Christmas ceremonies are considered the most effective and in fact are the same integral tradition of celebration as a smart tree or gifts under it.
This should not be surprising, because on festive winter days and nights, magic seems to be dissolved in the air. Even the most notorious skeptic believes in miracles at this time. It is the mass belief in the possibility of a fairy tale that gives the festive week an incredibly strong energy that helps in the success of any rite or ritual.
What kind of rituals can be?
Rites for Christmas are absolutely everything. Whatever direction in divination they belong to, the festive week and the eve of the fabulous night itself is the best time for this.
Traditionally these days:
- guess;
- make wishes;
- perform rituals that protect against diseases;
- read various conspiracies;
- attract we alth and good luck.
Almost all traditions of Christmas divination are much older than this Christian holiday. They go back to the darkest timeswhen the life of people was just beginning to take shape, and the man himself was close to nature.
Subsequently, the rituals developed along with people, supplemented, complicated, changed. For example, an appeal to a heavenly body in conspiracies was transformed into a mention of Yarila. Of course, not in every ritual.
With the advent of Christianity, another modification of the ancient methods of divination took place. The rituals have absorbed new images that embody those forces of the universe that help to achieve the desired results. This is how angels, devils, the Star of Bethlehem, the mention of saints and specific phrases in the texts appeared in divination.
When exactly do you need to tell fortunes?
The most powerful rituals are held before Christmas. Namely, the night before him. The traditions of divination, omens, rituals and rituals adopted on the eve of Christmas in the south of Russia are described in detail in the collections of stories by N. V. Gogol.
Of course, if you go out into the street on the eve of Christmas, then you will hardly be able to catch the devil by the tail, as well as fly to the capital on it. But it is this night from time immemorial that is considered the time of rampant all evil spirits.
The explanation is simple - on this night, angels and saints descend to earth to people and roam among them. If you're lucky, then an angel or a saint can fulfill a cherished desire, or a whole list of them. Taking advantage of the lack of government, evil spirits also go for a walk.
Earlier explanations of why everything is possible on this night that on any other day you can not dream, do notpreserved. There are many versions, but their reliability is rather conditional. The meaning of all existing options for explaining the success of this period of time for magic is the same as in the time that arose in Christian times - representatives of higher powers descend to people.
Signs and rituals for Christmas are valid not only on the night before the holiday. All week before it, you can successfully tell fortunes. However, the truly magical time, made for magic, is this night.
Who should I turn to in divination?
Conspiracies and rituals for Christmas can be carried out with the help of both angels and evil spirits. For example, almost all the rituals of divination, the successful sale of goods at a festive fair, and the attraction of we alth are based on interaction with evil spirits.
It's not about the devil at all. Unlike angels, he is not so firmly entrenched in Slavic culture. Divination involves its own, native evil spirits, part of which has transformed into devils. The other part retained the primary names - brownie, wood goblin, swamp and many others. Here the stove was unlucky, the word "damn" was attached to it. Thus, the old Slavic spirit of the hearth became a furnace devil, living in a chimney and smeared with tar.
That is, when thinking about whether to turn to angels or resort to a conspiracy that remembers devils, you need to proceed only from your own perception of the rite. If you liked the description of the ritual and there is confidence that just such a divination will work, then this particular ritual should be performed.
All rituals before Christmas are effective, regardless of what forces wereaddressed and how they are carried out. The most important condition in divination is faith in one's own actions and, of course, in the possibility of a miracle.
How to make wishes come true?
The most ancient and simple rite is a request to Santa Claus, the Spirit of Winter, Santa Claus and so on. It really is. From time immemorial, not only children, but also adults have made requests to the spirit of the holiday. Such a ritual applied to any celebration - harvesting, welcoming spring and so on.
Now this ritual has been transformed into children writing a letter to Santa Claus, in the role of which, of course, the parents act, and the desires and requests themselves relate to the type of gifts.
But that doesn't mean you can't fall back on the old tradition:
- at the first midnight of the beginning of the week before Christmas, you need to go outside;
- stand facing north;
- find the brightest and moving star in the sky;
- looking at her, tell about your desire;
- thank, bow;
- go to sleep without talking to anyone.
This tradition does not provide for special texts, but one should speak simply and unambiguously.
Why do we need a paper angel?
This is a completely European Christmas tradition. If you walk through the streets of any town in Europe in winter, when there are festivities, fairs and rituals for Christmas, you can see such angels in every window.
The ritual is as follows:
- need paper cut full silhouetteangel;
- draw him one eye;
- hang in the window.
On the night before the holiday, a lantern should be left under the figure. Lantern refers to a large candle with a lampshade.
This ritual is associated with such a sign - if the candle continues to burn in the morning, it means that the angels flew past and did not look out the window. But if the light is extinguished, it means that the angels have arrived and the wishes made will come true.
How did they make angels in Russia?
The ritual of bringing angels to the window became widespread after the reign of Peter the Great. This was due not only to the large number of foreigners coming to Russia, but also to the fact that, returning from military service to their native villages, people brought not only gifts, but also new customs, habits and, of course, rituals for Christmas.
However, the ritual with a paper angel in the Slavic lands has undergone some changes. In our traditional version, the paper figure is not important, and instead of the angel, the Star of Bethlehem can be hung.
The rite is as follows:
- write a wish list, one thing is possible;
- sheet rolls up into a tube;
- a figurine or an asterisk is hung over the scroll;
- a thick and long candle is lit.
The sign associated with the ceremony was as follows - if the paper tube is unfolded in the morning, it is not so - an angel flew in and read the message.
The light of the candle served as a beacon, illuminating the right window for the angel.
How to attract we alth these days?
Christmas rituals to attract money is the most popular and extensive direction in pre-holiday divination. There are conspiracies, various rituals and other types of household divination carried out in order to attract money.
Almost everyone has heard about the ritual of washing with water that has stood at night in the cold, which should be thawed with a church candle while reading a conspiracy that mentions the saints.
However, this rite is a simplified version of an older and more complex one. The transformation happened with the beginning of a mass departure to the cities and the accompanying loss of the opportunity to tell fortunes in full force in accordance with customs.
In the villages, the Christmas ceremony for money with water was performed as follows:
- a spoonful of honey was dissolved in water;
- a polished sparkling coin was thrown into the bowl at the bottom;
- poured liquid three-quarters;
- put on the porch and went to sleep.
This was done the night before the holiday. In the morning, a bowl of frozen water was brought into the house and examined. After that, they waited until the liquid thawed, and washed it so that there was no water left. As a rule, for the ceremony they took dishes no deeper than three fingers, and water was poured into it no more than a couple of fingers. The coin was hidden in a secret pocket, from that moment on it became a talisman.
What to say when washing your face?
During such a ceremony, washing, they said a sentence for money. An example of text would be:
As I put (name)sweet water, but tempting. How bright stars flew towards her, got drunk from the frost. How good people went to her, admired the dishes. They looked and looked, as if the birds were noisy. They saw the brilliance that they did not understand. And how the hell did he understand. I saw the money. Do not take with a hoof, do not lift with a tail. So the horned devil stuck his muzzle in honey and stuck. Until the morning did not come off. Like a rooster crows, the devil wriggles, trying to get away. Nothing for him, met the dawn. It merged with water, and I (name) washed it. As the devil stuck to honey water, so everything stuck to me (name), nothing fell off. He loves money, hell, from the morning he hid in a patch. And in his pocket is a nickel, the devil sits on it like a fool. He rakes in money, attracts we alth, (name) will deliver everything to me.”
You need to speak slowly, you can use arbitrary words. The main thing is that the sentence is enough to accompany the entire process of washing and drying. Wiping off is not possible. You can’t wash off the honey water until the next morning, and the money on which the “devil sits” must always be carried with you and not shown to anyone.
What was seen in the frozen water?
The signs associated with this ceremony boiled down to two points. In order to see the outlines of a crooked devil in the frozen water and make sure there is a coin at the bottom.
If there were no coins, it was believed that this year there would be no we alth and money, on the contrary, income would decrease and the family would become poorer. By the way the devil was seen, the size of the increase in income was determined.
What to do for good luck?
Christmas rituals to attract good luck, success and other benefits from time immemorial have been no lesspopular than those that promised we alth and money.
There is an interesting ritual that was not widely used, but was very popular in the northern Slavic lands, for example, in the territories of the modern Vologda, Arkhangelsk regions.
When a Christmas tree is being transported, it doesn't matter - to the market or to yourself, you should follow the wagon. The purpose of this is to wait until a small branch breaks off from the tree and falls onto the road. You need to raise this “foot”, bow to the departing tree and go home. The bow does not have to be a waist bow, a simple movement of the head is enough.
At home, you need to take a small woven bag. Next, you should tear off a needle and, holding it in your fingers, remember something successful from your own life. One luck per pin. It can be anything, even well-cooked soup. The main thing is that luck should be your own. Remembering how someone else succeeded is impossible.
When the needles run out, the bag should be sewn up with two threads - red and green, having not completely spent them. The remaining "tails" of the threads need to be wound on the twig itself. Then it should be wrapped in the same fabric from which the bag is made and securely hidden. And always carry a bag full of needles with you. From now on, he becomes a talisman that attracts good luck.
The signs associated with this rite forbid communicating with anyone from the moment the branch is raised until the completion of the rite. It was believed that on the way back, devils disguised as people would interfere, wishing to scare away luck,given by the Christmas tree. If you can’t stand it and speak, for example, answer something monosyllabic, then you won’t see good luck this year.
Christmas rituals are very diverse, but they also have one common feature - everything that is thought of or conjured on this holiday will come true.
