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Folk customs on new year holidays have survived to this day. Especially in villages, such rituals are revered, although not as colorful as in the time of our great-grandmothers and great-grandfathers. However, to this day, young people happily gather in groups and go with carols and generous gifts to congratulate all relatives, acquaintances and friends. Let's try to figure out when and how to carol, give generously, or sow.

Caroling

According to folklorists, caroling can be done from January 6 to February 15, that is, until the Feast of the Presentation. True, the most common time for carols is considered to be the time before Christmas: as soon as the first star appears in the sky, the festive dinner begins, and children get together and go to congratulate everyone on the birth of Christ with carols.

According to tradition, people go caroling from house to house, without going around anyone. IN big city, of course, this will not be possible, but you can sing carols under your neighbors’ apartments, writes Nash-rayon.dp.ua.

First you need to ask the owners if you can sing carols. If you are refused, silently, without offense, leave.

The carols themselves are sung slowly and drawn out. They must end with congratulations. Unfortunately, today caroling often comes down to receiving a monetary reward, and therefore children try to sing the carol as quickly as possible just to earn money. Try to explain to your child that the essence of the carol is something else. Give carolers not money, but the way it was done before - candy, apples, nuts...

In any case, remember that once every Ukrainian family considered it an honor that carolers did not bypass them and came to wish them a Merry Christmas.

Generosity

Shchedrivkas are performed on the evening before the Old New Year, that is, January 13. They differ from carols in their unused refrain: “Generous evening, good evening, good people for the whole evening!”

According to the Christian calendar, this is the day of St. Melania. Melanka-Water comes to the Generous Evening together with Vasily-Luna to notify the hosts about the subsequent celebrations.

On the morning of this day they begin to prepare the second ritual kutya - a generous one. Unlike the “rich” one (which is for Christmas), it can be filled with skormina. In addition, housewives bake pancakes, prepare pies and dumplings with cheese to give gifts to generous givers and sowers.

In the evening and until midnight, generous people go around the houses. Mostly girls are generous. However, bachelor groups also go to Melanki. They are called "driving Melanka". Guys in masks express good wishes, entertain with songs, dances, and humorous skits. One of them is usually dressed in a woman's dress - he is called Melanka.

Sowing

And the next day, on Vasily, January 14, when it begins to get light, they go to sow grain. The grain is taken in a mitten or in a bag. First they go to their godparents, then to other relatives and friends. Entering the house, the sower sows grain and greets everyone with a Happy New Year.

We sow, we weed, we sow,
Happy New Year!
Fortunately, good health, New Year,
May you have a better birth than last year!
Hemp to the ceiling, and flax to the knee,
So that you, the owners, don’t have a headache!
Be healthy, Happy New Year and Happy Vasily!
God grant!

The first sower on New Year brings happiness to the house. According to popular beliefs, girls do not bring happiness - only boys, so it is not suitable for girls to sow.

There have always been sowers welcome guests in Ukrainian families, they were invited to the table and presented with pies, apples, bagels and other delicacies. And the most generous gifts were received by the one who came to the house first.

Caroling and generosity: how and when? ------------------- Caroling is a favorite activity of children. Firstly, it’s fun, and secondly, you can collect a little money and all sorts of goodies. It’s true that now children prefer money more – you won’t surprise them with sweets anymore. But before you start caroling, you need to figure out when to go caroling, when to be generous and, in general, how to do it correctly. Let's start with the fact that in ancient times, on the first day of the New Year (but according to the old style, January 14), the most common ritual was sowing. Although a lot of time has passed since then, this custom has remained and reached our time. But initially, this ritual came to us from pre-Christian times. At that time, our ancestors celebrated the New Year not in winter, but in spring, and the sowing ritual was associated with high hopes for a good harvest. Mostly children did the sowing, and the one who came first was given very generous gifts. So: caroling - Christmas on January 6 in the evening - generous on January 7 in the morning - sowing (sowing) on ​​January 13 in the evening - January 14 in the morning Caroling in the evening, January 6. And on the morning of January 7th they celebrate, sing Christmas songs and wish everyone a Merry Christmas. They give generously on January 13, and the next morning, at dawn, they sow (sow) grain. People go to their godparents, loved ones and relatives to sow (sow). But the man should be the first to enter the house on this day, since it is believed that girls do not bring happiness. According to a long-standing tradition, caroling requires at least 3 people. It could be both girls and boys, both aunts and uncles)). The head of the carolers is the star. This is the person who goes first and carries a star. The role of star was always chosen by a person who had a loud, beautiful voice and knew carols better than others. The next most senior person is the bell ringer. This person is also an integral part of the caroling “team”. His duty is to carry a large bell and ring it to notify people that carolers are coming. The third important caroler is the mekhonosh. Apparently, this man had to be strong, since he had to carry everything that the owners of the houses would throw at the carolers: candy, cookies, money, etc. They will throw it, since carolers should not take anything from their hands - the owners should put all gifts directly into the bag. How wonderful it would be if today everything was the same as before. But, unfortunately, today no one bothers with this. It's enough just to learn carols. But it doesn’t cost anything to make at least a star. The star for caroling is usually made with eight points. It can easily be cut out of thick cardboard and decorated with sparkles or broken Christmas tree decorations. In the end, you can just paint it yellow. There is a more complicated option: a star made of wire, which is then wrapped with colored ribbons. The next attribute is a large bell, but if you don’t have a large one, you can take a small one. And last but not least, a bag for gifts. It needs to be made from thick, bright fabric and decorated. Decorations can be either embroidered or painted. It could be the sun, stars, month, etc. Since in the old days this holiday symbolized the transition from night to day and from winter to summer. The evening on the eve of the old New Year is called “generous”. But here girls and young women are already entering. They go from house to house and congratulate everyone on the upcoming holiday and sing generosity: “Generous evening, good evening, good health to good people...”. And on the morning of the old New Year, you will probably be woken up by a whole gang of sowers who will not only congratulate you on the upcoming holiday, but also, having sprinkled grains of wheat and other seeds from head to toe, will wish you to have a good life. And again, according to tradition, sowers must certainly be men (but age does not matter).

On January 13, 2020, the Orthodox Church celebrates the Day of Remembrance of Saint Melania (Melanka). At this time the Slavs celebrated the ancient holiday of Shchedrets. Among Ukrainians, Belarusians and in the south of Russia the name Generous Evening is more common, in central Russia and in the north - Vasilyev's evening.

People sang Christmas songs: on January 13 - shchedrovka, and on the 14th, on the Day of Remembrance of St. Basil the Great, - sowing. In shchedrovkas and sowings, the owners of the house and their children are honored, wishes for a rich harvest, prosperity, and livestock offspring are expressed.

Shchedrovki for the Old New Year in Russian usually have a refrain: “Generous evening, good evening, good health to good people!” (another option is “Generous evening, good evening, good people for the whole evening”).

How to be generous for the 2020 Old New Year?

Mummers in animal costumes go around the houses of neighbors, performing generosity, and they give them treats and small money. The walk is accompanied by music, dancing, and ritual games using masks.

Shchedrovki for 2020 Old New Year children can perform in kindergarten and school.

***
Good evening to you,
Affectionate owner.
Rejoice, rejoice, earth,
The Son of God was born into the world.

We are coming to you, master,
With good news.
Rejoice, rejoice, earth,
The Son of God was born into the world.

With good news
From the holy city.
Rejoice, rejoice, earth,
The Son of God was born into the world.
***
Shchedrovochka was generous,
I spent the night under the window,
Chi ram, chi sheep,
Serve the pancake,
Don't bite, don't break,
Let's talk about it in general.
Generous evening, good evening!

***
Shchedrik-Petryk,
Give me the dumpling!
a spoonful of porridge,
Top sausages.
This is not enough
Give me a piece of bacon.
Take it out quickly
Don't freeze the children!

***
Good evening, generous evening,
Good health to good people.
What have you made, auntie?
What did you bake, auntie?
Carry it quickly to the window.
Don't pinch, don't break,
But in general, come on!

***
You, master, don’t be tormented,
Give it quickly!
What about the current frost?
Doesn't tell me to stand for long
Orders to serve soon:
Either pies come out of the oven,
Or a penny of money,
Or a pot of cabbage soup!
God bless you
A yard full of bellies!
And to the stables of horses,
Into the calf barn,
Into the guys' hut,
And take care of the kittens!

***
To your new summer,
Have a great summer!
Where does the horse's tail go?
It's full of bushes there.
Where does the goat go with its horn?
There's a stack of hay there.
How many aspens,
So many pigs for you.
How many Christmas trees
So many cows.
How many candles
So many sheep.
Happiness to you, master and hostess,
Great health,
Happy New Year,
With all the family!

How to give generously for the Old New Year? According to the established tradition, in the evening girls and young women give generously (perform generosity). And in the morning, when the New Year begins, boys and young people sing sowings.

 

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