Russian traditions and ceremonies

Family traditions and rituals

Among the old-Russian population (especially among the Cossacks and peasants who received land in the early possession, and then in the property) common in the past were great (undivided) family. However, living together and manage not only the parents, children and grandchildren, and several brothers immediately could be sister and her husband, Primakov orphaned nephews and other relatives. Often family combines up to 20 or more people. At the head of the family team was the father or older brother (the highway, over), hostess of women and the authority of the men was his wife. Intrafamily life is determined by patriarchal attitudes. The church itself is prescribed to women unquestioning obedience to her husband. Daughter-in-waiting in the seeds of life heavy daily work, they are waiting for submission and obedience. At the same time, all members of the family participated in the execution of business affairs for the heaviest man lying field, forest, construction works. The case involved the family and children.

After the abolition of serfdom and receive allotments there was a tendency to the disintegration of families. The settlers of the last decades of the XIX century. rarely dare to move a large staff. However, the eldest son living with parents everywhere was a family tradition. Families of 7-9 people were common. In Stolypin's time along with them there are small family - 4-6 people.

Wedding ceremonies


Weddings are usually celebrated in the fall or winter, after the baptism. Wedding ceremony consisted of several stages and takes longer period of time. Woo Woman came the procession with the cross or the parents of Man, at least - other relatives. They sat under the Matica and start talking figuratively: "You - the goods, we -kupets" or "You have - chicken, we -petushok, we reduce them to one hlevushok." In the case of agreement took place after a series of pre-wedding meetings: bride groom, familiarity with the economy of the groom, collusion (booze, Handshake), during which agreed on the date of the wedding, the amount of the dowry, the amount and content of masonry - monetary contributions of the bride and clothes that he bought a bride (it could be a fur coat, a coat, a silk dress, boots, galoshes, etc.). After that, about a month there was a preparation for the wedding. During this period bridesmaids gathered in her home on Vecherki helped prepare gifts for the wedding and dowry: sewing, knitting lace, embroidered.

All ceremonies were part of a wedding ring, accompanied by the songs according to the time - sad, lyrical, Cheering, comic, farewell.

Game Wedding amusements character manifested in full the next day, when the in-law, and with him went all present "to his mother on pancakes." The Cossacks, for example, after a noisy (tossing and smashing plates) fun in the house of Tiffany, ryadilis in different clothes, painted or covered with canvas face and whooping, singing toured the village of oxen harnessed to carts - Rydvan. We stop off to visit the godfathers and other guests. The wedding could take a week or more. Despite the limited number of invitees to attend, join the dancing, performances, occasionally ugoshatsya could practically everyone.

Folklore collectors ascertain the impoverishment of the wedding ceremonies in the XX century., The disappearance of her not only a lot of sad, but also a number of game points. Increase participation, but were lost wedding "roles" (except pals). Ceremonial folk songs left to history.

Calendar holidays and rituals, folklore


In everyday life, we manifest the relationships that bring people together in large groups strong. Contact support joint holding of festivals (moving to each other's homes) as well as the customs of mutual aid and reciprocity. One of them, the most resilient, it was the custom help in the work (help toloka). He has performed in two ways: to alternate performing in a relatively compressed period of the same work in the united farms; in the implementation of urgent work at the invitation of the host. The first type of braces regarding field work (harvesting, transportation sheaves, threshing), less hay. Very often it has been used in the fall for harvesting in the winter cabbage, processing (cleaning) flax for spinning; in which case it only affects young women and girls. One-time help was going to transport timber and construction materials, the installation log, roofing, etc.. The owner fed the breakfast crowd, and after work entertained a good dinner with beer and wine. Despite the fatigue, present sang, danced, had fun.
On the big rise, with the participation of all residents, and sometimes guests from neighboring villages were carried out folk festivals and celebrations.

The main winter holiday is in January. Two weeks of the Christmas (Christmas holidays) combines three more holidays: Christmas, New Year's Eve (Old Style) and Epiphany. On holidays undertaken a magical game, made symbolic actions with grain, bread, straw ("to the harvest"). Children, boys and girls on Christmas Eve went from house to house caroling, caroling, and in the New Year. All Yule period, especially at New Year and after it, the girls were wondering to learn their fate.

An obligatory element of the Christmas holidays were posal. Young people dressed up old men and women, gypsies, hussars; face smeared with soot, we wore torn up inside coats and walked through the village, making fun of all, playing the scenes fun. Participated mainly young people, the rest were spectators.

Favorite holiday was Shrovetide, it lasted for a week and marked off winter and spring meeting. Since Thursday Maslenitsa all work stopped, started revelry. We went to each other's homes, were treated to plenty of pancakes, muffins, pies, and was drinking. It is believed that the celebration of Maslenitsa Russian left in a pre-Christian times. Church folk customs has given its color.

After a long exhausting fasting celebrated Easter - religious holiday, eagerly supported by the people, is perceived as the flowering of spring, the awakening of life. At Easter bread baked muffins (cakes, Easter), painted eggs, attended church, went to each other's homes, shared at the meeting Krashenki, triple kiss (kiss). Young people going to separate boys and girls circle dances, walked through the streets, riding on a swing. After Easter week on Tuesday celebrated the parent day - visiting the cemetery, brought food to the graves of deceased relatives, including Easter.

Completes the cycle of the spring holidays Semik and Trinity. They celebrated the seventh week after Easter (Semik - Thursday, and Trinity - Sunday) In Semik girl went into the forest, weaving wreaths of birch branches, sang songs and ternary threw wreaths into the river. If the wreath sank, it was considered a bad omen, if it stuck to the shore, it meant that the girl should get married soon. Before that, beer was brewed in clubbing and having fun with the guys on the river bank until late at night. The Trinity was made to decorate the inside of the house with birch branches. Traditional foods were eggs, eggs and other egg dishes.

In autumn and winter gatherings were held (supredki). In the evening young people going to have a lonely middle-aged women, girls and young women brought tow and other work - spinning, embroidering, knitting. It discussed all sorts of village affairs, told stories and fairy tales, sang songs. They come on guys looked after Vecherka brides joked, amused.

Summer fun youth were gathering (dance, street) on the outskirts of the village, on the banks of the river or the forest. Here, playing games, singing and dancing, circle dances. Delayed until late. The principal figure was a good local accordion.

Russian Folklore Southern Urals - the richest area of ​​spiritual culture, our time is well studied. In the 40s people of middle and older generation still knew the ancient lyric songs, wedding, round dance, calendar ritual, a dance tune; but in everyday life dominated ditties.

Until recently flourished fairytale genre. They tell tales fi, satire, animals, true stories about goblins and devils. Certain layers occupied legends, including on historical themes. The mountain and forest villages, long located far from the main roads, was found rare - ballad-song tradition with very old subjects. Specific focus was a Cossack and factory folklore. This was particularly noticeable in the song repertoire.