Komoeditsa is a holiday of the spring equinox. Komoeditsa - meeting spring

There is no other holiday in Russia that is so closely connected with the entire complex and dramatic thousand-year history of our people. This page will help you understand more deeply and clearly the history of the Russian people and the origins of their modern state.

Maslenitsa 2017 - from February 20 to 26.

Four great solar holidays
our ancient ancestors (pagans)
Days of the vernal equinox (Komoyeditsa), summer solstice (Kupaila),
autumn equinox (Veresen) and winter solstice (Yule solstice).

Modern schemes of ancient Slavic solar holidays:

1. Komoeditsa - 2-week celebration of the Vernal Equinox (the beginning of astronomical spring), farewell to Winter and burning of an effigy of Madder (Winter), a solemn meeting of Spring and the beginning of the ancient Slavic New Year

Slavic pagan temple. The eve of the Komoeditsa holiday. The Baby Sun Kolyada, reborn annually on the renewed morning after the Night of the Winter Solstice (the longest night of the year), having gone through Winter and gaining strength to rise higher in the sky, becomes Yarila the Sun on the Day of the Vernal Equinox of the young men, drives away the boring Winter, and the long-awaited Spring comes for all nature.

Komoeditsa(or Komoeditsy) during the religion of the Druids (magi) and until the 16th century - a pagan celebration of the sacred Spring equinox(March 20 or 21 according to the modern calendar, the beginning of astronomical spring), after which the day begins to become longer than the night, the Yarilo sun melts the snow, nature awakens with the spring force, and the celebration of the beginning of the New Year according to the ancient Slavic solar calendar (in Rus' until 1492, March opened account for the New Year).

Komoeditsa is one of the oldest pagan Slavic holidays. In addition to celebrating the sacred entry of Spring into its rights, on this day the Slavic Bear God was also revered: in the morning before breakfast, in a solemn procession with songs, dances and jokes, they brought “pancake sacrifices” to the great Honey Beast in the forest with the first baked holiday pancakes and laid them out on tree stumps. After this, the festive feast began. The ancient Slavs called the bear Com(hence the rule - “first damn comam”, i.e. bears).

The ancients considered the pancake a symbol of the sun, since it, like the sun, is yellow, round and hot, and they believed that together with the pancake they eat a piece of its warmth and power.

Also among the ancients the symbol of the sun was cheesecakes.

2-week pagan holiday Komoeditsa They began to celebrate a week before the spring equinox and continued the celebration a week after. For these two weeks, relatives of each Slavic clan gathered together for many days of celebration and rituals.

In pre-Christian antiquity, the holiday consisted of a variety of ritual actions of a magical-religious nature, interspersed with fun games and feasts, which, gradually changing, then passed into later traditional folk customs and rituals (burning a straw effigy of Winter, baking sacrificial bread - pancakes, dressing up and etc.).

For many centuries, Komoeditsa retained the character of a wide folk festival, accompanied by feasts, games, competitions of strength, and fast horse riding.

In those ancient times, the 2-week celebration of Komoeditsa had great functional significance for the Slavs- after the past long and cold, and often half-starved winter, when there was little work, the Slavs needed to eat up the leftover food carefully preserved after the winter, cheer up and strengthen their strength for the upcoming intense field and other work, which continued continuously after the onset of astronomical spring all warm seasons.

Then there were no current weekly days off, and people worked incessantly throughout the short Russian summer from sunrise to sunset to provide food for themselves and their domestic animals for the entire coming long and cold Russian winter, to stock up on fuel, to repair or rebuild their homes, premises for livestock, prepare clothes, etc. (as they said, “prepare the sleigh in the summer...”).

Immediately after the holiday, people began intense agricultural work that lasted throughout the warm season.
The original one has long been lost pagan meaning the ancient sacred holiday of Komoeditsa of the Slavic religion of the Magi - the beginning of the Slavic New Year, which until the 14th century in Rus' began in March and was associated with the day of the vernal equinox, when the Slavs solemnly celebrated the Holy Spring.

After the adoption of Christianity in Rus' and the subsequent ban on pagan customs (in those cruel medieval times, militant Christian archpastors were not inclined to share the collection of profits with other beliefs), Christian clergy and authorities fought for a long time and unsuccessfully against the traditional pagan folk holiday.

Some peacefulness towards other beliefs appeared among Orthodox archpastors only under the firm influence of Mongol-Tatar rule, which equally (as now in the Russian Federation) recognized all religions and strictly forbade them to fight among themselves. The Mongols punished mercilessly on the spot for interfaith struggle, simply breaking the backs of overly enthusiastic fighters of any religious fundamentalism by pulling their heels to the back of their heads.

But even after this, it was the former Slavic paganism, which represented the main competition among the Russian people to Christian churchmen, that the Orthodox Church could not stand, fighting against it in the most cruel ways.

A new surge in the brutal struggle of churchmen against popular Slavic paganism began after the collapse of the Great Mongol Empire, which until then included Rus'. Then the darkness of terrible Orthodox fanaticism heavily covered all of Russia, throwing the country back for a long time in its development for many centuries. Orthodox obscurantism again, as in the times of the previous Rurikovichs, blossomed in full bloom, again forcing the people to its ways with blood and torture.

When, over the course of several centuries, the churchmen still did not achieve success in the forceful struggle against the wise folk tradition, which they waged in the most cruel and bloody ways (Jesus Christ would have shuddered at the immeasurable cruelty of the profit-hungry “followers” of His great Teaching about human kindness), Church archpastors used a well-known Jesuit technique: “If you cannot defeat the enemy, unite with him and destroy him from within.”

In the 16th century, Cheese Week (Maslenitsa) was adopted by the Church to replace the forbidden Slavic Komoeditsa.
The Church simply privatized, like many other things, the ancient folk holiday of welcoming Spring and, according to its church custom, distorted and vulgarized this meeting.
And soon the people forgot their ancient Komoeditsa, but began to celebrate Maslenitsa with the same riotous scope.

“SUBSTITUTE” CHRISTIAN HOLIDAYS ESTABLISHED BY THE CHURCH TO REPLACE THE GREAT PAGAN SOLAR HOLIDAYS

1) Now Maslenitsa (cheese week) is one of four holidays Russian Orthodox Church, introduced by Christians to replace the previous pagan great solar holidays (and “shifted” in time to varying degrees, so that they do not coincide with pagan celebrations and do not fall on Christian fasts, when celebrating is prohibited). Because The day of the vernal equinox falls on the Christian Lent; Maslenitsa was moved by the clergy to the last week before Lent and lost the ancient meaning of the solemn meeting of the astronomical spring.

2) The second “replacement” holiday is the Orthodox day of Ivan Kupala, which replaced the Slavic Day of Kupaila (the day of the entry into the rights of the mighty summer sun, Kupaila), the pagan celebration of the summer solstice.
The ritual part of the Christian holiday of Ivan Kupala is timed to coincide with the birthday of John the Baptist - June 24th. Since the Russian Orthodox Church lives according to the old style, the date of birth of John the Baptist (June 24 according to the old style) falls on July 7 according to the new style.

3) The third is the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which replaced the former Slavic Veresen, a pagan celebration of the entry into the rights of the aging wise autumn sun, the old man Svetovit, on the Day of the autumn equinox, the ancient holiday of the harvest.
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated on September 21 according to the new style (September 8 according to the old style), i.e. on the day of the autumn equinox.

4) Fourth - Nativity of Christ, in 273 AD. e. replacing the pagan celebration of the Nativity of the infant sun Kolyada on the morning after the Winter Solstice Night (the longest night of the year).
Around the world, Christmas is celebrated on December 25th. Russian Orthodox Christians living according to the old Julian calendar celebrate this holiday also on December 25 according to Art. style, i.e. January 7, new style.

Because the former pagan Komoeditsa fell on Lent, when holidays and fun are strictly prohibited by the Church, the clergy “shifted” the holiday in time from the Vernal Equinox to almost a month closer to the beginning of the year, allocating it a week before Lent, i.e. made a false substitution of what was given by Heaven itself. In addition to the temporary “shift,” the previous popular celebration was shortened from two weeks to one.

Strictly speaking, it was not the “transfer” of the holiday of Komoeditsa that was carried out (it is impossible to move Komoeditsa, since it is associated with an annual astronomical event), but establishment of a new church holiday for the people to replace the previous pagan one to destroy and erase past traditions from the memory of the people. And they completely succeeded - Jesuit techniques always work well and effectively. Following the example of the clergy, recently a similar substitution of the holiday was made by the Russian authorities, replacing the nationwide celebration on November 7 of the anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution with the celebration of the day of the accession of the House of Romanov on November 4, previously annually which was widely celebrated in the former tsarist Russia (so that the current Russian people would quickly forget that a worthless government can be easily overthrown). According to social surveys, the majority of today's Russians have no idea what they are celebrating on November 4th - as it should be on any holiday, on this day Russians drink and eat to make it fun.
However, to make a substitution, it is not even necessary to change the dates of the celebration - in 1992, the authorities wisely replaced “May 1 - International Day of Solidarity of Workers in the Fight for Economic and Political Rights” with the faceless Russian “May Day - Spring and Labor Day”, on which no one works , everyone diligently drinks vodka, and the police are prohibited from picking up drunk people on the streets. Having celebratoryly drank and eaten, the people no longer remember about some kind of struggle for some of their rights - which is what the authorities need. The significant shift to the beginning of the year of the forcibly introduced church holiday that replaced Komoeditsa makes perverted the artificially invented interpretation of the current Maslenitsa in an ancient pagan way - as “farewell to winter and welcome of spring” - at this time it is too early to welcome spring among the snows and winter colds, especially in Russia with its cold climate.
So our wise ancient pagan ancestors greeted Spring at a more reasonable time than today’s Orthodox Russians, converted by church ideology into servants of God.

The new church holiday began to be called "cheesy" or “meat-eating” week (week). Church "cheese week" began to precede Lent.

IN "cheese week" The Church Charter already prohibits believers from eating meat, but allows butter, dairy products, eggs and fish. From these products permitted by the church calendar, the holiday soon, in the same 16th century, acquired its second, popular name - Maslenitsa.

But even the former folk culture “transferred” by the clergy Slavic holiday Komoeditsa retained some of its pagan customs, converting in the 16th century to folk Maslenitsa. The traditions of Russian folk Maslenitsa were finally consolidated in the 18th century through the efforts of the Russian Emperor Peter I, a great lover of all sorts of riotous festivities (see below for more on this).

Despite the official inclusion in church holidays, Maslenitsa never received a complete rethinking and remains a holiday and TO THE PEOPLE'S SECULITY(national gluttonous and drunken revelry), and RELIGIOUS CHRISTIAN(this is the last of three weeks of preparation for Lent - before that there are the “omnivorous” and “pockmarked” weeks - see below TRADITIONAL RUSSIAN MASLENIC WEEK).

How to treat the Maslenitsa holiday depends on the perception of the celebrant.

At modern “Catholic” Maslenitsa carnivals in Venice, Rome, Rio de Janeiro And widespread celebrations in many other places in Europe and America Few people remember the upcoming Lent, and many cheerfully celebrating tourists do not even realize, continuing the holiday even after the onset of Catholic Lent. For example, in Argentina Maslenitsa carnivals, starting at the time determined by the Church, last for two whole months, i.e. throughout Lent and even after it ends, until the people get tired. The folk tradition of the ancient holiday, erased by Christian clergy for centuries, continues to manifest itself in full.

Of course, in Russia, which is always meager and constantly fighting for its survival, annual such wide, bright and richly decorated national Maslenitsa celebrations are impossible, although in recent years the Russian authorities have been trying to organize something similar following the example of the peoples of European culture. Some good comes out of this, but the general poverty of the people has not yet been overcome.

Since 2002 in Moscow, at the instigation of the then Moscow mayor Luzhkov, the celebration folk Maslenitsa revived, but for some reason they began to celebrate it ON MONDAY, simultaneously with the beginning of the church “cheese week”, although at all times the traditional beginning of the celebration folk Maslenitsa the Russians had FOR SUNDAY a week before Lent - on the so-called "meat plot", when was the last time it was allowed to eat meat, i.e. a day earlier than the start of Church Maslenitsa (church “cheese week” starting on Monday). This once again demonstrated the strict integration of the current Russian democratic government with the church, but always the people’s Maslenitsa, unlike the church “cheese week” (week), began on the Sunday of the “meat fast” and lasted 8 days.

One should not confuse, as often happens now, the current folk Maslenitsa With pagan Komoeditsa- these are different holidays(like the above examples of celebrations in Russia on November 7 and November 4).

The current folk Maslenitsa, the dates of which are determined by the clergy, is in no way supposedly just a “shifted” in time of the former pagan holiday of Komoeditsa, which has always been and will be inextricably linked with Happy spring equinox.

And the meaning of the current folk Maslenitsa, especially church "cheese week" already completely different from the previous Slavic Komoeditsy.
- Komoeditsa- this is a solemn meeting by our ancient ancestors of the onset of astronomical spring for Nature and the beginning of the ancient Slavic New Year, as well as the necessary invigoration of people after a cold winter with fun and hearty food before the start of intensive field work.
- Church Cheese Week- This is the preparatory week for Lent, the last week before Lent. In the Christian sense, it is dedicated to one goal - reconciliation with neighbors, forgiveness of offenses, preparation for the repentant path to God - this is the Christian component of Maslenitsa. During the continuation of the Church Cheese Week (Maslenitsa), they do not eat meat, but they can eat fish and dairy products. Maslenitsa is a continuous week; fasting on Wednesday and Friday is canceled.
- Folk Maslenitsa determined by the church calendar(the colloquial name for Cheese Week) there is, strictly speaking, nothing to celebrate - this is simply the structure of a certain party, with which the churchmen replaced the pagan Komoeditsa in order to erase it from memory. And it’s too early to get excited about Maslenitsa before agricultural work - there will be snow on the fields for a long time, winter blizzards and blizzards will swirl around.
In addition, after the church Cheese Week (Maslenitsa), the long Lent introduced by the clergy begins with huge dietary restrictions, which is completely unreasonable for people after the cold Russian winter, when the body is already weakened, and before the upcoming heavy field work.
If some customs of the ancient Jews who lived in the hot desert and gave birth to Christianity are still acceptable in warm Europe, then they are very stupid, and even harmful in Russia, the coldest country in the world. Only Antarctica is colder than Russia, but people don’t live there; The average annual temperature in Russia is +4 o C, 64% of the territory is permafrost. You can adopt other people's customs, but wisely, and not mindlessly ape.

Of course, none Christianity, now split into Catholicism, Protestantism, Lutheranism, etc., as well as more than 17 different Orthodox autocephalous (headed by patriarchs, the Russian Orthodox Church is the 5th among them) and autonomous (headed by metropolitans) churches, cannot determine or transfer the dates of holidays of other faiths, especially astronomical dates events.

An ancient pagan holiday of our Slavic ancestors Komoeditsa always remains in time in its original place (in different years it is March 20 or 21), determined only by the annual astronomical event - this is the great holiday of the entry into its rights of the long-awaited and world-renewing Sacred Spring, given by Heaven itself to people, animals, birds, plants and all earthly nature.

Day of spring equinox- Start astronomical spring , which no churchmen and no God can “move.”

And in our time, everyone can cheerfully celebrate Komoeditsa - a bright and joyful holiday of our ancestors, the meeting of Spring and the spring renewal of Nature.

In recent decades in Europe and North America, the celebration of the “pagan” Day of the vernal equinox is becoming more and more popular and widespread from year to year, more and more people in different countries want to study and festively honor the ancestral traditions of their peoples, previously diligently, if not cruelly, by clergy erased from people's memory.

In Russia, we still have few such enthusiasts for studying ancient history and playing costumed restoration of traditions - this is reflected in the current emotional and financial limitations of the majority of Russians, who more often perceive holidays only as an excuse to drink extra.

In some countries, the Vernal Equinox Day is an official national holiday and a day off.

For Orthodox Christians, this wonderful time for all of nature falls on Lent, that’s why it’s called meager and sad "lenten spring".

Three Maslenitsa in Rus':

1. Ancient pagan Komoeditsa

The great solar holiday is a solemn meeting of the Holy Spring bestowed by heaven.

A holiday of ancient agricultural cults that has come down to us from Mesolithic times.

The week before and the week after the vernal equinox - the beginning of astronomical spring.

2. Church cheese (meat and meat) week

A 7-day Orthodox church holiday from Monday to Forgiveness Sunday.

The last of the 3 weeks (week) before Lent.
It is preceded by 2 more church weeks of preparation for Lent - “omnivorous” and “pockmarked”.

3. Maslenitsa

Held during the days of the Church Cheese Week, an 8-day riotous, drunken and gluttonous Russian secular holiday from the Sunday of “meat” to “forgiveness” Sunday. The secular celebration of Maslenitsa was established by the royal Decree of Peter I in the image and likeness of European carnivals (see below Peter’s “THE ALL-JOKING, ALL-DRUNKEN AND MOST CRAZY CATHEDRAL”).

BASIC INFORMATION IN BRIEF:

Maslenitsa is NOT a pagan holiday and does NOT have any pagan roots - this holiday was introduced by churchmen in the 16th century to displace from the people's consciousness the pagan great solar holiday of welcoming spring, Komoeditsa, which celebrated the vernal equinox (the beginning of astronomical spring).
“Cheese” or “meat-eating” week (its popular name is Maslenitsa), introduced by the church to replace the hitherto traditional pagan celebration of Komoeditsa, is one of the elements of the struggle of Christianity against paganism (with religious competitors).
The relationship between the church Maslenitsa and the ancient pagan Komoeditsa is similar to the relationship between the festivities of the Day of the Royal House of Romanov on November 4 and the former revolutionary Day on November 7.
The fact that some people during the celebration of Maslenitsa do not observe strict church regulations and indulge in drunken revelry does not in any way make this holiday pagan, i.e. relating to the original ancient religion of the Slavs.

Maslenitsa (Shrovetide week) - Christian Lenten holiday preparation for Lent, during which, after the Sunday of the “meat fast,” it is forbidden to eat meat, but fish, dairy products and butter are still allowed; hence, in the 16th century, shortly after the introduction by the clergy of “cheese week” (“meat week”), its popular name appeared - Maslenitsa.

The dates for celebrating Maslenitsa are “movable”, because... are strictly connected with the “moving” dates of Easter and the preceding 7-week Lent determined by the lunar calendar - this is the last week before Lent.

Ancient pagan edible symbols of the sun, certainly used in the celebration of Maslenitsa, are pancakes and cheesecakes.
On the last day of Maslenitsa, “Forgiveness Sunday,” they burn a straw effigy of the annoying Winter (Madder), and not Maslenitsa, as many mistakenly believe.

In Catholicism, the church holiday of Maslenitsa is called carnival.
The pagan holiday of the spring equinox has been preserved in Islam - this is the holiday of Navruz.
Komoeditsa, the great pagan solar holiday of our ancient Slavic ancestors, always remains in its place (the day of the vernal equinox) and can be cheerfully celebrated annually by everyone who wants to honor the traditions of their ancient ancestors; In some countries it is a public holiday and a day off.
It is recommended that you read this page in order from beginning to end.

Like on Shrovetide
Pancakes were flying from the chimney!
From the heat, from the heat, from the oven,
All blush, hot!
Maslenitsa, treat!
Serve everyone some pancakes.
In the heat of the moment, take it apart!
Don't forget to praise.

From the history of pagan Komoeditsa,
Church cheese (meat) week
and folk Maslenitsa

Maslenitsa (until the 16th century, the people celebrated the pagan Komoeditsa, dedicated to the meeting of spring on the Day of the Vernal Equinox, the day of the beginning of astronomical spring) is a Christian fast holiday week (meat is prohibited in the diet), introduced by clergy in the 16th century to replace the Komoeditsa prohibited by the church, one of the 4- x the most ancient solar holidays of the religion of the Druids (magi), before the adoption of Christianity as one among all the “barbarian” peoples of Europe;
- formerly Komoeditsa - the great ancient Slavic pagan 2-week holiday of the solemn welcoming of Spring and the beginning of the ancient Slavic New Year on the Day of the Vernal Equinox, which also marked the transition to spring agricultural work; the celebration of Komoeditsa began a week before the vernal equinox and lasted a week after;
- the emergence of 4 great solar holidays among humanity (celebrated on the days of the spring and autumn equinoxes, summer and winter solstices) dates back to the times of the Upper Paleolithic (ancient Stone Age of the post-glacial period), therefore, in one form or another, these holidays are present in the cultures of all peoples Eurasia and North Africa;
- after the adoption of Christianity in Rus', the celebration of the Slavic pagan Komoeditsa, as well as other pagan holidays, was strictly prohibited and severely punished;
- after a long and unsuccessful struggle of the authorities and clergy with the celebration of Komoeditsa, in the 16th century in Russia it was replaced by the celebration of the church “cheese” (or “meat-free”) week, determined by the clergy for the last week before Lent;
- in the same 16th century, the “cheese” week was popularly called “Maslenitsa”, and the holiday appointed by the clergy split into two essentially different celebrations:
- church “cheese” week - the last week of preparation for Lent,
- and folk Maslenitsa - a gluttonous, drunken and riotous celebration;
(note: Maslenitsa is not a pagan celebration)
- modern traditions of celebrating folk Maslenitsa in Rus' took shape during the reign of Peter I, who, by his Decree, introduced this cheerful, riotous holiday as organized by secular authorities, obligatory for the entire people and carried out in the image and likeness of the celebrations of traditional European Maslenitsa carnivals;
THE MOST JOKING, THE MOST DRUNKEN AND THE MOST CRAZY CATHEDRAL
- according to the Decree of Peter I, the celebration of Maslenitsa was called “The Most Jolly, Most Drunken and Extraordinary Council” and was aimed at entertainment, drinking parties, carnival events, and so on; to organize the celebrations, a kind of clownish “order organization” was established, uniting royal like-minded people;
- the main feature of the “Cathedral,” as is clear from the name, was a clear parody of the rituals of the Catholic (the cathedral was headed by the “Prince-Pope”, who was chosen by the most drunken “cardinals”) and the Orthodox churches;
- “The Cathedral” was created with the main goal of discrediting the church and, along with shaving beards, is part of the general series of destruction of stereotypes of Old Russian everyday life; in the practice of the Cathedral, a large amount of obscene language and vodka libations were used;
- The “Cathedral” existed for about 30 years - from the early 1690s to the mid-1720s, contributing to the perception of the king by a number of layers of society as the Antichrist;
- “The Most Jocular Council” referred to manifestations of “anti-behavior” typical of Peter I (as well as for a number of his predecessors, primarily Ivan the Terrible), based on folk ideas and Christmas masquerade traditions;
- according to the old pre-revolutionary spelling they wrote “Maslanitsa”.

The section is very easy to use. Just enter the desired word in the field provided, and we will give you a list of its meanings. I would like to note that our site provides data from various sources - encyclopedic, explanatory, word-formation dictionaries. Here you can also see examples of the use of the word you entered.

The meaning of the word comedian

Wikipedia

Komoeditsa (holiday)

Komoeditsa- Belarusian folk holiday associated with the welcoming of spring. The holiday is celebrated on the eve of the Annunciation and is dedicated to the awakening of the bear.

The only source testifying to this holiday is an article by priest Simeon Nechaev for 1874, partially reprinted by ethnographer P.V. Shein and therefore becoming popular. Nechaev observed Komoeditsa in the village of Begoml, Borisov district, Minsk province.

“On this day, special dishes are prepared, namely: dried turnips are prepared for the first course as a sign that the bear eats mainly plant foods, herbs; oatmeal jelly is served for the second course, because the bear loves oats; the third dish consists of pea lumps, which is why the day itself received the name “komoeditsa”. After lunch, everyone - old and young - lies down, does not sleep, but every minute, in the slowest way, rolls from side to side, trying as best as possible to adapt to the turning of the bear.”

It is believed that the next day “the bear gets up.” In Belarus they said: “On the Sheep Day the bear lies down in the den and begins to suck its paw, on Candlemas it turns over and sucks the other paw, and on the Annunciation Day it leaves the den.”

B. A. Rybakov in his research believed that the name comedian comes from the same Indo-European root as "comedy". The holiday itself was traced back to the Stone Age by Rybakov and was associated with the hunting cult of the bear.

According to L. S. Klein, the name of the holiday is “a later borrowing from the Latinized Polish culture, which is why it does not exist further east, among the Russians.” The name may indeed be associated with Greek comedy, but not as an ancient relative, but as a borrowing into Belarusian from Greek through Latin. To explain this name, the custom of eating pea comas arose, and since the comoeditsy coincided with the first cattle pasture, the mummers began to portray a bear - the “cattle god” in Slavic ideas. At the same time, L. S. Klein does not provide any evidence confirming this version of the Polish analogue of the holiday.

Go away, winter is cold! Come, Summer is hot!
With times of suffering, with flowers, with grass!

And for a long time the onset of Spring, and with it the New Year in Rus', was associated with the day of the vernal equinox, which, according to our calendar, falls on March 20 or 21. The night becomes shorter than the day and this determines all changes in nature. Everything around is waking up from a long winter sleep.

The baby sun Kolyada, reborn annually on the renewed morning after the Night of the winter solstice (the longest night of the year), having gone through Winter and gaining strength to rise higher in the sky, becomes Yarila the Sun on the Day of the Vernal Equinox, drives away the boring Winter, and for all nature The long-awaited Spring is coming.

Celebrations began a week before the solstice and continued for another week after. And after the mosquito woman, they began agricultural work.

This great event came to us after a long and unsuccessful struggle between Christianity and Orthodoxy in the 16th century in the form of Maslenitsa or Church Week, designated by the church for the last week before Lent.

Having lost its connection with the laws of nature, this holiday has also lost its true purpose. What is now being organized in the form of widespread festivities, drinking alcoholic beverages, and a general Sabbath came to us during the reign of Peter I, who obliged everyone to celebrate Maslenitsa in the image and likeness of traditional European carnivals. According to the Decree of Peter I, the celebration of Maslenitsa was called “The All-Joking, All-Drunken and Extraordinary Council” and was aimed at entertainment, drinking parties, carnival events, and so on.

Komoeditsa is one of the oldest Slavic holidays. In addition to celebrating the sacred entry of Spring into its rights, on this day the Bear God was also revered: in the morning before breakfast, in a solemn procession with songs, dances and jokes, they brought “pancake sacrifices” to the great Honey Beast in the forest with the first baked holiday pancakes and laid them out on tree stumps. After this, the festive feast began. The ancient Slavs called the bear Kom. Hence the rule - “the first pancake comes first”, i.e. to bears.

From time immemorial, people have perceived spring as the beginning of a new life and revered the Sun, which gives life and strength to all living things. In ancient times, in honor of the sun, the Slavs baked unleavened flatbread, and when they learned to prepare leavened dough (9th century), they began to bake pancakes. Our ancestors considered the pancake a symbol of the sun, since it, like the sun, is yellow, round and hot, and they believed that together with the pancake they eat a piece of its warmth and power. Also symbolizing the sun were cheesecakes and round bagels.

In pre-Christian times, the holiday consisted of various ritual actions of a magical-religious nature, interspersed with fun games and feasts, which, gradually changing, then passed into later traditional folk customs and rituals (burning a straw effigy of Winter, baking sacrificial bread - pancakes, dressing up and etc.).

For many centuries, Komoeditsa retained the character of a wide folk festival, accompanied by feasts, games, competitions of strength, and fast horse riding.

In those ancient times, the 2-week celebration of Komoeditsa was of great functional importance for the Slavs - after the past long and cold, and often half-starved winter, when there was little work, the Slavs needed to eat up the leftover food carefully preserved after the winter, cheer up and strengthen their strength for the upcoming intense field and other work, which after the onset of astronomical spring continued continuously throughout the warm season.

“The Goddess Spring has come to Earth”

“Let's celebrate and rejoice! The holiday of meeting the sacred Spring bestowed by Heaven has arrived - the Day of the Vernal Equinox.”

“The end has come for Winter-Madder! From this day on, the youthful sun Yarilo begins to rage and fry.” The sun’s rays become hotter and brighter. Streams are flowing with all their might, merry drops are ringing everywhere.”

“Set the tables with cookies, hot pancakes and pies, oatmeal jelly, honey, kvass and snacks”

“First pancake - To whom!” - To the Great Ancestor, Master of the Forest and Father of People"

“The first pancake is for the comatose, the second is for acquaintances, the third is for relatives, the fourth is for me!”

How Komoeditsa was celebrated in Rus'

The beginning of the holiday

In the morning, people hurried to the sanctuary (temple), to a high place where the earth had already dried up. Grain was scattered at some distance from the temple and at road intersections. This was done so that the Navyas (deceased ancestors), who would certainly appear at the festival in the form of magpies, would eat their grain aside and not fall under the feet of their playing and actively having fun descendants.
Hot pancakes and pies, oatmeal jelly, honey, kvass and snacks were placed on tables covered with tablecloths. The treat was divided into five parts, the fifth part was placed in an open place near the Sacred Fire, saying:

“Our honest parents!
Here’s a pancake for your soul.”

Effigy of Madder (Winter)

A straw effigy of Marena was solemnly carried to the temple on a pole. Everyone stood along the road, bowing from the waist and calling Marena Svarogovna:

"Come to us
To the wide yard:
Ride in the mountains
Roll in pancakes
Make fun of your heart.
Maslenitsa - red beauty, light brown braid,
Thirty brothers sister,
Forty grandmothers granddaughter,
Three mothers, daughter, Kvetochka,
Berry, quail.”

Maslenitsa leaves on “seventy sleighs” to visit the “honest Semik” (the god of fire Semargl, his sacred number is 7), who “beats with his forehead on the sled, in only foot wraps, without paws” (the god of Fire is not at all cold on the sled, then there is firewood). “Honest Semik” calls her “to the plank tower” (domovina or funeral theft), where she, after “rolling around in pancakes” (pancake - funeral service), burns on the seventh day of Christmastide. The still preserved ritual of burning the Maslenitsa effigy (and where the rivers have opened up, its remains are thrown into the water) is nothing more than the solemn funeral of the goddess of Death (that is, Mary) with all honors. It is impossible not to honor the goddess, with whom each of the ritual participants will someday have to meet.

Pancake treat

They started treating each other to pancakes. The first pancake, Kom (Kom - bear, hence “komanika” - bear berry, also known as blackberry, snowberry), was taken into the thicket, sacrificing it to the clubfooted owner of the forest - the great Honey Beast Koma.

Afterwards the beginning was carried out. They lit a fire. They glorified the gods and ancestors, the entire Slavic family. They spun the salting round dance, wearing a hari, so that the evil spirits would not recognize it, the buffoons showed a performance, and the buffoons helped them:

“Like at a pancake shop during the week
Pancakes were flying from the chimney!
You are pancakes, pancakes, pancakes,
You are my pancakes..."

Jumping over the fire

Then everyone jumped over the fire (it was during such jumps on the day of the spring equinox that the fairy-tale Snow Maiden melted in Ostrovsky’s play), and after that they always washed themselves with snow or melt water. It was rightly believed that soft melt water gives the face special freshness and beauty.

They honored young people who got married during the past year. Unmarried and unmarried people had a bandage or rope tied on their arm. To remove it, it was necessary to pay off by bringing a treat with you to the common table.

Drinking surya

Everyone was poured a wonderful cheerful and strength-increasing solar drink - surya (the name of the drink goes back to the Sanskrit word "surya" - "sun"). The priestess Marena carried the first cup of surya to the altar. The Priestess of Zhiva knocked out this cup, making sure that not a single drop fell on the altar, because then it would get colder again and Madder would return:

“Go away, Winter is cold!
Come, Summer is hot!
With difficult times,
With flowers, with grass!

Burning Madder (an effigy of annoying Winter)

Then they solemnly burned Madder’s effigy at the stake, throwing garbage, straw and old things into the fire:

"Madder is tanned,
The whole world is tired of it!”
“Burn, burn clearly so that it doesn’t go out!”

Again they jumped over the fire, turning to Semargl to light the snow. Burning wheels were rolling. Then they glorified Yarila, rolling the burning wheels down the mountain in honor of the flaring sun:

“Roll down the mountain,
Come back with spring!
"Awaken"

Then, armed with burning brands, they went to “wake up the bear” (awaken). In the pit, covered with dead wood, lay a mummer depicting a sleeping bear. The participants of the holiday danced around the den, shouting at the top of their lungs, trying to wake up the clubfoot. Then they started throwing branches, snowballs, and twigs at him.

The “bear” did not wake up until one of the girls sat on his back and jumped on him. That’s when the “bear” began to awaken. The girl ran away, tearing off a piece of bear skin or a bear leg. The mummer stood up and began to dance, imitating the awakening of the bear, then went to look for his loss, leaning on a crutch:

"Creak your foot,
Squeaky fake!
And the water is sleeping,
And the earth is sleeping.
And they sleep in the villages,
They sleep in the villages.
One woman doesn't sleep
Sits on my skin.
He spins my fur,
My meat is cooking.
It dries out my skin."

Having caught his offender, the “bear” squeezed her in his arms with a bear hug.

Games

After waking up, the games began.
The first game is a town. The girls stood on a high fenced place (town). Armed with long sticks, they fought off the attack of the guys, beating them mercilessly. The guys “on horseback” tried to break into the town and take it by storm. The one who breaks into the town first gets the right to kiss all the protective girls.
After the capture of the town, the mountain feast began, and then the rest of Maslenitsa fun: fists, horses, swings, climbing a pole for a gift, a stream.

Parting

When parting, they gave each other all sorts of sweet “snacks” (later - gingerbread) and said:

"Forgive me, perhaps,
I will be guilty of anything to you."

The farewell ended with a kiss and a low bow.

Sacred

The spirits of the great ancestors, invisibly present at the festival of the spring equinox, rejoiced along with all their descendants and fellow tribesmen at the long-awaited onset of the predominance of day over night, the final expulsion of the annoying cold of Winter by the gentle warmth of Spring and the coming Summer, glorified the Slavic family, and approved that, following the original tradition, The Slavs come all together to the great Spring Festival to observe the ancient sacred Custom. In general, the Slavic pagan holiday, timed to coincide with the annual astronomical event, was held to the delight of everyone in fun and entertainment. And the red summer was just around the corner, especially valued in our cold climate.

Healthy Pancakes Recipe (Vegan)

Wheat flour – 1 tbsp.
Oatmeal flour - 1 tbsp.
Mineral water with gas - 2.5 tbsp.
Salt - to taste
Vegetable oil - for frying

Preparation:

Sift the flour through a sieve, mix mineral water, a tablespoon of vegetable oil and salt until smooth with a blender. In order for the dough to mix well, the mineral water should be slightly warm. Grease a well-heated frying pan with vegetable oil and fry the pancakes on both sides.

Have a nice meal!

Teterki

Rye flour - 400 g
Olive oil - 3 tbsp. l.
Salt - 1/3 tsp.
Honey or other sweetener - 2 tbsp. l.
Water - 200 ml
Poppy - 3 tbsp. l.

Preparation:

Mix flour with salt and sift. Add poppy seeds, mix. Add oil and honey, then water. Knead the stiff dough. Wrap it in cling film and let rest for 20-30 minutes. The dough should be elastic and not sticky. Pinch off small pieces of dough and roll them into ropes about 0.5 cm thick. Weave patterns from the ropes to form cookies. It is better to do this directly on a baking sheet covered with parchment. Bake the “grouse” at 190 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until slightly golden brown.

On the day of the spring equinox, the Slavs have a holiday called Komoeditsa. This is a spring holiday. The day when winter ends and nature begins to come to life. Date of celebration of Komoeditsa - 20th of March. According to legends, after the winter solstice the young sun Kolyada was born, and after winter the Sun grows up and gains strength, approaching the new holiday stronger Yarila. Which will drive away Winter and give rise to Spring.

Why March 20? This day was not chosen by chance for a very simple reason. March 20th is the day Spring equinox:

“At the moment of the equinox, the center of the Sun in its apparent movement along the ecliptic crosses the celestial equator”

And since the Sun is located at the equator, therefore all over the earth day and night are equal. The spring and autumn equinoxes are the astronomical beginning of the seasons. And from a scientific point of view, it is the days of the equinoxes that are the transitional moments from one season to another. For us, the Transition from Winter to Spring and from Autumn to Winter are different. The 12 months were simply divided equally between the four seasons, which is not entirely correct from a scientific point of view. And our ancestors knew the laws of nature, so they gave, including to the day Spring equinox, special meaning. The celebration of Komoeditsa itself lasts two weeks.. A week before the Spring Equinox and a week after.

Why was the holiday of the spring equinox called Komoeditsa among the Slavs?

“The first pancake is for comas, the second pancake is for acquaintances, the third pancake is for distant relatives, and the fourth pancake is for me.”

The proverb is little known in its full version. But the first sentence "The first damn thing is lumpy" everyone knows. And the use of this phrase currently has a negative meaning. Although the original meaning has nothing to do with a poorly baked pancake. "Comas"- these are bears. Namely, the Slavs considered the bear to be the king of the forest. "Comas" one of the main symbols of the holiday. That's why the holiday is named in their honor. After all, bears are the symbol of the coming of spring. Everyone knows that bears sleep all winter and wake up in the spring. And the first pancake, according to the proverb, was intended for the bears as an offering and respect to the ruler of the forests. Thus, the Slavs invited the arrival of spring. Sometimes such pancakes for bears were called comas (ritual bread made from oats, peas and barley). The oldest women in the Family baked them, and then took them to the forest for the Bear. Meanwhile, the men were building a fortress and preparing a place for games.

We don’t think many will be surprised when they hear that damn is a symbol of the Sun. After all, with all his appearance he tells others about it. Therefore, pancakes are the main dish of the Komoeditsa holiday. In addition to pancakes, it can be noted lark-shaped cookies. They were also an integral part of the celebration. "Zhavoronkov" they threw it as high as possible and invited spring, saying:

"Larks-Larks, fly from the far side. Bring the red Spring, take away the cold Winter! Goy!"

Capture of the fortress and burning of Madder

The main action of the Komoeditsa holiday is the capture of the fortress, the capture of the Scarecrow and its burning. First of all, I would like to note that by Scarecrow we mean Madder-Winter, after the burning of which Spring comes to the world, and with it the blossoming of Mother Earth. Only girls made it, dressing it in old clothes. Marena’s eyes were necessarily drawn closed so that she would not look at the living ahead of time. While the girls dressed up Marena, the men competed in daring prowess through games (wall to wall, tug of war, etc.). So, how did Komoeditsa’s “main game” go? While in the Fortress, Marena was under the protection of her servants (girls dressed in “hari” (ritual masks)). Guys are fighting for Spring in this battle - "Servants of Yarila", whose task is to besiege the fortress and capture Marena. The capture of the fortress takes place in 3 stages according to the trinity principle. Each entry involves conquering one of the worlds (Real, Nav and Prav). After the third approach, Yarila’s Warriors took the fortress and captured Marena. After which the Scarecrow was burned. At the same time, old things were tied to Marena in order to burn away illnesses and everything bad.

Christianization of the holiday. Maslenitsa-Komoyeditsa

After the arrival of Christianity in Rus', the Komoeditsa holiday, like all others, underwent changes. Firstly, the name changed to "Maslenitsa". And until now everyone knows this particular holiday, having forgotten about the ancient Komoeditsa. But this is far from the most important change. The main thing is that the holiday has lost its connection to the base... Day of the Spring Equinox. Maslenitsa was tied to the Christian Lent, which is the preparation of Christians for Easter. And it turned out that the “Meeting of Spring” began to be celebrated in the coldest month of the year - February. But common sense begins to prevail in people and every year more and more people return to the celebration of Komoeditsa when it should be according to the law of nature: On the Day of the Spring Equinox!

Start of the day

Effigy of Madder

A straw effigy of Madder is solemnly carried to the temple on a pole. Everyone stands along the road, bows at the waist and calls Marena Svarogovna:

“Come to us in the wide yard: ride in the mountains, roll around in pancakes, amuse your heart. Maslenitsa - red beauty, light brown braid, Thirty brothers sister, Forty grandmothers granddaughter, Three mothers daughter, little flower, Berry, quail.

Pancake treat

They start treating each other to pancakes. The first pancake is komam (Kom - bear, hence “komanika” - bear berry, also known as blackberry (Vasmer’s etymological dictionary derives blackberry from the word hedgehog), snob), it is taken into the thicket, sacrificing it to the clubfooted owner of the forest.

Afterwards the beginning is carried out. Light a Fire. They glorify the gods and ancestors, the entire Slavic family. They perform a round dance in salting, wearing a hari, so that evil spirits do not recognize them; the buffoons put on a performance; the buffoons help them:

“Like during Shrovetide, pancakes were flying out of the chimney! You are pancakes, pancakes, pancakes, you are my pancakes..."

Jumping over the fire

Then everyone jumps over the fire, and then they wash themselves with snow or melt water. It is believed that melt water gives beauty to the face.

They honor young people who got married during the past year. For unmarried people, a bandage or rope is tied on their arm. To remove it, you need to pay off by bringing a treat with you to the common table.

Drinking surya

Burning Madder

Then they solemnly burn Madder’s effigy at the stake, throwing garbage, straw and old things into the fire:

“Madder is tanned, the whole world is tired of it!”

They jump over the fire again, turning to Semargl to light the snow. Burning wheels are rolling. Then they glorify Yarila by rolling the burning wheels down the mountain in honor of the flaring sun:

“Roll down the mountain, come back in spring!”

"Awaken"

Then, armed with burning brands, they go to “wake up the bear” (awaken). In a hole, covered with dead wood, lies a mummer depicting a sleeping bear. The participants of the holiday dance around the den, shouting at the top of their lungs, trying to wake up the clubfoot. Then they begin to throw branches, snowballs, and twigs at him.

The “bear” does not wake up until one of the girls sits on his back and jumps on him. That's when the "bear" begins to awaken. The girl runs away, tearing off a piece of bear skin or a bear leg. The mummer gets up and begins to dance, imitating the awakening of the bear, then goes to look for his loss, leaning on a crutch:

“Creaky leg, Creaky linden one!” And the water is sleeping, and the earth is sleeping. And they sleep in the villages, They sleep in the villages. One woman does not sleep, sits on my skin. He spins my fur, cooks my meat. It dries out my skin."

Having caught his offender, the “bear” tries to strangle her in his arms with a bear hug.

Games

After waking up, the games begin. The first game is a town.

The girls stand on a high fenced place (town). Armed with long sticks, they repel the attack of the guys, beating them mercilessly. The guys “on horseback” are trying to break into the town and take it by storm. The one who breaks into the town first gets the right to kiss all the protective girls.

After the capture of the town, a feast on the mountain begins, and then the rest of Maslenitsa fun:

fists,
horses,
climbing a pole for a gift,
a trickle...

Parting

When saying goodbye, they give each other gingerbread cookies and say:

“Forgive me, perhaps, I will be guilty of something in front of you.”