What are pagan holidays?

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

Before we start talking about the pagan holidays of our ancestors, it is probably worth understanding the very concept of "paganism". Scientists are now trying not to give an unambiguous interpretation of this term. Previously, it was believed that modern society owes the appearance of the concept of "paganism" to the New Testament. In which, in the Church Slavonic language, the word "Iazytsy" corresponded to the concept of "other peoples", that is, those who had a religion different from Christian. Historians and philologists studying Slavic culture believe that the sacred meaning of this concept lies in the Old Slavonic word “paganism”, which in modern language would sound like “paganism”, that is, respect for kinship, clan and blood ties. Our ancestors really treated family ties with special trepidation, since they considered themselves part of everything that exists, and therefore, were related to Mother Nature and all its manifestations.

Sun

The pantheon of the gods was also based on the forces of nature, and pagan holidays served as an occasion for honoring and showing proper respect for these forces. Like other ancient peoples, the Slavs deified the Sun, because the very process of survival depended on the luminary, so the main holidays were dedicated to its position in the sky and the changes associated with this position.

Pagan solstice holidays

The ancient Slavs lived according to the solar calendar, which corresponded to the position of the Sun relative to other astronomical objects. The year was calculated not by the number of days, but by four main astronomical events associated with the Sun: winter solstice, spring equinox, summer solstice, autumn equinox. Accordingly, the main pagan holidays were associated with natural changes occurring during the astronomical year.

Main Slavic holidays

The ancient Slavs began the new year on the day of the spring equinox. This great celebration of the victory over winter was called Komoyeditsa. The holiday dedicated to the summer solstice was called Kupail Day. The autumn equinox was celebrated with Veresen. The main celebration in the winter was the winter solstice - the pagan holiday Kolyada. The four main holidays of our ancestors were dedicated to the incarnations of the Sun, which it changes depending on the time of the astronomical year. Deifying and endowing the luminary with human qualities, the Slavs believed that the Sun changes throughout the year, like a person during his life. Indeed, unlike the latter,the deity, dying on the night before the winter solstice, is reborn again in the morning.

Kolyada, or Yule-Solstice

The beginning of astronomical winter, the great pagan holiday of the winter solstice, dedicated to the rebirth of the Sun, which was identified with the baby born at dawn on the winter solstice (December 21). The celebrations lasted for two weeks, and the great Yule began at sunset on December 19th. All relatives gathered to celebrate the Christmas of the Sun, the Magi kindled bonfires to scare away evil spirits and show the way to the guests who were going to the festive feast. On the eve of the birth of the renewed Sun, the forces of evil could be especially active, because between the death of the old Sun Svetovit and the birth of the new Kolyada, there was a magical night of timelessness. It was believed that our ancestors could resist otherworldly forces by coming together for a common fun.

This night, the Slavs kindled ritual bonfires to help the Sun be born. They cleaned the dwellings and courtyards, washed and put themselves in order. And in the fire they burned everything old and unnecessary, symbolically and literally getting rid of the burden of the past, in order to meet the reborn Sun cleansed and renewed in the morning. The still very weak winter sun was called Kolyada (an affectionate derivative of Kolo, that is, a circle) and they were glad that every day it would grow stronger, and the day would begin to increase. The festivities continued according to our calendar until sunset on January 1st.

Magic Yule Night

The mostthe ancient Slavs, like modern people, considered the twelfth night of Yule (from December 31 to January 1) to be fabulous and magical and celebrated it with amusing disguises, songs and dances. Not only the tradition of having fun on this night has survived to this day, but also much more. Modern children are happily waiting for the pagan god Santa Claus, whom the ancient Slavs called to visit, in order to appease and thus protect their crops from freezing. Preparing for the New Year holidays, modern people decorate the Christmas tree with luminous garlands, Christmas wreaths are attached to the door, and cookies and cakes in the form of logs are often put on the sweet table, confidently believing that this is a Christian Christmas tradition. In fact, almost all paraphernalia is borrowed from the pagan Yule. In winter, pagan holidays were also held - Kolyadny Christmas time and Honoring women. They were accompanied by songs, dances, Christmas divination and feasts. Throughout the festivities, people praised the young Sun as a symbol of the onset of a better and renewed life.

Komoeditsa

The day of the spring equinox (March 20-21) was a holiday dedicated to the beginning of the New Year, the meeting of spring and the victory over the winter cold. With the advent of Christianity, it was replaced and shifted in time to the beginning of the year according to the church calendar, now known as Maslenitsa. The pagan holiday Komoyeditsa was celebrated for two weeks, one before the spring equinox, the other later. At this time, the Slavs honored the strengthened and gaining strength of the Sun. Having changed his childhood name Kolyada to Yarilo, the sun-god was already strong enough to melt the snow and awaken nature from its winter sleep.

The meaning of the great holiday for our ancestors

During the celebration, our ancestors burned an effigy of winter, because it was often not only cold, but also hungry. With the onset of spring, the fear of the personification of cold death in winter was gone. In order to appease the spring and ensure its favor to the crops, pieces of the pie were laid out on the thawed sections of the fields as a treat for Mother Spring. At festive feasts, the Slavs could afford hearty food in order to gain strength for work during the warm season. Celebrating the pagan New Year holidays in the spring, they danced round dances, had fun and prepared sacrificial food for the solemn table - pancakes, which, in their shape and color, resembled the spring sun. Since the Slavs lived in harmony with nature, they revered its flora and fauna. The bear was a highly respected and even deified animal, therefore, on the feast of the onset of spring, a sacrifice in the form of pancakes was made to him. The name Komoyeditsa is also associated with a bear, our ancestors called it kom, hence the proverb “the first pancake for komam”, which means it was intended for bears.

Kupaila, or Kupala

The summer solstice (June 21) glorifies the sun-god - the mighty and full of strength Kupail, who gives fertility and a good harvest. This great day of the astronomical year presides over the pagan summerholidays and is the beginning of summer according to the solar calendar. The Slavs rejoiced and had fun, because on this day they could take a break from hard work and glorify the Sun. People danced around the sacred fire, jumped over it, thus purifying themselves, and bathed in the river, the water of which is especially healing on this day. The girls guessed at their betrothed and floated wreaths of fragrant herbs and summer flowers. They decorated the birch with flowers and ribbons - the tree, because of its beautiful and magnificent decoration, was a symbol of fertility. On this day, all the elements have a special healing power. Knowing what pagan holidays are associated with the magic of nature, the Magi on Kupala prepared all kinds of herbs, flowers, roots, evening and morning dew.

Magic of a magical night

Slavic magi performed many rituals to get Kupail's favor. On a magical night, they went around the eared fields, chanting incantations from evil spirits and calling for a rich harvest. At Kupala, our ancestors wanted to find a magical fern flower that blooms only on this fabulous night, is able to work miracles and helps to find the treasure. Many folk tales are associated with the search for a flowering fern on Kupala, which means that pagan holidays carried something magical. Of course, we know that this ancient plant does not bloom. And the glow, taken by the lucky ones for a magical flowering, is caused by phosphorescent organisms, sometimes present on fern leaves. But does the night and the search become any less fascinating?

Springtime

A holiday dedicated to the autumn equinox (September 21), the end of the harvest and the beginning of astronomical autumn. The festivities lasted for two weeks, the first until the equinox (Indian summer) - during this period they counted the harvest and planned its consumption until the future. The second is after the autumnal equinox. On these holidays, our ancestors honored the wise and aging sun Svetovit, thanked the deity for a generous harvest and performed rituals so that the next year would be fertile. Meeting autumn and seeing off summer, the Slavs burned bonfires and danced round dances, extinguished the old fire in their dwellings and kindled a new one. They decorated houses with sheaves of wheat and baked various pies from the harvested crop for the festive table. The celebration was held on a grand scale, and the tables were bursting with dishes, people thanked Svetovit for his generosity in this way.

Our days

With the advent of Christianity, the ancient traditions of our ancestors practically disappeared, because often a new religion was planted not with a kind word, but with fire and a sword. But nevertheless, the memory of the people is strong, and the church could not destroy some traditions and holidays, so it simply agreed with them, replacing the meaning and name. What pagan holidays have merged with Christian ones, having undergone changes, and often a shift in time? As it turns out, all the main ones: Kolyada - the birth of the Sun - December 21 (Catholic Christmas 4 days later), Komoyeditsa - March 20-21 (Shrovetide - cheese week, shifted in time to the beginning of the year due to Easter fast),Kupail - June 21 (Ivan Kupala, the Christian rite is tied to the birthday of Ivan the Baptist). Veresen - September 21 (Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary). So, despite the past centuries and the change of religion, the original Slavic holidays, albeit in a modified form, continue to exist, and anyone who cares about the history of their people can revive them.