Christmas.
One of the most famous and widespread holidays among Christians is Christmas. Catholics, Catholics, and other small-numbered representatives of Christianity (for example, Baptists) annually celebrate it with folk festivals, church services, praises (songs of praise) and delicious treats.
Let's plunge into history: on Christmas Day, we celebrate the birth of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who, by his coming to earth, saved people from eternal torment in Gehenna of fire. Since then, we have been chronicling.
This biblical understanding of the meaning of the holiday is far from primary for us.It should not be forgotten that the Slavs, even after the coming of the Son of God, were not Christians for 988 years, and Christmas already existed as a holiday. Yes, but it was called by the name of the god of peace on earth, "Kolyady." To this day, we still sing Christmas carols.
It is not known exactly when Kolyada appeared in Slavic mythology, but he was a clear prototype of Jesus Christ himself.: The son of the supreme god Svarog, born on December 24 at night (according to the new style - January 6), brought light, love and joy to the world. He was also considered the god of spring warmth. His symbol was a wheel with seven spokes, in the center of which a fire was burning (surely many remembered the Carnival fun). This wheel was a representation of the sun. On this holiday, people stuck dried flowers and scraps of bright fabrics into snowdrifts to make it warm as soon as possible. It was also customary to make a doll of Kolyada out of straw, but it was not burned as a Pancake effigy.
But people caroled not only on Christmas Day, which was December 24 in the old style, but also every time after peace was established after the end of the wars.
On Christmas Eve, it was customary for young girls to guess at their betrothed. It was believed that everything that was guessed would come true.
In Kolyada, people of all ages went outside at night and went to their neighbors' houses demanding treats. It could be not only sweets: there was a place for everything that the owner did not skimp on. The petitions were special: they consisted of singing carols:
In addition to petitions, there were threats to greedy homeowners, as well as good wishes for generous people who did not skimp on gifts. Mummification of livestock was an integral part of the celebration for greater fertility and health of the cattle.
Thus, the tradition of celebrating this bright holiday has come down to us, putting up with those with whom we quarrel, dressing up in costumes (although they are already far from dressing up in goats and cows). But the symbol has changed: previously it was the sun illuminating the way to the future, now it is a guiding star that opened the way to the eternal. New players can get a welcome bonus of up to €1500 + 150 Free Spins at 1Xbet Casino, and by using the 1xbet promo code for registration of account, users will enjoy access to many other daily and weekly offers like day specific deposit bonuses or casino tournaments. The casino at 1Xbet is split into Slots and Live Casino sections. The slots area features a multitude of games gathered from over 45 software providers like Microgaming, Nextgen Gaming, Rival, Quickspin, Evoplay just to name a few.