As a child, before my parents bought a dacha, I visited my father's sister's village a couple of times in the summer. Aunt Tanya and her family lived in the city, and spent weekends and vacations there, in Petrovsky. A small and rather dilapidated log house they got after the death of their grandmother; it was renovated and turned out to be a good cottage. The neighbors did the same with their houses. In the village, almost no one lived permanently - solid summer residents.
One of the permanent inhabitants of the village was old grandfather, with mind years under eighty. He lived in the very last house on the side of the forest, a little further from the others, across a large clearing from ours. For us children, this grandfather was a terribly mysterious person: we wrote about him different stories, as if he were a sorcerer or a werewolf, and his name was none other than Terrible Grandfather. He was gloomy, taciturn, did not communicate with any of the neighbors and lived like a hermit in his dilapidated house. My cousin Volodka and I were very fond of testing our courage, making our way to this terrible house at dusk and trying to look into the windows ... Grandfather's light was on until late; sometimes at night you will go out “before the wind”, and in the house near the forest the window glows - creepy!
Recently, recalling those days spent in the village, I told Aunt Tanya and Uncle Vita with a laugh about our children's fairy tales about the Terrible Grandfather, but they did not laugh with me, but even somehow frowned strangely. And then Uncle Vitya told me this story.
Grandfather's name was Stepan Nikolaevich, and he came to the village in the early eighties. His relatives left for the city, and the house was left to him. He did not communicate with anyone in the village from the very beginning, and the neighbors did not impose themselves. Most didn't even know his name. And Uncle Vita had a chance to get to know him better.
It was thirty years ago. An uncle was returning from the forest, where he went to cut spruce branches for garden needs - it was autumn - and, not noticing some kind of hole in the clearing, he stumbled and fell. Everything would be fine, but some rusty pieces of iron stuck out of the ground near the pit, and the uncle severely cut his hand. It happened not far from the house of a hermit neighbor, and my uncle knocked on his door - to ask for something to bandage his hand, from which blood was pouring downright. Stepan Nikolayevich, fortunately, was at home, let him in without talking, and himself treated and bandaged the wound. He was, as his uncle said, apparently in a light drunk; although he was never seen drunk, but his light often burned after midnight, and uncle decided that the neighbor was an ordinary alcoholic who drinks alone. He looked very shabby, pitched "Belomor" - in general, the picture is clear. I just put on a bandage and immediately began to see off uninvited guest from home: they say, it's getting dark, it's time for you to go home, and all that. And my uncle would have left, - he himself would not have had a great desire to stay there, if Stepan Nikolayevich had not suddenly added with some desperation in his voice: “SHE will appear soon, and don’t expect good!” Uncle began to ask who "she" was, and the owner suddenly started talking. It was as if something weighed heavily on him for a long, long time, and suddenly it broke through.
For a long time, being a young guy (at the time of the story, Grandfather was only a little over fifty), he lived in the Vologda region, in a large village, and married a good girl, his fellow villager. Everything was fine with the young couple: they built the house, and lived - they didn’t quarrel, and the wife was already waiting for the baby, when suddenly a young relative from another village came to their neighbors. There were rumors that she had quarreled with her parents, and they almost drove her away, but no one really knew anything. The neighbors were silent about this, and Tamara stayed with them to live - that was her name. She was tall, dark-haired and dark-eyed, and her eyes were unkind. She held herself proudly and aloofly, did not make friends with any of the rural girls.
And so she fell in love with Stepan without memory. Whatever she did to catch his eye, no matter how courted. Already the neighbors began to look askance at her - after all, she decided to take the married guy away. Yes, only Stepan did not even look at her, there was no one dearer to him than his wife. And suddenly a strange thing began to happen: Stepan's wife, Polina, suddenly began to get sick, turn pale, wither away, and suffer from nightmares at night. She said that someone was wandering around the house at night, although her husband did not hear anything like that. The old women whispered that it was only Tamarka - the witch sent damage to Stepanov's wife! But the time was Soviet, and except for the old women, no one believed in witches. And Polina soon had a miscarriage, and she died. People were waiting for Stepan to grieve - no matter how he laid hands on himself - but he walked whole month as if some kind of stupefied, and then, unexpectedly for everyone, he signed with Tamara. There was no wedding; no one came to congratulate the young and the neighbors stopped visiting them altogether. Stepan regularly went to work, but he was losing weight day by day and became very irritable, gloomy and silent, - not to be recognized. They often heard swearing and angry cries from his house: he did not love new wife, even as if he hated it, but he could not leave - as if she had bewitched him.
This went on for a year. And then the trouble happened to Tamara: she climbed into the attic of the barn along the ladder and the crossbeam broke off under it. She fell from a height, hit her head - at first she lost consciousness, and then she woke up and began to swear and call her husband. As soon as she called him names. Neighbors came running, but Stepan never showed up. As soon as he saw what had happened, as he heard the cries of his wife, he immediately turned around and left. And he returned a week later, when it became known that she had died.
It would seem that chance had saved Stepan from an obsession, but from that time the worst began. Only at night, he hears steps around the house, and as if someone is scratching at the wall and pulling the door. He looks out the window - there is no one, but only sits down to drink tea - and sees someone peering into his house through the window. At first I thought that the neighbor's children were naughty, but soon steps and creaks began to be heard in the house; dishes fell from the shelves, things moved ... in general, Stepan realized that it was Tamara who went to him from the village cemetery, so as not to let him live in peace. As soon as he lies down in bed and puts out the light - her presence seems to be nearby: black eyes look at him in the darkness, and she comes closer ... either a wheezing, or a stifled laughter was heard from the corner ... so he stopped turning off the light for the night. But even in the light it was scary: she would only close her eyes, and she was already somewhere close, and was getting close ... And it was impossible to consecrate the house - there were no churches or priests in the area. And Stepan did not believe in God, but as soon as all this fear began, he became thoughtful. He asked a familiar grandmother to teach him some prayers, and began to read them at night. The evil spirits did not calm down, but as if they began to stay away: now Stepan could at least fall asleep in the light. And he began to dream of his Fields - such good dreams were, they drove away fear, and now he could somehow endure all this horror.
Soon Stepan left the village - first to one city, then to another, and then settled in Petrovsky. He thought that his wife would remain in the old house, but he had no peace anywhere: wherever he came, everywhere at night the devilry begins. I already wanted to lay hands on myself, but Polya comes in a dream, does not order. And it happens that instead of Paulie, Tamara dreams: her face is angry and terrible, her eyes are black, and then he jumps up in a cold sweat. He tried to drown out his suffering with vodka - it gets even worse, even more terrible, as if the damned witch is just waiting for his mind to become clouded.
All this Stepan Nikolaevich told Uncle Vitya hastily, while he himself looked around. At this point, my uncle felt uneasy: it was getting dark outside the window, and after all, he had to go home, albeit not far. Maybe the neighbor is not in himself, but somehow it became terribly from his stories. Uncle hastened to say goodbye; went out into the street and walked quickly across the clearing. He walks and suddenly sees: next to him, on the grass, as if someone else is walking: the grass is rustling, moving apart ... walking, but the one who is walking is not visible. Then he ran, as he himself says, headlong, and only heard the rustle of grass on his side and some kind of wheezing. He barely opened the gate - his hands were trembling, and then everything disappeared. His wife, Aunt Tanya, was then in the city; so he poured himself half a glass of vodka, drank it, and sat all night with the light on - he could not sleep. But he didn’t immediately tell his wife about this incident: at first it was scary, and then he thought, didn’t it seem to him? You never know, after Stepan's tales ...
And I thought that my brother and I were lucky then, during our evening outings - we did not meet anyone or anything really terrible ... Aunt said that the Terrible Grandfather had died long ago, in 1995. His relatives buried him, but the house is still empty, falling apart. Who knows if the Terrible Baba is still wandering around him?
There was an apartment next to us - in that apartment lived my grandfather, who was ill for a long time and then died. My grandfather had no arms and legs. The room where my sister and I slept was next to his apartment. After the death of his grandfather, it remained empty for some time. The balcony of the empty apartment was located next to ours, at a window's distance.
Somehow I woke up in the middle of the night and heard some strange sounds. I looked at my sister's bed - she slept quietly. Then I realized that these sounds were coming from behind the wall, from the apartment of the dead grandfather. For some time I lay silently, but the sounds did not stop, periodically repeating again and again. They were very indistinct, but forced to listen anxiously. Then I got out of bed and put my ear to the wall to listen to what was there.
Some blows, they were periodically repeated. Then some rustling. But suddenly the nature of the sounds changed. The noise was as if someone was jerking full bag. And dragged him towards the balcony. Suddenly the noise stopped. In the silence of the night, I heard something click behind the wall. "That's the shutter on the balcony!" I suddenly realized. And froze, waiting for what would happen next. But then nothing happened.
The noise was repeated the next night. In the morning I told my sister everything.
- Do you know what it is? - asked the sister, thinking.
- No.
- This is a dead grandfather crawling on the floor, then opens the balcony door and goes outside.
- And how does he open the door? He doesn't have arms or legs!
- He's dead! - Sister answered pointedly.
The next night she did not sleep with me. The noise repeated. First a rustle, then the sound of a balcony latch coming off, and then silence. Together we listened to the sounds of the movement of a dead disabled person. He seemed to us some kind of monstrous maggot larva, which, wriggling, moved across the floor.
The next morning my sister said:
- So, this grandfather goes to the balcony.
- Suddenly it's not grandfather?
- Who else might be in empty apartment dead grandfather? The grandfather himself! - Sister answered confidently.
- Well, it's okay, - she continued, - The important thing is that he goes to the balcony. And at this time we can also go out on our own and see what it is!
It was decided that the two of us would go out to our balcony tonight and see who went out onto the next one.
During the day, we stretched over the railing and tried to peer into the empty windows of the next room. There was nothing to be seen except later. And then the night came. The fuss behind the wall began. We waited for the latch to click and went to the balcony door. We went together, but it so happened that I was the first. I wish I hadn't.
No one, - I said quietly to my sister.
Yes - the door to the neighboring balcony was open, but he was empty. It wasn't that scary.
And suddenly...
Some kind of rounded object appeared at the level of the railing of the neighboring balcony. At first I thought he had fallen from above, because I heard something soft fall on the metal surface of the railing.
And then my sister rushed back to the apartment.
I suddenly realized what it was. On the neighboring balcony, clinging to the railing with his teeth, hung the corpse of a legless and armless old man. His glassy eyes rolled around and fixed on me.
I rushed into the apartment. I rushed to the switch, fumbled along the wall, did not find it, forgetting in horror where everything was located.
- Door! Close the balcony door! - my sister shouted and, without waiting for my reaction, she rushed to lock it herself.
I rushed to help, in the dark we almost collided and fell. Finally the door was closed and the light turned on.
We stood in silence - there was silence outside the windows. And in the electric light it already seemed that everything that had happened was a terrible dream.
I turned to my sister - she peered intently into the blackness of the window.
- Some kind of fluff.
- What, do not understand? - She looked at me, - You still don’t know how he opened his latch on the door? Teeth. Jumped up and opened. So he can jump on our balcony!
I got cold.
- Shall we wake up the parents?
- What do we tell them?
My sister was interrupted by a noise on our balcony. We froze. You can't see much through the lighted windows in the dark. However, I have figured out something. On the other side, a dead mask pressed against the window, which was the face of an old invalid. Glazed eyes looked at us.
Yelling, we rushed into the bedroom to our parents, who were fast asleep after a shift at the factory.
Parents came with us to our room.
We didn't tell them the details, we just explained that something had fallen on our balcony. Father went outside, looked, found nothing. His sister looked out with him - the door to the neighboring balcony was closed.
The Russian authorities continue to amaze their people, this time they did it, so they did it - they banned Santa Claus. For example, in Kirov, local authorities explained that they did not want to allow artists and photographers to work at municipal sites without deductions. Used the site - pay. From now on, Santa Claus, if he wants to dance round the Christmas tree with the kids, will, for example, have to pay kindergarten for one group 400 rubles, and even then, if it is previously allowed to the girls and boys by the parent committee.
In Kazan, they clearly explained that the fight was not against Santa Claus, but against corruption. From now on, only parents can act as Santa Clauses here, but on the condition that they present a medical book and a certificate of no criminal record.
In Novosibirsk, the head of the local department of culture of the city, Anna Tereshkova, was involved in the case, who said that the children were still too young and they did not understand the image of Santa Claus, and therefore only the Snow Maiden could be called to the younger groups, but psychologists, they say, do not advise doing this either.
The final nail in the coffin of the fabulous "terrible and dangerous" bearded man was hammered by Roskomnadzor. He blocked sites where young Russians sent their letters in the hope of receiving coveted gifts. 76 sites are already blocked. The reason is “illegal collection of personal data of minors”. The most interesting thing is that this service formally operates within the framework of Russian law.
“Children should be more careful when writing such letters, do not fully indicate their last name, first name, patronymic, address of residence and school number,” Roskomnadzor explained, “Remember that real grandfather There is only one frost, he will not publicly ask you to provide such valuable personal data for a person. In the letter, it is enough to indicate only your name and age, so that grandfather knows what gift to give and to whom he gives.
What care on the part of the state for the younger generation, tears well up in my eyes from tenderness.
Insanity grows stronger along with New Year's frosts. The worst thing about this situation is Russian citizens leave less and less freedom and instill more and more fear in their souls. Fear of the authorities, of the ruling party " United Russia”(this is how she calls herself: not the people, but the authorities), before the laws that drive into a corner, before the prospect of becoming an outcast if you do not agree with the authorities ... Fear and loss of freedom, loss of faith in justice, in the fact that the state is able to protect you - it's already scary. Lose more and the most fun and expected children's holiday, faith in good grandfather Frost is already, if you like, chaos. It remains to rewrite fairy tales and make children finally happy.
For many of our kids, this New Year will be the first "conscious" New Year's holiday with matinees and Christmas trees, theatrical performances and surprises, long-awaited gifts under the tree and a lot of the most different grandfather Morozov. However, when seeing a colorful grandfather for the first time, the baby may not be delighted, not happy, but afraid of the bearded Santa Claus.
Why is a child afraid of Santa Claus?
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SCARY GRANDFATHER IN A RED ROBE: WHAT TO DO IF A CHILD IS AFRAID OF FATHER FROST?
For many of our kids, this new year will be the first "conscious" New Year's holiday with matinees and New Year trees, theatrical performances and surprises, with long-awaited gifts under the tree and a lot of different Santa Clauses. However, when seeing a colorful grandfather for the first time, the baby may not be delighted, not happy, but afraid of the bearded Santa Claus.
Why is a child afraid of Santa Claus?
If the child is afraid, you can rejoice, no matter how paradoxical it sounds. Your baby has already grown up, he is growing up, and with him his psyche and nervous system. He can already easily and effortlessly imagine something, draw something, think in his imagination, and get a very real and conscious emotion from the result.
Remember that if children under two years old are drawn to Santa Claus, then a three-year-old baby may be scared of him. This can be explained by the fact that for a child under 2.5 years old, curiosity prevails over fear. A kid of 3-4 years old already knows a lot of fairy tales, but still cannot separate reality from fantasy, so he is afraid of a lot. If the baby is 3-4 years old, it is necessary to prepare him in advance for new year holidays. After all, holidays often “unsettle” a fragile psyche. As a rule, the baby still cannot formulate the question himself, so it is advisable to tell something about it yourself. Christmas miracles. Fear of New Year's characters in a child of 3-5 years old occurs when he is brought to programs that are not age appropriate. For example, kids under 5 years old are not recommended to be taken to the holidays with life figures. At the age of 4-6 years, the baby is often misled by the abundance of Santa Clauses - in stores, on the street, on Christmas trees. Therefore, at this age, the baby should be explained that this is the helper of Santa Claus. As for the real Santa Claus, he comes with gifts on New Year's Eve. The Snow Maiden, Baba Yaga, Santa Claus on the Christmas tree are Santa Claus's helpers.
Majority children's fears at the age of 1-3 years associated with the lack of life experience, when the most frightening is the new and the unknown. Usually the child safely outgrows such fears, but this does not mean that he does not need your support. Fairy tale characters scare the baby with their unfamiliar appearance, loud voices and some aggressiveness. Santa Claus, clown, Baba Yaga never stand quietly on the sidelines, their role is active and assertive. In fact, they do not allow young children to get used to themselves, because their work begins from the very first second of their stay on the stage, arena, in the hall. Their faces are painted, false noses and unusual clothes are frightening, and the kid sincerely takes all their actions at face value.
Never ignore or dismiss ifkid scared of Santa Clausor another character, but help him get rid of this fear.
How to prepare a child for the New Year?
But you still need to prepare, and not only physically, thinking through the menu, elegant costumes and decorating the Christmas tree. The kid needs to be prepared for this. big holiday and morally. Create a calm and friendly atmosphere at home, solve your adult problems, and you will see that, as if by a wave magic wand all children's fears will dissipate.
And besides, getting ready for the New Year:
Do not play aggressive games with your child."Evil gray wolf" and "dad in the role of an evil gray wolf" for the baby are absolutely identical characters. After such a game, the baby is likely to come running to his mother to ask for protection. best role for a beloved dad, than a traditional horse, no one has yet come up with.
Introduce your child to Santa Claus, clowns, the Gray Wolf and others in advance.Talk about them, read books, watch cartoons, draw and sculpt. You can alsowrite a letter to Santa Claus. It would also be nice to write gray wolf or Baba Yaga, informing them that Sasha (Dima, Katya) is not afraid of them. When the baby is ready, and the characters are well known to him, there will be no fear, but only an exciting and magical expectation.
A child of 2-3 years old can only be explained that Santa Claus is good magician, which brings gifts to children, moreover, the most desired ones. He conjures frost and snow. He has a granddaughter, whose name is Snegurochka. Also say that in order for Santa Claus to come on New Year's Eve, he needs to write a letter, ask for a big gift and goodies. Is it necessary to tell the baby about his existence, or is it better to report initially that mom and dad put gifts under the tree? Naturally, the baby must necessarily believe in Santa Claus! Until the age of 9, children are not psychologically ready to accept his absence. Even if the kid says that he knows the truth, it doesn’t matter, he will immediately run in the morning to check what was put under the Christmas tree, because deep down he still believes in a fairy tale.
In this age special meaning acquire New Year's rituals, giving a special charm to the expectation of the holiday, constituting a special period of time - New Year's Eve.
Such rituals include writing a letter to Santa Claus and a response from him. It is best for you to write the answer yourself and throw it in the box three days before the holiday so that the baby receives a message. Tip: write the answer yourself, throw it in your mailbox three days before the New Year, so that the child receives a personal message, as it were. Just at that age, you can new year's eve invite Santa Claus home. If the child is from 5 to 7 years old, you can bring him to 4-5 Christmas trees. A shy kid at the age of 6 will be enough for 2 New Year's performances and home celebration. You can also give a couple of tips: spread the baby's nose with oxolinic ointment to reduce the likelihood of a viral infection entering the body. A child's costume should be both beautiful and comfortable and safe. It is not necessary to buy overalls, as it is difficult for the baby to go to the toilet in them. Be sure to warn the child so that he does not touch the electric garlands and wires with his hands.
A cheat sheet on how to answer your child's questions about Santa Claus.
Where does Santa Claus live? - He lives in Veliky Ustyug in a palace made of glass and wood, along with assistants and granddaughter Snegurochka.
Who else has Santa Claus? - He has cousins. Santa Claus lives in America, Peer Noel lives in France, Yelopukki lives in Finland. In addition to them, he has many other brothers who help him deliver gifts to children.
What other wizards exist? Is Santa Claus friends with them? - The Snow Queen lives somewhere in the north, but she does not communicate with Santa Claus. Grandmother Metelitsa helps Santa Claus in his affairs. There is also an assistant Blizzard.
What magic can Santa Claus do? - He has a magic staff. Everything he touches with this staff freezes. If Santa Claus blows on the window, it will be covered with an ice pattern. When he shakes his mittens, he immediately snowing. He does everything to make the winter right. If there is no snow for a long time, then this means that Santa Claus is very tired and went to bed. Can I also make a gift for Santa Claus? - Yes, you can. Draw him a picture. Also, a glass of milk and cookies should be left near the Christmas tree. After all, Santa Claus gets very tired on the way. (Moms and dads! Then don't forget to drink some of the milk and take a bite of the cookies!)
How does Santa Claus know who to give gifts to? - You can write a letter to him. The grown-up children write themselves, and the parents write for the little ones. The letter can be sent via the Internet or by mail. You can also put it on the window at night, and Santa Claus's assistants will take him at night and take him to the palace. After reading the letters, Santa Claus takes out a magic book. It tells how the children behaved. If he finds out that you were well-behaved and rarely naughty, then he goes to a factory that produces toys to order a gift for you. Good forest animals and little gnomes work at this factory. They make gifts. If Santa Claus does not find a toy suitable for you there, then he goes to the shops.
What to do if the baby is afraid of Santa Claus?
Well, we were getting ready, getting ready, but the kid was still scared. How can you comfort your loved one?
NO NEED:
Speak: “Enough!”, “Stop!”, “Don't be afraid!”.If the baby is crying and upset, he simply will not hear you, and your pulling will only frighten him even more.
Start long conversations:“You, my dear, were afraid. I understand you, you are afraid and think that Santa Claus is scary. But this is not so, because ... ”Frightened children do not perceive any logical information, and at this moment all the explanations and persuasions of their parents seem to them just incoherent noise.
NECESSARY:
Leave the hall. If the hall is the cause of his fright, then remove it from the field of view of the child.
To embrace, pick up and shake the baby.
Help get rid of negative emotionsand express them in words when the baby comes to his senses a little. “I see you are scared. I also get scared, and then everything inside me shrinks. Like this!"
Speak in a whisper.Whispering is wonderfully soothing to the child and helps to distract and change the subject of conversation.
Switch the child's attention.Offer to have a drink, go see something interesting, sing a song together, open a gift, etc.
Well, I have armed you with tips on how to prepare a child for the New Year. There is still time to prepare. Now it's funcelebrate the new year with young children !
