Who is the Snow Maiden and where did she come from? The main characters of the New Year. Where did Santa Claus and the Snow Maiden come from? The ancient image of Santa Claus and its meaning for the ancient Slavs

Unlike the main New Year's magician, the "granddaughter" does not drink, does not bring gifts, but much bears Santa Claus oversaturated with "magic".

But who is the Snow Maiden anyway, and what secrets does this New Year's image hide?

The first and most amazing secret of the Snow Maiden lies in her absolute uniqueness. Of course, the modern Russian Snow Maiden can have Belarusian, Ukrainian and even Kazakh sisters, however, in fact, they are all a continuation of one image, which was finally formed along with the Soviet tradition of celebrating the New Year.

So, there are no analogues of the Snow Maiden in the world, except for the dubious image of the wife of Santa Claus.

Moreover, unlike Santa Claus, the Snow Maiden is not recorded in the Russian folk rite.

Despite this, the Snow Maiden has been with us for a long time - from the very moment when the fairy tale about the girl from the snow appeared in Russian folklore, who came to life.

The film "The Snow Maiden" directed by Pavel Kadochnikov. Lenfilm. 1969 THE USSR. In the photo: Evgenia Filonova as the Snow Maiden. Photo: www.russianlook.com

Of course, at that time this girl had nothing to do with either the New Year or gifts.

According to one version, the story of the Snow Maiden directly comes from the funeral rite of Kostroma.

The Slavic ritual of the funeral of Kostroma was a farewell to winter and at the same time a request to the forces of nature for the fertility of the land. According to one version of the ceremony, the effigy of the girl was drowned in the river, according to the second, they were burned at the stake, like Shrovetide. In another version, Kostroma drank wine to death at a merry feast, which makes it very close to all lovers of New Year's table gatherings.

One way or another, but the forerunner of the Snow Maiden Kostroma was dealt with quite deliberately. And the death of a girl made of snow while jumping over a fire is, if you like, a lighter version of the ritual story.

If Kostroma, who was also the goddess of fertility, had, according to the Slavs, a rather contradictory character, then the Snow Maiden initially looked like a kind and naive girl.

Climbing history

The Russian collector of folklore translated the Snow Maiden from folklore into literary characters Alexander Afanasiev, who in 1867 placed the tales of the Snow Maiden in the second volume of his study "The Poetic Views of the Slavs on Nature".

In 1873, the playwright Alexander Ostrovsky, inspired by the work of Afanasyev, wrote the play The Snow Maiden. In this story, the Snow Maiden appears in the image familiar to us today - a pale blonde in white and blue winter clothes. It is here that the Snow Maiden first encounters Santa Claus, who turns out to be her ... dad. And the mother is Spring-Krasna, who could not resist the male charisma of a gray-bearded magician. However, Ostrovsky’s story of the Snow Maiden is sad: left in the care of people, she becomes a victim of misunderstanding and jumps over the fire.

It is interesting that Ostrovsky's play was received very coldly, and it is not known what career the Snow Maiden would have had if the composer had not joined the case in 1882. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. His opera based on the play "The Snow Maiden" was a wild success, after which the ice girl began to move towards the status of the second New Year's person.

Even in the pre-revolutionary period, Russian teachers began to use the image of the Snow Maiden in Christmas tree scenarios. True, as a rule, we are talking about staging certain scenes from Ostrovsky's play with her participation. Also, the figurines of the Snow Maiden begin to hang on the Christmas tree as a decoration.

And yet, at that time, the Snow Maiden remained an exclusively secondary character. A decisive transformation came in 1935, when the New Year was officially celebrated in the Soviet Union.

Now the Snow Maiden has become the "right hand" of Santa Claus, an intermediary in communication between him and the children at matinees. At the same time, for a reason that is not entirely clear, their related status has changed. If Ostrovsky's Snow Maiden was the daughter of Father Frost, then in the new version she appeared as his granddaughter.

Father Frost and Snow Maiden with children on the Christmas tree. Photo: RIA Novosti

Although it cannot be ruled out that this Snow Maiden is actually the daughter of the one who melted while jumping over the fire. In any case, the Soviet Snow Maiden had no tendency to melt.

At the celebration of the New Year, 1937, Father Frost and the Snow Maiden first appeared together at the Christmas tree in the Moscow House of Unions. It is interesting that then the Snow Maiden appeared in the form of a little girl and only after some time she “grew up”.

Terem on Lagernaya street

It is quite possible that this change in texture was due to purely practical considerations - after all, students of theater schools and aspiring theater artists coped with the roles of hostesses of children's matinees much better than elementary school students.

Unlike Santa Claus, the fate of the Snow Maiden hung in the balance for some time - for example, during the war period, this image disappeared from the New Year holidays.

The Snow Maiden was saved by two famous Soviet writers - Lev Kassil And Sergei Mikhalkov. It was they who wrote the scenarios for the Kremlin Christmas trees in the early 1950s, and made Grandfather Frost's granddaughter an obligatory participant in the performances. Only after that, the Snow Maiden finally "staken out" a place for herself near the Christmas tree.

The Snow Maiden is so kind and harmless that she is constantly being held hostage by various evil spirits that have material claims to Santa Claus. In my memory, the Snow Maiden only once took the initiative in her own hands, helping out grandfather. In the cartoon “When the Christmas Trees Are Lighting up”, the atypically determined Snow Maiden went on a sleigh to the capital in order to bring back the gifts lost by Santa Claus. And she coped with her task perfectly.

The Snow Maiden is now an independent girl, and she has her own residence, located in Kostroma. It was in these parts, in the Shchelykovo estate, that the playwright Alexander Ostrovsky and wrote a play about the Snow Maiden. "Terem Snegurochka" in terms of the number of visitors may well give odds to the residence of Father Frost in Veliky Ustyug.

The only oddity regarding the Snow Maiden's habitat is her Kostroma address - Ded Moroz's granddaughter lives on Lagernaya Street, house 38.

Distant relatives or just acquaintances?

The most stubborn seekers of Western analogues believe that the Snow Maiden has something in common with St. Lucia, who in Germany and Scandinavia during the period of the ban on the cult of saints and, in particular, St. Nicholas, acted as a Christmas presenter of gifts to children. In the countries of Scandinavia and Finland, the feast of St. Lucia, celebrated on December 13, has survived to this day, and serves as a kind of eve to Christmas.

There is also the Italian Befana, either an old woman or a young woman, who comes to the children on the night of the Epiphany, and lays out gifts for obedient children in pre-prepared socks. For bad children, Befana puts ashes in their socks. By the way, this lady is also well known to Russian children - Gianni Rodari described a slightly modified image of her in his "Journey of the Blue Arrow".

Malanka is also mentioned, participating in the pre-New Year ceremonies of Bassarabia, Podolia and Galicia.

However, all these ladies, of course, cannot be compared with our unique and inimitable Snow Maiden, who every year relieves children of embarrassment in front of a gray-bearded magical old man, and then resignedly delivers Father Frost, who has taken a sip, to his monastery. That is why the Snow Maiden is exclusively our character, in which every Russian woman can see herself.

For babies Santa Claus- this is a kind and cheerful magical hero who comes in the New Year and is able to fulfill any desire. Of course, we, adults, no longer hope that Santa Claus will fulfill all our desires, but this wizard is a memory of the magical moments of the New Year from childhood.

But who is Santa Claus?

There are several versions of the origin of Santa Claus, here are some of them.

Initially, Santa Claus was not a kind magician from a fairy tale, as we know him now, and it was not his job to please us and our children with gifts. There are prototypes of Santa Claus, which were found in Russian folk tales - Morozko, Moroz Ivanovich, Grandfather Studenets. Frost was the master of the forests, he wandered through his possessions and with the help of his magic staff plunged the forest into hibernation. And in cities and villages he painted windows with frosty drawings. And the main task of Frost was to look after and help animals and plants in the frosty months of a harsh winter.

According to another version, the prototype of Grandfather Frost was a real person named Nikolai, who was born in the 3rd century AD in a wealthy family and later became a bishop. Due to his wealth, he had the opportunity to help the poor and he showed special care to the kids. After the death of Nicholas, they were canonized as saints. In Russia, Saint Nicholas is called Nicholas the Wonderworker. This saint did a lot of good and wonderful things for children (Orthodox people celebrate St. Nicholas Day - December 19).

Nicholas the Wonderworker surrounded by children.

But back to our Santa Claus. He also has a granddaughter, whose name is Snegurochka. She always accompanies her grandfather and is his assistant in all his good and magical deeds. The image of the Snow Maiden first appeared in the play by A.N. Ostrovsky "Snow Maiden", but there she is presented as the daughter of Father Frost and Spring Krasna. But after a while, the Snow Maiden began to be considered the granddaughter of Santa Claus.

Gorgeous Snow Maiden

Now not one morning dedicated to the New Year does not pass without the participation of Santa Claus and the Snow Maiden. And the Russian Santa Claus lives in the city of Veliky Ustyug (in 1999 Veliky Ustyug was officially named the birthplace of the Russian Santa Claus), and November 18th Russia celebrates Father Frost's birthday.

In every country there is a relative of Santa Claus, on whose shoulders lies the creation of a magical holiday. Here are some of them:

England - Father Christmas

In Italy, Santa Claus is generally a woman - Befana. She arrives on the eve of the holiday on a magic broomstick, opens the door with a magic key and fills stockings with gifts while everyone is sleeping.

Grandfather and granddaughter began to come to the children for the New Year holidays only at the end of the 19th century.

Many people think that Santa Claus is of Russian origin, and his family tree goes back to the image of a frosty old man from Russian folk tales. This is not entirely true, or rather, not at all. It is sometimes mistakenly believed that Father Frost and the Snow Maiden have been companions of festive New Year trees since ancient times, but this happened only at the end of the 19th century. In the legends of our ancestors, there was Frost - the lord of the winter cold. His image reflects the ideas of the ancient Slavs about Karachun, the god of the winter cold. Frost was represented as a small old man with a long gray beard. From November to March, Frost always has a lot of work. He runs through the forests and thumps with his staff, which causes bitter frosts. Frost rushes through the streets and paints the windowpanes with patterns. It freezes the surface of lakes and rivers, pinches the nose, gives us a blush, amuses us with fluffy snowfalls. This image of the winter ruler is artistically developed and embodied in Russian fairy tales in the images of Grandfather Student, Grandfather Treskun, Moroz Ivanovich, Morozko. However, although these frost grandfathers were not without a sense of justice and compassion and sometimes gave gifts to kind and hardworking people wandering into their domain, they were not associated with the arrival of the New Year and the distribution of gifts was not their main concern.

The prototype of Santa Claus is a real person from Asia Minor

The prototype of the modern Santa Claus is considered a real person named Nikolai, who was born in the 3rd century in Asia Minor (on the Mediterranean coast) in a wealthy family and later became a bishop. Having inherited a considerable fortune, Nicholas helped the poor, the needy, the unfortunate, and especially took care of the children. After his death, Nicholas was canonized. In 1087, pirates stole his remains from the church in Demre, where he served as a bishop during his lifetime, and transported them to Italy. The parishioners of the church were so outraged that a big scandal erupted, which, as contemporaries would say, unwittingly performed the function of advertising. Gradually, from a saint who was known and appreciated only in his homeland, Nicholas became an object of veneration for all Christians in Western Europe.

In Russia, St. Nicholas, nicknamed Nicholas the Wonderworker or Nicholas of Myra, also gained fame and worship, becoming one of the most revered saints. Sailors and fishermen considered him their patron and intercessor, but this saint did especially a lot of good and wonderful things for children.

Nisse. Norway.

This is how the tradition of preparing stockings or shoes for gifts appeared.

There are many traditions and legends about the mercy and intercession of St. Nicholas in relation to children, which are common in Western Europe. One of these stories tells that a certain poor father of a family could not find the means to feed his three daughters, and, in despair, was going to give them into the wrong hands. Having heard about this, St. Nicholas, having made his way into the house, put a bag of coins into the chimney. At that time, the old, worn-out shoes of the sisters were drying in the stove (according to another version, their stockings were drying by the fireplace). In the morning, the amazed girls took out their old shoes (stockings) filled with gold. Is it necessary to say that their happiness and exultation knew no bounds? Kind-hearted Christians tenderly retold this story to many generations of their children and grandchildren, which led to the emergence of a custom: children put their boots on the threshold at night and hang their stockings by the bed with the expectation of receiving gifts from St. Nicholas in the morning. The tradition of giving gifts to children on St. Nicholas Day has existed in Europe since the 14th century, gradually this custom moved to Christmas night.

Uzbek Santa Claus with Snow Maiden.

How Santa Claus Came to Be

In the 19th century, together with European emigrants, the image of St. Nicholas became known in America. The Dutch Saint Nicholas, who was called Sinter Klaas in his homeland, reincarnated as the American Santa Claus. This was facilitated by the book by Clement Clark Moore, The Coming of St. Nicholas, which appeared in 1822 in America. It tells about the Christmas meeting of a boy with St. Nicholas, who lives in the cold North and drives around on a fast reindeer team with a bag of toys, giving them away to children.

The popularity of the kind Christmas "old man in the red coat" among Americans has become very high. In the middle of the 19th century, this Saint, or Pere Noel, became fashionable even in Paris, and from France the image of Santa Claus penetrated into Russia, where Western European culture was not alien to educated and wealthy people.

Russian Santa Claus

Naturally, it was not difficult for a Christmas grandfather to take root in Russia, since a similar image has been present in Slavic folklore since ancient times, developed in Russian folk tales and fiction (N.A. Nekrasov’s poem “Frost, Red Nose”). The appearance of the Russian frosty grandfather absorbed both ancient Slavic ideas (an old man of short stature with a long gray beard and a staff in his hand), and features of the Santa Claus costume (a red fur coat trimmed with white fur).

Russian Santa Claus.

Where does Frost's granddaughter Snegurochka come from?

This is a brief background of the appearance on the Christmas holidays, and later on the New Year trees, of the Russian Santa Claus. And it is all the more pleasant that only our Santa Claus has a granddaughter Snegurochka and she was born in Russia.

This pretty companion began to accompany grandfather on New Year's trees only from the end of the 19th century. She was born in 1873 thanks to the fairy tale play of the same name by A.N. Ostrovsky, who, in turn, artistically reworked one of the versions of a folk tale about a girl fashioned from snow and melted by warm sunlight. The plot of the play by A.N. Ostrovsky differs significantly from the folk tale. Here the Snow Maiden is the daughter of Frost. She comes to people from the forest, enchanted by their beautiful songs.

Many liked the lyrical, beautiful story about the Snow Maiden. The well-known philanthropist Savva Ivanovich Mamontov wanted to put it on the home stage of the Abramtsevo Circle in Moscow. The premiere took place on January 6, 1882. Costume designs for her were made by V.M. Vasnetsov, and three years later the famous artist makes new sketches for the production of the opera of the same name by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, created on the basis of the play by N.A. Ostrovsky.

Two more well-known artists were involved in creating the appearance of the Snow Maiden. M.A. Vrubel in 1898 created the image of the Snow Maiden for a decorative panel in the house of A.V. Morozov. Later, in 1912, N.K. presented his vision of the Snow Maiden. Roerich, who participated in the production of a dramatic play about the Snow Maiden in St. Petersburg.

The modern appearance of the Snow Maiden has incorporated certain features of the artistic versions of all three masters of the brush. She can come to the Christmas tree in a bright sundress with a hoop or bandage on her head - as V.M. saw her. Vasnetsov; or in white clothes woven from snow and down, lined with ermine fur, as M.A. depicted her. Vrubel; or in a fur coat that N.K. put on her. Roerich.

Yakut Santa Claus.

The story of a girl from the snow who came to people became more and more popular and very well "fit" into the programs of the city's Christmas trees. Gradually, the Snow Maiden becomes a permanent character of the holidays as an assistant to Santa Claus. This is how a special Russian custom of celebrating Christmas with the participation of Santa Claus and his beautiful and smart granddaughter is born. Father Frost and the Snow Maiden entered the public life of the country as obligatory attributes of the meeting of the upcoming New Year. And the Snow Maiden still helps her grandfather, who has long been elderly, to amuse the children with games, dance around the Christmas tree, and distribute gifts.

By the way

What is Santa Claus called in different countries

• Australia, USA - Santa Claus. The American grandfather wears a cap and red jacket, smokes a pipe, travels through the air on reindeer, and enters the house through a pipe. Australian Santa Claus is the same, only in swimming trunks and on a scooter (you know, it's hot on the first of January in the country of kangaroos).
• Austria - Sylvester.
• Altai Territory - Sook-Taadak.
• England - Father Christmas.
• Belgium, Poland - Saint Nicholas. According to legend, he left golden apples in a slipper in front of the fireplace to his family. It was a very long time ago, so St. Nicholas is considered the very first Santa Claus. He rides a horse, wearing a miter and a white episcopal robe. He is always accompanied by the Moorish servant Black Peter, who carries a bag with gifts for obedient children behind his back, and in his hands - rods for naughty ones.
• Greece, Cyprus - Saint Basil.
• Denmark - Ületomte, Ülemanden, Saint Nicholas.
• Western Slavs - Saints Mikalaus.
• Italy - Babo Nattale. In addition to him, the good fairy Befana (La Befana) comes to obedient children and gives gifts. The naughty people get a piece of coal from the evil sorceress Befana.
• Spain - Papa Noel.
• Kazakhstan - Ayaz-ata.
• Kalmykia - Zul.
• Cambodia - Ded Zhar.
• Karelia - Pakkainen.
• China - Sho Hing, Sheng Dan Laozhen.
• Colombia - Pascual.
• Mongolia - Uvlin Uvgun, comes accompanied by Zazan Ohin (Snow Maiden) and Shin Zhila (boy-New Year). New Year in Mongolia coincides with the festival of cattle breeding, so Santa Claus wears the clothes of a cattle breeder.
• Netherlands - Sanderklaas.
• Norway - Nisse (small brownies). Nisse wear knitted caps and love tasty treats.
• Russia - Father Frost, Father Treskun, Morozko and Karachun rolled into one. He looks a little stern. He wears a fur coat to the ground and a high hat, in his hands he has an ice staff and a bag of gifts.
• Romania - Mosh Jerile.
• Savoy - Saint Schaland.
• Uzbekistan - Korbobo and Korgyz (Snow Maiden). On New Year's Eve, a "snow grandfather" in a striped robe rides into Uzbek villages riding a donkey. This is Corbobo.
• Finland - Joulupukki. This name was not given to him in vain: "Youlu" means Christmas, and "pukki" - a goat. Many years ago, Santa Claus wore a goat skin and delivered gifts on a goat.
• France - Ded January, Pere Noel. The French "Father January" walks with a staff and wears a wide-brimmed hat.
• Czech Republic - Grandfather Mikulas.
• Sweden - Kris Kringl, Yulnissan, Yul Tomten (Yolotomten).
• Japan - Oji-san.

None of us can imagine a New Year's holiday without the participation of its main characters - Grandfather Frost and his granddaughter Snegurochka. If you think that Santa Claus is a native Russian character whose main concern is New Year's gifts, then you are very mistaken. In the legends of ancient Rus', there were similar figures: for example, the lord of the winter cold Frost, Morozko. It was believed that Frost roams the forests and knocks with his mighty staff, which causes bitter frosts in these places, vilifies the streets, which causes plain snow-frost drawings to appear on the windows. Our ancestors imagined Frost as an old man with a long gray beard. However, New Year's gifts were by no means the main task of Frost. It was believed that all winter, from November to March, Frost had a lot to do, he carried his patrol through the forests and fields, helping plants and animals to adapt to the harsh cold winter. We can find especially many prototypes of Grandfather in Russian folk tales: these are Morozko, Moroz Ivanovich, and Grandfather Studenets. However, these characters were not associated with the celebration of the New Year. Their main concern is to help nature and people. Suffice it to recall the wonderful tale of Samuil Yakovlevich Marshak "Twelve Months".

But today's Grandfather Frost, the same New Year's character has its own prototype. They consider a man named Nicholas, who lived in the III century AD on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. According to legend, Nicholas came from a fairly wealthy family and was happy to help all the poor and needy, and also took special care of the kids. After the death of Nicholas, he was canonized and canonized as a saint.

There is a legend according to which Nikolai accidentally overheard the complaints of a poor peasant who had to be so tight that he was going to give away his daughters. The poor man was very distressed, but he saw no way out, as he suffered from extreme poverty. Nicholas made his way into the peasant's house and stuffed a large sack of coins down the chimney. At that time, the stockings and shoes of the daughters of a poor peasant were drying in the oven. You can imagine the indescribable joy of the girls when the next morning they found their stockings and shoes in the oven, stuffed to the brim with gold coins ... Since then, in many European countries it has become a custom to hide little surprises "from St. Nicholas" in stockings for their kids. We also have a tradition of hiding gifts - "Nikolaychiki" under the pillow. Children always wait for such gifts and rejoice at them. However, gradually the tradition of giving gifts moved to Christmas in Western countries and New Year in the countries of the former Soviet Union. It is noteworthy that in most Western countries, the New Year is a less significant holiday than Christmas. It is not celebrated on such a grand scale, not the tradition of exchanging gifts on New Year's Eve. And some people don't notice it at all.

In our country, on the contrary, the New Year is considered the main holiday. And on this day, Santa Claus, together with his assistant Snegurochka, give all the kids New Year's surprises. It is known that writing the so-called "letters to Santa Claus" is very common among children, in which the kids promise to behave well and ask Santa Claus for what they want most at the moment.

It is known that in almost every country Frost is called differently. The Americans and the British - this is Santa Claus, who comes at Christmas, in France - Pere Noel. In Finland - Yollupuk.

However, there is one feature that distinguishes the Russian Santa Claus from the most advantageous side. Only he has a granddaughter and she is called the Snow Maiden. The Snow Maiden appeared at the end of the 19th century, thanks to A.N. Ostrovsky and his fairy tale "The Snow Maiden". However, in the fairy tale of the same name, the Snow Maiden acted as the daughter of Frost. The Snow Maiden lived in the forest and went out to people, fascinated by the beautiful music she heard from them. Later, the famous philanthropist Savva Mamontov, fascinated by the image of the Snow Maiden, staged the performance on the stage of his home theater.

Also, such famous artists as M.A. Vrubel, N.K. Roerich, V.M. Vasnetsov. The famous Russian composer N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov dedicated an entire opera to this attractive fairy-tale character.

Today, Santa Claus and the Snow Maiden are the favorites of all the kids. They are looking forward to the cherished moment when Santa Claus and the Snow Maiden enter their house and give everyone long-awaited gifts.

Interesting facts about Santa Claus. Story.

A small percentage of people know that Santa Claus became who he is because of the existence of a very specific and living prototype. In the 4th century, Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker (in the Catholic and Lutheran versions - Saint Nicholas or Claus) lived and did charitable deeds in Asia Minor.

Grandfather Frost was originally an evil and cruel pagan deity, the Great Elder of the North, the lord of icy cold and blizzards, who froze people, this was reflected in Nekrasov's poem "Frost - Red Nose", where Frost kills a poor young peasant widow in the forest, leaving her minors as orphans children. Grandfather Frost first appeared at Christmas in 1910, but he did not become widespread.

In Soviet times, a new image was spread: he appeared to children on New Year's Eve and gave gifts; this image was created by Soviet filmmakers in the 1930s.

In December 1935, Stalin's comrade-in-arms, member of the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR Pavel Postyshev published an article in the Pravda newspaper, where he proposed organizing a New Year celebration for children. In Kharkov, a children's New Year's party was solemnly organized. Santa Claus comes to the holiday with his granddaughter - the girl Snegurochka. The collective image of Grandfather Frost is based on the biography of St. Nicholas, as well as the description of the ancient Slavic deities Zimnik, Pozvezda, and Karochun.

The unlike nature of the pagan deities laid the foundation for the behavior of Grandfather Frost - at first he collected sacrifices - he stole children and carried them away in a bag. However, over time - as it happens - everything changed, and under the influence of Orthodox traditions, Grandfather Frost became kinder and began to give gifts to children himself. This image was finally formalized in Soviet Russia: Grandfather Frost became a symbol of the celebration of the New Year, which replaced in the ideology of atheism the most beloved by children in pre-revolutionary Russia, the holiday of the Nativity of Christ. The professional holiday of Santa Clauses is celebrated every last Sunday of August.