Before you start talking about the pagan holidays of our ancestors, it’s probably worth understanding the very concept of “paganism”. Scientists are trying not to give an unambiguous interpretation of this term. It was previously believed that the emergence of the concept of "paganism" modern society owes the New Testament. In which in the Church Slavonic language the word "Iazitsy" corresponded to the concept of "other peoples", that is, they had a religion that was different from the Christian one. Historians and philologists who study Slavic culture believe that the sacred meaning of this concept lies in the Old Slavic word "paganism", which in modern language would sound like "patronage," that is, respect for kinship, kindred and blood ties. Our ancestors really with special trepidation belonged to kinship ties, since they considered themselves to be part of everything that is, and therefore, were related to mother nature and all its manifestations.
The sun
The pantheon of gods was also based on the forces of nature, and pagan holidays served as an occasion for veneration and respect for these forces. Like other ancient peoples, the Slavs deified the Sun, because the very process of survival depended on the luminary, so the main holidays were devoted to its position in the firmament and the changes associated with this position.
Pagan Solstice Holidays
The ancient Slavs lived according to the solar calendar, which corresponded to the position of the Sun relative to other astronomical objects. The year was calculated not by the number of days, but by the four main astronomical events associated with the Sun: the winter solstice, the spring equinox, the summer solstice, and the autumn equinox. Accordingly, the main pagan holidays were associated with natural changes occurring during the astronomical year.
The main Slavic holidays
The ancient Slavs began the new year with the spring equinox. This great holiday of victory over winter was called Komoeditsa. The holiday dedicated to the summer solstice was called Kupayly Day. The autumnal equinox was celebrated with the holiday of Veresen. The main celebration in the winter was the winter solstice - the pagan holiday of Kolyada. The four main holidays of our ancestors were dedicated to the incarnations of the Sun, which it changes depending on the time of the astronomical year. While deifying and endowing the luminosity with human qualities, the Slavs believed that the Sun changes throughout the year, like a person throughout his life. True, unlike the latter, the deity, dying on the night before the winter solstice, is reborn again in the morning.
Kolyada, or Yule Solstice
The beginning of the astronomical winter, the great pagan holiday of the winter solstice, dedicated to the revival of the Sun, which was identified with the baby born at dawn of the winter solstice (December 21). Celebrations lasted for two weeks, and the great Yule began at sunset on December 19. All relatives gathered to celebrate the Christmas of the Sun, the wise men made fires to scare away evil spirits and show the way for guests gathering for a festive feast. On the eve of the birth of the renewed Sun, the forces of evil could be especially active, because between the death of the old Sun of Light and the birth of the new Kolyada there was a magical night of timelessness. It was believed that our ancestors could withstand otherworldly forces, having come together for common fun.
That night, the Slavs made ritual bonfires to help the Sun be born. They cleaned the dwellings and courtyards, washed and put themselves in order. And everything old and unnecessary was burned in a fire, symbolically and literally getting rid of the burden of the past, in order to meet the revived Sun refined and updated in the morning. The still very weak winter sun was called Kolyada (the affectionate derivative of Kolo, that is, the circle) and were glad that every day it will grow stronger and the day will begin to increase. The festivities continued on our calendar until sunset on January 1.
Magic night Yule
The ancient Slavs, as well as modern people, considered the twelfth night of Yule (from December 31 to January 1) to be the most fabulous and magical and noted it with amusing dressing up, songs and dances. To our days, not only the tradition of having fun on this night has survived, but also much more. The modern children are happy to wait for the pagan god Santa Claus, whom the ancient Slavs invited to visit to appease and thus protect their crops from freezing. Preparing for the New Year holidays, modern people decorate the tree with luminous garlands, Christmas wreaths are attached to the door, and cookies and cakes in the form of logs are often put on a sweet table, believing with confidence that this is a Christmas Christian tradition. In fact, almost all the paraphernalia is borrowed from the pagan Yule. In the winter, there were also pagan holidays - Christmas Carols and Honoring Women. They were accompanied by songs, dances, sacred fortune-telling and feasts. Throughout all the festivities, people have glorified the young Sun as a symbol of the onset of a better and renewed life.
Comedian
The day of the vernal equinox (March 20-21) was a holiday dedicated to the beginning of the New Year, the meeting of spring and the victory over the winter cold. With the advent of Christianity, it was replaced and shifted in time to the beginning of the year according to the church calendar, now known as Maslenitsa. The pagan holiday Komoyeditsa was celebrated for two weeks, one before the vernal equinox, the other later. At this time, the Slavs honored the stronger and more powerful Sun. Changing his baby name Kolyada to Yarilo, the sun god was already strong enough to melt snow and awaken nature from winter sleep.
The significance of the great holiday for our ancestors
During the celebration, our ancestors burned a scarecrow of winter, because it was often not only cold, but also hungry. With the onset of spring, fear of the personification of cold death in winter passed. In order to appease the spring and ensure its favor to the crops, pieces of the pie were laid out on thawed plots of fields as a treat to Spring-mother. At festive feasts, the Slavs could afford hearty food in order to gain strength for work in the warm season. Celebrating the pagan spring and New Year holidays, they had round dances, had fun and prepared sacrificial food for the solemn table - pancakes, which in their shape and color resembled the spring sun. Since the Slavs lived in harmony with nature, they revered its animal and plant world. The bear was a highly respected and even deified beast, therefore, on the holiday of the onset of spring, he was offered a sacrifice in the form of pancakes. The name Komoeditsa is also associated with a bear, our ancestors called it lump, hence the proverb “first pancake to lumps”, which means it was intended for bears.
Kupaila, or Kupala
The summer solstice (June 21) glorifies the sun-god - the powerful and full of strength Kupaylu, giving fertility and a good harvest. This great day of the astronomical year leads pagan summer holidays and is the beginning of summer according to the solar calendar. The Slavs rejoiced and had fun, because on this day they could take a break from hard work and glorify the Sun. People took dances around the sacred fire, jumped over it, clearing in this way, bathed in a river, the water of which is especially healing on this day. The girls wondered at their narrowed ones and launched wreaths of fragrant herbs and summer flowers into the water. They decorated the birch with flowers and ribbons - the tree, because of its beautiful and magnificent decoration, was a symbol of fertility. On this day, all the elements have special healing power. Knowing what pagan holidays are associated with the magic of nature, the wise men at Kupala harvested all kinds of herbs, flowers, roots, evening and morning dew.
Magic night magic
Slavic magi performed many rites to get the location of Kupayly. On a magical night, they went around the eared fields, chanted conspiracies from evil spirits and called for a rich harvest. At the Kupala, our ancestors wanted to find the magical flower of fern, which blooms only on this fabulous night, is able to work miracles and helps to find the treasure. Many folk tales are associated with the search for a blooming fern on Kupala, which means that they carried something magical pagan holidays. Of course, we know that this ancient plant does not bloom. And the luminescence, taken by the lucky ones for magical flowering, is caused by phosphorescent organisms, sometimes present on fern leaves. But will night and searches become less mesmerizing from this?
Veresen
A holiday dedicated to the autumn equinox (September 21), the end of harvest and the beginning of astronomical autumn. The festivities lasted two weeks, the first before the equinox (Indian summer) - during this period the harvest was calculated and its consumption planned for the future. The second - after the autumn equinox. On these holidays, our ancestors honored the wise and aging sun of the Sunlight, thanked the deity for the generous harvest and performed rituals so that the next year would be fertile. Meeting the autumn and spending the summer, the Slavs made bonfires and dances, extinguished the old fire in their dwellings and lit a new one. They decorated the houses with sheaves of wheat and baked various pies from the harvested crop to the festive table. The celebration was held in a big way, and the tables were bursting with dishes, people thus thanked Svetovit for generosity.
Our days
With the advent of Christianity, the ancient traditions of our ancestors practically disappeared, because often a new religion was not planted with a good word, but with fire and a sword. But still, the people's memory is strong, and the church was unable to destroy some traditions and holidays, therefore, it simply agreed with them, replacing the meaning and name. What pagan holidays merged with Christian ones, having undergone changes, and often a time shift? As it turns out, all the main ones: Kolyada - the birth of the Sun - December 21 (Catholic Christmas 4 days later), Komoeditsa - March 20-21 (Maslenitsa - cheese week, shifted in time to the beginning of the year due to Easter), Kupayla - June 21 (Ivan Kupala, the Christian rite is tied to the birthday of Ivan the Baptist). Veresen - September 21 (Christmas of the Blessed Virgin Mary). So, in spite of the past centuries and the change of religion, the primordially Slavic holidays, albeit in modified form, continue to exist, and anyone who is not indifferent to the history of their people can revive them.