Currently, winter in Ukraine is primarily associated with carols, which are sung on the holiday of Christmas (January 6-8 according to the new style). But carols were once pagan songs, against which the Orthodox Church initially waged an unsuccessful struggle and banned them. However, Kolyada rites proved to be very stable in Ukraine, marked in many ways by the features of pagan beliefs, reminiscent of both honoring the newborn sun and the cult of ancestors.
Будь нам здоров, гречной молодец,
Гречный молодец, пан Василий!
Гой, здоров, здоров, да и не сам собов,
Да и не сам собов, да и с ветком, из матерей,
Да и с ветком, из матерей, да и со всев челядков.
Увенчаем тебя счастьем-здоровьем,
Щистым-здоровим и с этим Рождеством,
Да и с этим Рождеством, этим Новым Годом,
Этим Новым Годом, прибылью хорошей,
Прибылью хорошей и возрастом долгой.
Дай же тебе, Боже, счастье-здоровье,
Чисти-здоровье да и хорошую зрелость,
Отцу мать с тебя радость,
Чтобы дождаться приданого твоего,
Приданого твоего и счастливого,
О, пока здоров!
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.
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