Karachun - winter solstice

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

It was believed that on this day the formidable Karachun, the deity of death, the underground god commanding frost, an evil spirit, took over his power.

The ancient Slavs believed that he rules over winter and frost and shortens the daytime.

Servants of the formidable Karachun are bears-cranks, in which snowstorms wrap themselves, and blizzards-wolves. It was believed that, due to the bearish will, the cold winter also lasts: the bear in its den will turn on the other side, which means that the winter has exactly half the way to go before spring.

Hence the saying: "At the Solstice, the bear in the den turns from one side to the other."

The people still use the concept of "karachun" in the sense of death, death.

They say, for example: “A karachun came to him”, “Wait for a karachun”, “Ask a karachun”, “Grabbed a karachun”.

On the other hand, the word "karachit" can have the following meanings - to move backwards, crawl, "skoryachilo" - twisted, drove.

Perhaps Karachun was so called precisely because he, as it were, forced the daytime to go in the opposite direction, back away, crawl, crawling, yielding to the night.

Gradually, in the popular consciousness, Karachun became close to Frost, which chills the earth, as if plunging it into a deathly dream.

Frost is simply the master of the winter cold.

Frost was represented as an old man with a long gray beard.

In winter, he walks through the fields and streets and knocks: from his knocking, crackling frosts begin and rivers are shackled with ice.

If he hits the corner of the hut, the log will certainly crack!

His breath produces a violent cold.

Frost and icicles are his tears, his frozen words.

Snow clouds are his hair.

He very much does not like those who tremble and complain about the cold, but to the vigorous, cheerful, healthy he bestows bodily strength and a hot blush.

From November to March, Morozko is gaining such power that even the Sun is shy in front of him!

To celebrate, he covers the window panes with amazing patterns, freezes the surface of lakes and rivers so that you can ride on them, freezes snow slides and amuses honest people with snow, invigorating frost and cheerful winter celebrations.

Marossi (codfish) - evil spirits subordinate to Frost. No wonder their names are consonant!

In summer they sleep, but in winter they fall to the ground with the first snowflakes.

The Marossians run through the fields, through the forests and blow into their fists, catching up with the cold and fierce wind with their icy breath.

Their heels make the frozen ground and the trunks of frozen trees crackle, which is why people say, "the frost is cracking."

As a sign of reverence for Frost, they often erected his "idols" in winter - all the well-known Snowmen.

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