Can any of the children or adults imagine such a beloved and long-awaited New Year's holiday without the most important guest of Santa Claus. All people are waiting with equal impatience for both of them. The capricious queen from the fairy tale "Twelve Months" claimed that there would be no New Year until snowdrops were brought to her. But in reality New Year does not come until the most welcome guest, Grandfather Frost, comes to visit.
But what is the story of Santa Claus and the Snow Maiden? How did Santa Claus and his granddaughter appear? Has he always been a grandfather? Very young children are more interested in what gifts he has in the bag, and older children already want to know more about him and his companion.
The history of the appearance of Santa Claus - a good grandfather goes far into the past, there is no unequivocal opinion who exactly became his prototype. There are several versions and legends that reveal the secret of the appearance of a magical character:
Lord of the Cold
Similar characters appeared long ago in ancient Russian legends. People believed that the lord of cold wanders through fields and forests, wrapping them in snow, knocking with a staff, freezing rivers and lakes, and drawing patterns. They called this Vladyka Moroz, Grandfather Studenets, Morozko, Grandfather Treskun or Moroz Ivanovich. This gray-haired old man not only freezes, he also looks after nature, helps plants and animals survive the frosty winter. Morozko did not give gifts to children and did not wish Happy New Year, his main task was to take care of nature.
Spirit of the ancestors
Ancient people believed that the spirits of the dead take care of the living and protect nature. As a token of gratitude, people performed a kind of ritual, depicting the spirit of the dead, and went from house to house. For this they received remuneration from the owners. The oldest person among all carolers portrayed a formidable spirit, for which he was called Grandfather. Probably, he could become the predecessor of Santa Claus, with the difference that the participants in the ceremony received gifts, and Santa Claus, on the contrary, brings them.
Ancient Varuna
In the rituals of antiquity, falling on the period of the winter solstice, during Christmas time, depicting the sun, it was customary to draw his legs. This meant that all roads were now open to the sun. Now the sun begins its new journey in a circle, which increases the daylight hours and frees nature from snow and ice. By analogy with the ancient Varuna, in Rus' this is facilitated by Santa Claus, who also connects the world of the living and the dead and helps the souls of the dead return to Earth with rain or snow. It was from Varuna that the winter guest known to us adopted the custom of judging people by their deeds and repaying according to their merits, to be a strict and fair judge.
Evil Frost
There are several versions, according to which the prototype of dear Grandfathers was completely opposite characters. According to one legend, he is known as an evil and cruel deity, the lord of cold and blizzards, the Great Northern Elder, who freezes people, and one day freezes a young widow to death and leaves her children orphans. According to another version pagan peoples Santa Claus received sacrifices on earth, stole small children and carried them away in his bag.
St Nicholas
According to one version, many of the features of Santa Claus were inherited from real person, who lived before our era, the kind and disinterested Nicholas. Living in prosperity, he willingly helped the needy and those who were in trouble, he paid special attention to children. Everyone knows that Nikolai helped collect a dowry for the daughter of a poor peasant, he threw a bag of coins into the chimney, and the coins fell into the girl's sock drying near the fireplace. This legend marked the beginning of the tradition of hiding surprises - "Nikolaychiki" in children's socks. For his kindness, Nicholas began to be called a saint. And in many countries, the custom of giving gifts for the Christmas holidays has become entrenched.
Image and clothes
Previously, Santa Claus was portrayed in completely different clothes, which were radically different from the outfit we are used to. Now it’s hard to imagine that Santa Claus was once dressed in a raincoat. Then the artists worked on the image and outfit of the grandfather, and at the end of the 19th century he wore a red fur coat with white fur trim. Later, the image of a good-natured old fat man with a gray beard characteristic of his age was created.
Now the grandfather we know has such special signs:
Hair and a long beard to the floor(same in all collective images character) - thick, gray-haired, symbolize power and happiness.
Shirt and trousers – white color with the same snow-white pattern, symbolize purity. It is a mistake to dress grandfather in red trousers.
Fur coat- very long and exclusively red, with swan down trim and decorated with a silver pattern. A short sheepskin coat and fur coats of other colors belong to the wardrobe of grandfathers from other countries.
A cap- red, without tassels or pom-poms, with swan down trim, embellished with pearls and a silver pattern, with a V-neck at the front.
Mittens- always white, not red, decorated with a silver pattern, symbolize purity.
Belt- white with a red pattern, symbolizing the unity of the past and the present.
Shoes- felt boots or red or silver boots.
Staff- has a twisted silver handle, with a bull's head or a moon on top, which symbolizes fertility and power, the staff can freeze mischievous children and helps to move through the snowdrifts.
Bag- bottomless full of gifts definitely red.
Who is the Snow Maiden?
If with the advent of Grandfather Frost everything is very complicated and confusing, then the story of his granddaughter Snegurochka is known - this is the heroine of the New Year's play, which the audience has loved so much that her image has been popular for more than a hundred years. Although there was an image of a girl in a white coat before, it existed in folklore and this girl was called Snezhevinochka, Snegurka. Her name comes from the word "snow", because this girl was born from the snow.
Sometimes she is portrayed as a young girl, sometimes as a little girl, because there is a version that the Snow Maiden is the daughter of Grandfather Frost, but we know her as the granddaughter of a fabulous grandfather.
Whatever it was, no one can do without it children's party, it is she who helps the kids to call Santa Claus for the holiday, it is she who is his permanent companion and assistant.
On holiday
On the holiday, Santa Claus manages to go around every house, but he does not invite anyone to visit him, so no one knows his exact address. People who believe in magic assume that his home is far in the North, in the land of ice and eternal winter. Many believe that grandfather may well live at the North Pole or that his home is in Lapland. Santa Claus will feel comfortable in any country where winter rules all year round.
Grandfather comes to visit on a sled flying through the air, which is harnessed by three horses, he can also come on skis or on foot. If someone had to see him on deer, keep in mind that Santa is in front of you.
Santa Claus comes to the children with the Snow Maiden, who is his granddaughter. Her clothes are snow-white in color, with a silvery ornament, and on her head she wears a crown with 8 rays. The image of the Snow Maiden is very close to children, she takes an active part in New Year games and competitions and helps the kids to call Grandfather Frost for the holiday.
The appearance and character of Santa Claus were collected from many good and evil, real and fictional characters. Having passed long haul, he appeared before us as a symbol of power, goodness, justice and holiness. Meeting with him marks the beginning of a new period in the life of a person and the whole planet, in which there will be only good, kind and the best.
Who is Santa Claus - this question is asked not only by children, but also by adults, because not everyone knows where this one lives. new year character who helps him cope with such a volume of work and how to write a letter correctly in order to receive a treasured gift for the holiday.
Childhood memories warm a person's soul throughout life path, in such stories strength is drawn to overcome adult difficulties. The brightest are magical events that the children's mind cannot understand, but sincerely joyfully perceives them. Who is Santa Claus, a little older children explain to the little ones, he brings gifts and a lot of positive emotions. Sincere belief in a miracle often goes along with childhood, but even adults do not dare to deny the existence of Santa Claus.
Is there a real Santa Claus?
The question of the child, whether Grandfather Frost exists, should not take the parent by surprise, we must confidently say yes. From generation to generation, older family members tell the younger ones about a fabulous, not fictional character, the lord winter frosts and snowfalls. In the mythology of the Slavs, he was associated with a blacksmith, holding water, he miraculously drew drawings from hoarfrost. The breath of Santa Claus is a frosty cold, icicle tears, and gray thick hair is clouds of snow, his wife is Winter.
For the first time, Santa Claus came to the Christmas holidays in 1910, but Soviet authority forbade him to appear, and for several years he went on forced leave. On the eve of 1936, they remembered him and began to invite him to the New Year's holidays. Santa Claus became a giver of gifts to children at the Christmas tree, he is invited to act in films, and with him his granddaughter Snegurochka and a boy appear in public, symbolizing the coming New Year.
Who is Santa Claus - origin story
There is a story about how the modern Santa Claus appeared, because he did not always look like this. The Slavs had a god Morok - commanding the winter cold, frost and snow. He was cunning and cunning, he loved to deceive and mislead. The meeting with Morok did not bring good luck, they were afraid of him and coaxed him with gifts - they prepared for him delicious pancakes and kutia, exposing them outside the windows, asked them not to destroy crops, not to freeze travelers on the roads.
A lot of time passed, and Morok became kinder, he easily began to give gifts to the kind and hardworking, an example of the fairy tale "Morozko" where main character with a complaisant and meek character, after the tests, she received gifts, and the lazy and evil sister was frozen to death. Each parent always explains to the child that Santa Claus first of all comes to the obedient and good - in order to receive a gift, one must behave well.
Where does the real Santa Claus live?
Santa Claus lives in Veliky Ustyug, a few kilometers from the city center, has a manor - a carved tower, located in pine forest, on the banks of the river. There he spends most time - reads letters, accepts gifts sent by children, drawings and postcards. You can only get to the very house where Santa Claus comes from, by riding on a Russian stove with Emelya. On the path leading to the house, you can find:
- Baba Yaga;
- Twelve months;
- Bear cub;
- Squirrel;
- Chanterelle;
- Grandmother Aushka;
- Old Man-Lesovichka;
- Wise Owl.
In the house of Santa Claus, there are whole mansions - a museum of gifts from different parts of the world. There is a room in which they make a wish to the sound of bells, you can go into the office, visit the observatory and the bedroom, see a huge closet with fur coats, hats and felt boots. the only secret fairy tale character there will be a room with gifts, it is not customary to talk about it, much less show it to guests.
What does Santa Claus look like?
Santa Claus is known as a strict and quick-tempered old man, but he is always fair, loves children very much, and acts as an instructive character, not a nanny. External Description Santa Claus is known to everyone, a tall gray-haired old man he is many, many years old, has long beard to the waist or floor and thick gray eyebrows, symbolizing wisdom and power, rosy cheeks - good health. It is difficult to confuse him with other characters, Santa Claus's outfit is bright and memorable, each element symbolizes a certain power, a bag with gifts and a magic crystal staff is always with him.
- Hat - skillfully embroidered with silver and gold threads with pearls.
- Long warm coat - usually red, but may be blue or blue color, the edges are trimmed with swan's down, the fur coat is decorated with an ornament of precious threads.
- Mittens - warm mittens.
- Linen shirt and trousers.
- Shoes - felt boots.
What is the name of Santa Claus?
What is Santa Claus called in different countries world - a fairy-tale character is called differently, and his visit to the children does not always coincide with the New Year holidays. The most famous Santa Claus - American grandfather, also in a red suit, but with pants and a wide black belt - comes on Christmas holidays, hides gifts in a stocking by the fireplace. In Poland, this is St. Nicholas, in France they call him Pere Noel, in Greece they call him Vasily, in Spain Olentzero or Papa Noel, in warm Cambodia he is Father Heat, he gives gifts to Norwegian children Yolinissa, Slovak children - Mikulas.
Santa's helpers
The most responsible employees who help Santa Claus prepare gifts are the Snowman and the Snow Maiden, snowflakes, Snowstorm or Winter Blizzard, young boy- New Year, very smart and nimble beyond his years, often they not only prepare gifts, but also appear near the New Year tree. At festive matinees, brave children are often called to help the old grandfather, hold the staff, or suggest necessary information. In the residence of Santa Claus, characters from New Year's fairy tales and cartoons living in fairy houses near his tower.
Santa's Helper Snowman
Snow Maiden Santa Claus and the Snowman are the main three characters coming to the New Year's holiday. The snowman is cheerful and funny, carries a heavy bag, loves to talk about interesting adventures and various obstacles that suddenly happened on the way to the holiday. The kids make fun of him, but he is not offended, reminds Santa Claus that other children are waiting and it's time to hurry.
Who is the Snow Maiden?
The Russian Grandfather Frost travels with the Snow Maiden, a beautiful young companion that his foreign colleagues do not have. She is obedient and friendly with forest dwellers, loves to sing songs with children, give gifts. Dressed in a white or blue fur coat made of fluff and snow, a long braid of hair, decorated with a bandage of crystal snowflakes. Often she is kidnapped by evil forces, and Santa Claus and the Snowman have to rescue the beauty from captivity - to be late for the solemn holiday.
Horses of Santa Claus
Santa Claus arrives on a holiday to the New Year tree, or as an invited guest to the house, on a troika of horses harnessed to a sled. He drives the team himself or entrusts an assistant to the Snowman. By a mysterious method, he manages to visit different places, congratulate adults and give gifts to children. It should be recognized that if Santa Claus is sure that he does not have time, he instructs the most responsible assistants to take his outfits under cover from thick beard to attend a holiday where they are very much expected.
How to call the real Santa Claus?
Fulfilling the cherished desire of the child, how to call Santa Claus, you can invite him to the house for a personal visit, but children, like adults, have fun in the company. The most provocative fairy-tale character who gave a bunch of desired gifts may not create a festive atmosphere in an individual setting. In such cases, an option would be to organize a children's celebration with other parents and their children in a predetermined area.
How to write a letter to Santa Claus?
A cherished desire can be written down and sent as a regular postcard, you should not start with requirements - I want and I need it, it’s better to start with a greeting and a story about yourself, committed good deeds, over the past year. Letters written by children should be read to parents before being sent to correct errors. There will be a response to the letter.
TO It seems that Santa Claus has always existed. In fact, the familiar image of a fabulous grandfather with a bag of gifts developed in the 19th century. Where did Santa Claus live before this and was he at all? Let's delve into history.
D ve thousand years ago, the northerners, in order to appease Frost, threw meat and cakes over the threshold. If the treat was pleasant, Frost did not punish the northerners with a severe cold. The Huns worshiped their god, Yerl, who appeared on earth on the first day of the year. Treats were prepared for his arrival and Christmas trees were put up.
IN V. I. Dahl’s dictionary defines the word grandfather as an honorary nickname for a brownie. Therefore, for the ancient Slavs, Grandfather is a deceased ancestor who became the protector and symbolic head of the clan. The ancient Slavs believed that Frost was the common progenitor of all families, so for him there was a common ritual, which was different from the veneration of other spirits. Santa Claus was honored both on the days of the winter solstice and in the spring, so that the stern Santa would keep the crops, and not destroy them with frost.
WITH the advent of Christianity, the day of veneration of Santa Claus, became known as the Easter of the Dead, as it was celebrated after the church Easter. Doors and windows opened wide. Treats for the spirits were placed under the table and outside the window. Great Grandfathers entered through the door, and lesser spirits flew in through the window. During the meal, Santa Claus was asked for help, and if the ancestor remained an argument with a treat, he helped his descendants.
WITH over time, Santa Claus turned into a character folklore. In the legends, Grandfather appeared, ruling the winter, to whom blizzards, blizzards, frosts and snows obeyed. Santa Claus was described as a small old man with an uncovered head, with thick, silver hair and a long, half-gray beard. Grandfather wore warm, white clothes and never parted with an iron mace.
ABOUT Santa Claus was distinguished by a formidable and tough temper, where he hits with his mace - there expect severe cold and burning frosts.
P Santa Claus existed under many names in fairy tales and legends: Zimnik, Moroz Ivanovich, Santa Treskun, Frost Elkich, good Morozko. During the time of Peter I, Old Ruprecht came from German fairy tales, and then Grandfather Nicholas - the prototype of St. Nicholas of Myra.
P Gradually, the appearance of the modern Santa Claus took shape. From an evil ancient spirit, Santa Claus turned into a kind, fairy-tale character, without which it is unthinkable to imagine the New Year.
P Maybe the children grow up and do not take for granted that Santa Claus really exists, but the pieces of a fairy tale and a miracle that they touched in childhood remain in their souls forever.
H and finally, let's watch a 4-minute video from Papacarus Ravlyk, where the story of Santa Claus does not look as attractive as we would like, and find out who Santa Claus is.
History of Santa Claus. Who is it, where did it come from?
The Celtic Druids used to decorate the Christmas tree with human and animal entrails.
The other day in Russia celebrated the birthday of Santa Claus. And although the holiday was invented only in 2005 and is very conditional, there is a logic of its “appointment” on this very day: according to many years of observations , On November 18, on the 60th parallel, where the residence of Father Frost is located in Veliky Ustyug in the Vologda region, Russian winter sets in.
Having made a clarification to the “metric” of Santa Claus, we restored justice, because the foreign Santa Claus (aka St. Mykolaus, St. Nicholas, Sinter-Klaas) had a “birthday”, but ours did not. For those who do not know or have forgotten, Catholics celebrate St. Nicholas Day on December 6th. Gregorian calendar(we have this date falls on December 19 and is known as "Nikola Zimny").
In the biography of our Santa Claus, in general, there are many white spots. Moreover, he is not such a darling in fact. It's time to take a closer look at it and study it on the eve of the New Year. Private bussiness» .
Origin: son of the shepherd god Veles and the goddess of death Mara.
Name at birth: Treskun, Studenets, Zimnik, Karachun. The variant "Frost" is consonant with the Indo-European "death" - "pestilence", "mar".
Canonical appearance: a short old man with a long gray beard.
The forest wizard sent the lazy and rude Marfushka home on pigs
One of the ancestors The Great Elder of the North is a Celtic evil god who entered human dwellings with a large bag. Not to distribute gifts, but to take what was due to him, but for some reason was not sacrificed. Children fell into the risk group - they could drag a couple with them to pay arrears. After his visit, the inhabitants of the house were often found dead.
Character: evolved from harsh and vicious to just and generous. In the 19th century, the children were afraid that the absurd old man would punish them for pampering and at least leave them without gifts. Santa Claus punished adults not only for bad deeds, but also for a dull mood, on his orders, snowstorms and storms swept entire villages, drove unfortunate people onto thin ice. However, despite the complexity of nature, the old wizard was not a fiend. In one of the Russian folk tales accidentally destroyed the peasant’s food supplies and, when he went into the forest in the hope of getting something, he received him in an ice chamber, dressed him, put on shoes, presented a self-assembled tablecloth and sent him home on a magic sleigh.
Western Santa Claus coming out of the chimney Occupation: vagrancy. He walked through forest-fields, with a blow of his staff he froze streams and rivers. He could pound on the hut in his hearts, and then the age-old log cabins would crack.
Rehabilitation: writer Vladimir Odoevsky in the fairy tale "Moroz Ivanovich", which appeared in 1841, he was the first to present the winter wizard not as a punishing forest monster, but as a wise and fair wizard. He gave the needlewoman girl a handful of silver patches and a diamond, and instead of a silver ingot he handed an icicle to Lenivitsa. Kind.
The gifts are normal, but the old man himself is brrr Escort group: Snow Maiden. Where did the old man come from with a young companion, they interpret everything. One of the versions is this. IN ancient times to appease the lord of the cold, young girls were sacrificed to him. They were chosen by lot, taken to the forest, undressed and tied to a tree in the cold. The next morning they went to check whether the unfortunate woman had died. If life in the girl was still warm, she was warmed up, but this meant that the sacrifice was not accepted. And then another condemned woman was subjected to the same fate. We see plot analogies with this custom in the fairy tale “Morozko”, where the stern Grandfather mocked the stiff Nastenka: “Are you warm, girl? Are you warm, red one? Director Alexander Rowe presented us a light version: in original fairy tale the lazy and rude Marfushenka-darling, sent by her mother to Santa Claus for gifts, froze in the forest. Perhaps the custom of sacrificing innocent girls to Morozka was reflected in folklore in the face of the Snow Maiden who miraculously came to life. Moreover, the question of the parents of the "granddaughter" is still open.
Finnish Yolupukki cooked naughty children in a cauldron Next of kin: Finnish Joulupukki, who lives in Lapland, who, throwing an animal skin over his shoulders, rides around on his own affairs on a goat. In translation from the old Scandinavian dialect, Joulupukki means "Yule goat". Yule is a Celtic holiday celebrated on the day of the winter solstice. In ancient times, Joulupukki used to look into houses as an uninvited guest, and again it got to the naughty children: he cooked them alive in huge cauldron. Christianity failed to completely supplant the ancient customs: sheepskin coats turned inside out and goat masks, in which people went from house to house during carols, are an echo of primeval times.
A couple of centuries ago, Santa Claus looked much more serious, and what is there - more nightmarish than the affectionate bearded man we know. It is not surprising that the children not only loved him, but were frankly afraid of him. Terrible photographs of the 19th and 20th centuries have survived to this day. At that harsh time, clausophobia was common - a pathological fear of Santa Claus. Looking at the ominous images, you understand the reasons for this fear:
Christmas tree and death
The tradition of decorating a Christmas tree for the New Year echoes, oddly enough, the sad custom of decorating coffins. spruce branches and use them for funeral wreaths. The roots of this phenomenon go back to the times when the forest beauty was considered the abode of the forest spirit, which could only be achieved by bloody sacrifices performed on December 21 - the day of the winter solstice. The deity was depicted as a bearded old man with a staff, mace or scythe in his hands. To win his favor, the Celtic Druids practiced the ritual killing of people and animals whose intestines and internal organs were hung on spruce branches. Subsequently, the bloody gifts were replaced by fruits and pieces of bread.
Unlike the main New Year's magician, the "granddaughter" does not drink, does not bring gifts, but much bears Santa Claus oversaturated with "magic".
But who is the Snow Maiden anyway, and what secrets does this New Year's image hide?The first and most amazing secret of the Snow Maiden lies in her absolute uniqueness. Of course, the modern Russian Snow Maiden can have Belarusian, Ukrainian and even Kazakh sisters, however, in fact, they are all a continuation of one image, which was finally formed along with the Soviet tradition of celebrating the New Year.
So, there are no analogues of the Snow Maiden in the world, except for the dubious image of the wife of Santa Claus.
Moreover, unlike Santa Claus, the Snow Maiden is not recorded in the Russian folk rite.
Despite this, the Snow Maiden has been with us for a long time - from the very moment when the fairy tale about the girl from the snow appeared in Russian folklore, who came to life.
The film "The Snow Maiden" directed by Pavel Kadochnikov. Lenfilm. 1969 THE USSR. In the photo: Evgenia Filonova as the Snow Maiden. Photo: www.russianlook.comOf course, at that time this girl had nothing to do with either the New Year or gifts.
According to one version, the story of the Snow Maiden directly comes from the funeral rite of Kostroma.
The Slavic ritual of the funeral of Kostroma was a farewell to winter and at the same time a request to the forces of nature for the fertility of the land. According to one version of the rite, the effigy of the girl was drowned in the river, according to the second, they were burned at the stake, like Shrovetide. In another version, Kostroma drank wine to death at a merry feast, which makes it very close to all lovers of New Year's table gatherings.
One way or another, but the forerunner of the Snow Maiden Kostroma was dealt with quite deliberately. And the death of a girl made of snow while jumping over a fire is, if you like, a light version of a ritual story.
If Kostroma, who was also the goddess of fertility, had, according to the Slavs, a rather contradictory character, then the Snow Maiden initially looked like a kind and naive girl.
Climbing history
Translated the Snow Maiden from folklore into literary characters Russian collector of folklore Alexander Afanasiev, who in 1867 placed the tales of the Snow Maiden in the second volume of his study "The Poetic Views of the Slavs on Nature".
In 1873, the playwright Alexander Ostrovsky, inspired by the work of Afanasyev, wrote the play The Snow Maiden. In this story, the Snow Maiden appears in the image familiar to us today - a pale blonde in white and blue winter clothes. It is here that the Snow Maiden first encounters Santa Claus, who turns out to be her ... dad. And the mother is Spring-Krasna, who could not resist the male charisma of a gray-bearded magician. However, Ostrovsky's story of the Snow Maiden is sad: left in the care of people, she becomes a victim of misunderstanding and jumps over the fire.It is interesting that Ostrovsky's play was received very coldly, and it is not known what career the Snow Maiden would have had if the composer had not joined the case in 1882. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. His opera based on the play "The Snow Maiden" was a wild success, after which the ice girl began to move towards the status of the second New Year's person.
Even in the pre-revolutionary period, Russian teachers began to use the image of the Snow Maiden in Christmas tree scenarios. The truth is usually we are talking about staging certain scenes from Ostrovsky's play with her participation. Also, the figurines of the Snow Maiden begin to hang on the Christmas tree as a decoration.
And yet at that time the Snow Maiden remained exclusively minor character. A decisive transformation came in 1935, when the New Year was officially celebrated in the Soviet Union.
Now the Snow Maiden has become " right hand» Santa Claus, an intermediary in communication between him and the children at matinees. At the same time, for a reason that is not entirely clear, their related status has changed. If Ostrovsky's Snow Maiden was the daughter of Santa Claus, then in new version she appeared as his granddaughter.
Father Frost and Snow Maiden with children on the Christmas tree. Photo: RIA Novosti
Although it cannot be ruled out that this Snow Maiden is actually the daughter of the one that melted while jumping over the fire. In any case, the Soviet Snow Maiden had no tendency to melt.
At the celebration of the New Year, 1937, Father Frost and the Snow Maiden first appeared together at the Christmas tree in the Moscow House of Unions. It is interesting that at that time the Snow Maiden appeared in the form of a little girl and only after some time she “grew up”.
Terem on Lagernaya street
It is possible that this change in texture was caused solely by practical considerations - after all, students theater schools and novice theater actresses coped with the roles of hostesses of children's matinees much better than elementary school students.
Unlike Father Frost, the fate of the Snow Maiden hung in the balance for some time - for example, during the war period, this image from new year holidays disappeared.The Snow Maiden was saved by two famous Soviet writers -Lev Kassil And Sergei Mikhalkov. It was they who wrote the scenarios for the Kremlin Christmas trees in the early 1950s, and made Grandfather Frost's granddaughter an obligatory participant in the performances. Only after that, the Snow Maiden finally "staken out" a place for herself near the Christmas tree.
The Snow Maiden is so kind and harmless that she is constantly being held hostage by various evil spirits that have material claims to Santa Claus. In my memory, the Snow Maiden only once took the initiative in her own hands, helping out grandfather. In the cartoon “When the Christmas Trees Are Lighting up”, the atypically determined Snow Maiden went on a sleigh to the capital in order to bring back the gifts lost by Santa Claus. And she coped with her task perfectly.
The Snow Maiden is now an independent girl, and she has her own residence, located in Kostroma. It was in these parts, in the Shchelykovo estate, that the playwright Alexander Ostrovsky and wrote a play about the Snow Maiden. "Terem Snegurochka" in terms of the number of visitors may well give odds to the residence of Father Frost in Veliky Ustyug.
The only oddity regarding the Snow Maiden's habitat is her Kostroma address - Grandfather Frost's granddaughter lives on Lagernaya Street, house 38.
Distant relatives or just acquaintances?
The most stubborn seekers of Western analogues believe that the Snow Maiden has something in common with St. Lucia, who in Germany and Scandinavia during the period of the ban on the cult of saints and, in particular, St. Nicholas, acted as a Christmas presenter of gifts to children. In the countries of Scandinavia and Finland, the feast of St. Lucia, celebrated on December 13, has survived to this day, and serves as a kind of eve to Christmas.
There is also the Italian Befana, either an old woman or a young woman, who comes to the children on the night of the Epiphany, and lays out gifts for obedient children in pre-prepared socks. For bad children, Befana puts ashes in their socks. By the way, this lady is also well known to Russian children - Gianni Rodari described her slightly modified image in his “Journey of the Blue Arrow”.
Malanka is also mentioned, participating in the pre-New Year ceremonies of Bassarabia, Podolia and Galicia.
However, all these ladies, of course, cannot be compared with our unique and inimitable Snow Maiden, who every year relieves children of embarrassment in front of a gray-bearded magical old man, and then resignedly delivers Father Frost, who has taken a sip, to his monastery. That is why the Snow Maiden is exclusively our character, in which every Russian woman can see herself.
© Public Domain / USSR Ministry of Communications
© Public Domain / USSR Ministry of Communications
© Public Domain / USSR Ministry of Communications
© Public Domain / USSR Ministry of Communications
©
