Each people inhabiting our planet does not appear out of nowhere. The roots of any nation in the world, the echoes of the past history make up a unique canvas into which the destinies of people are woven. Unique customs, established traditions and even the most incredible and exotic rituals make up the invisible, but purely individual cultural heritage of each nation. Customs and rituals are an integral part of life. Some of them came to us from religions, the other - from a huge variety of signs, traditions, beliefs and superstitions. Let's get acquainted with the essence and deep meaning of some traditions of the inhabitants of Russia.
Wedding: a touching sacrament
Paganism as the first religion of the Slavs gave us Maslenitsa, magnificent wedding ceremonies and Christmas divination. Traditionally, Russian weddings were played in autumn or winter, in the intervals between long fasts. The so-called "wedding party" - the period from Christmas to Maslenitsa - was especially popular.
The rite of a church wedding is a touching and beautiful act, like many Russian customs. An example of this majestic sacrament is captured in the canvases of many Russian artists. At all times it was believed that the wedding is notjust a majestic beautiful ceremony, but a sacred ceremony that obliges the spouses to realize their belonging to each other, setting them up for a long life together. The Orthodox Church does not accept divorce. In modern Russia, a wedding is available only after the official registration of marriage, which does not detract from the magnificence of the sacrament.
Holding a Russian wedding involves a whole well-thought-out scenario with the obligatory observance of all the attributes that the customs of the Russian people require: the ransom of the bride by the groom, who goes through many tests, contests, funny jokes. Traditionally, a young man pays money and gifts with all participants in the ransom ceremony.
Wedding traditions today
Modern wedding customs have changed somewhat over time, but have not changed dramatically. As before, the groom buys all the wedding attire for the bride, and her family provides her with a "dowry" - the necessary set of home textiles, kitchen utensils, and furniture. The customs of the peoples of Russia dictate the obligatory dishes of the festive table. The symbol of a happy family life is a kurnik - a puff pastry made of pancakes or rich unleavened dough with numerous fillings of chicken meat, mushrooms, rice, etc.
The traditional Russian rite of greeting with bread and s alt is one of the most touching when meeting a young husband's family. The mother-in-law brings a loaf of s alt to the newly-made spouses. Young people should break off a piece of it. At the same time, the guests state: whoever gets the largest piece of bread will be the head of thehome.
Shrovetide: getting ready for Lent
The custom of celebrating Maslenitsa, preserved even after the baptism of Russia, falls on the week preceding Great Lent. Now, few people know that Shrovetide includes not only Shrovetide week, but also the so-called omnivorous, and pockmarked.
The omnivorous week completely excludes fasting days, the pockmarked one suggests alternating fasting days with fast days. During Shrovetide or cheese meat is no longer eaten, but dairy products are consumed in any quantity.
Merry holiday of Russian pancake
Like many well-known customs of the peoples of Russia, Maslenitsa is always accompanied by plentiful and satisfying food. And round dances, ritual songs and games are an obligatory attribute of accompanying the holiday. It was believed that it was necessary to have fun on Shrovetide week, otherwise luck would turn away from a person, and things would go badly all year.
The protagonist of Shrove Tuesday is a pancake. Solar symbol, round, hot, magnificent! Pancakes were baked in a variety of ways: sweet, s alty, yeasty with various fillings for every taste. They started eating them from the middle of the week, on the so-called "gourmet Wednesday". On this day, mothers-in-law treated their sons-in-law with pancakes, trying in every possible way to appease and cheer them up.
Shrovetide customs
General fun and mass festivities began on a rampant Thursday: riding in
sleds, fistfights, ritual round dances. A stuffed Maslenitsa was carried along the streets and caroled.
On Friday, mothers-in-law received invitations to lunch or dinner from sons-in-law,trying to please the mothers of their wives. This day was called "mother-in-law's evening". On Saturday “sisters of the husband’s (husband’s) gatherings”, the daughter-in-law invited her husband’s relatives to visit, trying not to violate accepted customs. An example of a Shrovetide table impresses with the variety of Russian dishes.
On Forgiveness Sunday - the last day of the festivities - everyone asked for forgiveness from each other, freeing themselves from accumulated grievances, gave gifts to relatives. The culmination of the holiday is the burning of an effigy as a symbol of the ending long winter. "For a rich harvest" the ashes were scattered over the fields. They burned bonfires from straw and unnecessary old things in order to get rid of everything superfluous. In the evening, they commemorated dead relatives with pancakes.
Christian Easter
Christianity gave us a wonderful holiday of Holy Easter. The customs of the peoples of different countries in the celebration of this day are varied. We will not dwell on Orthodox church rites. They are majestic and beautiful. Consider traditional household customs. An example of the most common ritual actions in Russia is the baking of Easter cakes and the coloring of eggs, symbols of the immortal body of Christ, which are consecrated in churches. These rituals are so widespread that even atheists do not avoid them.
In the morning, after the all-night vigils and the passage of religious processions around the churches, the celebration of the miraculous resurrection of Christ begins. People congratulate each other with the words "Christ is risen!", receiving the answer "Truly risen!" and exchanging consecrated Easter cakes and eggs. The name of this custom is the Christening. These traditional rites are so widespread that not only believers, but also atheists exchange Easter treats.
There are many rituals in the world. The customs, an example of which is given in the article, are the most common in Russia.
