Carols and Christmas carols were extremely popular ritual songs among the people. Carols are sung from December 25 to January 7. They were timed to Christmas. And donations - before the New Year (according to the old style - January 14).
Christmas carols are the oldest folklore genre. They preserve the memory of the old tribal era and are associated with the winter turning of the sun into summer, which was called the holiday of Kolyada. It was celebrated on December 25 (old style), when the night was the longest. Nature seemed to freeze at this time. It was believed that the sun was eaten by the evil Korochun - a dark Slavic deity. The goddess of the sky Kolyada was giving birth to a new sun, a little Bozhich.
there were children who did not speak for a long time, so they were given a drink of water from a ritual bell. If there was a girl in the house, she gave each caroler apples and nuts:
Farewell to us, Greek youth,
Buckwheat young man, Mr. Vasyl!
Goy, healthy, healthy, and not alone,
And not by himself, but also with a son, from mothers,
Yes, and with the father, from the mothers, and from all the children.
We wish you good health,
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,
And with this Christmas, this New Year,
This New Year, good luck,
Good income and long life.
Give you, God, happiness and health,
Happiness, health and good growth,
Father, have fun with you,
To receive your dowry,
Your dowry and happy,
Oh, be healthy!
In Western Ukrainian carols, there is an original motif of the creation of the world by demiurge birds — when doves descend to the bottom of the sea for the sand from which the earth will emerge (for example, the carol "Oh, how it was from the offspring of the world"). An old song of the Carpathian Slavs sings:
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