Christmas. The Patriarch greets the sovereign in the Golden Chamber.
Buchholz Fedor (Theodor Alexander Ferdinand) Fedorovich (Gustavovich) (1857-1942).
Illustration for the magazine "Niva". Engraved by Schubler
Christmas tree trade.
Genrikh Matveevich Manizer. Oil on canvas.
Omsk regional museum fine arts them. M. A. Vrubel
Christmas market.
Buchkuri Alexander Alekseevich (1870 -1942). 1906
Preparatory drawing to the painting "Christmas Tree Sale". 1918
Kustodiev Boris Mikhailovich
Christmas tree trade.
Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev. 1918 Oil on canvas. 98x98.
Krasnodar regional art museum them. F. Kovalenko, Krasnodar
Canvases on the themes of festive provincial life are distinguished by a special, only for Kustodiev, characteristic brightness, multicolor and life-like authenticity of the smallest details. National holidays and celebrations are reflected in many of the artist’s works. different years. While still a student at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, Kustodiev’s theme thesis I chose a painting with a similar plot. He traveled to villages, wrote sketches - portraits of peasants, landscape sketches, genre scenes. “Christmas Tree Trading,” a work created by the artist in 1918, also relates to the same theme.
Glorifying the life and customs of the Russian province, Kustodiev amazingly combined painting with verbal and musical folklore- with a song and a fairy tale. An attentive, thoughtful viewer not only sees, but also “hears” the artist’s work. Most likely painted from memory, the picture does not have an exact geographical address - this is Rus' in general, and not the Astrakhan or Kostroma Christmas tree market. The action on the canvas seems to take place “in a certain kingdom, in a certain state.” The spacious sky and the gilded domes of the church above the bustling human anthill - who is not among this motley crowd! The real is surprisingly combined with the fantastic: a colorful fairy tale, full of living details, appears before us. And the artist, like a real storyteller, emphasized everything funny and playful that is in this simple narrative, hiding everything serious that might be hidden in it. The Christmas tree market is depicted by the artist as a festive spectacle. The space of the picture resembles a stage. The arrangement of the figures, at first glance, is chaotic: the image can be continued both to the right and to the left. The openness of the composition and its peculiar fluidity further enhance this general impression.
A large place is devoted to the landscape in this genre scene - church domes seem fabulous against the backdrop of a snowy sky, spruce trees are dressed in elegant winter clothes - main subject trading at the fair. The artist made a brush stroke on the canvas easily, smoothly, even somehow delicately. Kustodiev attached great importance to line, drawing, and the play of color spots. Chiaroscuro in in this case doesn't have of great importance, the light becomes very conditional. Local color spots form a harmonious decorative whole. The cloud-covered sky has no depth, the domes of the church are intense in color, due to which the difference in plans is reduced to almost nothing.
On the one hand, Kustodiev noticed and transferred to the canvas genuine types of the Russian province, conveyed the real atmosphere of the New Year's bustle, and on the other hand, a festive performance, a costume performance with beautiful scenery, is performed in front of us by the artist himself. A joyful, incomparable feeling of fullness with life and movement permeates the canvas. Life in this work is visible everywhere: people are busy, rejoicing and fussing, drawing its intricate patterns in the sky snowy winter, and all this action is enveloped in the fresh coniferous aroma of the beautiful spruce.
The world in Kustodiev’s painting is like a magic lantern with constantly changing pictures - you can endlessly watch its varied, so simple, simple and at the same time full of deep meaning life. The blue and soft white colors of the painting pacify, delight, as if they lull, creating a gentle and poetic atmosphere of anticipation of a miracle on the eve of the holiday - timeless, always modern. They remind us, always busy and rushing somewhere, that everything in this world is beautiful, that life is amazing simply because it is life.
From the book: T. Kondratenko, Y. Solodovnikov "Krasnodar Regional Art Museum named after F.A. Kovalenko." White City, 2003.
Behind the Christmas trees
Returning from the Christmas market.
MM. Germashev (Bubello). Postcard
Preparing for Christmas.
Sergei Vasilyevich Dosekin (1869-1916). 1896
Christmas tree.
Korin Alexey Mikhailovich. 1910
Christmas tree.
Nikolai Ivanovich Feshin (1881-1955). 1917
Christmas tree.
Alexander Moravov. 1921
New Year's treat.
Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna Romanova (sister of Emperor Nicholas II). 1935
Christmas day. In the monastery.
Ivan Silych Goryushkin-Sorokopudov. Illustration in the magazine "Niva"
City smelters.
Solomatkin Leonid Ivanovich. 1867 Oil on canvas
Slavers.
Solomatkin Leonid Ivanovich. 1868 Oil on canvas.
State Russian Museum
Slavers.
State Vladimir-Suzdal Historical-Architectural and art museum-reserve
Slavers.
Solomatkin Leonid Ivanovich. Oil on canvas.
Odessa Art Museum
Slavers.
Solomatkin Leonid Ivanovich. 1872 Oil on canvas. 40.3?51.5.
Ulyanovsk Art Museum
Christoslav policemen.
Solomatkin Leonid Ivanovich (1837-1883). 1872 Oil on canvas.
Perm State Art Gallery
Solomatkin Leonid Ivanovich (1837 - 1883) attended classes Imperial Academy Arts and received a small silver medal for the paintings “Name Day of the Sexton” (1862) and “City Slavers” (1864), which V.V. Stasov welcomed as “a wonderful, fresh offspring of the Fedotov school.” Last story Subsequently, it was repeated several times; at least 18 of the author’s replicas are known, although the first version has not survived. Art catalog
In the film “In the Cellar during Christmas Week” Solomatkin portrays his favorite characters - wandering musicians. Is talent a burden or a gift, a blessing or a curse? Talent is destiny. Talent did not make the artist and his heroes happy, but they fulfill their purpose with dignity. The musicians depicted in the picture knew better days. The cello the old man plays is an instrument of a professional, allowing the musician to claim a certain privilege, testifying to a certain level of life left in the past. The old man is accompanied by a boy who plays along with him on the pipe. Apparently, for the sake of this little boy, carefully covered with a warm scarf, the old man has to wander with a heavy tool from zucchini to zucchini, earning his bread. There is a Christmas tree in the room, decorated with toys, and masks and masquerade costumes hang on a hanger, giving the whole event a phantasmagoric touch. Art Gallery of the Generations Fund of Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug of Ugra
With a star.
Reproduction from a painting by M. Germashev, published by the company “Richard”, printed in the printing house of the partnership “R. Golicke and A. Wilborg”. Petrograd, 1916
Christmas card based on a drawing by Boris Zvorykin
Carols.
Nikolai Kornilovich Pimenko. Deut. floor. 1880s Oil on canvas. 170x130.
Donetsk Regional Art Museum
museum-painting.dp.ua
Riding on Christmastide.
Buchkuri Alexander Alekseevich (1870 -1942). Oil on canvas.
The theme of Christmas carols, which are usually held after Christmas and last almost two weeks, is most likely associated with childhood memories. The two weeks of winter holidays, from Christmas Eve (January 6) to Epiphany (January 19), were in ancient times a time of rest and “visiting,” which is why hikes with congratulations were organized at this time, and on long winter evenings they were wondering about their betrothed.
Nowadays you will no longer meet cheerfully laughing mummers who walk from house to house with an accordion, sing and say rhymed wishes and congratulations to the owners, beg for treats and continue on their way. However, in Russia such a pastime was not particularly accepted; Ukrainians, Belarusians, Poles and Bulgarians were famous for it. These traditions are still preserved there, transformed into new forms - from concerts and street processions to competitions and folk festivals. This is a fine line between Church Christmas and Christmas, as a tribute to the traditions of the people born in paganism.
In the online publication “Orthodoxy and Peace” I found an interesting article by Seraphim Orekhanov, which I am happy to quote, because it contains detailed history holidays and customs, and thoughts and reflections that are in tune with mine.
Mikhailo Moroz Carols.
Trutovsky Konstantin Alexandrovich (1826-1893) Carols in Little Russia 1864
Chumakov-Orleansky Vladimir Viktorovich (born 1962) Kolyada.
Origins
The tradition of celebrating Christmastide is rooted in such deep antiquity that not even oral traditions. When Prince Vladimir threw pagan idols into the Dnieper, the custom was already five hundred years old. And even when Rurik founded Novgorod, Christmastide was no longer young.
Employees of the Russian ethnographic museum claim that in pre-Christian Rus', Christmastide was associated with the name of the god Svyatovit. What kind of god this is and why he was given a special two-week holiday, scientists are still arguing. It is believed that “Svyatovit” is simply one of the names of the supreme god Perun. Be that as it may, the Slavs tried in every possible way to please this god, primarily so that he would send a bountiful harvest. On Christmastide, Svyatovit was supposed to leave some festive food, which was thrown into the oven especially for him. The Slavs believed that at the beginning of winter, the spirits of the gods and the souls of ancestors descend to earth, and at this moment you can “beg” from them a bountiful harvest, a handsome husband, money, and in general anything you want.
Pimonenko Nikolai Kornilievich (1862-1912) Carols 1880s
Elena Selivanova Illustration for Olga Pershina’s book “Christmas Outside the Window”.
Marina Yandolenko Carols 2008
Church about Christmastide
The Christian tradition of celebrating Christmastide has also been known since ancient times.
Back in the 4th century, Greek Christians rested, had fun and strictly celebrated two weeks after Christmas (according to one version, the word “Yuletide” comes from the verb “to hallow”, since on Christmastide the people “sanctify”, that is, they glorify Christ and the Birth of Christ) . Special attention the focus was on ensuring that everyone had a joyful mood: the poor, slaves, prisoners. In Byzantium, it became a custom at Christmas time to bring food and gifts to prisons and hospitals, and to help the poor. Mentions of Christmastide, as a special post-Christmas celebration, can be found in the works of Ambrose of Milan, Gregory of Nyssa and Ephraim the Syrian.
With the advent of Christianity, Christmastide in Rus' began to be filled with new meaning. However, the attitude of the Russian Church towards Christmas festivities has always been ambiguous. Many hierarchs spoke out not only against fortune-telling, but also against caroling and the custom of “dressing up” on the basis of the resolution of the VI Ecumenical Council, which reads: “Those who resort to wizards or others like that in order to learn something secret from them, should be subject to the rule of six years of penance ( i.e., they are excluded from Communion for six years)... we reject dances and rituals performed according to an ancient and alien to Christian life ritual and determine: none of the husbands should dress in women's clothing, not characteristic of a husband; don't wear masks."
Then the supporters of Christmastide came up with an ingenious “solution” to the problem: on Epiphany, an ice hole in the shape of a cross was made in the ice of a river or lake, and the entire population of the village plunged into it, washing away the sins committed on Christmastide.
Over time religious meaning pagan traditions were completely forgotten, and Christmastide became a time when people especially glorify Christmas and the mercy of the Lord, who sent Jesus Christ to Earth. All that remains from the ancient pre-Christian Christmastide is winter, purely Russian irrepressible fun.
Solomatkin Leonid Ivanovich (1837-1883) City smelters. 1867
Solomatkin Leonid Ivanovich (1837-1883) City smelters. 1872
Solomatkin Leonid Ivanovich (1837-1883) City smelters.
Christmastide
Alla Goncharuk Kolyada. 2005
Chestnyakov (Samuilov) Efim Vasilievich (1874-1961) Kolyada (fragment).
Zelenchenko Tatyana Borisovna (Ukraine, born 1951) Melanka.
Reference:
Generous evening (in Ukrainian Shchedriy Vechir, in Belarusian Shchodryk, in Russian Vasiliev evening) - folk holiday Ukrainians, Belarusians and the southern Russian population bordering the Ukrainians. This is the evening on Old New Year's Eve. Its celebration comes from an ancient, probably pre-Christian custom. According to the Christian calendar, this is also the day of St. Melania (Melanka, Malanka, Milanka). Milanka-Water comes to the Generous Evening together with Vasily-Luna to notify the hosts about future celebrations and stay, what is popularly called Melanka’s living room. In Ukrainian folk tradition both holidays united into the Generous Evening, or the holiday of Melanka.
Carols
It is extremely difficult to establish where the word “kolyada” itself came from. IN different parts In Russia this word has different meanings. In the north it is simply “Christmas Eve”, in the villages of the Novgorod region “kolyada” is gifts received at Christmas. In Belarus, “caroling” means “glorifying Christ.” But ethnographic scientists believe that the ancient Slavs used this word to call the winter solstice holiday.
In our understanding, carols are something like Winnie the Pooh chants, in which the owner of the house is praised and through which treats are begged from this very owner.
Songs were often composed on the spot, but there were traditional rules in this art that came from ancient times. The owner, for example, was called nothing less than “the bright moon”, the hostess - “the red sun”, their children - “pure stars”.
However, those who knew how came up with more expressive dignifications: “The master of the house is like Adam in heaven; the mistress of the house is like pancakes with honey; little children - that the grapes are red and green ... "The carolers promised a rich harvest and happy life to those who give refreshments, and all kinds of misfortune to the stingy. Sometimes the songs even contained threats: “Whoever doesn’t give me a pie, we’ll take the cow by the horns; whoever doesn’t give me ham, we’ll split the cast iron...” All this, of course, was a joke. Sometimes they sang absolutely, even deliberately meaningless sentences. The owners received guests and gave whatever they could.
Sychkov Fedot Vasilievich (1870-1958) Christoslavs (Children of the old village). 1935
Customs
In ancient, pre-Petrine times, there was a custom on Christmas Day in every village to light a bonfire, which with its light in the darkness of the winter night symbolized the Star of Bethlehem and burned until baptism.
Another Christmas custom is to get the whole family together in the evenings, invite guests (as many as possible), tell fairy tales and ask riddles (as complex as possible). This tradition, like caroling, lived not only in villages, but also among the urban nobility.
Literary critic Yu. M. Lotman in his comments to “Eugene Onegin” writes that it was customary to separate “holy evenings” and “terrible evenings” (the first and second weeks after Christmas, respectively). On “holy evenings” they held cheerful night gatherings, on “terrible evenings” they told fortunes.
The young people were going to dance, during the day - to ride a sleigh, and play snowballs. By the way, after Christmas there were always a lot of weddings. “In gatherings, fortune telling, games, songs, everything is aimed at one goal - to bring the betrothed closer together. Only on holy days do boys and girls easily sit hand in hand,” wrote folklorist I. Snegirev in the book “Songs of the Russian People.”
Konstantin Prusov Kolyada. 2010
Shvetsova Anastasia Anatolyevna (born 1982) Carols 2010
Hooliganism sanctified by tradition
The most “antisocial” Yuletide tradition is “pampering.” Children and teenagers gathered in large groups at night and played as mischievously as they could. A classic joke was to nail up the outside gate of a house or to tear up a woodpile.
Another entertainment is the ritual theft of something. You could steal anything, but always with noise and songs, and not secretly. IN Soviet times, despite all the prohibitions, collective farm tractors were often “stolen.” Immediately after the holidays, of course, they were returned to their place. Last days Christmastide was dedicated to preparing for Epiphany. The best village craftsmen cut a cross-shaped hole in frozen reservoirs and decorated it with patterns made of ice.
Gorelov Gavriil Nikitich (1880-1966) Mummers in the village. 1906
Ivan Lysenko Kolyada.
Christmastide traditions in Rus'
The history of state regulation of Christmas celebrations is very diverse. The first legislative acts on this matter were issued under Peter I. “Tsar Peter was very fond of caroling and he himself enjoyed going from house to house in the company of mummers. And those who refused to take part in this fun were ordered to be beaten with whips,” say employees of the Russian Ethnographic Museum. After the death of Peter I, the attitude towards caroling changed dramatically. In the second half of the 18th century, caroling and dressing up were even prohibited: “It is prohibited, on the eve of the Nativity of Christ and during Christmastide, to start, according to ancient idolatrous legends, games and, dressing up in idol robes, to perform dances in the streets and sing seductive songs,” read the imperial charter .
Most likely, the authorities were simply afraid of mass drunkenness and hooliganism, and were not worried about the moral character of the mummers. Regardless, it was probably one of the most frequently violated laws Russian Empire, and was soon forgotten.
After the revolution, there were no special decrees in this regard, but Christmastide, like other holidays of a religious nature, was constantly persecuted, so they soon left the cities for distant remote villages.
Elena Revutskaya Christmas 2007
New birth of old traditions
What do we do during Christmas time? IN best case scenario, we go to visit each other. And most Russians generally spend their winter holidays watching TV, listening to New Year's greetings from show business stars. True, some parents try to arrange a home holiday for their children these days. But Christmastide actually doesn’t come down to a children’s matinee - our ancestors celebrated them with the whole family, young and old.
After all, there are a lot of Christmas customs that make this time especially joyful. Why not remember them?
In Kolomna, for example, there were enthusiasts - artists folklore theater“Pilmgrim”, who managed to organize real city Christmas festivities. Since the early 1990s, every year they go caroling along the streets of old Kolomna. First, they were joined by students from Kolomna Sunday schools, then by parishioners of nearby churches. And in 2008, several hundred adults and children already took part in such caroling.
You can meet carolers not only in Kolomna. The author of the article talks about how children get together and, under the guidance of adults, go caroling with a bag on all floors in an ordinary multi-story Moscow building in which he lives.
Elena Revutskaya Christmas song 2005
Elena Revutskaya Christmas song 2010
The author concludes the article with the question: Why don’t you try to organize something similar where you live? Believe me, nothing lifts your spirits more than two dozen cheerful and toothless kids shouting something congratulatory out of tune.
Seraphim Orekhanov
Two weeks - from Christmas to Epiphany, in the past (and not so much) were filled with festive festivities, feasts and fortune telling, songs and dances, carols and visits. And this entire period was called Christmastide, and foreigners called the festivities on these days Slavic carnival. Well, let's continue to "carnival"!)))
Solomatkin Leonid Ivanovich (1837-1883) Mummers. 1873
Vyacheslav Lyuko (Kazakhstan, born 1963) Christmastide. 2011
Hertz Yuri Dmitrievich (Ukraine, born 1931) Christmas in Verkhovyna. 1997
Roldugin Igor Nikolaevich (born 1959) Christmastide.
Chizhevsky Yaroslav (Ukraine) Christmas. 2014
Christmastide
The month is a gentle magician -
He stood up, and is clear and handsome,
And in the village - revelry and songs, -
The youth were leaving!
Snow crunch... Fuss and jokes,
Sprinkling snow dust...
- What's the name?.. - The name is Zovutka!
- And you? - I am Bova!
Won't you give me a ring?
- I’ll give it to you, but not in front of everyone!..
The mummers came out dancing, -
Oh, it's hilarious! Squealing and laughter!
Moon, gentle wizard,
Begins a spell...
And in the village - revelry and songs
And fortune telling about fate...
Alexander Shiryaevets
1916-1922
Aksenov Yuri Alekseevich (born 1950) Christmastide. 2013
Danilich Taras Fedorovich (Ukraine, born 1945) Carolers.
Ilko Ivan Ivanovich (Ukraine, born 1938) Christmas Eve. Carolers.
Sipovich Tatyana Mikhailovna (born 1957) Mummers (New Year's Eve).
Christmastide
The blizzard swirls in the winter waltz,
The days are getting shorter!
Closer to Christmas time... and to leisure
Turn back time.
The year passed in labor, worries -
Life's a carnival!
Thank God, not bankrupt...
What did he give us?
We will live, love, laugh -
Let's just live!
To be amazed at the world of God -
Sin less, friend.
Let's spin in music -
Christmas is coming!
Winter waltz... Let it all come true
Fairy tales are magic!
Dalkevich Mechislav Mikhailovich (1861-1941) Christmastide in the village. Drawing from the magazine "World Illustration". 1881
Shamota S. Christmas. Driving a goat through a Polish village. Drawing from the magazine "World Illustration". 1882
Tkachenko Nikolai Ivanovich (1866-1920) Mummers in Little Russia. Drawing from the magazine "World Illustration". 1896
Ploshinsky Sergei Fedorovich On Christmas night.
Yuletide ditties
For Christmas time
The day is almost a breeze...
I'll play hide and seek with my darling -
He hasn't grown up to love!
Who knocks on our door during Christmas time?
And how does a madman scream?
He came to us to sing carols
Your friend, your mother is vigorous!
I have a lot of cuties
On Christmastide we ask you to love everything!
The wife strictly promises
Something for me to chop off!
Polovnaya-Vasilyeva Elena (Ukraine) Carolers.
Kalinina Irina Pavlovna (born 1948) Christmastide. 2003
Muravyova Daria, participant of the folk Studio of decorative Petrikovskaya painting (DOEC) Christmas. 2013
Vera Vladimirovna Pavlova (1952-2015) Illustration for the book “Russian Holidays” by E. Levkievskaya. 2008
***
New Year already grown up
Christmas time passed briskly,
The moment of fortune telling has flown by,
All the carols have been sung.
There's no better time to find it
Passions have boiled over
Epiphany night is on the way!
We've been waiting for the hot tubs!
Lyudmila Egorycheva, 2014
Yuletide fortune telling. Paintings by Russian artists.
The desire of people to look into the future has its roots deep in antiquity. This is evidenced by those that have survived to this day. archaeological artifacts Ancient Egypt, Greece, Chaldea, Ancient Rome. Even in sacred scripture - the Bible - fortune telling is repeatedly mentioned. Among the Slavic tribes, predicting the future has always been the responsibility of priests, healers, sorcerers, magicians and sorcerers. But according to folk beliefs There are days a year on which anyone who dares to come into contact with otherworldly forces can see their fate in advance.
K. Makovsky. Christmas fortune telling.
In ancient times, in Rus', Christmas fortune-telling especially became widespread during the era of “terem seclusion,” when on long frosty evenings, boyars and hawthorns, hay girls, while passing the time, tried to look into the fateful future. While waiting for marriage, each tried, at least with the help of evil spirits, to find out who fate would send her as a husband, and what kind of life awaited her ahead with this future husband.And no matter how much the church condemned these rituals, insisting that fortune telling was unclean, it was impossible to eradicate this custom.
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K. Makovsky. Christmas fortune telling. (Fragment).
All the sacraments of fortune telling were carried out under the cover of darkness, closer to midnight. And it was considered most prophetic on Christmas Eve, on the night of the New Year and on Epiphany. For thousands of years, girls and women have been guessing about the future, about their betrothed, about the harvest, about the outcome of affairs, using various magical objects and different ways, passed this ritual custom from generation to generation. Christmas time was the most critical, most dangerous period, when evil spirits were especially strong.
Artist Konstantin Trutovsky. Yuletide festivities.
Yuletide evenings in Rus' began immediately after Christmas and continued until Epiphany, celebrated on January 19 according to the new style. And although they are located between two great Christian holidays, their history goes back far into the pagan past Slavic people. During the winter solstice, when the most long night and the shortest day of the year, from ancient times was celebrated by the ancient Slavs as the birthday of the sun.
Kolyada
And the sun has always been considered the luminary that rules God’s day, on which the future harvest, the offspring of livestock, and the fertility of the mother earth, and therefore the well-being of people, completely depended.These days were considered the right time to think about the future - and not only the harvest, but also about your personal life. To attract good luck, traditional festivities, funny pranks, games, dances and gatherings were instituted. As time passes, everything is festive story games and the songs, which originally had a magical meaning in their basis, became just entertainment.
Artist Konstantin Korovin. Yuletide festivities.Scary fortune telling in Rus'
It has long been believed that holy days - Christmastide - are divided into two periods: from January 7 to 13 - holy evenings, and from January 14 to 19 - terrible evenings.The sacrament of fortune telling was considered terrible because the other world was involved in the process, and evil spirits had a real opportunity to take the fortuneteller to the next world. Such fortune telling, rooted in pagan antiquity, was widespread in Russia a century ago. They were held when old year ended and a new one began, that is, in a “transition period”, where the new has not yet entered, and the old has not yet surrendered its powers.
To carry out such rituals, as a rule, appropriate places were selected - this is a crossroads, an ice hole, a bathhouse, and a barn. In a word, where evil spirits accumulated. Based on this, only brave and determined girls participated in such rituals. And when going to such places, they always took metal objects with them - a knife, a poker, a frying pan, which were considered a talisman against evil spirits.
Artist Y. Sergeev. At the fortune teller's. Christmas time.
As a rule, such fortune telling was carried out under the supervision of an older, experienced woman, who called for contact. evil spirits with the following call: “Retreat, angels! Retreat, devils! Gather, devils, great and small, from all the swamps and whirlpools and tell us how you will live this year...” - and called the name of the girl on whom they cast a spell.
Artist Y. Sergeev. Cartomancy. Christmas time.
In addition, this woman had to look after the girls in order to take timely measures to protect them, as well as bring them in and out of a state of prostration.
Artist A. Novoskoltsev. Svetlana.
Yuletide fortune-telling was considered the most terrible when the image appeared before the eyes of the fortune-telling girl with the help of mirrors, which, according to popular beliefs, have a connection with other worlds. Two mirrors placed opposite each other in reflection created a corridor from which the narrowed one should appear. And what’s interesting is that if the girl was not familiar with her future husband, then she saw the face of her betrothed, and if she was familiar with him, then the back of his head
Artist K. Bryullov. Fortune telling Svetlana.
There was also fortune telling based on listening, when a girl at midnight went to an ice hole or to a crossroads and listened to the sounds spreading through the village. The ringing of a bell or festive singing was a harbinger of an imminent marriage. The barking of a dog, which also foreshadows marriage, was also considered in different aspects: what part of the village the groom will be from, what kind of character he will have and what age he will be. But the worst omen was considered to be the sound of an ax and the sound of clapping boards, which meant death.
Artist Y. Sergeev. Fortune telling for the betrothed. Christmas time.
Desperate girls went alone to the bathhouse and, wondering about their betrothed, had to feel someone's touch. If this happened, it means that the girl will be married this year, but if not, she will have to remain a girl for another year. In addition, if the hand felt smooth, then the groom would be poor, if shaggy, he would be rich.
Artist Y. Sergeev. Night fortune telling. Christmas time.
Sometimes, when fortune telling on mirrors, a rooster was used, the cry of which was supposed to scare away the evil spirits that appeared in the mirror. So, seeing something terrible, the girl squeezed the bird tightly and it let out a scream.
Artist O. Kiprensky. Christmastide.
Christmas and Yuletide fortune-telling before Epiphany remains a popular custom today. Single girls still they want to look into the future and find out about their betrothed, using, perhaps, less extreme methods of fortune telling than before. They're on the move coffee grounds and tarot cards, wax and rings, matches and shoes, as well as seances.
Artist S. Kodin. Christmas fortune telling.
