The Pagan roots of modern holidays

The adoption of Christianity in Europe was accompanied not only by the displacement of pagan cults, but also by the borrowing of some of their elements. So that the population could more easily perceive the new religion, the Christian church often preserved pagan holidays, but gave them a different meaning. Therefore, it is not surprising that some modern holidays, which we used to consider Christian or even secular, actually have deep pagan roots.

Christmas (December 25, January 7)

For a long period of time, it was forbidden to celebrate religious holidays in our country. Therefore, a significant part of the Christmas paraphernalia, for example, the custom of dressing up a Christmas tree and decorating its top with a star, passed to the New Year. But if you pay attention to the history of Christmas as a holiday, it turns out that a significant part of Christmas traditions originates in paganism.

So, the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree comes from pre-Christian times. Even the ancient Egyptians decorated palm trees on the occasion of the holidays. And the ancient Germans celebrated the winter solstice (December 22), hanging on the spruce, which is a symbol of perseverance and eternal life, sacrifices to the gods: treats and decorations. In addition, it was customary to give gifts to each other on this day.

In some Slavic countries, there is still a Christmas tradition of caroling. Young people go from house to house and sing Christmas songs, receiving money, food and gifts in return. This tradition goes back to the pagan celebration of Kolyada, the birthday of the deity of the same name. That ancient holiday was associated with the winter solstice and the change of seasons. During Kolyada, it was customary to sing songs of praise to wealthy owners, promising them a bountiful harvest and wishing well-being to the house. For such songs it was supposed to thank with loaves and pies, and it was believed that for those who show stinginess, the new year will be unsuccessful.

Even the date of Christmas itself was originally chosen in accordance with pagan traditions. In early Christian sacred texts there is no clear indication of the date of the birth of Christ, and December 25 was first indicated only in 221 in the annals of one of the first Christian historians, Sextus Julius Africanus. In 354, it was decided to time the celebration of Christmas to the winter solstice. On this day, in many pagan cultures, the celebration of the birth of the gods took place: in Greece it was the god of winemaking Dionysus, in Egypt - the dying and reborn lord of the underworld Osiris, in Rome at the beginning of our era - the sun god Mithra, etc.Mithraism was popular in the Roman Empire at that time, therefore, in order to weaken its positions, as well as to gain the support of the population, it was decided to appoint Christmas on the same day as the Birth of the Invincible Sun.

The final decision to appoint December 25 as the date of Christmas was made only in 431 at the Third Ecumenical (Ephesus) Council. Thus Christmas coincided with the Roman Saturnalia and supplanted them.

Valentine's Day (February 14)

Valentine was the bishop of the city of Terni at a time when Christians were being persecuted in the territory of the Roman Empire. On February 14, 269 AD, he was executed for his preaching work; In 496, Pope Gelasius I canonized Valentine as a saint, and February 14 was declared the day of his memory.

Until that moment, another holiday fell on February 14 - the pagan Lupercalia. This festival of fertility and free love took place in the place where, according to legend, the she-wolf brought up the future founders of Rome - Romulus and Remus. The word "Lupercalia" itself comes from the Latin "lupa" - "she-wolf", which is also a homonym for "harlot". One of the traditions of the Lupercalia was a kind of lottery: the girls wrote their names in notes and threw them into the urn, and the men pulled out these notes with the names of their future lovers from it.

These holidays were so popular that they persisted even after Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. Pope Gelasius I tried to fight this tradition, but his attempts to replace Lupercalia with Valentine's Day were crowned with only partial success: the two holidays merged into one, which, however, became more decorous than pagan orgies. The name of the saint became associated with the patronage of lovers. There was even a legend that Valentine secretly married Christian soldiers and their lovers, violating the prohibition of the Roman emperor Claudius II, who believed that single people would fight better for their homeland.

Interestingly, the tradition of celebrating Valentine's Day as a holiday of all lovers is a folk one, not a church one. Moreover, since 1969, St. Valentine, like other Roman saints, information about whose life is contradictory and unreliable, has been excluded from the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church.

Maslenitsa (last week before Lent)

Maslenitsa is one of the few pagan holidays that have come down to us in almost unchanged form. Many of its participants, attracted by plentiful festive treats, games, skiing from the icy mountains and folk festivals, do not even realize that they are essentially re-enacting a series of pagan rituals designed to expel winter and help spring come into its own.

The pagan Maslenitsa began a week before the Spring Equinox (March 22) and ended 7 days after it. At this time, bright bonfires were lit and burning wheels were rolled, helping the Sun to melt the snow and drive away the cold. Fun games, fistfights, as well as flirting and kissing between guys and girls glorified Yarila - the god of fertility, vitality and the instinct of procreation. The traditional treat was pancakes, which are both a funeral food associated with the cult of ancestors and a symbol of the solar disk. On the last day of Maslenitsa, a straw effigy in a women's costume was burned, symbolizing Morana, the goddess of winter and death.

With the adoption of Christianity, the order of celebrations changed somewhat: Maslenitsa was reduced to one week and its date was tied to the beginning of Lent, so that the traditions of this holiday would not contradict the preparation of believers for Easter. The very name "Maslenitsa" is due to the fact that in the last week before Lent, it is allowed to eat butter, dairy products and fish, but it is forbidden to eat meat. The church name of this week is Cheese or Meat-Pust.

Easter (date depends on the year)

Easter, also known as the Resurrection of Christ, is one of the most important Christian holidays. However, some symbols and traditions of Easter, without which it is already impossible to imagine this holiday, are not Christian in origin, but pagan. So, many people have an idea of ​​an egg as a symbol of birth, spring and renewal of nature. According to popular beliefs, the yolk of an egg symbolizes the spring sun, and the egg itself symbolizes liberation from snowy shackles and the transition from non-existence to existence.

The custom of painting eggs, which has become an integral part of the festive Easter tradition, also occurred before the adoption of Christianity as the official religion by Rome. According to legend, on the day when the future Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius was born, one of his mother's chickens laid an egg marked with red dots, which was considered a lucky omen. Since the first half of the 3rd century AD, it has become customary to send colored eggs as greetings to each other.

The most common legend linking red-dyed eggs to Christianity is that the first Easter egg was given by Mary Magdalene to the Roman Emperor Tiberius. According to this legend, when Mary told Tiberius about the Resurrection of Christ, the emperor said that it was as impossible as the red color of the shell of a chicken egg, and after these words, the egg that he held in his hand changed its color.

Another symbol of the Resurrection of Christ, common in Western Europe and the USA, was the Easter Bunny or Hare. It also has pagan roots and is associated with spring fertility festivals. For many peoples, such holidays included rituals related to sex, designed to increase the fertility of the earth, and the hare has long been considered a symbol of male power and sexual energy.

It is noteworthy that in the pre-Christian era, the religions of many peoples, for example, the Greeks, Egyptians and Phoenicians, included ideas about dying and resurrecting deities.

Halloween, All Saints Day (October 31 - November 1)

This holiday is familiar to the inhabitants of our country primarily from American films, and this is no coincidence, because it is most popular in the United States of America. However, representatives of other states also liked Halloween paraphernalia, so the eve of All Saints' Day is celebrated in many countries of the world, including Russia.

The word "Halloween" itself comes from the English "All Hallows' Even", which means "Evening of All Saints". This holiday got its name because it is celebrated on the eve of the Christian All Saints' Day, that is, the day of remembrance of all the saints revered by the church. But, despite the connection with Christianity visible even from the name, Halloween has deep pagan roots. It goes back to the Celtic holiday of Samhain, which began just on the evening of October 31 and lasted for several days.

The ancient Celts divided the year into just two seasons, summer and winter. Each season lasted six months, and the first day of winter was considered the beginning of a new year. The night of the transition from summer to winter was supposed to be special: according to beliefs, at this time the border between the world of the living and the world of the dead was erased. The Celts believed that on the night of Samhain the souls of the dead could return to their homes, and therefore they offered treats to them. After the adoption of Christianity, Samhain gradually transformed into Halloween, followed by All Saints' Day and Memorial Day, celebrated on November 2.In the tradition of celebrating Halloween, one can easily notice pagan motifs that have passed through the centuries. So children, dressed up in costumes of skeletons and witches, go from house to house, urging adults to buy off the dead and evil spirits with a variety of treats. However,

Below is a parallel between ancient paganism, Byzantium, paganism of the Slavs and orthodox Christianity. Some dates may differ due to the fact that the holidays were celebrated on different calendars.

Calendar of rituals and holidays for the year (abbreviated).

ancient idolatry	Slavic paganism	Orthodox Christianity
31.12 It was supposed to bring Christmas trees into the house, a message from the ancient god Yer-su, who was worshiped by the Altai peoples about 3 thousand years ago. Among the Kipchaks, spruce has been a sacred tree since ancient times. And the custom of decorating trees existed even before the advent of a new era. In those days, it was believed that spirits, both good and evil, found shelter in the branches of trees, and in order to get along with them and get their help in everyday life, abundant gifts were offered, which were hung on the branches .	31.12 Evening before the New Year; evening of Basil of Caesarea. Among the northwestern Slavs, it was not by chance that it received the name “generous” or Vasily the Generous. A plentiful holiday table, according to ancient belief, would ensure well-being for the entire coming year and was considered a guarantee of family wealth; therefore, they sought to decorate it with everything that they would like to have in abundance in the household.	31.12 new year. Christmas trees are brought into the house and decorated with toys, serpentine and garlands. A plentiful table is laid, meat, mashed potatoes, fish, salads, aspic, etc., as well as alcoholic drinks and, of course, champagne. They sit down at the table until 12.00 - raise their glasses for the past year, have fun, eat and spend the old year. After 12, the meeting of the new year is similar, only until the morning. Night festivities, songs and visits are accepted, especially the next day.
01.01 The oldest form of New Year's communication with the world of the dead was dressing in the skins of animals - mythical ancestors. The ancient custom of dressing up has survived to the present, turning into a New Year's carnival or Christmas with mummers.	01.01 They tried to dress in everything new, treated each other, went to visit, because they believed that how you meet the holiday, this will be the whole next year.	01.01 Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord. The inhabitants of the city of Rome gathered in the Basilica of St. Mary to glorify the Virgin Mary as the Mother of God, thus marking her special role in God's plan of Salvation and asking for her protection and protection in the new year. In other churches, festive services are held and prayers are held. The Slavs treat each other with food and alcohol, go to visit, believe that as you meet this day, this will be the whole next year.
06.01 Worship of the sun god Mithra (Egyptian Osiris, Babylonian Tammuz)	06.01 Feast of the god Veles	06.01 Christmas Eve. Worship is being performed. 2). Epiphany or Baptism of the Lord. Worship is being performed.
07.01 Fortune-telling was also practiced by the Chaldean priests, and then by the Slavic sorcerers, calling on supernatural forces to open the future. The very word "fortune-telling" is akin to the Hebrew word Gad - that was the name of the goddess of happiness. Divination in ancient times meant serving the goddess Gada (fortune, the goddess of happiness).	07.01 Kolyada. Boys and girls walked around the village and sang carols under the windows - short ritual songs in which they wished the owners well-being, and in return for the wish, they presented them with delicious food. The more plentiful the treat, the more satisfying the next year should be. It was possible to guess at any time, but bewitchment at Christmas time - the so-called. "holy days" from 7 to 19 January AD Art.	07.01 Nativity. Worship is being performed. 2. Kolyada. Boys and girls and adults go from house to house and sing carols, for which they are presented with money, sweets or other things. It is believed that this is important for the well-being of the house. The owners try to be generous and open their doors to everyone so that there is more blessing in the house.
Sweet, honey-boiled porridge seasoned with berries was the oldest pagan ritual food: it carried a powerful idea of ​​fertility, victory over Death, the eternal return of Life.	There were special types of porridge that had only a ritual purpose: "kutya", "kolivo". Kutya was cooked in a pot, and in a pot or in a bowl it was served on the festive table or taken to the cemetery.	Kutya, they are treated to her at the wake and are carried to each other at home. Many do not even understand why this is, but they faithfully follow this tradition. Instead of honey, they now put sugar, instead of wild berries - raisins, and instead of whole wheat - rice.
	19.01 Vodokres. Consecration of water, and on the very day of the holiday, natural reservoirs - rivers and lakes - were also consecrated, for which a hole was made in them.	19.01 epiphany. Epiphany water is called by the Orthodox Church a great shrine. It is used for sprinkling temples and dwellings, they drank it, sprinkled the whole house and property with it; it was believed that this protects against various misfortunes and the evil eye. Daredevils bathed in the hole, believing that bathing on this day washes away all sins.
24.02 Day of the god Baal, Bel-Marduk. (patron saint of animals)	24.02 Day of the god Veles (patron of cattle)	24.02 St. Day Vlasia (patron of animals)
	02.03 Madder Day	02.03 St. Day Marianne
07.04 A similar pagan holiday of meeting spring is characteristic of almost all pagan beliefs known to science: the Egyptians celebrated it as the day of the goddess Isis, the Babylonians - Ishtar, the Greeks - Cybele, the Canaanites - Astarte. According to Plutarch, Isis is “the feminine principle of nature and she contains every generation”… Everything that a person could say about the Deity was concentrated in this maternal image. In an era when women gained freedom, Isis became their heavenly patroness. “I am the one,” the inscription says, “which the wives call the Deity.” The holiday of the new flowering of the earth resulted in a stormy manifestation of joy.	07.04 Maslenitsa. This celebration lasted for a whole week. Pancakes were baked on Maslenitsa, lit wheels were rolled, bonfires were lit - all this symbolized the sun gaining strength. The newlyweds rode around the village in a painted sleigh, kissed in front of everyone - their young and ardent love was supposed to fill all nature with vitality. Pancakes were an indispensable attribute of this holiday - a ritual funeral food associated with the cult of ancestors among the ancient Slavs, as well as with the cult of the sun god, who was glorified in the hope of a future abundant harvest.On the last day of the holiday, he arranged the farewell to Maslenitsa - a straw doll in a women's costume, which was first called, then torn and scattered across the fields so that the harvest was rich.	07.04 Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos. Meat-free week before Lent, in which it is allowed to eat butter, cottage cheese, fish, flour products (pancakes), but it is forbidden to eat meat. People always bake pancakes for Shrovetide and treat each other.
The second big holiday among the Tengrians was considered the “arrival of spring”. A tradition that has its roots in India. It is known that Tengrians baked Easter cakes by this day. Kulich personified the masculine principle. In India and in many other countries, his symbol was the phallus. Easter cake was given the appropriate shape, it was supposed to put two colored eggs next to it. In all these spring holidays, different peoples (Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks, etc.) had the same symbols: Easter cakes and eggs.	Easter in Rus' included many features of the ancient holiday of the “coming of spring”. Easter eggs were a symbol of the rebirth of life, so some of the eggs were fed to livestock so that they would breed well. On Easter, they always swung on a swing - the higher the swing flew up, the higher the ears and grass should have grown. On this day, they danced round dances, singing songs about love - this was also a magical rite that ensured well-being and fertility.	Easter is a great holiday with indispensable attributes; Easter cakes and colored eggs. People have been crowding in the city since the evening

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