Russian Santa Claus (Morozko). History of Santa Claus

Everyone has long known and loved the image of the Cheerful red-nosed old man with a white beard, who delivers gifts to children on Christmas and New Year's Eve. The Modern Santa Claus has many ancestors and in every country of the world they are also different, somewhere they are roving sellers of children's toys, somewhere they are cheerful troubadours and gnomes singing Christmas songs. According to one version, it comes from the spirit of cold named Treskun (among the Eastern Slavs), he is also Frost or Studen.

The image of Santa Claus

In fact, the modern image of Santa Claus has evolved over the centuries, and each nation and nationality has contributed to this image. Santa Claus and Father Frost had a common ancestor, with whom both of them are associated - this is Archbishop Nicholas (Nicholas the Wonderworker). Since Nikolai loved to help and give gifts to people during his lifetime, the custom came from here on December 19, on Nikolin's day, to give gifts, and after the new calendar was adopted, gifts began to be given at Christmas, and then on. (...)

Our Santa Claus, who is known to most children of the countries of the former USSR, is a folklore character of Slavic origin.

For many centuries and generations, the East Slavic peoples created and passed from mouth to mouth, various legends, traditions, legends, songs and tales about the past of the Slavic land.

The fabulous image of Santa Claus among these peoples is associated with a blacksmith, a hero who fetters everything in the district with “iron frosts”. The image of Frost is also associated with a blizzard and strong winter winds blowing from the North, which in some fairy tales show the way to lost travelers.

Grandfather Frost, known to us, is a special and very colorful image, which is clearly expressed both in Old Slavonic fairy tales (Pozvizd, Zimnik, Karachun), and in Russian folklore and literature (“The Snow Maiden” by Ostrovsky A.N., “Frost, Red Nose” by Nekrasov ON THE).

- this is the ancient Slavic god of bad weather, snowstorms and storms, if Pozvizd shakes his mighty head, then the earth is showered with large hail, and snow falls down from his robe and winds develop instead of his cloak. Swift and fast Pozvizd, with incredible speed, he moves through the heavens, accompanied by hurricanes and storms.

- this is a small old man with a gray beard and hair developing in all directions, dressed in a white down jacket - holding an iron mace in his hands. Where Zimnik passes, wait for a fierce cold there.

- this is the most fierce and ferocious among all the Slavic gods, who walks the earth in company with the wind and the sun. Karachun loved to have fun, and can freeze to death the people and animals he meets on his way.

Costume and appearance of Santa Claus

The history of the elegant costume of Santa Claus, as well as the image itself, was born gradually. At the very beginning, he was depicted wearing a long cloak, but already at the end of the 19th century he was dressed in a red fur caftan (fur coat), but already in the 20th century, Santa Claus was also seen in a blue outfit.

Thus, the appearance of modern Santa Claus has taken on the following form: a gray-haired old man with a long white beard, dressed in a thick long fur coat, on his feet at his felt boots, on his head a hat, on his hands mittens - in one of which he holds a long staff, and in the other A bag with presents.

Where does Santa Claus live

The place of residence of Santa Claus is not unequivocally determined, since there are a lot of legends and legends that say that Santa Claus comes from the Far North, others say that his house is in Lapland, only one thing is known for sure that Santa Claus lives there - where it is cold all year round and studeno.

Santa's helpers

Santa Claus also has helpers, and first of all, this is the Snow Maiden. The Snow Maiden is also the heroine of Russian folklore and literary works. Snow Maiden, this is a unique image inherent only in Russian culture and cultures closely related to it, nowhere else you will meet a female character. Frost Ivanovich is helped by animals, and animals, and birds, and nature itself.

Relation to Santa Claus

The attitude of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) to the modern image of Santa Claus is ambiguous and contradictory, on the one hand, as a pagan ancient Slavic deity and sorcerer, and on the other hand, as a Russian deeply rooted tradition and character that has common roots with St. Nicholas . In 2001, Bishop Maximilian of Vologda and Veliky Ustyug proposed the following: the Russian Orthodox Church will support and recognize Father Frost - Veliky Ustyug as the homeland in the event that Santa Claus is baptized, but since Santa Claus is, first of all, an image, it is impossible to baptize the image , yes, maybe he has been baptized for a long time, it’s not in vain that they say Epiphany Frosts ...

Mission of Santa Claus

Whatever this image of the Cheerful old man - Santa Claus, whether he is dressed in a red or blue fur coat, with or without a Snow Maiden, on a sleigh, deer or in a car, it is important that he brings children into homes, hearts and lives and adults are not only gifts, but also fun, a fairy tale, joy and celebration.

How old is Santa Claus? When did Santa Claus appear?

At about the same time as the Christmas tree, Santa Claus becomes a permanent character of the New Year holiday, although the age of the fabulous grandfather has already exceeded a thousand years.

Until now, no one knows exactly where Santa Claus came from and who was his prototype. Different countries have different opinions. Some believe that Santa Claus is a descendant of local gnomes, others - medieval wandering jugglers, and still others - itinerant toy sellers. But all these are just assumptions, in fact, it is very difficult to find out who Santa Claus is and where he came from.

At the end of the 1st millennium AD, among the peoples of the East, the cult of Nicholas of Mir (from the name of one of the cities of Asia Minor - Mir) appeared - the patron of children, sailors, brides and even thieves. For good deeds and asceticism, Nikolai Mirsky was elevated to the rank of saints after his death. The remains of the saint and miracle worker were kept in one of the Eastern churches for a long time, but in the 11th century the temple was robbed by Italian pirates, who stole the relics of the saint and transported them to Italy. After such atrocity, the parishioners could not come to their senses for a long time and fervently prayed for the preservation of the remains of St. Nicholas.

From the East, the cult of the miracle creator spread later to the countries of Central and Western Europe. In the early Middle Ages, children did not even study on this holiday. Saint Nikolaus in Germany, Klaas in Holland, Klaus in England, in the form of an old man with a white beard, moved through the streets laughing behind his back on a white horse or donkey and handed out gifts to children.

Over time, Santa Claus began to arrive with gifts on Christmas Day, which was celebrated on December 25th. The churchmen did not really like this, because the holiday was associated with the name of Christ. And then the gifts began to be distributed by Christ himself, who was portrayed by teenage girls in white clothes. But the people, accustomed to Nicholas the Wonderworker, could no longer imagine the New Year without this character. So grandfather had a young companion. Both of these characters in Russia took root very quickly - after all, their prototypes have long existed in fairy tales, where they migrated from the ancient Slavic myths about Santa Claus and the Snow Maiden. It is clear that Santa Claus is a mythical character.

Fans of holiday symbols decided that our Santa Claus should have his own Motherland. Veliky Ustyug, located in the north of the Vologda region, was declared the residence of the Russian Father Frost in December 1998.

It is believed that our Santa Claus is a descendant of the East Slavic spirit of cold Treskun (Studenets, Frost, Morozko, Karachun). Over time, the image of Santa Claus has changed. At first, the sacred character appeared in the form of an old man with a beard and felt boots; in one hand he carried a bag of gifts, in the other he held a staff. Such Santa Claus gave presents only to the most intelligent, obedient and well-mannered children, and “treated” the negligent ones with a stick in order to correct them.

Gradually, Santa Claus turned into a kinder old man - he no longer beat the children, but only frightened them with scary stories. Then Grandfather Frost became very kind - now he gives gifts to children and never scares them. The old man's staff became magical. With the help of this attribute, he saves all living things in severe frosts and shows funny tricks to the kids. Now Father Frost also has a granddaughter, Snegurochka, who helps the old man deliver gifts and tell stories.

The attire of Santa Claus, as well as his image, has undergone significant changes. At first, the outfit looked like a raincoat, then, by the beginning of the 19th century, in Holland, Santa Claus was presented in the form of a slender chimney sweep, constantly smoking a pipe and cleaning chimneys in order to throw gifts there.

By the end of the 19th century, Santa Claus had a red fur coat trimmed with fur, in which he flaunts to this day. The image of the modern Santa Claus was created by the Englishman Tenniel, who turned him into a fat, good-natured old man, he only called the wizard Santa Claus.

And it doesn't matter that you no longer believe in Santa Claus, the main thing is that you absolutely cannot imagine the New Year without his funny jokes, dances and gifts that turn an ordinary day into a real holiday.

Instruction

Among the Eastern Slavs, Frost was considered the god-ruler of the winter cold. It was said that his parents were the goddess of death Morana and the "cattle god" (and concurrently - the ruler of the kingdom of the dead) Veles. Often he was identified with other Slavic deities - Pozvizd, Zimnik and Korochun. The Slavs represented him as a short old man with a long gray beard. In winter, he wandered the world, tapping his magic staff. From his knock, crackling frosts froze the surfaces of rivers, lakes and streams.

After the adoption of Christianity, the church, seeking to destroy the remnants of paganism, tried in every possible way to denigrate the pagan gods. Therefore, Frost turned into an evil and cruel deity, commanding colds and snowstorms and mercilessly freezing people. Similar ideas were reflected in Nekrasov's poem "Frost - Red Nose", where "Frost the Governor" froze to death an early widowed young peasant woman in the forest, leaving her young children as orphans.

The image of a strict but fair Santa Claus appeared in Russian literature in 1840, when Vladimir Odoevsky's collection "Tales of Uncle Iriney" was published, which also included the fairy tale "Moroz Ivanovich". True, the action in it takes place in the spring, not in the winter, and its main character has nothing to do with the New Year and Christmas holidays. According to the plot, Odoevsky's fairy tale resembles "Lady Blizzard" by the Brothers Grimm, only the female winter character is replaced here by the male one.

Moroz Ivanovich lives in an ice palace, the path to which lies through a well. The old man tests the girls who come to him, forcing them to do housework. Moroz Ivanovich rewards the industrious needlewoman with silver patches, and gives the sloth a large diamond and a silver ingot, which turn out to be just pieces of ice. The name Santa Claus, which has become familiar, was first heard in 1912, in Maria Pozharova's poem "Winter Spell".

Santa Claus first appeared as a Christmas character in 1910, but did not gain much popularity. He became a traditional New Year's character only in the second half of the 30s, when Christmas trees for children began to be held in the USSR. Gradually, his appearance also took shape - a long gray beard, a red or blue fur coat to the toes, belted with a wide sash, a high hat, mittens and felt boots. In the hands of Santa Claus is a staff and a bag with gifts. He usually rides in a sleigh pulled by three horses. A little later, grandfather also got a granddaughter - the beautiful Snegurochka.

Related article

Santa Claus is a beloved and familiar character of the New Year holidays. It's kind with a beard and a big bag of gifts. Dressed in a fur coat of blue, blue, red or white color.

Who is Santa Claus?

The origins of the meaning of this character are lost in the mists of time, but initially the “good Grandfather Frost” was not kind. Among the pagan early Slavic deities was the patron of cold and cold. Then it was customary to bring gifts to him so that he would save people from frost, bestow good weather.

In folklore and old fairy tales, Morozko or Ded Studenets is found. He also did not give gifts, but he was a powerful and fair character.

The modern interpretation of the New Year's giver refers to St. Nicholas. On December 19, children are used to receiving sweets for this holiday. Nicholas was a legendary figure - he lived in the Mediterranean, came from a wealthy family. He always helped the poor, and after his death he was canonized. According to legend, he threw a bag of gold into the chimney of a house where a family lived who simply died of poverty. In the morning the children found gold that was drying near the stove.

Later, a Western Christmas character appeared - Santa Claus. Its prototype in different mythologies was gnomes, forest elves. The version with a chimney and gifts is popular in the West - Santa Claus became a kind of marketing ploy in the 30s of the twentieth century. It was a new symbol of happy times.

Historians associate the appearance of the image of a generous giver with the end of the Great Depression - it was necessary to raise the mood of the people, to make the holiday truly joyful.

Santa Claus in Russia

It all started with Grandfather Nikolai, who gave gifts and sweets to children. In the 19th century, during the reign of Alexander Nikolaevich, the fabulous Morozko and Old Ruprecht or Grandfather Ruprecht figured. The last character had a German . It was in the 19th century that the patron of winter ceased to be scary, he turned into a generous and kind wizard.

In the 20s of the last century, Santa Claus and the Christmas tree, as a symbol of the New Year's celebration, were banned as ideologically harmful. The usual symbols of the holiday returned in 1935, and 2 years later the Snow Maiden joined Grandfather Frost.

The benevolent character fell in love not only with children, but also with adults. Letters are written to the modern Grandfather Frost, asking for gifts or fulfillment of desires. This tradition appeared in the domestic territories in the 50-60s of the twentieth century.

Santa Claus is a collective image, and rather artificially created than having certain mythological roots. However, the tradition of giving gifts connects him, like Santa Claus, with St. Nicholas.

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Father Frost, Santa Claus, Per Noel, St. Nicholas - winter presenters of gifts to good children (in fact, to everyone in a row) filled the entire near-Christian world. These characters make the coldest and gloomiest season a little magical, help brighten up the endless expectation of spring. But at the very beginning of their ancient history, they were just as cold and gloomy. Mankind has come a long way before it began to celebrate victory over its winter fears.

The further north people lived, the more difficult their relationship with nature was. And the more intricate they seemed to be the personifications of the elemental forces with which they have to fight in order to survive. It is to the incarnations of the winter cold that the image of a bearded good man with a bag of gifts goes back. Only in ancient times he was not at all kind, and there was only one gift in his arsenal: a chance to survive another winter. An invaluable gift for a time when forty years was considered old age.

Frost, snow and ice, a deaf winter darkness in the minds of our ancestors were associated with death. In Scandinavian myths, the realm of the dead is located in the icy north, where the terrible goddess Hel, the prototype of the Snow Queen from Andersen's fairy tale, rules. The houses of modern Santa Clauses are also placed in the north: Lapland, Greenland, Alaska, the North Pole, the “pole of cold” Oymyakon in Yakutia ... The Russian Veliky Ustyug of the Vologda region and the Belarusian Belovezhskaya Pushcha are perhaps the most southern places where they settled this grandfather. Fortunately, modern Santas do not want to kill us. And they wanted our ancestors. And they were cunning as best they could, paying off the victims.

On the longest night of the year - on the winter solstice, from December 21 to 22 - the ancient Germans and Celts celebrated the holiday of Yule (Yule). There was something to rejoice about: after that night, the sun "turned to spring," and the day began to lengthen. People decorated their houses with evergreen branches of holly, ivy and mistletoe, drank hot spiced ale, burned a special “Yule log” in the fireplace, and went to visit their neighbors. After the Christianization of Europe, these customs became attributes of Christmas and the New Year, coming a little later than Yule.

Yule log - not only a decoration, but also a traditional Christmas dessert (cream roll)

The image of Wotan the Wanderer has become a popular illustration for the story of the Wandering Jew

Among the Germans, Yule was dedicated to Wotan (aka Odin), the god of wisdom, the lord of life and death. According to the legend, first retold by Jacob Grimm, Wotan gallops across the sky that night at the head of the Wild Hunt, introducing unwary travelers to his retinue. Perhaps this is where the tradition “Christmas is a family holiday” is rooted: on the longest night of the year, all family members should sit by their own hearth, and not wander along the roads. Wotan was often portrayed as a long-bearded old man, leaning on a spear, wearing a cloak and a wanderer's hat - do you recognize Grandfather Frost in a sheepskin coat and with a staff? Sacrifices were made to Wotan on Yule - it is reliably known that these were horses and pigs, but it is possible that in the deepest antiquity the victims were human.

Slavic Frost (Mraz) also demanded sacrifices. An echo of the ceremony of human sacrifice can be seen in the fairy tale "Morozko". Remember the girl who was almost frozen to death, but then generously presented as a reward for meekness? So, the young virgins, who were sent to the forest every winter as a sacrifice to the winter god, really froze to death. But in the pagan consciousness, such a death meant communion with the very elemental force that everyone was afraid of. And if Morozko accepted the sacrifice, then this year he will be kind.

In Ukrainian and Belarusian villages back in the 19th century, Frost was ritually "invited" to Christmas kutya (sweet wheat porridge with dried fruits) - a harmless equivalent of a human sacrifice. If we remember that kutia was also a traditional dish at the Slavic commemoration, the ritual acquires additional depth, turning into a way of communication with the spirits of deceased ancestors.

But how did these capricious and insatiable elements turn into kind and generous donors? For this to happen, another, non-pagan character had to appear in world mythology.

Santa Wonderworker

In the III century AD in the Roman province of Lycia, in Asia Minor, there lived a young man Nicholas, who from childhood decided to devote himself to religion. When his parents died, he distributed all his considerable inheritance to the poor, and he himself went to study with his uncle, the bishop, who later ordained him to the priesthood. Over time, Nikolai became the Bishop of Mirliki, beloved by the people for his kindness and generosity to those in need. Moreover, he secretly showed this generosity - but all the same, for some reason, it became known that it was the bishop who was the mysterious benefactor.

One of the legends about Nicholas says that he heard about three beautiful sisters, whose father was poor and could not give them a dowry, so instead of marrying his daughters, he planned to sell them to a brothel. To save the girls from this fate, Nikolai collected three bags of gold and threw them into the sisters' house - according to different versions of the legend, through a window or a chimney. And these bags ended up in stockings hung out near the hearth to dry.

Image of St. Nicholas in the Catholic tradition. By the way, like Wotan, he is considered the patron saint of travelers.

In memory of the generosity of St. Nicholas - and he was named a saint during his lifetime - the day of his memory (December 6, or December 18 in a new style) became a holiday on which it is supposed to give gifts and help the poor, ritually joining that truly Christian way of life , which was led by a bishop without silver. The children were told that Saint Nicholas himself, a kind, gray-bearded old man in a long-brimmed episcopal robe and a high headdress (miter), brought gifts. In order for the gift to end up in a child's sock, which was specially hung by the fireplace, Saint Nicholas supposedly climbs to the roof of each house and descends the chimney.

In the era of the Reformation, when Protestants fought the Catholic custom of venerating saints as idolatry, the ritual of giving gifts shifted to Christmas - in memory of the gifts that the three wise men brought to the infant Christ. St. Nicholas fell into disgrace, remaining as the main Christmas benefactor in only a few countries. Now many Polish, Ukrainian, Austrian, Czech, Hungarian, Croatian and part of the Dutch children receive the main gifts "for good behavior during the year" not on Christmas or New Year, but on St. Nicholas Day - December 18th. However, some manage to beg their parents for a gift for all winter holidays. If you remember yourself as a child, you should know how to do it.

In the Netherlands and Belgium, St. Nicholas is accompanied by Black Peter, a Moor servant who traces his ancestry to one of the Christmas wise men-giver.

The holiday comes to us

From Holland, Saint Nicholas moved to America - along with a wave of Dutch immigrants in the 18th century. They called him Sinterklaas - hence the name "Santa Claus" known to us. True, at first it was called that only in New York, which originally belonged to Holland and was called New Amsterdam. The English Puritans, who shared the northeast of what is now the United States with the Dutch, did not celebrate Christmas - they had trouble having fun at all.

In 1821, Sinterklaas for the first time gets into a sleigh pulled by a reindeer.

Father Christmas of the 1836 model is more reminiscent of the god of wine and fun Dionysus (Bacchus)

But in English folklore there was an old character named Father Christmas (Father Christmas), who symbolized not the Christian custom of disinterestedly sharing with one's neighbor, but rather the pagan love for unbridled fun during the holidays. Father Christmas was represented as a fat, bearded man in a short camisole with fur, a lover of drinking beer, eating well and dancing to catchy tunes. In the Victorian era, when the influence of Protestants in England weakened (most managed to emigrate to America), Father Christmas also got the mission of giving gifts to children. And in America, his appearance and love of fun ("Ho-ho-ho!") went to Sinterklaas, who turned into Santa Claus. The red color of clothes is all that remains in America from Bishop Nicholas.

In 1821, Sinterklaas appeared in the pages of a children's book by an unknown author, A New Year's Gift for Children from Five to Twelve, and in 1823, in Clement Clarke Moore's poem "The Visit of St. Nicholas", now known to American children as "The Night Before Christmas". It is written from the point of view of a father who wakes up on Christmas night and watches Santa's reindeer sleigh fly across the sky, and Santa himself descending the chimney to put gifts for the children in stockings hung by the fireplace.

Moore's poem names eight of Santa's reindeer: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder, and Blitzen. The first six are English (Swift, Dancer, Steed, Frisky, Comet, Cupid), the last two are German (Thunder and Lightning). The ninth and chief deer, Rudolph, appeared over a hundred years later, in 1939, in a poem by Robert L. May. A feature of Rudolf is a huge shining nose, with which he illuminates the path for the entire team.

The scene has been recurring ever since—on Christmas cards, in movies and cartoons, and in the stories of parents who want their children to believe in Santa Claus rather than the agonizing search for presents in the bustle of pre-Christmas sales. There was a tradition to leave a treat for Santa on Christmas night by the fireplace: milk and cookies - in America and Canada, a glass of sherry or a bottle of beer with a piece of meat pie - in England and Australia. Yes, Santa Claus has become part of the culture of all English-speaking countries, returning across the ocean to his ancestral home of Britain, and from there reaching Australia. By the way, in 2008 he was granted Canadian citizenship.

And the fact that Santa became known to the whole world must be blamed on the deity of the twentieth century - His Majesty Marketing. In the 1930s, a cheerful, ruddy old man in red and white clothes began to appear in Coca-Cola advertisements. At the same time, the actors portraying Santa began to work on holidays in decorated shopping centers and at Christmas markets - to communicate with children, listen to their cherished desires and unobtrusively promote goods.

This advertisement was already so massive that it gave rise to a stable urban legend that the canonical image of Santa Claus was invented by Coca-Cola. In fact, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, he often appeared in illustrations in this form. Yes, and in advertising, his appearance was first used not by Coca-Cola - Santa, and before that he had to promote mineral water and ginger ale.

Cotton beard

The history of the domestic Santa Claus in the form in which we know him also has a few years. Back in the 19th century, he was a character in Russian folklore and children's books (for example, Odoevsky's fairy tales "Moroz Ivanovich"), from time to time he looked at public children's Christmas trees - but rarely. Parents in the Russian Empire told their children that the baby Jesus brought them gifts, or honestly admitted that they gave them themselves. The Orthodox Church did not approve of the pagan Frost, and the children were afraid of the bearded old man - in their minds, Frost was a harsh winter ruler from fairy tales. When in 1910 such a Grandfather appeared at a holiday in a kindergarten, singing a song based on Nekrasov’s poems “It’s not the wind that rages over the forest”, the kids burst into tears of fear. The teacher had to remove the fake beard from the actor to make Frost look more human.

The meeting of Morozko and meek stepdaughter performed by Ivan Bilibin

The revolution of 1917 almost put an end to the winter holiday: Christmas, like other dates of the church calendar, the Bolsheviks decided to write off. Christmas trees and other ritual winter entertainments were deleted from the life of the new Soviet state - in 1929, Christmas officially became an ordinary working day.

But in the 1930s, the “leftist excesses” began to be abandoned. In November 1935, Stalin uttered the famous phrase: “Life has become better, comrades! Life has become more fun." Taking this opportunity, candidate member of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks Pavel Postyshev, who dreamed of returning the holiday to children, in December made a proposal to the Pravda newspaper: to organize holiday trees for Soviet children, clearing them of religious attributes. So the Christmas tree star of Bethlehem turned into a five-pointed Soviet star, instead of Christmas it was decided to celebrate the New Year en masse, Christmas time with traditional dressing up in costumes became the New Year's carnival. The atmosphere of the holiday has also changed: Christmas was a quiet family celebration, while the New Year was supposed to be celebrated noisily and cheerfully.

1950s illustration for Vladimir Odoevsky's fairy tale "Moroz Ivanovich"

The problem was only with Santa Claus: the children were still afraid of the old man in white clothes. To soften the effect, his granddaughter Snegurochka was given to accompany him, affectionately calling Moroz "grandfather", and a whole retinue of forest animals. In addition, in fairy-tale performances that were played out at children's Christmas trees, Santa Claus acted as a kind wizard, a kind of Gandalf, saving the New Year from the machinations of Baba Yaga, Leshy, Koshchei the Immortal and other evil spirits. Little by little, over the course of two decades, Ded Moroz in the Soviet Union became as harmless, though powerful, kind-hearted as Santa Claus is in the West. Only he usually dresses not in red, but in white and blue - shades of snowy winter twilight. Only in recent years Frost sometimes appears in red, and his headdress takes on the features of the miter of St. Nicholas.

If the Snow Maiden is the granddaughter of Santa Claus, then who are her parents? This question is asked by all kids, having barely learned to understand family ties. Apparently, the Snow Maiden is not a pale beauty melting with love from Ostrovsky's fairy tale play (in the play she was called the daughter of Frost and Spring, and not the granddaughter), but one of the girls who were once sacrificed to Frost. He calls her granddaughter only because, by age, she is suitable for his granddaughter.

Christmas trees are all that remains in our culture from the ancient ritual of meeting Winter and begging Frost to be really kind. This holiday has all the necessary attributes and ritual actions: a decorated Christmas tree as the embodiment of the world tree and a symbol of immortality (because it is evergreen), driving round dances (a ritual dance symbolizing the sun in Indo-European culture), playing the mystery of the victory of Light over Darkness ... Everything serves that the same goal with which our ancestors made sacrifices to Wotan or Frost: fearlessly face the cold Death face to face and win the right to survive another winter in a fair fight.

Have fun on New Year's Eve. It depends on whether the spring sun will rise.

The historical appearance of Santa Claus.
Santa Claus was represented as a gray-haired old man with a beard to the floor in a long thick fur coat, felt boots, a hat, mittens, and with a staff with which he froze people.

Beard and hair - thick, gray (silver). These details of appearance, in addition to their “physiological” meaning (the old man - gray-haired), also carry a huge symbolic character denoting power, happiness, prosperity and wealth.
The shirt and trousers are white, linen, decorated with white geometric patterns (a symbol of purity).
Three-fingered gloves or mittens - white, embroidered with silver - a symbol of purity and holiness of everything that he gives from his hands.
The belt is white with a red ornament (a symbol of the connection between ancestors and descendants, as well as a strong amulet).
Shoes - silver or red, silver-embroidered boots with a raised toe. The heel is beveled, small or completely absent. On a frosty day, Santa Claus puts on white felt boots embroidered with silver.
The hat is red, embroidered with silver and pearls. Trimming (hall) with swan down (white fur) with a triangular cutout made on the front part (stylized horns). The shape of the hat is semi-oval (the round shape of the hat is traditional for Russian tsars, it is enough to recall the headdress of Ivan the Terrible).
Staff - crystal or silver "under the crystal." The handle is twisted, also in a silver-white color scheme. The staff is completed by a lunnitsa (a stylized image of the month) or a bull's head (a symbol of power, fertility and happiness).

Santa Claus has been with us for a very long time. This is a real-life spirit, alive, by the way, to this day. Once upon a time, even before the advent of Christianity in Rus', our ancestors believed that the spirits of the dead guard their family, take care of the offspring of livestock and good weather. Therefore, in order to reward them for their care, every winter people gave them gifts. On the eve of the holiday, the village youth put on masks, turned out sheepskin coats and went from house to house, caroling. (However, different regions had their own peculiarities of caroling). The hosts presented the carolers with food. The meaning was precisely that the carolers were the spirits of their ancestors, who received a reward for their tireless care of the living. Among the carolers there was often one “man” dressed the worst of all. As a rule, he was forbidden to speak. It was the oldest and most formidable spirit, he was often called simply Grandfather. It is possible that this is the prototype of the modern Santa Claus. Only today, of course, he has become kinder and does not come for gifts, but brings them himself. With the adoption of Christianity, pagan rites were, of course, “abolished”, and therefore exist to this day ;-) Carolers depict not the spirits of their ancestors, but heavenly messengers, which, you see, is practically the same thing. It’s already difficult to say who to consider as Grandfather, but there is an “older” even now.

Initially, he was called Grandfather Treskun and was represented as a little old man with a long beard and a disposition as harsh as Russian frosts. From November to March, Grandfather Cracker was the sovereign master of the earth. Even the sun was afraid of him! He was married to a despising person - Zima. Grandfather Treskun or Father Frost was also identified with the first month of the year - the middle of winter - January. The first month of the year is cold and cold - the king of frosts, the root of winter, its sovereign. It is strict, icy, icy, it's time for snowstorms. People say about January like this: fireman and jelly, snowman and cracker, fierce and fierce.

In Russian fairy tales, Santa Claus is portrayed as an eccentric, strict, but fair spirit of winter. Remember, for example, the fairy tale “Morozko”. Good hardworking girl Morozko froze, froze, and then bestowed, and evil and lazy - he froze to death. Therefore, in order to avoid trouble, some northern peoples are still coaxing old man Frost - on solemn nights they throw cakes, meat, pour wine over the threshold of their dwellings so that the spirit does not get angry, does not interfere with hunting, and does not destroy crops.

It is difficult to say unequivocally where the Russian Santa Claus lives, since there are a lot of legends. Some say that Santa Claus comes from the North Pole, others say - from Lapland. Only one thing is clear, Santa Claus lives somewhere in the Far North, where it is winter all year round. Although in the tale of V.F. Odoevsky “Moroz Ivanovich” Frost red nose in the spring moves to the well, where “it is cold even in summer”.

Later, Grandfather Frost had a granddaughter Snegurka or Snegurochka, the heroine of many Russian fairy tales, a snow girl. Yes, and Santa Claus himself has changed: he began to bring gifts to children on New Year's Eve and fulfill their innermost desires.
The image of the Snow Maiden is unique for Russian culture. There are no female characters in Western New Year and Christmas mythology.
As you can see, the origin of the Russian Santa Claus is fundamentally different from the European Santa Claus. If Santa Claus was a real historical figure who was elevated to the rank of saints for good deeds, then the Russian Santa Claus is rather a pagan spirit, a character of folk beliefs and fairy tales. Despite the fact that the modern image of Santa Claus was already formed under the influence of the European New Year's character, most of the characteristic Russian features remained. To this day, Russian Grandfather Frost walks in a long fur coat, felt boots and with a staff. He prefers to move on foot, by air, or on a sleigh drawn by a frisky troika. His constant companion is the granddaughter of the Snow Maiden. Santa Claus plays the game “I'll Freeze” with children and hides gifts under the Christmas tree on New Year's Eve.

Santa Claus and the Russian Orthodox Church
The attitude of the Russian Orthodox Church to Santa Claus is ambiguous, on the one hand, as a pagan deity and magician, and therefore contrary to Christian teaching, and on the other hand, as a Russian cultural tradition. In 2001, Bishop Maximilian of Vologda and Veliky Ustyug announced that the Russian Orthodox Church would support the project "Veliky Ustyug - Fatherland of Father Frost" only if Father Frost was baptized.
mythological image
Who is he - our old friend and good wizard Russian Santa Claus? Our Frost is a character of Slavic folklore. For many generations, the Eastern Slavs created and kept a kind of “oral chronicle”: prose legends, epic tales, ritual songs, legends and tales about the past of their native land.
The Eastern Slavs have a fabulous image of Frost - a hero, a blacksmith who binds water with “iron frosts”. The Frosts themselves were often identified with violent winter winds. Several folk tales are known, where the North Wind (or Frost) helps lost travelers, showing the way.
The Belarusian brother of Santa Claus - Zyuzya, or the god of Winter - is presented as a grandfather with a long beard who lives in the forest and walks barefoot.
Our Santa Claus is a special image. It is reflected in the ancient Slavic legends (Karachun ( Karachun(Korochun) - the day of the winter solstice - December 21.), Pozvizd( Pozvizd - according to the sources of the end of the XVII century, the Slavic god of the wind, good and bad weather. Brother Dogoda. ), Zimnik), Russian folk tales, folklore, Russian literature (A.N. Ostrovsky’s play “The Snow Maiden”, N.A. Nekrasov’s poem “Frost, Red Nose”, V.Ya. Bryusov’s poem “To the King of the North Pole”, Karelian - Finnish epic "Kalevala").
Pozvizd - Slavic god of storms and bad weather. As soon as he shook his head, a large hail fell on the ground. Instead of a cloak, the winds dragged behind him, snow flakes fell from the hems of his clothes. Pozvizd rushed swiftly through the heavens, accompanied by a retinue of storms and hurricanes.
In the legends of the ancient Slavs, there was another character - Zimnik. He, like Frost, was presented as an old man of small stature, with white hair and a long gray beard, with an uncovered head, in warm white clothes and with an iron mace in his hands. Where he passes - there expect a cruel cold.
Among the Slavic deities, Karachun stood out for his ferocity - an evil spirit that shortens life. The ancient Slavs considered him an underground god who commanded frost.
But over time, Frost changed. Stern, in the company of the Sun and Wind, walking around the earth and freezing to death the peasants who met on the way (in the Belarusian fairy tale “Frost, Sun and Wind”), he gradually turns from a formidable into a fair and kind grandfather.

Kolyada - a festival winter solstice (December 21-25), solstice.

It was believed that on this day a small bright sun is born in the form of a boy - Khors. The new sun completed the course of the old sun (old year) and opened the course of the next year. While the sun is still weak, the earth is dominated by night and cold inherited from the old year, but every day the Great Horse (as mentioned in the "Tale of Igor's Campaign") grows, and the sun grows stronger.
Our ancestors celebrated the solstice with carols, wore Kolovrat (an eight-pointed star) on a pole - the sun, put on the guise of totem animals that were associated in the minds of people with the images of the ancient gods: the bear - Veles, the cow - Makosh, the goat - the cheerful and at the same time evil hypostasis of Veles , the horse is the sun, the swan is Lada, the duck is Rozhanitsa (the progenitor of the world), the rooster is a symbol of time, sunrise and sunset, and so on.

Shrovetide isholiday, dedicated to the farewell to winter and the joyful greeting of spring.

In fact, it was a meeting of the New Year, only in early spring on March 23 - until the 15th century. Since this holiday saw off the winter and met the new summer, hence the chronology and the New Year. That is, Shrovetide met the actual new year, the arrival of a new summer. And Kolyada met the birth of a new sun.
The northern peoples still celebrate the meeting of the new sun, the holiday of Heiro.
Heiro is a holiday of the northern peoples, associated with the appearance of the sun after a long polar night. The duration of the polar night at the latitude of Dudinka is one and a half months. It ends in mid-January, when the disk of the sun appears above the horizon. On the traditional holiday of the end of winter, people express gratitude for the winter they have lived, ask the spirits for fertility and well-being in the family. The holiday symbolizes the beginning of a new life. On this day, people gather near the ritual fire and, holding hands, dance in circles. This is how the northern peoples met the luminary hundreds of years ago, and this is how they greet it now.

And among the Slavs Horse, it is consonant, isn't it?