Today we talk about Santa...Kind of...
Have you ever wondered what the jolly old elf is like in other counter's?..
For most of us, at least in the US he is called Santa Claus in others country's Papa Noel and even Saint Nichole's...
---------------------------------------------
But have you ever heard of Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost ) or his granddaughter Snegurochka - The Ice Maiden ?....No?
Well your in luck this post is dedicated to this frosty family for friendly folk...Try to say that five times fast lol
=========================
Father Frost and his granddaughter Snegurochka – the Snow Maiden.
Originated in Russia.
Each year there are festivals in celebration of the season people dress up like Ded Moroz and Snegurochka they join in the parades from all over the country!
==========================
Ded Moroz like Santa Claus in the West is depicted as bringing presents to good children, but unlike Santa who dose his traveling on Christmas Eve Ded Moroz makes his appearance on New Years Eve. and is often accompanied by his Granddaughter / helper Snegurochka the Snow maiden.
----------------------------------------------
==================
Ded Moroz
=================
Ded Moroz Grandfather Frost or Father Frost is a popular holiday figure in modern Russia.
The origins of the of Ded Moroz predates Christianity as a Slavic wizard of winter.
According to some sources in Slavic mythology, Ded Moroz, was also called Morozko or Ded, A ded is a typeof snow demon.
However, before the Christianization of Russia the term demon didn't have the negative connotation it dose today.
Though after the christinazation of the region the terms demon, spirit, fairy or anything else that could be described as such was now seen as bad or out right evil
Under the influence of the Orthodox church the traditions relating to Grandfather Frost were transformed.
Ever since the late 1800's the traditions and legend of Ded Moroz have been shaped by literary influences.
The play Snegurochka by Aleksandr Ostrocsky was largely influential in popularizing the characters.
In 1928 Ded Moroz was declared "an ally of the priest and Kulak
Though the current image of Ded Moroz was created during soviet times, and would become the main symbol of the New Year's holiday Novy God that replaced Christmas.
Some Christmas traditions were revived following the famous letter by Pavel Postyshey published in Pravda on December 28, 1935.
Postyshev believed that the origins of the holiday, which were pre-Christian, were less important than the benefits it could bring to Soviet children.
--------------------
--------------------
In 1998, the town of Veliku Ustyug in Vologda, Oblast was declared the official home of the Ded Moroz by Yury Luzhkov then Mayor of Moscow.
You can take at rain ride there... it's about 500 miles northeast of Moscow in the Taiga Forest in a log cabin.
Between 2003 and 2010, the post office in Veliky Ustyug received roughly 2,000,000 letters from within Russia and from all over the world for Ded Moroz.
On January 7, 2008, President Putin visited Ded Moroz' residence in the town of Veliky Ustyug as part of the Russian Orthodox Christmas Eve celebration.
=================
=======================
==========================
===============
Snegurochka
===============
-----------------------
They saw a pretty young girl all dressed in white with flaxen hair and shining blue eyes… Painting of Snow Maiden (1899) by Viktor M. Vasnetsov
----------------------
In 1917, after the Bolshevik Revolution, Ded Moroz along with Christmas was banned in Russia.
However in 1935 the winter wizard and the silver haired cutie would see a resurgence in popularity with the New Year’s celebrations becoming a more public event, ever since then Ded Moroz and Snegurochka have appear on New Year’s Eve, putting presents under the tree for good kids all over the country.
In the late Russian Empire (Late 1800's and Early 1900's) Snegurochka was part of Christmas traditions, in the form of Christmas tree ornimants and figurine.
In the early Soviet Union, the holiday of Christmas was banned, together with other Christian traditions., until it was reinstated as a holiday of the Russian Federation in 1991, by Russian Federation President Boris N. Yeltsin
................
Snow-Maiden-and-Father-Frost 1912 paintings of Snow Maiden and Father Frost by Nicholas Roerich.
In 1878, the composer Ludwig Minkus and the Balletmaster Marius Petipa staged a ballet adaptation of Snegurochka called The Daughter of the Snow for the Tsar's Imperial Ballet.
The story was also later adapted into an opera in 1880-81 by Nikolai Rimsky- Korsakov titled The Snow Maiden: A Spring Fairy Tail
Another version of the snow maiden is about a girl who was made of snow named Snegurka (Snezhevinochka ) it was published in 1869 by Alexander Afanasyey in the second volume of his work The Poetic Outlook on Nature by the Slavs, where he also mentions the German analog, Schneekind ("Snow Child"). In this version, childless Russian peasants Ivan and Marya made a snow doll, which later came to life.
This version was later added to Contes Populaires Slaves by Louis Leger in 1882.
In the story Snegurka grows up quickly. She later befrends a group of girls that invite her on a walk in the woods, after which they make a small fire and take turns jumping over it; in some variants, this is on St. Jon's Day leaping over a fire is a St. John's Day tradition.
However when Snegurka's turn comes, she starts to jump, but only gets halfway before evaporating into a small cloud of mist.
This version of the story was called "Snowflake" and was included in the "The Pink Fairy Book" by Andrew Lang in 1897.
Similar versions of these two figures can be found in other areas in the surrounding country's .
But this version is strictly Russia, so if your in the country during the holidays and you like parades and overall fun check out some of the local festivals !!
Merry Christmas everyone!!!! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment