Koliada

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For the village in Poland, see Kolęda, Lower Silesian Voivodeship.
Koliada
Also called Kolyada, Kоляда, Коледе, Κόλιαντα
Observed by Slavic people
Significance celebration of New Year birth
Begins January 6
Ends January 7
Related to Christmas traditions, Eastern Orthodox liturgical days
Verteps parade. Lviv, Ukraine
Russian Christmas postcard. 1910s

Koliada or koleda (Cyrillic: коляда, коледа, колада, коледе) is an ancient pre-Christian winter ritual/festival. It was later incorporated into Christmas.[1]

Terminology

The word is still used in modern Belarusian (Каляда, Kalada, Kalyada), Russian (Коляда, Kolyada), Polish (kolęda [kɔˈlɛnda]), Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian (Коледа, Коледе) and Bosnian, Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Slovene (koleda),[2] and Greek: Κόλιαντα (Kolianda).[citation needed] One theory states that Koliada is the name of a cycle of winter rituals stemming from the ancient calendae.[1] Others believe it derived from Kolo, "round dance".[citation needed]

Another speculation is that it derived from the Bulgarian/Macedonian word "коля/колам" (kolia/kolam), which means "to slaughter", possibly referring to the preparation of the Christmas feast, or to the Massacre of the Innocents.[citation needed] Some claim it was named after Kolyada, the Slavic god of winter [citation needed] or Koliada, the goddess who brings up a new sun every day.[citation needed]

In modern Ukrainian, Russian (koliada), Czech, Croatian (koleda), Kashubian kòlãda, Romanian (colindă) and Polish (kolęda [kɔˈlɛnda], Old Polish kolenda[3]) the meaning has shifted from Christmas itself to denoting the tradition of strolling, singing, and having fun on Christmas Eve, same in the Balkan Slavs. It specifically applies to children and teens who walk house to house greeting people, singing and sifting grain that denotes the best wishes and receiving candy and small money in return. The action is called kolyadovanie in Ukrainian and is now applied to similar Old East Slavic celebrations of other old significant holidays, such as Generous Eve (Belarusian: Шчодры вечар, Ukrainian: Щедрий вечiр) the evening before New Year's Day, as well as the celebration of the arrival of spring. Similarly in Bulgaria and Macedonia, in the tradition of koleduvane (коледуване) or koledarenje (коледарење) around Christmas, groups of boys visiting houses, singing carols and receiving a gift at parting. The boys are called 'koledari' or rarely 'kolezhdani' who sing kolyadka (songs).

Koleda is also celebrated across northern Greece by the Slavic speakers of Greek Macedonia, in areas from Florina to Thessaloniki, where it is called Koleda (Κόλιντα, Κόλιαντα) or Koleda Babo (Κόλιντα Μπάμπω) which means "Koleda Grandmother" in Slavic. It is celebrated before Christmas by gathering in the village square and lighting a bonfire, followed by local Macedonian music and dancing.

Croatian composer Jakov Gotovac wrote in 1925 the composition "Koleda", which he called a "folk rite in five parts", for male choir and small orchestra (3 clarinets, 2 bassoons, timpani and drum). There is also a dance from Dubrovnik called "The Dubrovnik Koleda."

Origins

The ancient god of the underworld Veles was known to regularly send spirits of the dead into the living world as his heralds. Festivals in his honour were held near the end of the year, in Winter, when time was coming to the very end of world order, chaos was growing stronger, the borders between worlds of living and dead were fading, and ancestral spirits would return amongst the living. This ancient celebration of Velja noc (Great Night) still persists in folk customs of Koleda, which can happen anywhere from Christmas up to end of February.

In pre-Christian Croatia, "koleda" was a celebration of death and rebirth at the end of December in honour of the sun and god - Dažbog, whose power once more begins to increase in those days. Krijes, meaning bonfire in Croatian, is another festival honouring the sun, during the summer at the time of his greatest strength; a celebration for good harvest.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Koliada.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Encyclopedia of Ukraine
  2. ↑ "Koleda". Slovar slovenskega knjižnega jezika [Standard Slovene Dictionary]. Slovene Academy of Sciences and Arts. 2000. 
  3. ↑ Biblioteka warszawska. 1858 s. 318, Materyały antropologiczno-archeologiczne i etnograficzne 1826 s. 186
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