How the evil Slavic Korochun turned into a good New Year's Eve: the story of Santa Claus

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

On the eve of the New Year, children write a letter to Santa Claus, who will fulfill all their wishes. But was this character always positive and kind? The story of Santa Claus is very interesting and the attitude towards him has changed dramatically throughout history.

Slavyansky Morozko

Our ancestors worshiped gods who, as the ancients believed, helped people in agriculture, hunting, fishing. Many are well aware of the ancient Greek, Indian, Far Eastern Gods. And what kind of gods did the Slavs have? One of them was our beloved Grandfather Frost.

Even in ancient Slavic tales, this character is found. There he is described as the God of Winter and Frost. In his works, he was mainly given the name Morozko - the spirit-master of the winter cold. He was represented as a short gray-haired old man with a beard. It was believed that he runs through forests, fields, villages and knocks. And from his knocking there comes a crackling frost, ice binds the rivers, patterns appear on the windows. It was believed that from November to March he was gaining such strength that in anger he could arrange a fierce cold, from which even iron broke. However, despite the harsh nature, he punished only the guilty.

Among the Eastern Slavs, the God of Winter and Frost is presented as a hero who fetters the water with "iron" frosts. The people called them Kalinniks from the word "pot". All this came from the customs associated with blacksmiths.

God Korochun

In ancient Russia, Father Frost was called Korochun (in some versions, Karachun). There were other names: Ded Treskun, Zimnik, Studenets. Korochun was described as a mighty stern old man with gray hair and a long beard. He walked with a staff, in a beautiful warm fur coat. It is worth noting that the color of the fur coat was certainly white or blue, but not red. The gray-haired old man was presented barefoot and without a headdress. He was accompanied by wolves and bears. God Korochun was sometimes referred to as a separate deity, commanding frost. However, it was believed that both Korochun and Morozko were in charge in winter - they cover the lakes with a crust of ice, control a blizzard, and sweep snowdrifts. And although they were not good grandfathers, they were not considered evil, like all Gods in paganism.

Due to the fact that Russia was always located in a strip where the cold lasted for six months, the Gods of Winter were very important for people. The Slavs believed that God Korochun helps them withstand the battles, with the help of cold and frost. But it’s true, could we have passed the Great Patriotic War, the Battle of the Ice, the war with Napoleon with dignity, had we not had such harsh winters?

Rites and traditions

In Russia, there was a rite of feeding the God of Frost. Its essence was as follows - on the eve of Christmas, the eldest son had to go out on the porch or look out the window and offer to taste a spoonful of jelly or kutya. Thus it is necessary to say: “Frost, Frost, come eat jelly! Frost, Frost, don't hit our oats! Then they listed the entire harvest that Frost should not beat. They also appeased him with gifts and treats, which they put on the doorstep of their house.

According to Slavic pagan traditions, the new year did not come in January, as we are used to, but in March. This was due to the fact that people lived in unity with nature and began the countdown of the new year in spring, when the earth woke up from hibernation, new agricultural work began. However, with the adoption of Christianity in Russia, the New Year began to be celebrated in the fall, since, according to the Bible, God created our world in September.

Sacrifices to Slavic God

During the confrontation between Christianity and paganism, the Slavic Gods were blackened. This fate awaited the God of Frost. All positive stories about him were changed to negative ones, they began to be considered a demon who hates people and wants to freeze them to death, in general, requires sacrifices. A hint of this is seen in the beloved Soviet fairy tale "Morozko". Remember how he almost froze poor Nastenka? How many times did he knock with his staff to make the frost harder? Also asking: “Are you warm, girl? Is it warm for you, red? " Of course everything ended well there, as it should be in fairy tales. But young virgins were not so lucky. They began to be sent every winter to the forest as an offering to the God of winter, where they really froze to death. However, this death in paganism was considered for the good, because if Frost accepted this sacrifice, then this year he will be supportive and kind. Christians also assured that Morozko steals children and puts them in a sack. Some sources say that this is where the bag of the modern Grandfather Frost appeared, but, fortunately, already with gifts.

From God to folklore character

In the 19th century, Santa Claus was more of a folklore character. The parents told the children that Jesus brought them gifts, or they confessed that the gifts were from them. The church did not approve of the pagan Morozko, and the children, after terrible stories, were afraid of this old man. After the revolution in 1917, the Bolsheviks decided to remove the folk winter festivities. In 1929, Christmas became a regular working day.

Soviet Santa Claus

In 1935, they decided to arrange festive New Year trees for children, replacing all religious paraphernalia with Soviet ones. The Star of Bethlehem was replaced with a red Soviet one, traditional dressing up - for a carnival, and Christmas became a quiet family holiday. The only problem was the fear of the children of Santa Claus. To soften the image, the granddaughter of the Snow Maiden was invented for him. To enhance the effect, they were often accompanied by forest animals. And, in order to completely rehabilitate Santa Claus, they came up with his confrontation with evil characters such as Koschey, Leshy, Baba Yaga and others. Over time, Santa Claus became a positive character, like Santa Claus in the west. The only thing that remained unchanged was the color of our Soviet Grandfather Frost's fur coat. She was still the same color as snow at dusk - white and blue. However, now and here there have been changes, more and more often Santa Claus appears in a red outfit.

As a result, all that remained unchanged in our culture and traditions is Christmas trees - a symbol of immortality (an evergreen tree), driving round dances (a ritual dance symbolizing the sun) and, of course, playing out the struggle between good and evil (how our ancestors fought the cold for the right to survive another winter).

Still, it's good that now we have such fabulous, funny, family holidays like New Year and Christmas. And it's great that children have such a positive hero, which they are all looking forward to. Indeed, at any age you need to believe in miracles and they will definitely come true. Many families are already getting ready to decorate the Christmas tree and are taking apart New Year's toys. Those who have preserved their New Year's decorations from the old days shouldn't bother sending them to the landfill. You'd better find out first why Soviet Christmas tree decorations cost hundreds of thousands, and How to recognize a treasure in old trash.