At different times, what was Santa Claus. The history of Santa Claus - his appearance and development
The Celtic Druids used to decorate the Christmas tree with human and animal entrails.
The other day in Russia celebrated the birthday of Santa Claus. And although the holiday was invented only in 2005 and is very conditional, there is a logic of its “appointment” on this very day: according to many years of observations , On November 18, on the 60th parallel, where the residence of Father Frost is located in Veliky Ustyug in the Vologda region, Russian winter sets in.
Having made a clarification to the “metric” of Santa Claus, we restored justice, because the foreign Santa Claus (aka St. Mykolaus, St. Nicholas, Sinter-Klaas) had a “birthday”, but ours did not. For those who do not know or have forgotten, Catholics celebrate St. Nicholas Day on December 6 according to the Gregorian calendar (in our country this date falls on December 19 and is known as "Nikola the Winter").
In the biography of our Santa Claus, in general, there are many white spots. Moreover, he is not such a darling in fact. It's time to take a closer look at it and study it on the eve of the New Year. Private bussiness» .
Origin: son of the shepherd god Veles and the goddess of death Mara.
Name at birth: Treskun, Studenets, Zimnik, Karachun. The variant "Frost" is consonant with the Indo-European "death" - "pestilence", "mar".
Canonical appearance: a short old man with a long gray beard.
The forest wizard sent the lazy and rude Marfushka home on pigs
One of the ancestors The Great Elder of the North is a Celtic evil god who entered human dwellings with a large bag. Not to distribute gifts, but to take what was due to him, but for some reason was not sacrificed. Children fell into the risk group - they could drag a couple with them to pay arrears. After his visit, the inhabitants of the house were often found dead.
Character: evolved from harsh and vicious to just and generous. In the 19th century, the children were afraid that the absurd old man would punish them for pampering and at least leave them without gifts. Santa Claus punished adults not only for bad deeds, but also for a dull mood, on his orders, snowstorms and storms swept entire villages, drove unfortunate people onto thin ice. However, despite the complexity of nature, the old wizard was not a fiend. In one of the Russian folk tales, he accidentally destroyed the peasant’s food supplies and, when he went into the forest in the hope of getting something, he received him in an ice chamber, dressed him, put on shoes, presented a self-assembled tablecloth and sent him home on a magic sleigh.
Western Santa Claus climbs out of the chimney Occupation: vagrancy. He walked through forest-fields, with a blow of his staff he froze streams and rivers. He could pound on the hut in his hearts, and then the age-old log cabins would crack.
Rehabilitation: writer Vladimir Odoevsky in the fairy tale "Moroz Ivanovich", which appeared in 1841, he was the first to present the winter wizard not as a punishing forest monster, but as a wise and fair wizard. He gave the needlewoman girl a handful of silver patches and a diamond, and instead of a silver ingot he handed an icicle to Lenivitsa. Kind.
The gifts are normal, but the old man himself is brrr Escort group: Snow Maiden. Where did the old man come from with a young companion, they interpret everything. One of the versions is this. In ancient times, in order to appease the lord of the cold, young girls were sacrificed to him. They were chosen by lot, taken to the forest, undressed and tied to a tree in the cold. The next morning they went to check whether the unfortunate woman had died. If life in the girl was still warm, she was warmed up, but this meant that the sacrifice was not accepted. And then another condemned woman was subjected to the same fate. We see plot analogies with this custom in the fairy tale “Morozko”, where the stern Grandfather mocked the stiff Nastenka: “Are you warm, girl? Are you warm, red one? Producer Alexander Rowe presented us with a light version: in the original fairy tale, the lazy and rude Marfushenka-darling, sent by her mother to Santa Claus for gifts, froze in the forest. Perhaps the custom of sacrificing innocent girls to Morozka was reflected in folklore in the face of the Snow Maiden who miraculously came to life. Moreover, the question of the parents of the "granddaughter" is still open.
Finnish Yolupukki cooked naughty children in a cauldron Next of kin: Finnish Joulupukki, who lives in Lapland, who, throwing an animal skin over his shoulders, rides around on his own affairs on a goat. In translation from the old Scandinavian dialect, Joulupukki means "Yule goat". Yule is a Celtic holiday celebrated on the day of the winter solstice. In ancient times, Joulupukki used to look into houses as an uninvited guest, and again it got to the naughty children: he cooked them alive in a huge cauldron. Christianity failed to completely supplant the ancient customs: sheepskin coats turned inside out and goat masks, in which people went from house to house during carols, are an echo of primeval times.
A couple of centuries ago, Santa Claus looked much more serious, and what is there - more nightmarish than the affectionate bearded man we know. It is not surprising that the children not only loved him, but were frankly afraid of him. Terrible photographs of the 19th and 20th centuries have survived to this day. At that harsh time, clausophobia was common - a pathological fear of Santa Claus. Looking at the ominous images, you understand the reasons for this fear:
Christmas tree and death
The tradition of decorating a Christmas tree New Year Oddly enough, it echoes the sad custom of decorating coffins with spruce branches and using them for funeral wreaths. The roots of this phenomenon go back to the times when the forest beauty was considered the abode of the forest spirit, which could only be achieved by bloody sacrifices performed on December 21 - the day of the winter solstice. The deity was depicted as a bearded old man with a staff, mace or scythe in his hands. To win his favor, Celtic Druids practiced ritual killings people and animals, whose intestines and internal organs were hung on spruce branches. Subsequently, the bloody gifts were replaced by fruits and pieces of bread.
The New Year is inextricably linked with the corresponding attributes: a fragrant Christmas tree, garlands and Christmas decorations, Snow Maiden, and, of course, her grandfather. Few people know how he appeared, and hardly anyone knows that at first he was a negative character. Once, instead of a warm elegant fur coat, he wore a cloak, bludgeoned naughty children with a staff, and was almost crippled, having three fingers on his hands. Intrigued? Then let's move on to history.
Fear of Morok
Russian Santa Claus is associated with good magic, fun and gifts that children find under the tree and in New Year's boots, such as this one.
However, everything is not so simple: the Eastern Slavs once considered him an evil winter spirit and called Morok, who is also referred to as the god of cold and winter. Scientists studying the life of the ancient Slavs are sure that the word "frost" appeared from the "haze".
Morok was considered the embodiment of evil and icy cold and was presented as a hunchbacked, sloppy old man, shod in bast shoes and dressed in a linen shirt. Where he passed, the earth, rivers and forests turned into an ice kingdom: he chained everything with frost. It was the ability to turn the living into the dead that made the appearance of the old man so sinister: the Slavs believed that the one who gets in his way would turn into a piece of ice. That's where the expressions "confuse the head" and "faint" came from.
Subsequently, fear gave way to curiosity, and people identified a number of signs, for example, that snowy and cold winters turn into fruitful summers and autumns. In order to get more harvests, they began to lure Morok into Clean Thursday and Christmas week, putting kutya or pancakes on the porch. They say that the bait worked "with a bang": in the morning there was no food on the porch, and Christmas and Christmas days were bitterly frosty.
From Evil God to Good Wizard
The change in attitude towards the old man, who for several centuries was known as an evil spirit, was expressed in a change in the image. He "got rid" of rags and bast shoes, and dressed up in felt boots, a good fur coat and a warm hat.
The new staff was decorated with a bull's head, which personified happiness and fertility. Although his hands still appeared to be three-fingered, they now wore warm gloves.
But with appearance while it was problematic: the deity remained angry and shaggy, with the nickname Student or Treskunets.
Not Morok, but Moroz Ivanovich!
When the Baptism of Russia took place and paganism was uprooted in every possible way, Moroka was forgotten, but he was not replaced by anyone.
The first mention of appeared only in the 19th century, and then it was not our usual Russian Santa Claus, but Nikolai Ugodnik (Wonderworker). Saint Nicholas is the kindest old man, famous for his disinterestedness and readiness to help anyone in need. Under Alexander II, his image first became associated with the New Year and Christmas holidays, but then the residence of Father Frost in Russia was not yet mentioned. Nikolai visited houses and presented the children with gifts that they found under the Christmas tree or in a Christmas boot.
Only closer to the beginning of the 20th century, Santa Claus received his current status.
He was “dressed up” in a long-brimmed red (blue) painted fur coat trimmed with thick fur, a warm hat and felt boots. The staff was decorated with a tip - a star.
This is how Santa Claus appeared in Russia, who then, according to legend, lived in a huge ice palace and slept on snowy featherbeds. Where exactly the elder's palace stood, no one knew.
Vladimir Odoevsky nicknamed the wizard Moroz Ivanovich, because it is not proper to call an adult simply by his first name. Santa Claus became a favorite of children and adults, although his gifts still had to be earned: they were received only by those who behaved well in the past year. Only obedient and diligent children received sweets and gingerbread. Loafers and dirty people got an ice icicle, and evil wimps - a blow with a staff on the forehead!
When the revolution happened, they forgot about the good wizard and even began to persecute those who did not want to give up traditions. But a little later, in 1936, he reappeared at children's holidays - already accompanied by the granddaughter of the Snow Maiden.
Our updated Russian Santa Claus has turned into the ultimate good-natured man who turned his staff from an instrument of punishment into a magical remote control for Christmas tree lights!
Gifts became more accessible: both a loafer and a slut could receive them, the main thing is that he recite a New Year's rhyme memorized or sing a song.
Closer to the 90s, a residence appeared in Russia - at first in Arkhangelsk, later - in Veliky Ustyug, where it is still located today. Many Russian children write letters to him, indicating the desired gifts, and everyone knows that the wish will certainly come true, because Santa Claus is the embodiment of a good miracle, which children's hearts await with bated breath!
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 Russia, 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. The carolers depict not the spirits of ancestors, but heavenly messengers, which, you see, is practically the same thing. It is already difficult to say who to consider as Grandfather, but there is an "older" even now.
According to another version, the "great-great-grandfather" of the modern Russian Santa Claus was the hero of Russian folk tales Morozko or Frost the red nose, the master of weather, winter and frost. 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". Morozko froze the good hardworking girl, froze, and then gave him gifts, and he froze to death the evil and lazy one. Therefore, in order to avoid trouble, some northern peoples and now they are appeasing old man Frost - on solemn nights they throw cakes, meat over the threshold of their dwellings, pour out wine so that the spirit does not get angry, does not interfere with hunting, does not destroy crops.
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.
FATHER FROST (Morozko) - a mighty Russian pagan God, a character of Russian legends, in Slavic legends - the personification of Russian winter frosts, a blacksmith who freezes water, generously showering winter nature with sparkling snowy silver, giving the joy of a winter festival, and, if necessary, in heavy for a year protecting the Russians from advancing enemies with hitherto unprecedented winter cold freezing into the ice, from which iron begins to break.
Under the influence of Christianity, which brutally and bloodily fought Slavic paganism (a battle with religious competitors for profits), the original image of the Snow Grandfather was distorted (like all other Slavic gods), and Morozko began to be represented as an evil and cruel pagan deity, the Great Elder of the North, the ruler icy cold and blizzards that froze people. This was also reflected in Nekrasov's poem "Frost - Red Nose", where Frost kills a poor young peasant widow in the forest, leaving her young children orphans.
With the weakening of the influence of Christianity in Russia in the late XIX - early XX century, the image of Morozko began to soften. Santa Claus first appeared at Christmas in 1910, but did not become widespread.
AT Soviet time, after the rejection of the ideas of Christianity, a new image of Santa Claus was spread: he appeared to children on New Year's Eve and gave gifts; this image was created by Soviet filmmakers in the 1930s.
In December 1935, Stalin's comrade-in-arms, member of the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR Pavel Postyshev published an article in the Pravda newspaper, where he proposed organizing a New Year celebration for children. In Kharkov, a children's New Year's party. Some modern illiterate historians accuse Stalin of inconsistency for not destroying Santa Claus, since Santa Claus, in their opinion, is a "children's god."
He comes to the holiday with his divine granddaughter - the Snow Maiden.
The modern collective image of Santa Claus is based on the hagiography of St. Nicholas, as well as descriptions of the ancient Slavic deities Pozvizd (God of the wind), Zimnik and Karachun.
Unfortunately, all the ancient myths and legends of the Slavs were destroyed after forced Christianization, therefore we know practically nothing about the ancient Slavic beliefs and traditions (see "Problems of studying paganism in Russia").
The peculiar nature of the interpretation in Christianity of pagan deities (religious competitors of Christianity, albeit beloved by the people, whom the clergy certainly represented as extremely evil and cruel) determined the behavior of Santa Claus inspired by the clergy - after the introduction of Christianity in Russia, he began to collect sacrifices - to steal naughty children and take them to bag. Such a church interpretation made it possible to inspire rejection of pagan gods from childhood.
However, over time, after the introduction of restrictions on the irreconcilable ideology of Christianity and the spread of later post-Christian humanistic traditions, especially after the final ban on Christians burning people at the stake (in the first quarter of the 19th century), Father Frost, in the view of Russians, became kinder and began to give gifts to children himself.
This image was finalized in the USSR: the ancient Slavic God Santa Claus became the symbol of the most beloved national holiday- The New Year, which replaced the feast of the Nativity of Christ (allegedly the birthday of the god of a foreign people from the Sinai desert), hitherto, with the full support of the authorities, imposed by the church on the people of tsarist Russia for almost a whole millennium.
The professional holiday of Santa Clauses is celebrated every last Sunday of August.
Recently, the birthday of the Russian Santa Claus was announced November 18th- According to the data of long-term meteorological observations, a stable snow cover falls on most of Russia on this day. But this is nothing more than the current Russian commercial amateur performance based on the Christian tradition of the Nativity of Christ. Of course, the great Slavic Gods do not and cannot have "birthdays", because they are eternal and arose in the minds and beliefs of people back in times early paleolithic at the very beginning of the postglacial period, and possibly even earlier.
About the ancient beliefs of the Slavs, about their four great solar holidays, incl. about the great two-week pagan New Year's Yule-Solstvorot, which marked the beginning of our modern New Year's holiday (which is simply a truncated Yule, from which now only the last and most magical 12th Yule Night is left - our New Year's Eve), about the forced Christianization of the Slavs by the Varangian invaders-enslavers , about the destruction Slavic mythology(because now the Slavs do not have their own mythology) see on page Shrovetide and in the accompanying articles on page Pantheon of Slavic Gods, given after the "Dictionary of Slavic Gods".
Santa Claus and the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian attitude Orthodox Church to Santa Claus is ambiguous, on the one hand, as a pagan deity and a wizard (God of a different religion, which means a religious competitor that contradicts Christian teaching), and on the other hand, as an invincible Russian cultural tradition with which to fight is only to dishonor yourself and reveal your weakness.
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 all year round winter. Although in the fairy tale of VF Odoevsky "Moroz Ivanovich" Frost's red nose in the spring moves to the well, where "it is cold even in summer."
Veliky Ustyug is the current "business homeland of Father Frost"
On the initiative of the former mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov, since 1999, the tourist business project "Veliky Ustyug - Father Frost's birthplace" has been operating in the Vologda Oblast. Tourist trains from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Vologda go to Veliky Ustyug, specialized bus trips have been developed.
During the first three years (from 1999 to 2002) the number of tourists visiting Veliky Ustyug grew from 2,000 to 32,000. According to the Governor of the Vologda Oblast Vyacheslav Pozgalev, since the beginning of the project, more than a million letters from children from various countries have been sent to Santa Claus, and the turnover in the city has increased 15 times and unemployment has decreased.
Origin of Santa Claus
Imagine that local gnomes are considered the ancestors of Santa Claus in some countries. In others, medieval itinerant jugglers who sang Christmas carols, or itinerant sellers of children's toys. There is an opinion that among the relatives of Santa Claus is the East Slavic spirit of cold Treskun, he is Studenets, Frost. The image of Santa Claus has evolved over the centuries, and each nation has contributed something of its own to its history. But among the ancestors of the old man was, it turns out, quite a real man. In the 4th century, Archbishop Nicholas lived in the Turkish city of Mira. According to legend, he was a very kind person. So, once he saved the three daughters of a distressed family by throwing bundles of gold into the window of their house. After the death of Nicholas, he was declared a saint. In the 11th century, the church where he was buried was robbed by Italian pirates. They stole the remains of the saint and took them to their homeland. The parishioners of the church of St. Nicholas were outraged. An international scandal erupted. This story made so much noise that Nicholas became the object of veneration and worship of Christians from different countries peace.
In the Middle Ages, the custom was firmly established on Nicholas Day, December 19, to give gifts to children, because the saint himself did this. After the introduction of the new calendar, the saint began to come to the children at Christmas, and then on the New Year. Everywhere the good old man is called differently, in England and America - Santa Claus, and in our country - Santa Claus.
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.
At Eastern Slavs presented fabulous image 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.
Our Santa Claus is a special image. It is reflected in ancient Slavic legends (Karachun, Pozvizd, Zimnik), Russian folk tales, folklore, Russian literature (play by A.N. Ostrovsky "Snow Maiden", poem by N.A. Nekrasov "Frost, Red Nose", poem by V.Ya. Bryusov "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 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.
The Santa Claus costume did not appear immediately either. At first he was depicted in a raincoat. By the beginning of the 19th century, the Dutch depicted him as a slender pipe smoker, skillfully cleaning the chimneys through which he threw gifts to children. At the end of the same century, he was dressed in a red fur coat trimmed with fur. In 1860 American artist Thomas Knight adorned Santa Claus with a beard, and soon the Englishman Tenniel created the image of a good-natured fat man. With such Santa Claus, we are all well acquainted.
And yet, let's try to determine the main features of the appearance of the Russian Santa Claus, corresponding to both historical and modern ideas about this fairy-tale wizard. According to one of the researchers of the image of Santa Claus - candidate of historical sciences, art critic and ethnologist Svetlana Vasilievna Zharnikova - the traditional image of Santa Claus, according to ancient mythology and symbolism of color, suggests:
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. Surprisingly, it is the hair that is the only detail of the appearance that has not undergone any significant changes over the millennia.
Shirt and trousers- white, linen, decorated with white geometric patterns (a symbol of purity). This detail is almost lost in modern view about the costume. The performers of the role of Santa Claus and dressers prefer to cover the neck of the performer with a white scarf (which is acceptable). As a rule, they do not pay attention to trousers or they are sewn in red to match the color of the fur coat (a terrible mistake!)
Fur coat- long (up to the ankle or shin), always red, embroidered with silver (eight-pointed stars, geese, crosses and other traditional ornament), trimmed with swan down. Some modern theatrical costumes, alas, sin with experiments in the field of colors and replacement of materials. Surely many have seen a gray-haired wizard in a blue or green fur coat. If so, know that this is not Santa Claus, but one of his many "younger brothers". If the fur coat is short (the shin is open) or has pronounced buttons, then you have a suit of Santa Claus, Per Noel or one of the foreign brothers of Santa Claus. But replacing swan fluff with white fur, although not desirable, is still acceptable.
Hat- 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). In addition to the imposing attitude to color described above, theatrical costume designers of our time tried to diversify the decoration and shape of Santa Claus's headdress. The following "inaccuracies" are characteristic: replacing pearls with glass diamonds and gems (permissible), the absence of a cutout behind the rim (not desirable, but very common), a hat of the correct semicircular shape (this is Vladimir Monomakh) or a cap (Santa Claus), a pompom (he same).
Three-fingered gloves or mittens- white, embroidered with silver - a symbol of purity and holiness of everything that he gives from his hands. Three-fingeredness has been a symbol of belonging to the highest divine principle since the Neolithic. It is not known what symbolic meaning modern red mittens carry.
Belt- white with a red ornament (a symbol of the connection between ancestors and descendants). Nowadays, it has been preserved as an element of the costume, having completely lost its symbolic meaning and the corresponding color scheme. It's a pity …
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. White color and silver are symbols of the moon, holiness, north, water and purity. It is by shoes that you can distinguish the real Santa Claus from the "fake". A more or less professional performer of the role of Santa Claus will never go out to the public in boots or black boots! As a last resort, he will try to find red dancing boots or ordinary black felt boots (which is certainly not desirable).
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). It is difficult to find a staff that matches these descriptions these days. The fantasy of decorators and props almost completely changed its shape.
And some more features of Santa Claus
The external features of Santa Claus and his invariable attributes are as follows:
1. Santa Claus wears a very warm hat with fur trim. Attention: no bombs and brushes!
2. Santa's nose is usually red. (No bad analogies! Just on far north VERY cold!) But a blue nose is also allowed due to Grandfather's snow-ice origin.
3. Santa Claus has a beard to the floor. White and fluffy like snow.
4. Santa Claus wears a long thick fur coat. Initially, quite a long time ago, the color of the fur coat was blue, cold, but under the influence of the red coats of the "European brothers" it changed to red. Although on this moment both options are allowed.
5. Santa Claus hides his hands in huge mittens. (see also point 7)
6. Santa Claus does not wear belts, but ties his fur coat with a sash (belt). Last but not least, fasten with buttons.
7. Santa Claus prefers only felt boots. And it is not surprising, because at - 50? C (usual northern air temperature) in boots, even the Snow Master's feet will freeze.
8. Santa Claus always carries a staff with him. Firstly, to make it easier to wade through the snowdrifts. And secondly, according to legend, Santa Claus, while still being "wild Frost", with this very staff "froze" the people.
9. A bag of gifts - a later attribute of the Master of Winter. Many children believe that he is bottomless. In any case, Santa Claus never lets anyone near the bag, but he himself takes out gifts from it. He does this without looking, but he always guesses who is waiting for what gift.
10. Santa Claus moves on foot, through the air or on a sleigh pulled by a troika. He also likes to cross his native expanses by skiing. No cases of deer use have been reported.
11. The most important difference between the Russian Santa Claus is his constant companion, the granddaughter of the Snow Maiden. It is understandable: alone and in the far north, you can die of longing! And with the granddaughter it is more fun. P.S. And Santa Claus never wears glasses and never smokes a pipe!
Snow Maiden, granddaughter of Santa Claus
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 innermost desires.
As you can see, the origin of the Russian Santa Claus is fundamentally different from the European Santa Claus. If Santa Claus was real historical personality, which was elevated to the rank of saints for good deeds, then the Russian Santa Claus is rather a pagan spirit, a character popular 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 in new year's eve gifts under the tree.
The Snow Maiden, the granddaughter of Father Frost, accompanies her Grandfather everywhere. The image of the Snow Maiden is a symbol of frozen waters. This is a girl dressed only in white clothes (or colors resembling frozen water). The headdress of Grandfather Frost's granddaughter is an eight-pointed crown embroidered with silver and pearls.
From the story of Santa Claus
Making Santa Claus a Mandatory Character New Year's ritual attributed Soviet power and dates back to the end of the 1930s, when, after several years of prohibition, the Christmas tree was again allowed.
The rapid process of developing this image as an indispensable participant children's holiday Christmas trees became possible in the prewar years only with the support of literary tradition and everyday practice, in general terms, established long before October.
This image is already recognizable: “good Moroz Ivanovich” - a “gray-haired-gray-haired” old man who, as he “shakes his head, frost falls from his hair”; he lives in an ice house, and sleeps on a featherbed made of fluffy snow.
On the one hand, according to Nekrasov's poem "Frost, Red Nose" (1863), he is portrayed as a harmful atmospheric spirit, which is credited with the ability to have a detrimental effect on a person.
On the other hand (mainly in poetry for children), its positive counterpart is born, main function which is the formation of "healthy" weather and the creation of winter "magic".
Nekrasov’s “Frost, Red Nose” also begins to “work” to create this image, from which only the fragment “It’s not the wind that rages over the forest ...” is taken for children’s use, where main character, torn out of the context of the poem, acts as a "voivode", an unlimited ruler winter forest and a magician who puts away his "kingdom" in "diamonds, pearls, silver."
Simultaneously and independently of literary image Frost in the urban environment, a mythological character arises and develops, "managing" the Christmas tree and, like the Christmas tree itself, originally borrowed from the West. In the course of the reorientation of the Christmas tree "on domestic soil" and the creation of pseudo-folklore Christmas tree mythology, the design of Santa Claus took place. This character was formed in the process of searching for answers to children's questions: where does the Christmas tree come from in the house, who brings it, who gives gifts?
The process of name unification stretches over several decades: old Ruprecht (1861) - isolated cases pointing to the German tradition; St. Nikolai or Grandfather Nikolai (1870) - the option is discarded early, since among the Russians, as already noted, Nikola never acted as a donor; Santa Claus (1914) - only when depicting Western Christmas trees; just an old man living in the woods in winter (1894); kind Morozko (1886); Moroz Yolkich (1890s).
In the struggle for the name, Santa Claus turned out to be the winner. There is no analogue to this name in any Western Christmas tree character. In East Slavic mythology, Frost is a respected creature, but also dangerous: in order not to arouse his anger, he had to be handled with care; asking not to destroy the harvest, he was cajoled; they scared the kids. But along with this, he also acted as the Grandfather (deceased parent, ancestor) coming on Christmas Eve.
On Christmas tree holidays, Santa Claus does not appear immediately, but in the middle or even towards the end of the celebration. According to popular notions, any guest is always welcome and should be an object of veneration as a representative of a foreign world. So Santa Claus becomes welcome on the Christmas tree, and he should be invited, which is quite consistent with the ritual of inviting guests mythological characters- ancestors or the same folklore Frost. Santa Claus, in essence, becomes the ancestor-giver. Therefore, they call him not an old man or an old man, but a grandfather or grandfather. By the beginning of the 20th century, the image of Santa Claus had finally taken shape: he functions as a toy on the Christmas tree, the main figure standing under the Christmas tree, an advertising doll in the windows, a character in children's literature, a masquerade mask, a giver of the Christmas tree and gifts.
At this time, the opinion about the “original”, antiquity of this image is affirmed: “Grandfather Frost ... suddenly appears in the hall and, just like a hundred or two hundred years ago, and maybe a thousand years ago, together with the children, dances around Christmas trees, singing an old song in chorus, after which gifts begin to pour out of his bag for children. When an anti-religious campaign began in the USSR in the mid-1920s, not only the Christmas tree, but also Santa Claus turned into "religious trash" and began to be regarded as "a product of the anti-people activities of the capitalists."
The anti-Christmas campaign was attended by poets who were in the service of the Soviet government, such as Demyan Bedny, who wrote:
Under "Christmas" at lunchtime
Old-fashioned Christmas grandfather
With such a long, long beard
Poured fabulous "Santa Claus"
With a Christmas tree under his arm, he carried a sleigh,
Sledge with a five-year-old child.
There is nothing Soviet here!
Together with the rehabilitation of the Christmas tree at the end of 1935, the denunciations of Santa Claus also ceased, after some doubts, he was completely restored in his rights. Organizers of children's trees got the opportunity to take the initiative, compilers of books - recommendations on the arrangement of Christmas trees wrote scripts, which eventually led to the development of a standard ritual of a public children's tree.
If earlier children received various gifts that differed both in quality and material value, now Santa Claus brought the same packages for all children, which he took out of his bag in a row.
We are already so accustomed to such signs of the New Year holidays as a Christmas tree, garlands, Olivier salad, etc., that we hardly think about how they became traditional. But we often answer the question of our children about where Santa Claus came from. We'll talk about this today. So…
History of Santa Claus
The image of Santa Claus - a stately good-natured old man with a long lush beard, with a staff in his hand and a bag of gifts - is now familiar to every child and adult. He comes to congratulate, wish happiness and give gifts to everyone. It is not surprising that his appearance is especially expected at children's matinees.
The history of the appearance of Santa Claus begins from the depths of centuries, from the mythology of the ancient Slavs. But the one who thinks that he was originally a good magician who brings joy is mistaken. Rather the opposite. The Slavic predecessor of Santa Claus - Snow Grandfather, Karachun, Studenets, Treskun, Zimnik, Morozko - was harsh, tried to freeze those who met on the way. And the attitude towards children was peculiar - to carry it away in a bag ... It was not he who gave out gifts, but it was necessary to appease him in order to avoid trouble. That's where the fun was left - to sculpt snowmen. In fact, for our ancestors, these were idols depicting the god of winter. With the advent of Christianity, this peculiar spirit of Winter was preserved in folk tales.
Only in the 19th century Morozko, Moroz Ivanovich and other characters of fairy tales began to appear, albeit strict, but fair creatures. Kindness and hard work were rewarded, while laziness and malice were punished. Odoevsky's tale about Frost Ivanovich - that's where Santa Claus came from!
Christmas Santa Claus
In the 80s of the 19th century with the holiday of Christmas, following the example European countries, began to associate a person called Christmas Grandfather (or Yule Grandfather). Here he already brought gifts to reward children for good behavior during the year. But, unlike Santa Claus, he was not a saint and had nothing to do with religion at all. And in the countryside, they did not notice his appearance at all and continued to celebrate Holy Evenings, as before - with fortune-telling and carols.
But to the general public, Santa Claus has become familiar since 1910. And Christmas cards helped in this. At first, he was painted in a blue or white fur coat to the toes, the color of winter itself. A hat of the same color was depicted on his head, and Grandfather also wore warm boots and mittens. A magic staff and a bag with gifts became indispensable attributes.
Then they began to fight against the "religious rubbish". In 1929, the celebration of Christmas as a religious holiday was banned. It is clear that Santa Claus with a Christmas tree also fell out of favor. Even fairy tales were recognized as a hoax designed to cloud the heads of the masses.
And only in 1935, at the suggestion of Stalin, the Komsomol decree on the celebration of the New Year was issued. It was ordered to organize New Year trees for children instead of pre-revolutionary Christmas ones. It was noted that this is a great fun for the kids of workers and peasants, who previously could only look with envy at the entertainment of the offspring of the rich.
The symbolism of the Christmas tree has also changed. It was a secular, not a religious holiday. Instead, at the top of the forest beauty, the red Santa Claus lit up, but he remained the same kind grandfather, bringing gifts. He rode in a Russian troika, accompanied by his beloved granddaughter Snegurochka.
How Santa Claus became a grandfather
So, we figured out where Santa Claus came from. The Snow Maiden appeared next to him much later. In ancient Slavic folklore there is no indication of the companion of our Grandfather.
The image of the Snow Maiden was invented by the writer A. N. Ostrovsky. In his fairy tale, she was the daughter of Santa Claus, who came to people attracted by music. After the appearance of the opera by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, the Snow Maiden became very popular. Sometimes she appeared on Christmas trees, but on her own, without Santa Claus.
In 1937, for the first time, the Snow Maiden performed with her Grandfather on the Yolka in the Moscow House of Unions. Her transformation from a daughter into a granddaughter happened because a cheerful girl or a very young girl was closer to the children, for whom the holiday was arranged.
Since then, the Snow Maiden has been accompanying Santa Claus at any New Year's holiday, most often it is she who is the host. True, after Gagarin's flight, sometimes on the Yolki, instead of the Snow Maiden, ... an astronaut appeared.
Santa's helpers
The history of the appearance of Santa Claus in recent times updated with new pages. In addition to the Snow Maiden, new ones also take part in the good New Year's magic. fairy-tale heroes. For example, the Snowman, who appeared in fairy tales of a wonderful children's writer and cartoonist Suteev. He either goes to the forest for a Christmas tree for a holiday, or drives a car with gifts. For the most part, forest animals help Grandfather, and some sometimes try to prevent the onset of the New Year holidays. Often in the scripts appear Old Men-Foresters, Brothers-Months...
Where Father Frost came from, he moved on foot or on the wings of a snowstorm. Subsequently, they began to represent him on the dashing Russian troika. And now reindeer are also kept in Veliky Ustyug - a real winter form of transport. The kindest magician of the country, whose possessions stretch to the North Pole, cannot lag behind Santa Claus!
When was Santa Claus born?
Curious children want to find out how old Santa Claus is. Despite the ancient Slavic roots, Grandfather is still quite young. The appearance of a fairy tale (1840) can be considered the moment of his birth. It is in it that a kind old man first appears, who gives gifts to a diligent girl and punishes a lazy one. According to this version, Grandfather is 174 years old.
But in the mentioned fairy tale, Frost does not come to anyone, he does not distribute gifts in connection with the holiday. All this will be much later, towards the end of the 19th century. If we count from this moment, Santa Claus is not yet 150 years old.
When is Santa's birthday?
This is another question that puzzles us with children. After all, they, who received gifts for the New Year, often want to thank the kind old man. This question can be answered quite accurately - November 18th. After all, the children themselves decided so, choosing as the onset of winter in the homeland of Santa Claus. It happened in 2005.
And now every year on this day a big holiday is held, to which his colleagues arrive. These are Santa Claus from real Lapland, Pakkaine from Karelia, Mikulash from the Czech Republic and even Chiskhan from Yakutia... Every year the scope of the celebration expands, more and more new guests come. But most importantly, from his homeland, from Kostroma, the Snow Maiden hurries to congratulate Grandfather.
Guests from other cities are also invited to the celebration. These are the deputies of Santa Claus, who will come to the children for the New Year, and fairy-tale assistant characters. They are all waiting fun activities. And in the evening, Santa Claus lights the lights on the very first Christmas tree and announces the start of preparations for the New Year. After that, he and his assistants go on a trip around the country in order to have time to congratulate all its inhabitants.
In March, Santa Claus surrenders his duty to Spring-Krasna and returns to his house. in front of people next day birthday, he will appear again - in the summer, on the Day of the City. Both holidays include festivities, an extensive program of events telling about the Russian North, including excursions around the estate of Father Frost.
And even if we don’t say exactly how old Santa Claus is, it’s quite possible to congratulate him, write a letter with good wishes.
Where should i write?
Where can Santa Claus live? At the North Pole? Or in Lapland, next to Santa Claus? Or maybe in a well, as in the fairy tale "Moroz Ivanovich"?
The address of Santa Claus is known to many very well. His residence is located in what is in the Vologda region. A magnificent tower was built there for him, his post office works. Santa Claus even received a passport from the hands of the governor of the Vologda region. And to the question of the children "where did Santa Claus come from," you can safely answer: from Veliky Ustyug.
If your child wants to write a letter, congratulate good old man happy birthday, make a wish for the New Year, don't be scared and don't get lost, because it's easy to do. Write down the address of Santa Claus: 162390, Russia, Vologodskaya Oblast, the city of Veliky Ustyug. Santa Claus mail.
To It seems that Santa Claus has always existed. In fact, the familiar image of a fabulous grandfather with a bag of gifts developed in the 19th century. Where did Santa Claus live before this and was he at all? Let's delve into history.
D ve thousand years ago, the northerners, in order to appease Frost, threw meat and cakes over the threshold. If the treat was pleasant, Frost did not punish the northerners with a severe cold. The Huns worshiped their god, Yerl, who appeared on earth on the first day of the year. Treats were prepared for his arrival and Christmas trees were put up.
AT V. I. Dahl’s dictionary defines the word grandfather as an honorary nickname for a brownie. Therefore, for the ancient Slavs, Grandfather is a deceased ancestor who became the protector and symbolic head of the clan. The ancient Slavs believed that Frost was the common progenitor of all families, so for him there was a common ritual, which was different from the veneration of other spirits. Santa Claus was honored both on the days of the winter solstice and in the spring, so that the stern Santa would keep the crops, and not destroy them with frost.
FROM the advent of Christianity, the day of veneration of Santa Claus, became known as the Easter of the Dead, as it was celebrated after the church Easter. Doors and windows opened wide. Treats for the spirits were placed under the table and outside the window. Great Grandfathers entered through the door, and lesser spirits flew in through the window. During the meal, Santa Claus was asked for help, and if the ancestor remained an argument with a treat, he helped his descendants.
FROM over time, Santa Claus turned into a character folklore. In the legends, Grandfather appeared, ruling the winter, to whom blizzards, blizzards, frosts and snows obeyed. Santa Claus was described as a small old man with an uncovered head, with thick, silver hair and a long, half-gray beard. Grandfather wore warm, white clothes and never parted with an iron mace.
O Santa Claus was distinguished by a formidable and tough temper, where he hits with his mace - there expect severe cold and burning frosts.
P Santa Claus existed under many names in fairy tales and legends: Zimnik, Moroz Ivanovich, Santa Treskun, Frost Elkich, good Morozko. During the time of Peter I, from German fairy tales Old Ruprecht came, and then Grandfather Nikolai - the prototype of St. Nicholas of Myra.
P Gradually, the appearance of the modern Santa Claus took shape. From an evil ancient spirit, Santa Claus turned into a good one, fairy tale character, without which it is unthinkable to imagine the New Year.
P Maybe the children grow up and do not take for granted that Santa Claus really exists, but the pieces of the fairy tale and miracle that they touched in childhood remain in the soul forever.
H and finally, let's watch a 4-minute video from Papacarus Ravlyk, where the story of Santa Claus does not look as attractive as we would like, and find out who Santa Claus is.
History of Santa Claus. Who is it, where did it come from?
