Winter fun with a history of thousands of years

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

On clear frosty days and blizzard evenings, winter consolidates its title of the most fun and most exciting time of the year. And now you already feel the breath of the fresh wind, swiftly skiing down the forest hill; you skate, imagining yourself to be a great figure skater, you walk through a forest grove, inhaling the aroma of frosty spruce, you provoke a friend by throwing a snowball at him.

A very famous Russian game was "taking the snow town". Whole armies fought: one attacked the fortress, the other defended it. Sometimes the teams were divided according to gender - the ladies defended the fortress, the men attacked. It was not so easy to defeat the besieged: they took brooms and shovels in their hands, poured buckets of snow onto the enemies, fired blank charges from rifles to intimidate the horses. The governor was elected to monitor compliance with the rules. At his command, the assault began and ended. If girls participated in the game, then they were assigned the role of defenders, and the guys, divided into "horses" and "riders", began the attack. Their task was to break inside and capture the female banner. If the "rider" was knocked off the "horse", he immediately dropped out of the game. According to the rules, the "warrior" who captured the banner had the right to kiss all the defenders. But they usually fought so bravely that men rarely got such happiness.

Another sporting game was also meant by "taking the town". It consisted of getting prizes from pillars dug vertically into the ground. The place for such entertainments was the area of the village or the fair. Sometimes, instead of pillars, thin bending poles were dug in, which, however, did not frighten those who wanted to compete in strength and dexterity.

A. G. Vinogradova. The procession of the Maslenitsa train, 2006

Prizes attractive to peasants - cuts of fabric for ports (which meant men's pants and clothing in general - were sewn from coarse woolen fabric and canvas or, if the owner was richer, from taffeta, silk and cloth) or a shirt, boots were fixed on top of such a structure.

From the end of the 18th century, to complicate the lifting, the pillars were poured with water in the frost. To get the reward, the daredevil had to get to it along the slippery icy vertical surface of the pillar. This occupation required endurance and patience, and not everyone succeeded. The winner was honored and rubbed with snow.

One of the winter fun in the old days was horse-drawn sleigh rides. The sleigh was beautifully decorated with leather, felt, cloth and even velvet. The front wall of the sled was made high so that the snow would not blow out during the ride. The harness of horses was decorated with metal plaques, multi-colored thread or leather tassels, paper flowers, rags of fabric and fringe; bells with different sounds, bells, silk bows were hung on painted arcs, bright scarves were tied. The sleigh was covered with variegated carpets, the horses' manes were combed or braided, and removed with ribbons and various pendants.

The fastening of numerous rustling and rattling bells and bells to the harness and arcs of horses was most likely caused by the desire they created to protect the riders in the sleigh from the influence of unknown secret forces and troubles in the coming year.

The skaters dressed up in their best outfits: covered fur coats and hats, embroidered shirts, bright sundresses and shawls, new felt boots, etc. Children of all ages also took part in the skating. The elderly skated separately from the youth.

Georgian. P. N. Maslenitsa. 1898 g.

Towards evening, all the village youth gathered around the hill. For riding, sledges, matting, skins, skins, rollers were used - wide hollowed out boards, spines - wooden troughs, reminiscent of dugout boats, short benches, turned upside down.

The children sat on the sled, several people at a time. "The guys, wanting to show the girls their prowess and youth, rolled down from the highest mountains: they sat in a nimble spine and maneuvered along steep slopes, controlling it like a boat with the help of a special short stick, or, taking a squealing girl in their arms, descended, standing On their feet. Often they made up whole "sleigh trains" of sledges, rushing from the rupture with laughter and squealing. " (I. Shangina "Russian Holidays").

Sychkov F. V. Skiing from the mountains.

Round dance games were played in the street, for example, they played "Drake and Duck": a young man who was behind the circle had to catch the girl who was in the circle. A round dance could help either a drake or a duck. As a reward for dexterity and agility, the guy, having caught the girl, could kiss her.

Sychkov F. V. Rustic carousel. 1910 g.

Probably one of the most exciting things to do in winter is ice skating. Our ancestors learned to slide on them many thousands of years ago. The front part of the Old Russian skates was really decorated with a horse's head. Skates were made from animal bones, but were rarely used due to certain inconveniences associated with the chosen material. In Russia, bone skates appeared almost 3 thousand years ago. During excavations in settlements and cities of ancient Russia - Staraya Ladoga, Novgorod, Pskov - skates were found from the bones of the forelegs of horses. They had three holes - two for attaching the skate to the toe of the shoe and one for holding the skate at the heel. Due to the lack of freedom of movement, such skates have long been considered something of a child's play. Only with the invention of wooden skates, to which metal skids were attached from below, did it become easier to skate on ice. Tsar Peter I improved their design, for the first time in the world, rigidly connecting the blade to the shoe, nailing the skates directly to the boots. Rare holiday events went without ice skating. Over the past four centuries, the wooden base of the ridge, as well as the runner, have changed mainly in their length and shape.

Alexander Moravov. Winter sport. 1913 g.

Skiing was equally delightful. And on huge snowy spaces, when a blizzard sometimes sweeps snow under the very roof, it is unthinkable to get food and even just go to a neighbor's house without skis! The oldest ski discovered in the Pskov region is 4300 years old! Downhill riding - what could be more fun and breathtaking. I was able to slide down a steep hill on skis and not fall - here you are a hero, a role model.

Any fun in Russia demanded dexterity and courage from its participants, whether it was descending from the river bank on a sled, turning on a "bird-three" through a winter forest, or taking a snow fortress. Why don't we also take an example from them? After all, many of these fun are popular today. Everyone, without exception, is captured by the spirit of the Russian winter. In addition, outdoor activities give health and vitality to the body!

Balakshin E. G. Downhill. 2007