebrate the key events of their lives is due to the tradition of these events in the form of holidays and rituals.

rite- a set of conventionally symbolic actions that have been established among the people, expressing a certain magical meaning, associated with the celebrated events of life.

Custom- traditionally established rules of social behavior. This is what is customary ("usually") to do in this or that situation, among this or that people.

Ritual- the sequence of actions during the ceremony.

Ceremony- this is the same as the ritual, but is typical for especially significant solemn occasions.

Tradition- a social phenomenon that is passed down from generation to generation, covering the spheres of life, family, morality, religion.

At present, the rite plays an increasingly important role in the spiritual life of people. They are necessary for modern man, because.

· Create conditions for intra-family and inter-family communication, acquaintance, joint pastime;

Create an atmosphere of fun, joy, relaxedness;

Give social significance to the events of a person's personal life;

Contribute to the formation of personality;

· Educate a person;

· Provide an opportunity to realize themselves;

· Form a worldview;

Help to relieve psychological stress, organize leisure;

Helps to get positive emotions etc.

Rituals can be divided into certain types. These include:

· Civil ceremonies (initiation into students, farewell to the army…)

Labor (initiation into the profession, farewell to retirement, anniversary ...)

Family and household (birth, baptism ...)

· Calendar (Easter, Christmas…)

Family holidays and rituals are connected with the cycle of human life; reflect the life of a person from birth to death, traditional life and family traditions.

Many scientists believe that once agricultural and family rituals were a single whole, having one common task - to achieve well-being in the family, a good harvest. It is no coincidence that a great similarity is observed in calendar and wedding songs of an incantatory nature.

At the same time, confinement to the most striking events in a person’s personal life, and not constantly recurring dates due to the change of seasons, and, accordingly, other functions and other content make it possible to single out family holidays and rituals into a separate group.

Among the Russian old-timer population (especially among the peasants, who early received the land in possession, and then in the property), large (undivided) families were a common occurrence in the past. Not only parents, children and grandchildren lived and managed together, but also several brothers, there could also be a sister with her husband-primak, orphaned nephews and other relatives. Often the family united up to 20 or more people. The head of the family team was the father or elder brother (highway, elder), the manager among women and authority among men was his wife. Intra-family life was determined by patriarchal foundations. The church itself prescribed women unquestioning obedience to their husbands. The daughter-in-law expected hard everyday work in family life, they expected humility and obedience from them. At the same time, all members of the family participated in the implementation of household chores, the most difficult field, forestry, and construction work lay on the men. Children were also involved in family affairs.

After the abolition of serfdom and the acquisition of land allotments, there was a tendency for the disintegration of large families. Settlers of the last decades of the XIX century. seldom dared to move in large numbers. At the same time, the residence of the eldest son with his parents remained a family tradition everywhere. Families of 7-9 people were common.

1. wedding ceremonies

The time of the formation of the wedding ceremony is considered to be the XIII-XIV centuries. At the same time, in some regional traditions, pre-Christian origins are felt in the structure and some details of the rite, there are elements of magic.

The main components of the ceremony:

· Matchmaking

· Brides

Handshake (engagement)

· Bachelorette / Bachelorette party

wedding train

· Wedding ransom

wedding

Walking

wedding feast

The rites originally symbolized the transition of a girl from her father's clan to her husband's clan. This entails the transition under the protection of male spirits. Such a transition was akin to death in one's own way and birth in another kind. For example, howling- this is the same as lamentation for the dead. On the bachelorette party going to the bath - washing the dead. The bride is often led to church by the arms, thus symbolizing the lack of strength, lifelessness. The young woman leaves the church herself. The groom brings the bride into the house in his arms in order to deceive the brownie, to force him to accept the girl as a newborn family member who did not enter the house, but ended up in the house. When the bride was wooed, they put on a red sundress and said: "You have goods - we have a merchant."

Matchmaking

The matchmaker was usually the relatives of the groom - the father, brother, etc., less often - the mother, although the matchmaker could not be a relative. Matchmaking was preceded by a certain agreement between the parents of the bride and groom. The matchmaker, having entered the bride's house, performed some ritual actions that determined his role. For example, in the Simbirsk province, the matchmaker sits under the mother, in the Vologda province he had to rattle the stove damper, etc. Often the matchmaker did not directly speak about the purpose of his arrival, but recited some ritual text. In the same manner, the bride's parents answered him. This was done in order to protect the rite from the actions of evil spirits. The text could be like this: You have a flower, and we have a garden. Is it possible for us to transplant this flower into our garden?

A young goose is looking for a goose. Is there a goose lurking in your house? - We have a goose, but she is still young.

The bride's parents had to refuse for the first time, even if they were happy about the wedding. The matchmaker had to persuade them. After the matchmaking, the parents gave the matchmaker an answer. The consent of the girl was not required (if asked, it was a formality), sometimes even the matchmaking could take place in the absence of the girl.

Smotriny

A few days after the matchmaking, the bride's parents (or relatives, if the bride is an orphan) came to the groom's house to look at his household. This part of the wedding was more "utilitarian" than all the others, and did not involve special ceremonies.

The groom was required to guarantee the prosperity of his future wife. Therefore, her parents examined the farm very carefully. The main requirements for the economy were the abundance of cattle and bread, clothes, utensils. Often, after inspecting the household, the bride's parents refused the groom.

Announcement of the decision about the wedding. Handshake (engagement)

If, after inspecting the groom's household, the bride's parents did not refuse him, a day was appointed for the public announcement of the decision on the wedding. In different traditions, this rite was called differently (“engagement”, “handshake”, “zaruchiny”, “zaporuky” - from the words “hit hands”, “conspiracy”, “drink”, “sing” - from the word “sing”, “proclamation”, “vaults” and many other names), but in any tradition, it was from this day that the actual wedding began, and the girl and the guy become the “bride and groom”. After the public announcement, only exceptional circumstances could upset the wedding (such as the escape of the bride).

Usually, the "conspiracy" takes place about two weeks after the matchmaking at the bride's house. It was usually attended by relatives and friends of the family, villagers, since the day of the "conspiracy" was determined after inspecting the groom's household, and a few days before the "conspiracy" itself, this news spread throughout the village. At the "conspiracy" it was supposed to treat the guests.

The promise to marry was often backed up by deposits and pledges. Refusal of betrothal was considered a dishonorable act, which should bring both heavenly and earthly punishment on the guilty, in the form of recovery of expenses, gifts, payment for dishonor, and sometimes even criminal punishment.

The announcement of the engagement usually took place at the table. The girl's father announced the engagement to the guests. After his speech, the young went out to the guests. The parents were the first to bless the couple, then the guests brought their congratulations, after which the feast continued. After the engagement, the parents of the bride and groom agreed on the wedding day, who would be the bridegroom, etc. The groom gave the bride his first gift - often a ring, as a symbol of strong love. The bride, accepting him, gave her consent to become his wife.

The church view in ancient Russia adapted to the popular one: it sanctified the betrothal, which often took place long before marriage, with a church blessing, and recognized its indissolubility; but the church saw the decisive moment in concluding a marriage in the wedding.

In the north, the ceremony of commissioning the bride was one of the most dramatic of all the rites of the wedding cycle. Even if the bride was glad to be married, she was supposed to lament. In addition, the bride performed a number of ritual actions. So, she had to put out the candle in front of the icons. Sometimes the bride hid, ran away from home. When they tried to lead her to her father, she struggled. The bridesmaids were supposed to catch her and take her to her father. After that, the key action of the whole day was performed - “hanging up” the bride. The father covered the bride's face with a handkerchief. After that, the bride stopped escaping. The place of "hanging" varies (in different places of the hut or outside the hut). After the hanging, the bride began to lament. The groom and the matchmaker, without waiting for the end of the laments, left.

Preparing for the wedding day. Vytiye

The next period in some traditions was called a "week" (although it did not necessarily last a week, sometimes up to two weeks). At this time, the dowry was being prepared. In northern traditions, the bride constantly lamented. In the southern ones, every evening the groom and friends came to the bride's house (this was called "gatherings", "evenings", etc.), they sang and danced. On the "week" the groom was supposed to come with gifts. In the northern tradition, all actions during the "week" are accompanied by the bride's laments, including the arrival of the groom.

Dowry

The bride, with the help of her friends, had to prepare a large amount of dowry for the wedding. Basically, the dowry was made by the bride with her own hands earlier. The dowry usually included a bed (featherbed, pillow, blanket) and gifts to the groom and relatives: shirts, scarves, belts, patterned towels.

Rituals on the eve of the wedding day

On the eve and in the morning of the wedding day, the bride had to perform a series of ritual actions. Their set is not fixed (for example, in some regions the bride had to visit the cemetery), but there are obligatory rites inherent in most regional traditions.

Bride's walk in bath could take place both on the eve of the wedding day, and on the wedding day itself in the morning. Usually the bride did not go to the bathhouse alone, with her friends or with her parents. Going to the bath was accompanied by both special verses and songs, and a number of ritual actions, some of which were given magical significance. So, in the Vologda region, a healer went to the bathhouse with the bride, who collected her sweat in a special vial, and at the wedding feast it was poured into the beer of the groom.

hen-party

A bachelorette party is a meeting between the bride and her friends before the wedding. This was their last meeting before the wedding, so there was a ritual farewell of the bride to her friends. At the bachelorette party, the second key moment of the entire wedding ceremony took place (after the “hanging”) - untwisting a girl's braid. The braid was untwisted by the bridesmaids. Unweaving the braid symbolizes the end of the girl's former life. In many traditions, the untwisting of the braid is accompanied by a "farewell to the red beauty." "Red beauty" - a ribbon or ribbons woven into a girl's braid.

The bachelorette party is accompanied by rhymes and special songs. Often the bride's reckoning sounds simultaneously with the song that the bridesmaids sing. At the same time, there is a contrast between the parable and the song - the parable sounds very dramatic, while it is accompanied by a cheerful song of girlfriends.

wedding ceremony wedding handshake

2. First wedding day

On the first day of the wedding, the following usually happens: the arrival of the groom, departure to the crown, the transfer of dowry, the arrival of the young at the groom's house, blessing, wedding feast.

Scheme of the ceremony: in the morning of the first day, a bath and a meeting of girlfriends, then the arrival of the groom, “bringing to the tables” (bringing the bride to the guests and the groom), treating the guests. At the same time, the main thing is the “output in front of the tables”, since a number of magical actions are performed here, the bride is most elegantly dressed. At night, everyone stays in the bride's house, and the bride and groom are supposed to spend the night in the same room. This means that the actual wedding has already taken place. The next day there is a wedding and a feast at the groom.

Druzhka

Druzhka (or Druzhko) is one of the most important participants in the ceremony. Druzhka to a certain extent directs ritual actions. The friend must know the ritual very well, for example, at what point should wedding sentences be pronounced, etc. Often the friend is ritually blasphemed and scolded, and he must be able to adequately respond to such jokes addressed to him. The groom is almost a passive figure; on the wedding day he does not say ritual words.

Usually the boyfriend is a relative of the groom (brother) or a close friend. Its attribute is an embroidered towel (or two towels) tied over the shoulder. In some traditions, there may be not one boyfriend, but two or even three. However, one of them dominates over the others.

Groom's arrival

In some traditions, on the morning of the wedding day, the groom must visit the bride's house and check if she is ready for the arrival of the groom. The bride should already be in wedding clothes by the arrival of her bridesmaid and sit in the red corner.

The groom with his boyfriend, friends and relatives make up wedding train. While the train is moving to the bride's house, its participants (trainers) sang special "trainer" songs.

The groom's arrival was accompanied by one or more ransoms. In most regional traditions, this is the ransom of the entrance to the house. A gate, a door, etc. can be redeemed. Both the groom himself and his friend can redeem.

Elements of magical actions in this part of the rite are especially important. Road sweeping is widespread. This is done so that under the feet of the young they do not throw an object that could be damaged (hair, stone, etc.). The specific road to be swept differs between traditions. This may be the road in front of the bride's house, along which the groom's train will go, it may be the floor of the room, along which the young people will go before leaving for the crown, the road to the groom's house after the crown, etc. Druzhka and other guests carefully watched so that no one violated the cleanliness of the road (for example, they would not run across the road to the wedding train); for such a violation, the perpetrator could be severely beaten. Since pagan times, the custom has been preserved to make an offering to the local sorcerer or healer (if any), so that they do not harm the wedding train. At the same time, the sorcerer could purposely come to the train and stand there until he receives a sufficient gift.

An essential detail of the rite, preserved even in urban conditions, is the direct ransom of the bride. The bride can be redeemed either from the bridesmaids or from the parents. Sometimes there was a ritual deception of the groom. The bride was taken to him, covered with a scarf. For the first time, they could take out not a real bride, but another woman or even an old woman. In this case, the groom either had to go look for the bride, or redeem her again.

Wedding

Before going to church, the bride's parents blessed the young with an icon and bread. Before the wedding, the bride was untwisted with a girl's braid, and after the young people were married, two “woman's” braids were braided for her and her hair was carefully covered with a female headdress (warrior).

Arriving at the groom's house

After the wedding, the groom takes the bride to his house. Here their parents should bless them. There is also a combination of Christian elements with pagan ones. In many traditions, the bride and groom were put on a fur coat. The skin of the animal performs the function of a talisman. Mandatory in the rite of blessing in one form or another is bread. Usually, during the blessing, he is next to the icon. In some traditions, both the groom and the bride are supposed to bite off the bread. A magical effect was also attributed to this bread. In some regions, it was then fed to a cow so that it would give more offspring.

wedding feast

After the wedding, the bride never laments. From this moment begins the joyful and cheerful part of the ceremony. Then the young people go to the bride's house for gifts. Then the groom brings the bride to his house. There should already be ready a plentiful treat for the guests. The wedding feast begins.

During the feast, songs of praise are sung. In addition to the bride and groom, they called their parents and boyfriend. The feast could last two or three days. On the second day, it is obligatory to move everyone to the bride's house, the feast continues there. If they feast for three days, on the third they return to the groom again.

"Laying down" and "waking up" the young

In the evening (or at night) the "laying of the young" was carried out - the matchmaker or bed-maker prepared the marriage bed, which the groom had to redeem. The feast at this time often continued. The next morning (sometimes only a few hours later), a friend, matchmaker or mother-in-law “woke up” the young. Often, after the "awakening", the guests were shown signs of the "honor" (virginity) of the bride - a shirt or a sheet with traces of blood. In other places, the bridegroom testified to the virginity of the bride by eating an egg, pancake or pie from the middle or from the edge, or answering ritual questions like “Did you break the ice or trample the mud?”. If the bride turned out to be “dishonest”, her parents could be ridiculed, they could hang a collar around her neck, smear the gate with tar, etc.

3. Second wedding day

On the second day of the wedding, the bride usually performed some ritual actions. One of the most common rites is "search for the yar". This ritual consists in the fact that the “Yarochka” (that is, the sheep, the bride) is hiding somewhere in the house, and the “shepherd” (one of her relatives or all the guests) must find her.

It was also common for the “young woman” to fetch water with two oars on a yoke, throwing garbage, money, grain in the room - the young wife had to carefully sweep the floor, which was checked by the guests.

Important is the arrival of the groom to his mother-in-law. This rite has many different names in different regions (“khlibins”, “yayshnya”, etc.). It consists in the fact that the mother-in-law gave the groom cooked food (pancakes, scrambled eggs, etc.). The plate was covered with a scarf. The son-in-law had to redeem her by putting money on (or wrapped in) a handkerchief.

In some regions, on the second day of the wedding, the parents of the bride, who remained chaste, sent the groom's parents a bottle of wine, to which they tied viburnum berries and ears of corn. Kalina was called the "beauty" of the bride (her chastity). If the bride was “dishonest”, the wedding participants removed the wedding decorations in the form of viburnum: they dropped berries from the loaf, removed branches from the walls of the bride’s parents’ house, and instead of them they stuck a pine branch.

wedding songs

Wedding songs accompany all stages of the wedding, from conspiracy to the final rites of the second day. stand out farewell songs that make out the end of premarital life; majestic, performed during ritual feasts and serving for the community consolidation of the new structure of society; cinnamon songs; songs, commenting the course of the ritual.

Protective rites

· In order to deceive the dark forces during the matchmaking, they changed the path, drove by roundabout roads.

· The ringing of bells, which accompanied the wedding train all the way to the church, was considered protection from evil spirits.

· In order to turn the head of the unclean and send him to hell, the young were circled around a pole or tree.

· In order for the brownie to accept the young into a new family, it was necessary to bring the bride into the house in her arms, without stepping on the threshold.

· From damage and evil spirits were saved by refraining from pronouncing words and from eating.

· For large families and wealth, young people were showered with grain or hops, put on a fur coat weathered up with fur.

· To strengthen the bond between young people, they mixed wines from glasses of young people, stretched threads from the bride's house to the groom's house, tied the hands of the bride and groom with a handkerchief or towel.

4. Birthing and baptismal rites

In ancient times in Russia it was believed that everything that happens to a person - whether it be birth, death or illness - is subject to a dark, impure, afterlife, evil world. The birth and death of a person especially frightened superstitious people. They believed that a born person, that is, a person who had just come from an evil world, could bring with him danger to those already living. In this regard, there were a lot of rituals with the help of which the newborn and his mother were cleansed of evil spirits.

Our ancestors sincerely believed that not only a child is a carrier of evil spirits, but also his mother is a danger to the living, as she serves as a conductor between the worlds: the manifest world and another, unclean world. Through the body of a woman, a child comes to the earthly world. But along with the child, evil spirits can also penetrate into the earthly world. Thus, rituals were performed not only on the baby, but also on his mother. These rites were called "cleansing", that is, they cleansed from dark power. There were two types of rituals: church and folk.

Church rites of purification include reading prayers during childbirth, sprinkling holy water on the room where the woman in labor lies. Even in our time, such cleansing rites can be found in some villages. As a rule, prayers are read by priests who adhere to the old faith.

Rites of birth

On the day of childbirth, a midwife (a woman who will take birth and perform the duties of an obstetrician-gynecologist and nurse), close friends and relatives come to the woman in labor. Oddly enough, but even these people are considered dangerous for people, since they were present at the "sinful event" - the birth of a baby. That is, they could be inhabited by an evil spirit that came to earth during childbirth. As soon as all the procedures are completed after the baby leaves the womb, the owner of the house invites a priest who sprinkles the house, the child’s room with holy water, reads prayers of purification for the mother, child and, separately, for women who were present during childbirth.

After reading the prayers, the mother and father of the child must give their child a name (necessarily on the same day). Then a day is appointed when the baby will be baptized. This ends the role of the priest for a while. This completes the first stage of cleansing. Only after that, all the inhabitants of the house could breathe easy and not worry about their future.

Next comes the second stage cleansing baby and mother. It consists in washing the mother and child in the bath. In some settlements of Russia, it was customary to give birth right in the bathhouse, where the mother and child were kept for several days. In other places, the woman gave birth in the house, and then she and the child were transferred to the bathhouse, where the first days of the baby's life passed. Both in Orthodoxy and in paganism, a woman was considered “unclean”, and where, if not in a bathhouse, can one wash away impurity? In any case, the mother and child ended up in the bath, a few hours after the birth, where the midwife performed the rite of purification there.

It always starts with a child. Before washing the baby's body, the midwife poured plenty of water on the stones so that the steam filled the entire steam room. This was necessary in order for the body to become soft. Another belief of our ancestors: the fetus is always hard like a bone or a stone, even when the baby comes out of the womb, it remains hard. Steam was needed to soften it. Then the newborn was placed on a bath broom and began to "massage" (popularly called "stretching"). The midwife kneaded the arms and legs, head, ears and nose of the child, believing that in this way she would give the body the desired shape and correct any birth defects. Such a massage improved blood circulation, helped the joints gain flexibility, and skin elasticity.

When stretching, the midwife took the right arm of the child and pulled it to the left leg and, conversely, the left arm to the right leg. The fact is that our ancestors believed that in the dark world everything is turned upside down, where the right is left, where the top is the bottom. Therefore, the newborn, as having come from that world, is also upside down. The midwife "twisted" the child as it should be in earthly life.

The mother of the baby received no less attention. Arriving at the bath, the midwife poured vodka (or other alcoholic drink) and let her lie down until she performed the ceremony with the child. Then the restoration of the mother's body began. The woman who gave birth was believed to be born again. This was explained by the fact that her body underwent strong changes (the stomach grew, the breasts increased), that is, it was destroyed, therefore, the woman was dying. After some time, the body returned to normal, this process was considered the birth of the mother. The role of the midwife is to hasten the process of "birth" of the woman and purify the newborn. The bath ritual was repeated daily for a week.

The last rite in which the midwife participated was the rite of girdling the baby on the eve of the fortieth day: the midwife reminded the woman in labor of the need to accept a cleansing prayer and performed the rite of girdling. The belt with which she tied the child was considered both as a magical amulet against evil forces and as a sign of longevity and health.

The rite of purification is followed by the church rite of baptism. An unbaptized child caused fear in people, it was forbidden to kiss him, talk to him, put things on him (the child was always in swaddling clothes). In some villages in Russia, it was even forbidden for the mother to call him by his first name. The baby was considered a sexless creature, he was not ranked among the family in which he was born.

Parents carefully chose godparents for their child, as they were considered spiritual mentors. Most often, relatives became godparents, since they will not refuse a godson, they will always take care of him, educate, and educate him. The godfather (or godmother) could be both children from six years of age and the elderly, but preference was given to people of the same age as their parents. It was impossible to refuse the role of godfather, it was considered a blood offense for parents.

Just before the sacrament, the child was in the arms of the midwife, who handed him over to the godfather. The godmother prepared the font for the ceremony. Water was poured into the font directly from the well, in no case was it heated and warm water was not added. It was believed that by lowering the child into ice water (even in winter), they give him greater resistance to disease. If during baptism the candles in the hands of relatives smoked and burned badly, it was believed that the child would often get sick or die soon, but if the flame was bright, he would have a long life.

After the completion of the ceremony, the priest handed over the baby to the godparents: if a boy, then to the godmother, if a girl, then to the godfather, who carried the child to the house. After that, the baby became a full member of the family. The next day after the baptism, relatives, friends and relatives came to the parents' house. They arranged a feast, the first toasts were always pronounced for the health of the child, his parents and the midwife who took birth.

Tongue (the rite of the first tonsure of a child)- celebration of the anniversary of the birth of the child. Godparents were always invited to this anniversary. In the middle of the room on the floor, a casing is spread with wool up (as a sign of amulets - a symbol of well-being), a boy is put on it, the father throws some money on the casing so that the child's life is rich and happy. The foster father cuts his godson's hair a little crosswise. Today, in this specific ritual, the child is often cut off a cross symbolically from four sides, the hair is cut a little in front, behind and on both sides above the ears, which should protect the child from evil forces from all sides.

The girlish type of tonsure is a rite of braiding, a solemn weaving of the first braids crosswise. For this ritual, the parents invited the godmother, who, after performing the ceremony, was presented as a gift. The custom has survived to this day: on the birthday of a child, the mother bakes pies. Choosing the largest of them and placing it on the top of the child's head, symbolically draws the child up by the ears, saying that next year it has grown no less than the height of the pie.

5. Day Angel

According to the church charter, the name of the child had to be given on the eighth day after his birth, but the church did not strictly adhere to this rule. It happened that the name was chosen both before the birth and on the day of the birth itself.

The naming was given to the priest. He chose a name according to the calendar in accordance with the honoring of one or another Orthodox saint, coinciding with the day of the child's baptism or close to this day. Naming the name, the priest brought the child to the icon Mother of God and raised it crosswise in front of the icon, as if entrusting the new Christian to its patronage. It was allowed to choose the name and the parents themselves.

Name days are not only the day of a particular person, but also the day of the saint, in whose honor this person is named. The guardian angel is an invisible spirit assigned by God to every person from the moment of baptism. This Guardian Angel is invisibly with the Christian entrusted to him throughout his earthly life.

An Orthodox Christian had to know the life of the saint after whom he was named, to annually celebrate his name day, to follow the righteous life of his saint. For a long time in Russia there was a custom to give, in addition to the Christian name, a pagan one. It was believed that the Christian name provides the patronage of an angel. But in order for the attacks of harmful spirits to go, as it were, on another, a person often became better known under a pagan name than under a Christian one. Often the parents themselves, especially in those families where children often died, gave the child offensive, teasing nicknames, ugly names so that this name would scare away evil spirits. To choose a happy name, they wondered: they recognized the name in a dream or called out to the child - what name he responded to was given.

In the morning, the birthday man or the birthday girl sent birthday cakes to the guests; the nobility of the person to whom the pie was sent was measured by the size of the pie sent. The cake served as a kind of invitation to a name day. The one who brought the pies put them on the table and said: "The birthday man ordered to bow to the pies and asked for bread to eat." Godfather and mothers used to send sweet cakes as a token of special respect.

At the birthday tables, the invited guests sang for many years, and after the feast, the birthday tsar, for his part, gave gifts to the guests. After the feast, the guests danced, played cards, sang.

6. housewarming

Crossing the threshold of a new home, a person seems to be entering a new life. Whether this life will be prosperous depends on the observance by the new settlers of many signs. It is believed that if you perform the necessary rituals when you move in, then life in the new house will develop happily. By tradition, the eldest in the family not only started construction, but was also the first to cross the threshold of a new house.

If there were old people in the family, then the oldest of them became this very victim for the gods. The old man entered the house before everyone else. Because the pagans believed: the first one to enter the house will be the first to go to the realm of the dead.

Then paganism was replaced by Christianity and customs also changed. The cat was the first to enter the house. Why is she? It was believed that this beast is known with all evil spirits. And in a newly built house, evil spirits can live, so they need to let someone who is not afraid of them and to whom they will not do anything. And since the cat is connected with them, then she has nothing to be afraid of. They also believed that a cat always finds the best corner in the house. Where the cat lay down, then the owner and the hostess arranged their sleeping place or placed a crib.

Not only a cat was allowed into the new house. The rooster was supposed to spend the first night in the built dwelling. People were afraid to be the first to spend the night in the house - they were afraid of evil spirits. But the rooster just drove her away with his singing in the morning. But then an unenviable fate awaited him - a jelly was prepared from a rooster, which was served at the festive table.

And yet, the cat and the rooster were not the best defenders from evil spirits. The most important guardian of the house was considered, of course, the brownie. Moving from the old house, people called him with them. Even lured with different treats. For example, porridge. It was prepared in the evening in the oven of the house they were about to leave. A little porridge was put in a bowl especially for the brownie, in order to appease him, to call him in this way to a new home. The owners themselves did not eat the cooked porridge, but kept it until the next day. They sat down for a meal only in the new house. Before sitting at the table, an icon and a loaf were brought into the house. The icon was placed in the so-called red corner.

If the owners wanted the brownie to move from their old home to a new one, they simply took a broom with them. It was believed that then the brownie would definitely come to a new place. Leave a broom - Bad sign. After all, with this broom, the woman diligently swept all the rubbish out of the old house, which she then burned and scattered in the wind. This was done so that no one would spoil the left debris or ashes. The broom was later to be useful to the hostess again. She swept a new hut for them. Only after that the old broom was burned.

The Slavs assigned a special place to the new loaf loaf on the table - in the center. A lush loaf adorned with rowan or viburnum berries lay on red and green towels. After all, red is a symbol of well-being, and green is longevity.

Guests must bring bread with them. Or a small pie. This is necessary so that everyone in the new house is always full and rich.

7. Russcue orthodox burial rite

Death is the last earthly destiny of every person; after death, the soul, separated from the body, appears before the judgment of God. Believers in Christ do not want to die unrepentant, for in the afterlife sins will become a heavy, painful burden. The repose of the soul of the deceased depends on the correct implementation of the burial rite, and therefore it is extremely important to know and observe the smallest details of the funeral ritual.

communion

It is necessary to invite a priest to a seriously ill person, who will confess him and take communion, perform the sacrament of unction over him. In the sacrament of confession (from the word to confess, i.e. to tell about oneself to another), the penitent is given remission of sins through the permissive prayer of a priest who has received grace from Christ to forgive sins on earth so that they can be forgiven in heaven. A dying person who no longer speaks the language and cannot confess, the priest can resolve from sins (to forgive sins), if the sick person himself ordered to call a confessor. In the sacrament of communion, a person, under the guise of bread and wine, receives the Holy Mysteries - the Body and Blood of Christ, thus becoming a partaker of Christ. The Holy Mysteries are called Holy Gifts - because They are an invaluable Divine Gift of the Savior Christ to people. The sick are communed at any time - the priest brings into the house spare Gifts, which are kept in the church.

Unction

Unction (originally performed by an assembly of priests), or unction, is a sacrament in which, with sevenfold anointing with consecrated oil ( vegetable oil) the grace of God descends on a sick person, healing his bodily and spiritual infirmities. If the priest managed to anoint the dying at least once, the sacrament of unction is considered completed.

At the very moment of death, a person experiences a painful feeling of fear. When leaving the body, the soul meets not only the Guardian Angel given to it in Holy Baptism, but also demons, the terrible appearance of which makes one tremble. To pacify the restless soul, relatives and friends of a person leaving this world can themselves read a waste over him - in the Prayer Book this collection of songs-prayers is called "The canon of prayer when the soul is separated from the body." The canon ends with a prayer from the priest (priest), read on the exodus of the soul, for its release from all bonds, liberation from any oath, for the forgiveness of sins and peace in the abodes of the saints. This prayer is supposed to be read only by the priest.

burial

Not a single nation left the bodies of their dead without care - the law on burial and the rites corresponding to it was sacred for all. The rites performed by the Orthodox Church over the deceased Christian have a deep meaning and significance, since they are based on the revelations of the holy faith (that is, open, bequeathed by the Lord Himself), known from the apostles - disciples and followers of Jesus Christ.

The funeral rites of the Orthodox Church bring consolation, serve as symbols that express the idea of ​​a general resurrection and a future immortal life. The essence of the Orthodox burial rite lies in the Church's view of the body as a temple of the soul sanctified by grace, the present life as a time of preparation for the future life, and death as a dream, upon awakening from which eternal life will come.

Remembrance of the dead

Commemoration is carried out on the third, ninth and fortieth day, since at the indicated time the soul of the deceased appears before the Lord. For the first three days after death, the soul roams the earth, visiting places where the deceased committed sins or righteous deeds. From the third to the ninth day, the soul wanders among the paradise. From the ninth to the fortieth day, she is in hell, watching the torment of sinners. On the fortieth day, the question of determining the whereabouts of the soul in the afterlife is finally resolved.

The commemoration of the deceased is also carried out on the anniversary of death, on the days of earthly birth and on name days. The Church has established special days of remembrance - ecumenical memorial services:

Saturday before meat-fare week (Meat-fare Saturday), two weeks before Great Lent - is celebrated as a commemoration of all those who died a sudden death - during floods, earthquakes, wars;

Trinity Saturday - on the fortieth day after Easter - for all Christians;

Dimitrov Saturday (the day of Dmitry Solunsky) - a week before November 8, established by Dmitry Donskoy in memory of those who died on the Kulikovo field;

Second, third and fourth Saturdays of Great Lent;

Radonitsa (Tuesday of St. Thomas Week) when cemeteries are visited for the first time after Easter, where visitors carry colored eggs and where they inform the dead about the resurrection of Christ.

By the decree of Catherine II of 1769 (the time of the war with the Turks and Poles), the all-Russian commemoration of all the dead soldiers is carried out on the day of the beheading of John the Baptist (September 11). The canonical attributes of the funeral feast are: kutya, pancakes, jelly, milk.

Literature

1. http://studopedia.ru

2. http://www.twirpx.com

3. http://area7.ru

4.https://en.wikipedia.org

5. http://history.ya1.ru

6. http://wm-changer.ru

7. L.I. Brudnaya, Z.M. Gurevich "Encyclopedia of rituals and customs", St. Petersburg: "Respeks", 1997;

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Artistic traditions

Artistic creativity

family holidays and rituals

teacher

Kucher N.A.

Kursk - 2007

Lesson plan:

1. The concept of ritual.

2. The meaning of the rites.

3. Classification of rituals.

4. Family and household rites (maternity, baptismal, wedding and funeral rituals).

1. The desire of people to celebrate the key events of their lives brightly, solemnly and colorfully is due to the tradition of these events in the form of holidays and rituals.

What is a rite?

A rite is a set of conventionally symbolic actions that have been established among the people, expressing a certain magical meaning, associated with the celebrated events of life.

Custom - traditionally established rules of social behavior. This is what is customary ("usually") to do in this or that situation, among this or that people.

Ritual - a sequence of actions during the ceremony.

The ceremony is the same as the ritual, but is typical for especially significant solemn occasions.

Tradition is a social phenomenon that is passed down from generation to generation, covering the spheres of life, family, morality, religion.

2. At present, the rite plays an increasingly important role in the spiritual life of people. They are necessary for modern man, because.

· Create conditions for intra-family and inter-family communication, acquaintance, joint pastime;

Create an atmosphere of fun, joy, relaxedness;

Give social significance to the events of a person's personal life;

Contribute to the formation of personality;

· Educate a person;

· Provide an opportunity to realize themselves;

· Form a worldview;

Help to relieve psychological stress, organize leisure;

· Contribute to obtaining positive emotions, etc.

3. Rites can be divided into certain types. These include:

· Civil ceremonies (initiation into students, farewell to the army…)

Labor (initiation into the profession, farewell to retirement, anniversary ...)

Family and household (birth, baptism ...)

· Calendar (Easter, Christmas…)

4. Family holidays and rituals are connected with the cycle of human life; reflect the life of a person from birth to death, traditional life and family traditions.

Many scientists believe that once agricultural and family rituals formed a single whole, having one common task - to achieve well-being in the family, a good harvest. It is no coincidence that a great similarity is observed in calendar and wedding songs of an incantatory nature.

At the same time, confinement to the most striking events in a person’s personal life, and not constantly recurring dates due to the change of seasons, and, accordingly, other functions and other content make it possible to single out family holidays and rituals into a separate group.