[Illustration]
YULE-TIDE IN RUSSIA
"Light--in the heavens high,
And snow flashing bright;--
Sledge in the distance
In its lonely flight."
--_Shenshin._
In this enormous kingdom which covers one-sixth of the land surface of
the globe, and where upwards of fifteen million human beings
celebrate in various ways the great winter festival of Yule-tide, it
will be found that the people retain many traditions of the
sun-worshipers, which shows that the season was once observed in honor
of the renewal of the sun's power. With them, however, the sun was
supposed to be a _female_, who, when the days began to lengthen,
entered her sledge, adorned in her best robes and gorgeous head-dress,
and speeded her horses summerward.
Russian myths indicate a connection with the Aryans in the remote
past; their songs of the wheel, the log, the pig or boar, all show a
common origin in centuries long gone by.
Russia to most minds is a country of cold, darkness, oppression, and
suffering, and this is true to an altogether lamentable extent. But it
is also a country of warmth, brightness, freedom, and happiness. In
fact, there are so many phases of life among its vast population that
descriptions of Russian life result about as satisfactorily as did
those of Saxe's "Three blind men of Hindustan," who went to see the
elephant. Each traveler describes the part he sees, just as each blind
man described the part he felt, and each believes he knows the whole.
There are certain general features of the Yule-tide observance that
are typical of the country. One is the singing of their ancient
_Kolyada_ songs, composed centuries ago by writers who are unknown.
They may have been sacrificial songs in heathen days, but are now sung
with fervor and devotion at Christmas time.
In some places a maiden dressed in white and drawn on a sledge from
house to house represents the goddess of the Sun, while her retinue
of maidens sing the _Kolyada_, or carols. Here again appears the
ancient custom of gift-making, for the maidens who attend the goddess
expect to receive gifts in appreciation of their songs.
The word _Kolyada_ is of doubtful origin. It may refer to the sun, a
wheel, or a sacrifice; there is no telling how, when, or where it
originated, but the singing of these songs has been a custom of the
people from time immemorial, and after the introduction of
Christianity it became a part of the Christmas festivities.
Ralston in his "Songs of the Russian People" gives the following
translation of one of these peculiar songs:
"Kolyada! Kolyada!
Kolyada has arrived.
On the Eve of the Nativity,
Holy Kolyada.
Through all the courts, in all the alleys,
We found Kolyada
In Peter's Court.
Round Peter's Court there is an iron fence,
In the midst of the Court there are three rooms,
In the first room is the bright Moon,
In the second room the red Sun,
And in the third room, the many Stars."
Strangely enough the Russians make the Moon the _master_ of the
mansion above, and the Sun the _mistress_, a twist about in the
conception of these luminaries worthy of the Chinese, and possibly
derived from some of Russia's Eastern invaders. In the above song, the
Stars, like dutiful children, all wish their luminous parents good
_health_,
"For many years, for many years."
In parts of Russia, the Virgin Mary and birds take the place of the
Sun and Stars in these songs, which are sung throughout the Yule
season by groups of young folks at social gatherings, or from house
to house, and form the leading feature of the Christmas festivities.
It is hard to realize that the stolid, fur-clad Russian is a child of
song, for such seem to belong to sunny climes, but throughout his life
from the cradle to the grave he is accompanied with song. Not modern
compositions, for they are quite inferior as a rule, but those
melodies composed ages ago and sung repeatedly through generation
after generation, usually accompanied with dancing in circles.
The _Kolyadki_ cover a variety of themes relating to the gods,
goddesses, and other celestial beings, to all of whom Christian
characteristics have been given until they now form the sacred songs
of Yule-tide.
On Christmas Eve it is customary for the people to fast until after
the first service in church. They pray before their respective icons,
or sacred pictures, recite psalms, and then all start for the church,
where the service is, in most respects, the same as in the Roman
Catholic Church. There are many denominations besides the established
church of the country that hold services on Christmas Eve; but to
whichever one goes, it is wise to hasten home and to get to bed in
season to have a pleasant Christmas Eve dream, as such is sure to come
true, according to Russian authority.
On _Welikikdenj_--Christmas--the people partake of an early meal. In
some parts of the country it is customary to send extremely formal
invitations in the name of the host to the guests who are expected to
arrive that day. These are delivered by a special messenger and read
somewhat as follows:
"My master and mistress beg you to consider, Father Artanon
Triphonowitsch, and you, Mother Agaphia Nelidowna, that for thousands
of years it has been thus; with us it has not commenced, with us it
will not end. Do not, therefore, disturb the festival; do not bring
the good people to despair. Without you there will be no pleasure at
Philimon Spicidonowitsch's, without you there will be no maiden
festival at Anna Karpowna's."
[Illustration: A CHRISTMAS BONFIRE IN RUSSIA.]
Who could absent himself after such an invitation as this? The place
of meeting has been decided upon weeks earlier, for it must be with a
well-to-do family possessing a large home to accommodate the guests
that usually assemble at Christmas. The "fair maidens," each with her
mother and retinue, arrive first on the scene, bringing cake and
sweetmeats and gifts for the servants. They would sooner freeze in
their sledges before the gate than be guilty of alighting without
first receiving the greeting of their host and hostess. Having been
welcomed, they next pray before the icon, and then are ready for the
pleasures arranged for them.
One peculiar phase of these house-parties is the selecting of partners
for the maidens, which is done by the hostess, the "elected" sometimes
proving satisfactory and sometimes not. They feast, play games, go
snowballing, and guess riddles, always having a jolly good time.
Reciters of _builinas_ (poems) are often present to sing and recite
the whole night through, for of song and poetry the Russian never
tires.
A pretty custom very generally observed is the blessing of the house
and household. The priest visits each home in his district,
accompanied by boys bearing a vessel of holy water; the priest
sprinkles each room with the water, each person present kissing the
cross he carries and receiving his benediction as he proceeds from
room to room. Thus each home is sanctified for the ensuing year.
The familiar greeting of "Merry Christmas" is not heard in Russia
unless among foreigners, the usual salutation on this day being
"Greetings for the Lord's birth," to which the one addressed replies,
"God be with you."
The observance of New Year on January first, according to the
Gregorian Calendar, was instituted by Peter the Great in 1700. The
previous evening is known as St. Sylvester's Eve, and is the time of
great fun and enjoyment. According to the poet, Vasili Andreivich
Zhukivski:
"St. Sylvester's evening hour,
Calls the maidens round;
Shoes to throw behind the door,
Delve the snowy ground.
Peep behind the window there,
Burning wax to pour;
And the corn for chanticleer,
Reckon three times o'er.
In the water-fountain fling
Solemnly the golden ring
Earrings, too, of gold;
Kerchief white must cover them
While we're chanting over them
Magic songs of old."
Ovsen, a mythological being peculiar to the season, is supposed to
make his entry about this time, riding a boar (another indication of
Aryan descent), and no Christmas or New Year's dinner is considered
complete without pork served in some form. The name of Ovsen, being so
like the French word for oats, suggests the possibility of this
ancient god's supposed influence over the harvests, and the honor paid
him at the ingathering feasts in Roman times. He is the god of
fruitfulness, and on New Year's Eve Russian boys go from house to
house scattering oats and other grain while they sing:
"In the forest, in the pine forest,
There stood a pine tree,
Green and shaggy.
O Ovsen! Ovsen!
The Boyars came,
Cut down the pine,
Sawed it into planks,
Built a bridge,
Covered it with cloth,
Fastened it with nails,
O Ovsen! O Ovsen!
Who, who will go
Along that bridge?
Ovsen will go there,
And the New Year,
O Ovsen! O Ovsen!"
With this song the young folks endeavor to encourage the people who
are about to cross the gulf between the known and the unknown, the
Past and the Future Year; at the same time they scatter good seed for
them to reap a bountiful harvest. Often the boys sing the following
Kolyadki:
"Afield, afield, out in the open field!
There a golden plough goes ploughing,
And behind that plough is the Lord Himself.
Holy Peter helps Him to drive,
And the Mother of God carries the seed corn,
Carries the seed corn, prays to the Lord God,
Make, O Lord, the strong wheat to grow,
The strong wheat and the vigorous corn!
The stalks there shall be like reeds!
The ears shall be (plentiful) as blades of grass!
The sheaves shall be (in number) like the stars!
The stacks shall be like hills,
The loads shall be gathered together like black clouds."
How singularly appropriate it seems that boys, hungry at all times,
should be the ones to implore the god of fruitfulness to bestow upon
their people an abundant harvest during the coming year!
In Petrograd the New Year is ushered in with a cannonade of one
hundred shots fired at midnight. The Czar formally receives the good
wishes of his subjects, and the streets, which are prettily decorated
with flags and lanterns, are alive with people.
On New Year's Day the Winter Palace is opened to society, as is nearly
every home in the city, for at this season, at least, hospitality and
charity are freely dispensed from palace and cottage.
On Sotjelnik, the last of the holidays, the solemn service of Blessing
the Water of the Neva is observed. At two o'clock in the afternoon the
people who have gathered in crowds at various points along the river
witness the ceremony which closes the festivities of Yule-tide. At
Petrograd a dome is erected in front of the Winter Palace, where in
the presence of a vast concourse of people the Czar and the high
church officials in a grand and impressive manner perform the
ceremony. In other places it is customary for the district priest to
officiate. Clothed in vestments he leads a procession of clergy and
villagers, who carry icons and banners and chant as they proceed to
the river. They usually leave an open space in their ranks through
which all the bad spirits likely to feel antagonistic to the ruler of
Winter--the Frost King--may flee. For water sprites, fairies, gnomes,
and other invisibilities, who delight in sunshine and warmth, are
forced, through the power of the priest's prayers, and the showering
of holy water, to take refuge in a hole that is cut in the ice beside
a tall cross, and disappear beneath the cold water of the blessed
river.
A PALM BRANCH FROM PALESTINE
Branch of palm from Palestine,
Tell me of thy native place:
What fair vale, what steep incline,
First thy stately growth did grace?
Has the sun at dawn caressed thee,
That on Jordan's waters shone,
Have the rough night-winds distressed thee
As they swept o'er Lebanon?
And while Solym's sons, brought low,
Plaited thee for humble wages,
Was it prayer they chanted slow,
Or some song of ancient ages?
As in childhood's first awaking
Does thy parent-tree still stand,
With its full-leaved branches making
Shadows on the burning sand?
Or when thou from it wert riven,
Did it straightway droop and die,
Till the desert dust was driven
On its yellowing leaves to die?
Say, what pilgrim's pious hand
Cherished thee in hours of pain,
When he to this northern land
Brought thee, fed with tears like rain?
Or perchance on some good knight,
Pure in heart and calm of vision,
Men bestowed thy garland bright--
Fit as he for realms Elysian!
Now preserved with reverent care,
At the _Ikon's_ gilded shrine,
Faithful watch thou keepest there,
Holy Palm of Palestine.
Where the lamp burns faint and dim,
Folded in a mystic calm,
Near the Cross--the sign of Him--
Rest in safety, sacred Palm.
--_Michael Yourievich Lermontov._
(_Translated by Mrs. Rosa Newmarch._)