"A sad time, eyes of charm…" - this is how Alexander Pushkin wrote about autumn. When did this time come for different peoples? The dates of the arrival of autumn according to the old calendars are different. The thing is that the "autumn" - so called the arrival of autumn - was celebrated several times.
Osenins
The first autumns were celebrated after the harvest, on September 14: they held festivities dedicated to mother earth, thanking her for a good harvest, which provided the family with food for the whole year. It was also customary to renew the fire on autumn days: the old one was extinguished and a new one was mined with the help of flint. The dates of the arrival of autumn according to the old calendars coincide with the holidays of the solar calendar among the Slavs.
The second autumn was celebrated on September 21, later they began to coincide with the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The autumn equinox was coming.
Autumn was customary to meet on the banks of a river or lake. In the mornings, women went ashore with oatmeal totreat Osenina. In her honor, they sang songs, danced, danced round dances, after the celebration they broke bread into pieces and gave it to livestock.
September 27 marked the third autumn, later this day coincided with the Ex altation. It was also called the snake day. It was believed that on this day all the animals and birds went to winter in Iriy. According to the beliefs of the Slavs, this country is in the seventh heaven, after death the souls of animals and people go there.
Dates of the arrival of autumn according to the ancient calendars of the peoples of the Urals
In the Perm Territory, they believed that the Maryin root plant could protect from a snake bite on this day, it was customary to wear it around the neck, and later they began to wear it together with a pectoral cross. In M. Vlasova's dictionary "Russian Superstitions" there is such a mention: if you meet a snake, shake it by the tail, then it will not touch you and will not crawl away anywhere. The dates of the arrival of autumn according to the ancient calendars of the peoples of the Urals are also timed to the harvest festivals and depend on the agricultural calendar.
In 325 AD, the First Ecumenical Council on September 14 was established as the beginning of the year. According to some legends, it was in September that the creation of the world took place.
The dates of the arrival of autumn according to the old calendars in Russia and significant autumn holidays
21 September was the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Both in the old days and today, people believe that the Blessed Virgin delivers from pain, misfortune and sorrow. She is also considered the patroness of children, an assistant to women in childbirth.
Semyonov day acceptedcelebrate September 14, according to the folk calendar, this is the day of Simeon the Stylite. Until the 17th century, this day marked the beginning of the new year.
The Ex altation of the Life-Giving Cross was celebrated on September 27th. At this time, it was customary to install crosses on churches and temples under construction, it was also customary to install roadside crosses.
The Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos fell on October 14th. According to the church calendar, this day is associated with the appearance of the Mother of God to believers. It happened in the 10th century in one of the temples of Constantinople. And according to folk traditions, this day was associated with the completion of work in the fields and the arrival of winter, the appearance of the first snow cover. There is another interpretation regarding the appearance of this holiday. It was believed that in one village the wandering Mother of God was not allowed to spend the night. Then the angry Prophet Elijah sent thunder, downpour, hail and fiery arrows at them, but the Mother of God took pity on the people and saved the village from destruction with her cover.
November 14 was celebrated Kuzminki - the day of Demyan and Kuzma. It was considered a girl's day. It was on this date that brides were appointed, the girls arranged evening gatherings, prepared festive dishes. On this day, the girl was considered a full-fledged mistress in the house.
Church and folk calendars
From all of the above, it can be seen that the dates of the arrival of autumn according to the old calendars coincide with church holidays. The Nativity of the Virgin, which is celebrated for six days, falls on the Slavic holiday of autumn, which is celebrated for a whole week.
The calendar of the Slavs was rather agricultural, this is reflected in the names of the months, customs, signs. The latter were often associated with the seasons, terrain and climate. So there was some disagreement about the date of the arrival of autumn. According to ancient calendars, the same months were called differently by different peoples: for example, both November and October were called leaf fall.
Autumn holidays in Tatarstan
The dates of the arrival of autumn according to the ancient calendars of the peoples of Tatarstan do not have clear boundaries, since they are not tied to the national agricultural calendar. But still, there are several holidays associated with the arrival of autumn.
Sembele is a holiday of labor among the Tatars, rooted in antiquity. On this day, they celebrated the harvest from the fields, people rested after hard work. Boys and girls looked closely at each other - it was believed that Sambele preceded the wedding season. On this day, they laid tables, danced and sang songs.
The Salamat holiday is very similar to it, it was also timed to coincide with the harvest. Unlike Sambele, this day was not organized for festivities, but was celebrated in the family circle. The main dish is a pastry made from wheat flour fried in milk - salamat, perhaps hence the name of the holiday.
