Kolyada holiday: when and how is it celebrated?

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Carols or the Kolyada holiday has been celebrated and celebrated since ancient times, it was given great importance. Absolutely all people sang, danced, feasted, rejoiced and had fun.

A bit of history

The famous holiday is named after the great god Kolyada, for the Slavic people it was one of the main ones. Historical records say that he gave mankind a calendar, and they learned to use dates. This god helped many ordinary people, farmers, warriors, protecting everyone from death. On many images you can see Kolyada with a sword, but he was not in a militant mood: the blade of his weapon rushed down to the ground. He tried to convey to many that it is not worth constantly fighting, everything can be decided according to the laws established from above. After all, there are other important things to do in life.

The emergence of a great holiday

Another name is the Kolyada holiday: the day of change or Menari. There is a story that in ancient times, people fell into the realm of death. After staying there for some time, they were released. So that the evil spirits could not sharpen them back, they began to pay off with various sweets, all kinds of items. Their relatives greeted them with fun, songs and festivities. Since then, the people began to celebrate this important day every year,which later became known as Kolyada.

The meaning of the celebration of Kolyada for the Slavic people

The Kolyada holiday was considered the main event in the winter among the village people. It was held from December to January, starting from the 22nd and until the 7th, until the day of the Nativity of Christ. The great people of the Slavs celebrated it for more than one day. All residents began preparations much earlier than the grand event. The hostesses put the house in order, cleaned and took out all the garbage, washed all the items, tried to put everything beautiful and elegant in appearance. Young boys and girls sewed interesting and mysterious outfits and made masks. The day before the start, it was necessary to go to the bathhouse and wash off all the dirt in order to be bright and clean on the holy holiday. They took out and put on the most beautiful clothes and commemorated the departed people. Kolyada was one of the main holidays among the Slavs, no one dared to miss it for any reason.

The celebration of Kolyada is associated with the Great Solstice, when all the people emerge from the winter darkness and the day becomes longer than the night. Thus, people show their joy that spring will come soon, the sowing season will begin. They all thank God for everything that he gives them: the sun, water, a large harvest, he althy and large livestock. Nobody forgot about the Kolyada holiday, everyone was looking forward to it.

Sequence of conducting

The celebration of Kolyada begins with setting a large table. Straw is laid first. It serves as a symbol for auspiciousdevelopment of cows, to obtain good and tasty milk, so that animals are not eaten by predators. Afterwards, a festive tablecloth is laid and various dishes are served.

First of all, you need to taste kutya (porridge), leave some grains in the plate. After the end of the meal, you need to throw them under the very ceiling. This was a fortune-telling for high yields and rapid growth of domestic animals (cows, sheep, chickens and others). The rest of the porridge was collected and fed to the hens in the yard, so that on this day they were completely satiated and carried many eggs. Straw was taken to the barn to animals, thereby protecting them from all kinds of diseases, so that livestock would bear offspring. Thus ended the first day of the Kolyada holiday.

Continued

The second day began with the return of debts, the expression of all grievances. After that, it was necessary to immediately make peace and forgive each other for everything. On this day, young people put on animal costumes and walked around the village with loud and sonorous songs, wishing everyone good he alth, a big harvest, less illness and grief. In turn, the people in whose courtyards the wishes sounded had to bestow sweets on the singers. When all the bags were full of goodies, the youth went to some house. There they continued to celebrate, had fun and ate goodies. The celebration of Kolyada lasted for a whole week, everyone had fun before starting hard work.

Folk traditions

From ancient times, the holiday of Kolyada among the Slavs is magic. At this time, all the most mysterious, mysterious things happen.and inexplicable. People have many beliefs on how to attract happiness, luck, he alth, family well-being. For unmarried girls, fortune-telling was another of the entertainments. They found out if a young husband would appear this year, what character, appearance (hair color, physique) he would have. Sometimes even guys guessed, but this is a rarer occurrence, although everyone is interested in knowing their future.

The celebration of Kolyada mostly takes place on the street. All the inhabitants of the village leave their houses, burn fires and dance around him, singing loud and sonorous songs. Almost the whole day is spent in fun, and young and old ride sledges, harness horses. The children run around with bags, collecting sweet treats and shouting various verses about the Kolyada holiday. These days, no one is sad, because people believe: if they rejoice at the great god Kolyada, he will take care of their crops, livestock, delicious food and drinks will be on the table all year long.

An ancient holiday in modern life

Today, the great holiday is a thing of the past, all traditions are forgotten, in the modern metropolis, many do not even know that there is such a winter period of time when people carol. Only in the villages do residents try not to forget the Kolyada holiday and have fun as before.

In order for the great celebration not to disappear after a while, today Kolyada is being popularized in many places. The scenario of the holiday helps to get acquainted with all the subtleties of village life. It is carried out in kindergartens, schools, higher educationalestablishments. They take ancient traditions as a basis and add something new to which they are already accustomed. So people get acquainted with the traditions of the great Slavic people. Now the description of the Kolyada holiday has changed, in ancient times the customs were slightly different.

How to celebrate Kolyada?

Celebration of Kolyada, the script of the holiday in Russian can be found in large numbers and they are all slightly different. But the essence remains the same - this is caroling around the neighbors.

For the event, it is necessary to recruit several participants who must receive in advance a sheet with the name Kolyada, a holiday scenario, where there is a detailed description. Having learned all the words of poems, songs, proceed to the fun itself. You can learn several dance moves, this will be a huge plus.

1. All participants put on costumes (prepared in advance) and go around the guests. A cheerful song should sound loudly and loudly in front of the house so that everyone understands that people have come to carol.
2. Then the action takes place in the hut (house). The caroling participants begin to praise the hosts, wish them well, great success, and he alth. All this in song form.
3. Next, a negative character appears who is trying to play dirty tricks, spoil the celebration. For his disappearance, you need to play a game in which good triumphs over evil. At the holiday again fun, joy, laughter.
4. After all the games, the hosts give sweets to carolers and thank them for their congratulations. In response, the songs sound again and everyone disperses.
5. Sometimes the action endstea with guests.

You can celebrate from December 22 to January 7, choosing any day. In the modern world, the celebration of Kolyada takes place in one day. Fun begins in the afternoon, everyone sings and dances, recites poems and ditties, holds feasts, laying a generous and rich table, and treat neighbors. At night, something interesting begins. Young people go from house to house and carol. In turn, the owner of the house should treat the guests with something. If he refuses and drives away the caroling people, they may get upset and spoil something, take the chicken from the yard or the dish. This is considered a punishment for such a master who does not honor the ancient traditions.

Where are the sources of information?

If you want to know a lot of details, information about the Kolyada holiday is stored in the experience of grandmothers. They obviously remember all the fun. Older people will tell in detail what songs were sung in their time, what was customary to treat and what games they played.

It's always useful to read a little about this interesting and fun Kolyada holiday. And hold it annually, thereby telling children about ancient history in a comic and fun way. Another plus is the development of children in the physical plane. They will participate in fast moving games. In addition to everything, you can play outdoors. Children and adults can have a lot of fun at the Kolyada holiday.