Rusalia Week
Also called Green Sviatki, these are festivals that fall in the period between Spasovden’ and the Feast of the Trinity (between 40 and 50 days after the Great Day). These feasts are dedicated to Lada – the older of the two Rozhanitsy, and they are commonly considered to mark the transition between spring and summer. This complex of feasts and rituals traditionally celebrated Lada (and/or Mokosh). A procession of young people, both married and unmarried, parades through the settlement. The procession stops near every abode, at which point couples join hands, and raise them to form a bridge. A young girl with colorful ribbons braided into her hair is lifted up, and walks across this bridge, while all assembled people chant “Lada! Lada! Oy Lada!” When the girl gets to the end, the procession moves on to the next house, and the ritual is repeated. At the end of the procession, the women engage in incantation and fortune-telling. These divinatory rituals are called Green Sviatki (because unlike ‘White’ or regular Sviatki, they take place in conditions when nature has come back to life). On the edge of the field, they chant for the grain to grow, while after retiring to individual houses, they attempt to divine the identity of the young women’s future husbands. At this time, people of the same or opposite sexes also form long-term bonds with one another, promising to become godparents to one another’s children. On the Spas or Evangel’ days during this period (varies by region), birch saplings are planted in memory of the dead. Conversely, young birche “maypoles” are also cut down, decorated, paraded around the settlement, and then case (as an offering) into a body of water. Given the proximity of the Other World at this time, some people also use this opportunity to establish contacts with rusalki, or to propitiate their lord Pereplut by pouring libations of beer into the water. Swimming during this time, however, is prohibited, as are excursions into the woods, for the nechist’ that lives there often kill people at this time. Skomorokhi frequently visit villages at the time of Rusalia. They pipe to placate the spirits and ensure a good harvest, and also lead the populace in songs, dances, and games (which can verge on becoming orgies).
In places where the Old Faith remains strong, Lada’s feast is celebrated on 23rd Traven’ (to dissociate it with the liturgical calendar).
Rusalia Week was being celebrated in Krinets when the Yokels returned from the Otherworld. The presence of many refugees in the city simultaneously with the ongoing revels put many people, as well as the authorities, on edge.
Related Ethnicities
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