Календарные обряды и обычаи в странах зарубежной Европы. Весенние праздники. XIX - начало XX в.

A côté des traits communs, des différences sont à noter dans les croyances et dans le rituel des populations diverses. Celles-là dépendent des conditions naturelles, des traditions historiques et confessionnelles. C'est, par exemple, la somptuosité spécifique de la célébration du Carnaval dans les pays romanophones qu’on peut observer; ou l’importance du Saint-Georges dans l’Europe du Sud-Est; ou l'ascendant plus marqué de l’Eglise catholique en Espagne, en Italie, au Portugal, etc.

Ces derniers temps, l’ancien contenu des rites et coutumes «de calendrier» commence à être oublié, leur caractère ecclésiastique devient de plus en plus faible. Les fêtes populaires printanières ne gardent leur importance qu’en tant que divertissements traditionnels. En partie, elles se fondent avec les fêtes purement civiles et laïques, et cela surtout avec le 1er mai, la fête international du travail.

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This volume is a continuation of the earlier book «Winter Holidays» (Moscow, 1973) and is devoted to the spring cycle of calendar rites among the peoples of the Western Europe. Both books describe folk rituals and beliefs, the historical roots of which can be traced back to the ancient times though many of them are celebrated in the frames of the Christian holidays and dates of the Church Calendar. The Spring Cycle embraces a period of annual awakening of nature — the time of main agricultural works: tillage, sowing, first spring cattle pasture.

Spring does not come to different countries at one and the same time. The same is true of the transitional period from spring to summer the time of which is conditioned by climate. This becomes still more complicated by the fact that the most important Christian Holiday — the Easter — and connected with it days of fast and holidays are determined by the Moon and not the Sun Calendar and are celebrated depending on the year in different days and months of Spring; consequently these «transitional» holidays are combined in different ways with «non-transitional» ones, adding to the variety of traditional customs and rituals. The proportion of Christian (church) and folk (heathen) elements in different holidays and customs is not equal. For example, the Ascension which comes forty days later the Easter in its essence Christian holidays and very few folk customs are connected with this day; on the contrary Carnival (Bannocks Day) is a pure folk festival which in no way could be connected by church with a Christian date; «George Day» (April, 23) is also marked with pure folk customs.

Christian Trinity and a purely secular holiday — the first of May — are very much similar by the meaning of custom but the heathen element prevails. In some holiday customs the influence of antique tradition is rather distinct.

Folk customs of almost all peoples of Europe celebrated along with the data of Spring Calendar are very much similar: setting of ritual fires (bonfires, seldom torches, candles) beliefs in cleaning and fertility qualities of water; ritual scene of destroying and doing away with something evil (death, winter) in the appearance of a straw doll; various games, disguise and jokes during carnival days; ritual usage of greens, ritual meals (including Easter eggs) and many other. The common idea of these customs is to symbolize spring awakening of nature, fertility of soil, magic influence upon nature. Erotic element takes an important place in the rituals: courtship, magic of child-bearing. Some elements of cult of dead and ancestor worship and of customs preserving from evil are also traced here.

Together with common traces one notices some peculiarities in customs and beliefs of different peoples, which depend upon environment, historical traditions and confessional affiliation. As, for example, in Roman — speaking countries Carnival is celebrated more spectacularly; in countries of south east Europe George Day is more important than in the West Europe; strong influence of the catholic church in Spain, Portugal and Italy is evident.

During recent years the old contents of calendar customs has been largely forgotten, their Christian meaning becomes weaker. Spring folk holidays preserve their importance only as traditional entertainments. Partly they coincide with civil secular holidays, as it is particularly in case with the International Labour Day — the 1st of May.

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