"Green Christmastide", rituals and fortune telling. When is Green Christmastide celebrated? Tomatoes stuffed with eggs

Trinity Day is a great Christian holiday, but its traditions are rooted in paganism. And, as often happens, ancient magic and Orthodox rituals are intertwined in the popular consciousness. This is how powerful rituals, fortune telling, and conspiracies were born. In 2017, Trinity Sunday falls on June 4th.

Family tree. Ritual for Parents' Saturday

The eve of the holiday is Parents' Saturday: the only day of the year when the church prays for the souls of people who died unbaptized.

On Parents' Saturday, plant a family tree: a seedling in your summer cottage or an indoor perennial plant, such as a ficus. At the bottom of the hole or pot, place a little thing associated with your family: an inexpensive piece of jewelry that belonged to your mother or grandmother, a fragment of a saucer from a family set, an old button. If you don’t find anything like this, bring a handful of earth from the place where you or someone from the older generation of your relatives spent their childhood and youth. Attention: under no circumstances place soil from the grave under the tree - nothing can be brought into the house or garden from the cemetery!

For the first time, you need to water the family tree with enchanted water. Take a spring or tap water just after midnight, place both palms on the vessel with water and begin to name the names of all the ancestors you remember. Having named the name, say every time: “Peace be with you and eternal salvation.” Repeat the ritual of charming water every month on the full moon: the souls of your departed will receive relief, and you will receive support from your family.

Green Christmastide

Long before the adoption of Christianity, in early June, festivities related to the veneration of Mother Earth took place in Rus'. They were called “green” or “emerald” days, hence the popular name for Trinity Day - Green Christmastide.

According to legends, on Green Christmastide the earth should not be disturbed - planting or replanting plants, digging and loosening, removing weeds. Let the birthday girl rest, then she will be favorable to man.

On Trinity Sunday, early in the morning, at dawn, they pronounce a spell for good luck and success in business: “I will get up, pray, go out, cross myself, climb a high mountain, look around in all four directions. How on the eastern side a black horse grazes in a green meadow, wild and violent. No one saddled him, no one rode him, that horse did not know the stirrups or reins. I will tame that horse, and he will walk under me obediently, carry me wherever I want. My will is strong, my word is true. Amen".

Love spell for Trinity

And in order to bewitch her beloved, on Trinity Day a woman collects grass, weaves a small wreath from it and, going to bed, puts it under her pillow with the incantation: “As these herbs were twisted and intertwined in a wreath, so let the servant of God (name) around me, the servant of God (name), curls and curls, as the wreath withers and dries, so let it dry and grieve for me, God’s servant (name), does not eat food, does not wash it down with drink, does not go on a spree; whether he is at a feast or during a conversation, whether he is in the field or in the house - I would not lose his mind. May my words be strong and sculpted, stronger than stone and damask steel, a sharp knife and a greyhound spear. And the key to my words is a confirmation, and a strong fortress, and a strong force in the heights of heaven, and a castle in the depths of the sea. Now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen".

Birch magic for Trinity

The main symbol of the Trinity is the birch tree - all kinds of rituals are associated with it. The floors of the huts were covered with its leaves, and gates, thresholds, windows and icons were decorated with bunches of birch branches. Often, branches of apple, rowan, maple, and willow were added to birch trees. But in no case did they take branches of coniferous trees (they symbolize death) and aspen (this is a vampire tree). It was believed that the birch tree, which had absorbed the energy of the awakened earth, would protect against evil forces, give health, prosperity, save and increase the new harvest.

On the holiday of Trinity, you can perform a ritual to fulfill your cherished desire. You need to approach a young birch tree, hug it, then pull a branch towards you and ask the birch tree for help, say your wish out loud, weaving a braid from the thinnest branches of the tree.

In a few days, it’s worth visiting “your” birch tree: if the braid is intact, the dream will certainly come true; if it’s unraveled, alas. By the way, if, while walking in the forest or park, you see such braided branches - do not touch them! Maybe someone made a wish, or perhaps they left a misfortune on the birch tree. Whoever undoes such a braid will ruin another’s luck or take on other people’s misfortunes.

Trinity should be celebrated cheerfully, joyfully: whoever is sad or busy with work on this day will anger Heaven.

You should definitely bake or buy a loaf. This is a traditional wedding bread, always round - in the shape of the sun, the highest Slavic deity. A young family sought his patronage - that’s why they served “sunny” bread, round and ruddy, at the wedding.

In the old days, specially invited people baked a loaf of bread - most often women, who were certainly married and had children, that is, happy in family life. It turned out that God blessed their families, and through them the blessing is passed on to the young family. While kneading the dough, the women sang special ritual songs, said prayers and incantations, calling on the Lord to descend from heaven and help bake the loaf. So it’s best that your loaf for the holiday of the Holy Trinity is baked by a happily married woman (or bought for you at a bakery). Instead of a loaf, you can serve a round yeast pie.

Girls of marriageable age and single ladies should take a few pieces of a loaf, wrap it in a clean rag, read the Lord’s Prayer over the bundle and with all their hearts ask the Lord (or a Higher Power) for a quick meeting with their betrothed. Place the package behind the icon or in a place where no one will see or touch it. Store until the wedding to crush and add crumbs to wedding baking - then the family will be strong.

Green Christmastide (Spiritual Day) Trinity - was the main boundary between winter and summer. In the folk calendar (with the adoption of Christianity), the Trinity holiday was dedicated to these days, which then flowed into Rusal week and the holiday of Ivan Kupala. Green Christmastide rituals welcomed the first greenery and the beginning of summer field work.
The cycle of green Christmastide consisted of several rituals: bringing a birch tree into the village, wreathing wreaths, kumeleniya, funeral of a cuckoo (Kostroma or mermaid). The birch tree was a symbol of inexhaustible vitality, as during the winter holidays - carols, all rituals were attended by mummers depicting animals, devils And mermaids. In the songs sung during the green holidays, two main themes can be distinguished: love and work. It was believed that imitation of labor activity ensured the well-being of future field work.
While singing the song “You succeed, succeed my flax,” the girls showed the process of sowing flax, weeding it, harvesting it, carding it and spinning it. The singing of the song “We sowed millet” was accompanied by movements in which the participants reproduced the processes of sowing, collecting, threshing, and pouring millet into the cellar.
In ancient times, both songs were performed in the fields and performed a magical function. Later, the ritual meaning was lost, and they began to be sung in places of celebration.
It was customary to bring birch branches and bouquets of first flowers into the house. They were dried and stored in a secluded place all year. After the harvest began, the plants were placed in the granary or mixed with fresh hay. Wreaths were made from tree leaves collected during the holiday and placed in pots where cabbage seedlings were planted. Trinity plants were believed to have magical powers.
To ensure a high harvest, a special prayer service was sometimes served. Associated with it is the custom of “crying on flowers” ​​- dropping tears on the turf or a bunch of flowers.
After completing special prayers, all participants went to the cemetery, where they decorated the graves with birch branches and provided refreshments. Having remembered the dead, they went home, leaving food at the cemetery.
Green Christmastide ended with the ritual of funeral or farewell to Kostroma.
Image Kostroma.connected with the end of the green Christmastide, ceremonies and rituals often took the form of ritual funerals.
Kostroma could be depicted by a beautiful girl or young woman dressed in white, with oak branches in hands. She was chosen from those participating in the ritual, surrounded by a girl’s round dance, after which they began to bow and show signs of respect. “Dead Kostroma” was laid on boards, and the procession moved to the river, where “Kostroma was awakened,” and the celebration ended with a bath.
In addition, the Kostroma funeral ceremony could be carried out with a straw effigy. Accompanied by a round dance, the effigy was carried around the village and then buried in the ground, burned at the stake or thrown into the river. It was believed that the following year Kostroma would resurrect and come to earth again, bringing fertility to the fields and plants.

Trinity Day can rightfully be called “green Christmastide,” and not only because on this day parishioners stand mass in churches with bouquets of meadow flowers (called “spirits” in Yaroslavl) or tree branches, but also because the reason is that both streets and houses are decorated with birch trees. Wildflowers that have been in the church are dried and stored behind the icons for various needs: they are placed under fresh hay and in the granary to prevent mice, in holes in the ridges from shrews, and in the attic to eliminate fire disasters. Trees are brought to the village streets by the whole cartload and decorate not only the doors, but also the window frames, and, in particular, their “mother church”, the floor of which is strewn with fresh grass: everyone, when leaving mass, tries to grab it from under their feet , to mix with hay, boil with water and drink as a healing medicine. Some people make wreaths from the leaves of the trees that stood in the church and place them in pots when planting cabbage.

These, in essence, are the most important special customs, adapted to the Trinity holiday and blessed by the church, which singled them out for this day from Semik and Rusal celebrations. This explains the confusion that is noticed in various localities when establishing ritual receptions for certain periods. Some of these methods precede, others coincide with Trinity Day (as indicated by us in the appropriate articles) and even precede it, all on the same basis that these festivities in honor of spring are completely dependent on its late or early arrival, at least and in relation to this kind of entertainment, which are reels or swings, arranged not just for small children, but for all young people in general.

Among the latter, in the Novgorod region, an ancient custom has apparently been preserved, adapted specifically to Trinity Day (in the same way as to Maslenitsa) and called “shaking gunpowder.” It consists of the following. During the walk, in the meadow, among round dances and games of “goryshi” (Old Testament “burners”), one of the men grabs the cap from the young newlywed, shakes it over his head and shouts at the top of his lungs and to the whole field: “Gunpowder is on.” lip, the wife doesn’t love her husband.” In response to this cry, the young woman stands out from the crowd (and the whole task is to do this as quickly as possible), stands in front of her husband, bows to him at the waist, takes off the cap that they manage to put on his head at the moment of her appearance, takes the husband by the ears and kisses him three times and bows again to him in all four directions. When a young woman leaves, and sometimes when she appears, a loud assessment of her qualities and various vulgar jokes begin, especially about those who had sins in the girls. Young people are usually embarrassed by this custom and say: “When they shake gunpowder, it would be better to fall through the ground.”

First Rusalia

The week before Trinity has many names: Semik, green Christmastide, mermaid week. All these names come from ancient paganism. But nevertheless, they are closely intertwined with Orthodoxy.

The first Rusalia falls in May and is dedicated to honoring the maiden Lelya, the young and blooming goddess of spring. The second Rusalia is the time when the maiden Lelya becomes his wife Lada, spring turns to summer.

Rusalia is a magical time, also dedicated to seeing off spring and honoring water spirits (mermaids). IN 2018 year the beginning of mermaid week falls on May 21st.

According to legend, during Mermaid Week, mermaids can be seen near rivers, in flowering fields, in groves, at crossroads and in cemeteries.

Like any other undead, mermaids are considered very dangerous to living people. They say that they, like witches, can take on different guises and fly into houses through a chimney. A meeting with a mermaid turns into disaster for any mortal. The same techniques are used as amulets against water maidens as against evil spirits (cross, prayer). In addition, they also resort to folk remedies - wormwood, horseradish, garlic.

However, this period, terrible at first glance, is rich in all kinds of rituals, rites and traditions. For example, there is a custom during Rusal Week to decorate the house with birch branches, flower wreaths and all kinds of greenery. After the expiration date, dried greenery serves as a talisman against evil forces.

At the beginning of Rusal Week, girls “curl wreaths” on the ritual birch tree. First of all, a circle is drawn around the tree. Then the top or branches of the birch are bent and tied into a ring, but without breaking them. These rings are called wreaths. Through these rings the girls celebrate: they exchange gifts, kiss, and wish each other well. Wreaths are sure to develop. This ritual strengthens friendship between girls.

You can perform a ritual called “feeding the tree.” Under a tree (most often under a birch tree) you need to leave a treat for the spirits (the main ritual dish is scrambled eggs). Food is usually collected from all participants in the ceremony. This promises the protection of higher powers throughout the year.

The ritual of “going to life” is performed at the beginning or end of the Green Christmastide. Girls and women go to the fields to look at the crops. After making the rounds, they make a fire and have a party. After eating, spoons are thrown up with the words:

“Let the rye and crops grow as high as a spoon rises.”

This ritual promises a rich harvest.

To ensure that the water maidens leave the earth, at the end of Christmastide, the ceremony of “seeing off the mermaids” is performed. For the ceremony, they sew a doll that represents a mermaid, dress it in a white dress and place it on a stretcher. Then the doll is taken to a field or hill and burned there. At the same time, each person, in his own words, asks the burning mermaid to take all misfortunes and hardships with him.

Mermaid week - money week

To get a constant good profit (no matter what you do), you need to weave a basket of willow twigs yourself.

When the basket is ready, you need to put any pie in it, and on it - a note:

“Mermaid, sweetheart, do no harm. Open the doors to wealth."

Let the treat flow down the stream or river.

The ritual must be performed during Rusal Week.

Weaving a basket is a labor-intensive task, not every person is able to do it; you can buy a small wicker basket and do the same. The weaving master is convinced that the effect will be weaker, but the issue is debatable.

Another version of the ritual for profit involves weaving wreaths from dandelions, willow and birch branches. Treats are placed on the wreath - handmade sweets, and the wreath is sent down the river.

I think that we need to bake some sweets in preparation for a successful ritual. Formal execution will lead to little result!

* Holiday - Trinity

Trinity Sunday is celebrated on the 50th day after Easter, so this holiday is sometimes called Pentecost and this year falls on May 31st. The celebration of the Trinity began in the 4th century, when at the Second Council of Constantinople the dogma of the Trinity was finally approved: one God exists in three persons - God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Klechalny week

Trinity is a very beautiful holiday. Houses and temples are decorated with branches, grass, and flowers. And this is no coincidence. Greenery and flowers symbolize life. This is how people express joy and gratitude to God for reviving them through baptism into a new life.

We spent Trinity outside, in the forest, in general, in nature. The festivities were fun and noisy. In the morning they baked a loaf of bread and called guests, presenting them with wreaths of herbs. In folk tradition, Trinity festivities are directly related to wedding ceremonies, and therefore were extremely popular among young people.

In Ukraine, the last three days before Trinity were called Klechalna or Rusal Week, and the three days after it were called the Green Holidays. Our ancestors called this time the triumph of spring on the threshold of summer.

Most popular beliefs are associated with mermaids, and the Thursday before Trinity was considered mermaid Easter. According to popular beliefs, on their Easter, mermaids came out of the water and looked to see if people revered them. If someone worked, they could send disaster to the crops. On Thursday, at the boundary of his field, the head of the family left crusts of bread for the mermaids, and the housewives put a hot loaf of bread on the windowsill so that the mermaids could get enough of its smell.

In the Kiev region on Rusal Thursday at sunrise, girls went to the rye field, taking with them bread baked from rye flour and blessed water. In the field, they divided the loaf equally, then each went to their father’s boundary and left a piece of bread there for mavka: so that the rye would give birth. In the Poltava region, on this day, girls secretly took wreaths to the forest for mawk, so that they would send grooms to them.

Decorating the house

On Trinity Sunday there is a custom to decorate the house with calamus branches. Several ancient agricultural rituals are associated with this. On Green Holidays, as a rule, rye blooms. To reap a good harvest, it was necessary to protect ourselves from evil spirits. They hid from them, hiding behind green branches. On the eve of the Holy Trinity, young women, girls and children went to the grove and meadow to collect more fragrant herbs: thyme, wormwood, fern, lovage and, of course, calamus. In the evening, the whole family decorated the house with branches of maple, linden, ash, birch, alder or poplar.

It was strictly forbidden to break a willow, because this tree had already paid tribute to God and people on Palm Sunday. In addition to rooms, doors, shutters, fences and cattle pens were landscaped. Young trees and branches cut down on this day were called “klechannyam”. Hence the name of the week - Klechalnaya (it was also called Dedova).

Not decorating the house was a great sin. The ancestors believed that on Trinity Sunday the souls of deceased relatives fly to the living and hide in the branches. All attention was paid to the doors, walls of houses and shutters - they were densely covered with linden branches.

The floors in the house were covered with herbs: calamus, thyme, wormwood and lovage. Cornflowers and mint were placed behind the icons. A candle or lamp was lit in front of the images. On Klechalnaya Saturday there was a custom of weaving wreaths. A wreath made of fresh flowers, according to popular belief, had the power of a talisman.

On Grandfather's Saturday they blessed milk, cheese, and rolls of bread in the church and took gifts to the cemetery to treat each other in memory of the dead. In Ukraine, since ancient times, there has been a custom to remember the dead on the eve of major religious holidays. Trinity is no exception. Ancestors believed that when rye blooms, the dead wake up. To prevent anything bad from happening at this time, people asked their deceased relatives for help. In gratitude for the protection, it was supposed to celebrate a funeral dinner at the graves on this Saturday.

In the morning, people dressed festively and went to church. The girls were especially elegant - they complemented the traditional white shirts, beads and ribbons with wreaths of flowers and fragrant herbs. In addition, each girl carried in her hands a bouquet of wormwood, periwinkle or lovage.

On Trinity Sunday, churches were also decorated with herbs and green branches. This was done in honor of the fact that the Holy Spirit gave life to everything created by God. This custom was borrowed from the Jews. So, in Ukraine, back in the century before last, people brought herbs to church. The Orthodox placed a triple candle in the middle of the bouquet, which was supposed to burn during the entire service. The cinder was not thrown away, but kept. It was given into the hands of a dying person to ease suffering. Fragrant green herbs were used as amulets.

After mass, everyone gathered near the church, around a tall wooden pole dug into the ground. The pole was necessarily decorated with branches and flowers.
Traditionally, on this day, dishes were prepared from eggs, dairy products and herbs: young cabbage salad, dandelion leaf salad, chopped eggs with garlic, potato pancakes and omelettes with herbs, kutya and kolivo (for a funeral dinner), buckwheat, stewed fish and chicken, baked meat, various pancakes and pancakes, pies and loaves, decorated with herbs. Among the drinks, jelly and infusions were popular.

Carp stewed in beer

1 carp (approximately 800 g), 2 onions, 2 carrots, 2 parsley roots, 1 teaspoon honey, 175 g light beer, vegetable oil, salt, pepper.

Place the prepared carp in a mold. Sauté chopped onions, carrots and parsley root in oil. Add salt. Stuff the carp with some of the vegetables. Salt and pepper. Dilute honey with 1 tbsp. spoon warm water over the carp. Pour beer into the mold (without pouring over the fish). Lay out the remaining vegetables. Place in the oven and simmer for 25 minutes at 180°C. When serving, garnish with herbs.

Tomatoes stuffed with eggs

6 medium-sized tomatoes, parsley, 0.5 cups sour cream, salt, ground pepper.

For minced meat: 1 onion, 3 eggs, pepper, sour cream, salt.

Wash the firm red tomatoes, wipe them and cut each into 4 parts so that the lower part of the slices remains connected. Then sprinkle each tomato with salt and ground pepper and leave for 20 minutes so that they are saturated with salt. Hard-boil the eggs for minced meat, cool, chop, add finely chopped onion, sour cream, pepper, salt and mix everything. Place the prepared mixture between the separated tomato slices. Pour sour cream on top and sprinkle with parsley, carefully place on a plate. Garnish the spaces with parsley. Tomatoes can also be stuffed with other minced meat: mushroom mass, mayonnaise with cheese or herring mass, like stuffed eggs.

Dandelion leaf salad

Leaves - 0.5 kg, 1 onion (red, sweet), 2 eggs, clove of garlic, 2 tbsp. spoons of balsamic or wine vinegar, 1 tbsp. spoon of mustard, 3 tbsp. spoons of vegetable oil, ground allspice and salt - to taste.

Peel and cut the hard-boiled eggs into 4 parts, the onion into half rings, and chop the garlic.

In a small bowl, combine garlic, vinegar, mustard and oil. Whisk the sauce with a fork, then add salt. Heat the resulting dressing in a saucepan over low heat, without bringing to a boil and stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.

Wash the dandelion leaves, dry them and put them in a salad bowl, adding chopped onions. Pour the dressing over the salad, season with pepper and stir. Place eggs on the leaves; if desired, you can add a few slices of browned raw smoked bacon.

This dish has long been considered a must on the festive table during the “green holidays”.

Green Christmastide in 2019 begins on June 17 - Spiritual Day, the day after Trinity. In the folk tradition of the Slavs, green Christmastide symbolizes the boundary between summer and spring.

Usually on Green Christmastide, girls had girls' get-togethers, wove flower wreaths, and dressed smartly. It is also customary on this day to sing carols, go from house to house and collect sweets and pies. Such festive moods are designed to improve field work and increase the harvest. Many rituals came from paganism, when people worshiped various gods of fertility and prosperity.

It was also customary to accept teenage girls into girls’ groups. This meant that girls could get married and go out with older girls.

In general, the Green Christmastide cycle consisted of several interesting rituals:

• weaving wreaths,
• birch log,
• cuckoo funeral,
• kumlenye.

The birch tree was the main attribute of the holiday; it is also called the Trinity tree. It was customary in the village, in the forest, to choose the most beautiful young birch tree and decorate the tree with wreaths, ribbons, and beads. The youth walked around the village with birch branches and also installed it at the celebration site. In some villages it was customary to dress up a birch tree in a woman’s dress and bring it into all houses. This symbolized wealth, prosperity and love. Birch branches were also brought into the house, as well as wild flowers and fragrant herbs. Plants decorated the house not only from the inside, but also from the outside. This symbolized purification, protection from evil spirits and illnesses. In addition, plants filled the house with a pleasant aroma, freshness, disinfected the air, and helped eliminate negative energy.

It was believed that these days grass, flowers, trees, and shrubs have healing energy. Until the end of the Green Christmastide, it was forbidden to sweep the house or the street in order to preserve the full power of the plants. Branches of various trees were also brought to the church for their blessing, and then also carried into the house.

It is customary to inspect the fields on Green Christmastide. Mostly girls did this. They “entered the fields” and looked at the cereals. The girls also gathered in groups, lit a fire, fried eggs and treated each other to pies. In addition, during such gatherings, the girls asked to send them a good harvest, good weather, and enough rain.

They also sprinkled water on the graves on this day, especially those of people who had drowned. In general, after church they always went to the cemetery and decorated the graves with birch branches.

By the way, it was believed that Green Christmastide was a good time to communicate with dead people. Therefore, girls often organized so-called spiritualistic seances. All this is also connected with paganism, because the church does not approve of such actions. People believed that on Green Christmastide mermaids—dead girls and children—appeared off the coast. And despite the fact that many rituals are associated with swimming in a reservoir, it was still considered dangerous to swim in lakes and rivers, because mermaids could drag them to the bottom with them.

They protected livestock on Green Christmastide. The shepherd brought two wreaths to the house. The hostess hung one wreath on the cow's horns, and with the second she decorated her head. Then ritual actions were performed, which, according to belief, were supposed to protect the health of the livestock. After the rituals, the wreaths were hidden in the barn until the next year.

A wreath is an integral attribute of this holiday, so the girls were sure to throw their wreaths on the water, thereby telling fortunes about their betrothed. Girls spend a lot of time on this day with guys, giving them the opportunity and chance to propose marriage. Many rituals are similar to the holiday of Ivan Kupala, because on Green Christmastide young people also jump over a fire, swim in ponds at night, and hit each other with nettle branches.

Young people also organized impromptu weddings. The guy and the girl called each other “groom” and “bride.” The couple went through all the rituals that a couple goes through when they actually get married. In addition, they created stuffed men and women from straw and left them in the barn overnight, and in the morning it was customary to ask how their night went.

Another interesting tradition is the preparation of wheat pies, which are wrapped in beet and cabbage leaves. There was also a tradition when young girls had to prepare small pies with meat filling with their own hands and throw them into a pond to appease the water spirits. It was believed that then the mermaids would become kinder and would allow them to swim in the water and would not be taken to the bottom.

Fortune telling for Green Christmastide

On Green Christmastide, most fortune telling was traditionally related to love themes. The girls wondered in dozens of ways to find out when their betrothed would meet and how good the future husband would be.

Fortune telling for the betrothed

The girls wondered about their betrothed to find out exactly when they would meet him and what his character would be like. So, there was a custom when girls went into the forest and bent a birch tree to the ground, tying it with ribbons or braiding it with long grass. After a week, the birch tree had to be untied so that it would not be “offended.” If the branches have become limp, and the leaves have completely fallen off or faded, then a lonely year and failure awaits the girl, but if the birch tree remains healthy and strong, then this year the girl will probably meet her betrothed.

There was also a funny fortune telling that was supposed to show where the groom would come from. The girl stood in the center of the field and began to spin strongly. In which direction the fortuneteller will fall, from there you should wait for the groom. In the same way, they spun a part of an old plow: in which direction it would fly when it fell out of the girl’s hand, that’s where the betrothed would come from.

Fortune telling on a chain

Among modern traditions, this kind of fortune-telling has also appeared: if you have never counted the links in your chain, then on Green Christmastide you have such an opportunity. Make a wish or ask a specific question and count the links, guessing like a daisy. Or another option: usually count three times so as not to make a mistake with the quantity. An even number of links will mean that the wish will come true, and the answer to the question will be positive; if the number is odd, then it is better not to implement the plan. After fortune telling, you cannot remove the jewelry for three days.

Fortune telling with candles

Take three small pieces of paper and write on each as you wish. Now take oak bark, attach leaves to it and turn it over, mix well. Now take three thin candles and place them on the bark. Light it and watch. Whichever candle burns out the fastest, the wish will come true the fastest. And if the candle goes out before it has time to flare up, then this wish will not come true any time soon.

Fortune telling with poultry

It is advisable to conduct it in a house or in a country house, in a village where there are chickens, geese, and ducks. If this is not possible, then fortune telling can be done outside, in an area where pigeons and sparrows gather. Pour millet into two plates, put a ring on one plate, a coin on the other, and don’t put anything in the third and just pour the grain. Place these plates in your yard. Where the birds peck the grains faster, wait for news in that area. A ring means receiving a marriage proposal or a meeting of fate, a coin means an inheritance, promotion up the career ladder, profit. If the birds pecked the grains in an empty plate, then the year will pass smoothly, without changes. Instead of a coin and a ring, you can use some other attributes: car or house keys, a globe-shaped keychain, a baby pacifier, a calendar. You can also write wishes on a piece of paper and also place them on a plate under the grains.

What not to do during the Green Christmastide

It was believed that during the Green Christmastide, livestock should not be given fresh grass, and flour should not be sifted through a sieve into a barrel or trough.

On Green Christmastide people are afraid to swim in bodies of water because mermaids can take them to the bottom. But if you perform a ritual of “reconciliation”, throw meat pies into the water and say certain words, then the water inhabitants will allow you to swim.

These days we tried not to swear, help each other, not use foul language, but rather smile and have fun.

After the Green Christmastide, there came a time of humility and restrictions, which was also an important component of people's lives.