The image of the Snow Maiden from ancient times to the present day. Research work "Who is she, Snow Maiden?" Who was inspired by the image of the Snow Maiden among writers?
As a character, she is reflected in fine arts, literature, cinema, and music. And the images of the fairy tale “The Snow Maiden” in painting became the personification of the girl’s external image.
Snow Maiden: the origin of the heroine
Only Russian New Year's mythology includes a positive female hero. Despite its uniqueness, its origin is shrouded in mystery. There are three most popular theories that are not only unrelated, but also contradict each other.
The images of the fairy tale “The Snow Maiden” in fine art clearly describe all three theories.
Various family connections are attributed to the young companion of Santa Claus. She and the daughter of Big Spruce, who appeared out of nowhere: crawling out from under a spreading spruce branch. She is the daughter of Frost and Spring. Also, its appearance is associated with childless old people who, in their twilight years, started thinking about children. Ivan and Marya made a little girl out of snow, and the Snow Maiden was born.
Girl made of snow
IN AND. Dahl wrote that in Rus' snow maidens, snowmen and bullfinches were called ptah (birds) that spent the winter in the forests. In addition, he noted that they were “blockheads made of snow.” According to V.I. Dahl, these idiots had the image of a man.
It is noteworthy that Dahl’s words generally characterize all the images of the fairy tale “The Snow Maiden” in the visual arts.
The image of a girl molded from snow by old men appeared after the baptism of Rus'.
“The Snow Maiden” is Ostrovsky’s fairy tale; it is the most popular reflection of the character we are considering. However, the work is not isolated and unique.
The Russian folk tale "The Snow Maiden" shows us a heroine who was born from direct contact with a stove: grandmother and grandfather...
IN AND. Dahl in his fairy tale “The Snow Maiden Girl” presents the birth of the heroine as follows:
Mythologized image of frozen winter waters
Zharnikova S.V., ethnologist, believes that the image of the Snow Maiden found its first reflection in the god Varun. Svetlana Vasilievna explains this simply: Snegurochka is the faithful companion of Father Frost, and he dates back to the time of Varun. Therefore, Zharnikova suggests that the Snow Maiden is the embodiment of frozen (winter) waters. Her traditional attire also corresponds to her origin: white clothes combined with silver ornaments.
The Snow Maiden is the prototype of Kostroma
Some researchers connect our heroine with the Slavic funeral rite of Kostroma.
What do the images of Kostroma and the Snow Maiden have in common? Seasonality and external image (in one of the interpretations).
Kostroma is depicted as a young woman in snow-white robes, holding an oak branch in her hands. Most often shown surrounded by many people (round dance).
It is this face of Kostroma that makes her similar to the Snow Maiden. However, the straw effigy of a woman (the second image of Kostroma) also has much in common with the snow maiden. It is believed that the games end with the burning of the effigy: this means that winter is over - spring is coming. The Snow Maiden ends her annual cycle in a similar way: she melts after jumping over the fire.
What else do Snegurochka and Kostroma have in common? Kostroma is not only a female folklore image, but also a city in the Central Federal District of Russia, which is the birthplace of the granddaughter of Father Frost.
Fairy tale-play by A.N. Ostrovsky "Snow Maiden"
The Shchelykovo estate, located in the Kostroma region, is the small homeland of the playwright who wrote the work “The Snow Maiden”.
Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky’s fairy tale “The Snow Maiden” reveals the image of a girl from a slightly different side than the works of Russian folklore.
Ostrovsky tests his heroine:
- those around her (residents of Sloboda) do not understand her;
- Bobyl and Bobylikha, unlike the grandfather and grandmother from the folk tale, do not love their daughter, but use her, pursuing only one goal: profit.
Ostrovsky subjects the girl to tests: she goes through mental anguish.
Images of the fairy tale “The Snow Maiden” in fine art
“Spring Tale” by A.N. Ostrovsky came to life and acquired its melody thanks to the composer, whose name is N. Rimsky-Korsakov.
After the first reading of the play, the composer was not inspired by its drama, but already in the winter of 1879 he began to think about creating the opera “The Snow Maiden”.
Here the images of the fairy tale “The Snow Maiden” begin their journey in fine art.
The first artist to capture the image of a fabulous Russian beauty can be called V.M. Vasnetsova. It was he who designed the scenery for N.A.’s opera. Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Snow Maiden", staged at the Bolshoi Theater.
Inspired by the opera, Viktor Mikhailovich not only created the scenery for the production, but also became the author of a separate work: the painting “The Snow Maiden” (1899).
Vasnetsov is not the only artist who has brought to life the images of the fairy tale “The Snow Maiden”. Sketches of costumes and scenery are by N.K. Roerich. He designed the play “The Snow Maiden” four times.
The first versions of the design (1908 and 1912) by N.K. Roerich transported the viewer to the world of ancient pre-Christian Rus', when paganism reigned in society and people recklessly believed in fairy tales. And the 1921 production was distinguished by a more modern (for those years) vision of the plot.
M.A. also contributed a brush to the creation of the image of the Snow Maiden. Vrubel.
V.M. Vasnetsov, N.K. Roerich, M.A. Vrubel - the painters, thanks to whom the Snow Maiden “found” her snowy image: a radiant white headband on her hair, a light snow robe, belted with ermine fur, a short fur coat.
The image of the snow girl was captured on their canvases by artists: Alexander Shabalin, Ilya Glazunov, Konstantin Korovin.
V.M. Vasnetsov - images of the fairy tale “The Snow Maiden”
Viktor Mikhailovich created the image of the Snow Maiden, consisting of a sundress and a hoop on her head. It is noteworthy that the artist himself was involved in painting the girl’s attire. His brushes also belong to many parts of the scenery. Later art critics will say that V.M. Vasnetsov became a full co-author of the play.
A girl made of snow or ice.
She always comes to us on New Year's Day.
He generously distributes gifts with his grandfather,
He leads round dances and sings songs.
We affectionately call her Snegurochka.
And we look forward to your visit on this magical holiday.
There's never a dull moment with her mischief.
It's a lot of fun to celebrate the New Year with her.
It turns out that our all-powerful Santa Claus is powerful and great in everything. And one day, Father Frost and the Snowy Blizzard had a son, Snowman. When he grew up, one day the Snowman and Spring-Red had a daughter, Snegurochka.
The Snow Maiden came out to everyone - and adopted from Spring-Red the unprecedented divine beauty, and intelligence, and ingenuity.
But here is what is known about the Snow Maiden from earlier sources.
The image of the Snow Maiden appears as a character in a folk tale about a girl made of snow who came to life.
Tales of the Snow Maiden were studied by A.N. Afanasyev in the second volume of his work “Poetic views of the Slavs on nature” (1867).
In 1873, A. N. Ostrovsky, influenced by Afanasyev’s ideas, wrote the play “The Snow Maiden”. In it, the Snow Maiden appears as the daughter of Father Frost and Spring-Red, who dies during the summer ritual of honoring the Sun God Yarila. She looks like a beautiful pale blonde girl. Dressed in blue and white clothes with fur trim (fur coat, fur hat, mittens). Initially the play was not a success with the public.
In 1882, N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov staged an opera of the same name based on the play, which was a huge success.
The image of the Snow Maiden was further developed in the works of teachers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who prepared scenarios for children's New Year trees. Even before the revolution, figures of the Snow Maiden were hung on the Christmas tree, girls dressed up in Snow Maiden costumes, fragments from fairy tales, Ostrovsky’s plays or operas were staged. At this time, the Snow Maiden did not act as a presenter.
The image of the Snow Maiden received its modern appearance in 1935 in the Soviet Union after the official permission to celebrate the New Year. In books on organizing New Year trees of this period, the Snow Maiden appears on a par with Father Frost as his granddaughter, assistant and mediator in communication between him and children. At the beginning of 1937, Father Frost and Snow Maiden appeared together for the first time at the Christmas tree celebration at the Moscow House of Unions
(i.e. on the most important Christmas tree of the Soviet Union).
And further.
The story of the Snow Maiden. The Snow Maiden is a unique fairy-tale companion to the bright image of Father Frost. None of his foreign brethren has such a dear friend.
The image of the Snow Maiden is a symbol of frozen waters. This is a girl (not a girl) - an eternally young and cheerful goddess, dressed only in white clothes. No other color is allowed in traditional symbolism, although from the mid-20th century blue tones were sometimes used in her clothing. Her headdress is an eight-rayed crown embroidered with silver and pearls.
Since ancient times, people have made likenesses of humans from various materials (i.e. sculptures), sometimes imagining their sculptures to come to life (remember the ancient myth of Pygmalion and Galatea).
The image of a revived ice girl is often found in northern fairy tales. In Russian folklore of the 19th century recorded by researchers, the Snow Maiden also appears as a character in a folk tale about a girl made of snow who came to life.
The fairy-tale Snow Maiden is a surprisingly kind character.
The tale of the Snow Maiden is a unique phenomenon in the entire world of fairy tales. There is not a single negative character in the Russian folk tale “The Snow Maiden”!
Another similar unique work is the opera “Iolanta”, in which there is also not a single negative character and the entire plot is also built on the struggle of good noble heroes with unfavorable natural circumstances. But in the opera “Iolanta” the heroes (with the help of scientific achievements) win, but in the folk tale “The Snow Maiden” the heroine dies under the influence of the irresistible force of earthly nature.
The modern image of the Snow Maiden, whose name has the same root as the words “snowman” and “snow,” is a relatively recent creation of 19th-century culture.
Our divine Snow Maiden arose as a literary character.
Initial research into the folk tales of the Snow Maiden
conducted by A.N. Afanasiev
(see the second volume of his work “Poetic views of the Slavs on nature”, 1867).
Influenced by information about the fairy-tale snow girl received from Afanasyev, in 1873 A.N. Ostrovsky writes a poetic play "The Snow Maiden". In it, the Snow Maiden appears as the daughter of the Slavic gods Father Frost and Spring-Red, who dies during the festive ritual of veneration of the Slavic god of the spring sun, Yarila, who comes into his own on the Day of the Vernal Equinox (on the day of the beginning of astronomical spring, which our ancient pagan ancestors had and New Year's Day).
Many people liked the lyrical, beautiful story about the Snow Maiden. The famous philanthropist Savva Ivanovich Mamontov wanted to stage it on the home stage of the Abramtsevo circle in Moscow. The premiere took place on January 6, 1882.
Costume sketches for her were made by V.M. Vasnetsov (in a light sundress with a hoop or headband), 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, based on the play by N.A. Ostrovsky.
Two more famous artists were involved in creating the appearance of the Snow Maiden. M.A. In 1898, Vrubel created the image of the Snow Maiden for a decorative panel in the house of A.V. Morozova (in white clothes woven from snow and down, lined with ermine fur). Later, in 1912, N.K. presented his vision of the Snow Maiden. Roerich (in a fur coat), who participated in the production of a dramatic play about the Snow Maiden in St. Petersburg.
The image of the Snow Maiden was further developed in the works of teachers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who prepared scenarios for children's New Year trees. The story about a girl from the snow who came to people became increasingly popular and “fit in” very well.
to city Christmas tree programs.
Even before the revolution, figures of the Snow Maiden were hung on the Christmas tree, girls dressed up in Snow Maiden costumes, fragments from fairy tales, Ostrovsky’s plays or operas were staged. At this time, the Snow Maiden did not act as a presenter.
During the period of repressions of 1927-1935, the Snow Maiden suddenly disappeared.
The image of the Snow Maiden received its modern appearance in 1935 in the Soviet Union after the official permission to celebrate the New Year. In books on organizing New Year trees of this period, the Snow Maiden appears on a par with Father Frost as his granddaughter, assistant and mediator in communication between him and children.
At the beginning of 1937, Father Frost and the Snow Maiden appeared together for the first time at the Christmas tree celebration at the Moscow House of Unions. It is curious that in early Soviet images the Snow Maiden is often depicted as a little girl; she began to be represented as a girl later.
During the war period, the Snow Maiden was forgotten again. As an obligatory constant companion of Santa Claus, she was revived only in the early 1950s thanks to the efforts of children's classics Lev Kassil and Sergei Mikhalkov, who wrote scripts for Kremlin Christmas trees.
Father Frost and the Snow Maiden entered the public life of the country as obligatory attributes of the coming New Year. Since then, every New Year, the Snow Maiden has been given responsibilities, which Santa Claus successfully handles on his own at the American and Western European Christmas trees.
Hello. Snow Maiden, dear shy girl!
You brought us the New Year again.
Let only the good in it be remembered,
Let the evil certainly go away.
Hello, Snow Maiden, bright sun!
I came to the holiday at the Christmas tree again,
Blue eyes and a beautiful smile
She brought it to us along with gifts.
It became noisy and fun at the Christmas tree,
Together we dance around,
We are a bright New Year's song
Together with the Snow Maiden we sing loudly.
Source
http://audioskazki.net/archives/5286
http://dlux.ru/snegurochka-kakaya-ona
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The image of the fairy-tale heroine Snow Maiden was formed in the popular consciousness gradually over the centuries. It originally appeared in Russian folk tales as the image of an ice girl - a granddaughter, who was molded from snow by a childless old man and old woman as a consolation for themselves, and for the joy of people. However, there is an assumption that the fairy tale about the Snow Maiden arose on the basis of the ancient Slavic funeral rite of Kostroma. And this means we can say that Kostroma is not just the birthplace of the Snow Maiden - she is that same Snow Maiden.
Kostroma was depicted in different ways: it was either a young woman wrapped in white, holding an oak branch in her hands, walking accompanied by a round dance, or a straw effigy of a woman. Kostroma means the game character and the game itself, at the end of which Kostroma gets sick and dies, and then gets up and dances. The final episode of the game and ritual, the death and subsequent resurrection of Kostroma, gave rise to the perception of the image of Kostroma as a seasonal spirit (spirit of vegetation), which makes it similar to the image of the Snow Maiden.
In the fairy tale “The Snow Maiden Girl” by V.I. Dahl, an old man and an old woman watched other people’s children, “how they rolled lumps out of snow and played snowballs” and decided to mold themselves a daughter. “The old man brought a lump of snow to the hut, put it in a pot, covered it with a rag and put it on the window. The sun rose, warmed the pot, and the snow began to melt.” This is how the girl appeared, “as white as a snowball and as round as a lump.”
The fairy-tale Snow Maiden melts, jumping with her friends over a big hot fire, and turns into a small cloud flying into the sky.
Over time, the image of the heroine transformed in the popular consciousness: the Snow Maiden becomes the granddaughter of Father Frost and is associated with the Christmas and New Year holidays.
The Snow Maiden is a purely Russian phenomenon and nowhere else in the world does such a character appear during the New Year and Christmas holidays.
The image takes on a new color under the influence of A. N. Ostrovsky’s spring fairy tale “The Snow Maiden”. From a little girl – a granddaughter – the heroine turns into a beautiful girl, capable of lighting the hearts of young Berendeys with a warm feeling of love. It is no coincidence that A. N. Ostrovsky has her as the daughter of Frost and Spring. The compromise inherent in this contradiction makes the image of the Snow Maiden tragic, arouses sympathy, interest, and makes it possible to compare it with other fairy-tale heroes of Russian folk tales, as well as draw analogies with heroes of Russian and foreign literature.
The image of the Snow Maiden attracted many poets, writers, composers, and artists. Sketches by the artist M. A. Vrubel are known. V. M. Vasnetsov created the scenery for the production of the opera “The Snow Maiden” by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater.
N.K. Roerich turned to the design of the play “The Snow Maiden” four times on the opera and dramatic stages.
The performances were given life in theaters in St. Petersburg, London, Chicago, and Paris. B. M. Kustodiev drew sketches of the scenery for the play “The Snow Maiden”.
And each new understanding enriched the image of the Snow Maiden, making it beloved among the people. Today, the Snow Maiden as a fairy-tale symbol can attract different categories of tourists: children, youth and adult tourists, for whom it is a favorite image from childhood and provides an opportunity to take a break from their problems.
The description of the image of the Snow Maiden, compiled on the basis of her mythological, historical and literary roots, gives an idea of the significance of the topic for a wide range of people of different ages, different nationalities, and the direct involvement of Kostroma in this image.
Kostroma is the birthplace of the Snow Maiden four times:
- first birth - the emergence of an image from the funeral rite of Kostroma, which gave the name to the city,
- the second birth of the Snow Maiden - in the spring fairy tale of A. N. Ostrovsky - a writer and playwright who was born and created his creations on Kostroma land,
- third birth - filming of the film “The Snow Maiden” by director Pavel Kadochnikov in Berendeyevka (a forest park in Kostroma).
the fourth is the embodiment of the image in a living person, playing the role of the Snow Maiden, traveling with Russian Santa Claus across Russia.
The image of the Snow Maiden is not recorded in Russian folk ritual. However, in Russian folklore she appears as a character in a folk tale about a girl made of snow who came to life.
Tales of the Snow Maiden were studied by A. N. Afanasyev in the second volume of his work “Poetic Views of the Slavs on Nature” (1867).
In 1873, A. N. Ostrovsky, under the influence of Afanasyev’s ideas, wrote the play “The Snow Maiden”. In it, the Snow Maiden appears as the daughter of Father Frost and Spring-Red, who dies during the summer ritual of honoring the Sun God Yarila. She looks like a beautiful pale blonde girl. Dressed in blue and white clothes with fur trim (fur coat, fur hat, mittens). Initially the play was not a success with the public.
In 1882, N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov staged an opera of the same name based on the play, which was a huge success.
The image of the Snow Maiden was further developed in the works of teachers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who prepared scenarios for children's New Year trees. Even before the revolution, figures of the Snow Maiden were hung on the Christmas tree, girls dressed up in Snow Maiden costumes, fragments from fairy tales, Ostrovsky’s plays or operas were staged. At this time, the Snow Maiden did not act as a presenter.
The image of the Snow Maiden received its modern appearance in 1935 in the Soviet Union, after the official permission to celebrate the New Year. In books on organizing New Year trees of this period, the Snow Maiden appears on a par with Father Frost, as his granddaughter, assistant and mediator in communication between him and children. At the beginning of 1937, Father Frost and the Snow Maiden appeared together for the first time at the Christmas tree celebration at the Moscow House of Unions.
On the issue of the origin of the Snow Maiden, there are 3 versions, and the 1st and 2nd points are connected.
- image of Frost's daughter
- image of Kostroma
- symbol of frozen waters
Read more.
1. Dushechkina E.: The image of the Snow Maiden is known from a folk tale about a girl made of snow and brought to life. This snowy girl goes with her friends to the forest in the summer to pick berries and either gets lost in the forest (in which case the animals save her, bringing her home with them), or melts while jumping over a fire (apparently a Kupala fire). The last option is more indicative and, most likely, is the original one. It reflects the myth of natural spirits that die when the season changes (a creature born from snow in winter melts at the onset of summer, turning into a cloud). Here a connection is revealed with the calendar (Kupala) ritual of jumping over a fire, which is initiation (at this moment the girl turns into a girl). The Snow Maiden, as a seasonal (winter) character, dies with the arrival of summer...
Sketch for A. Ostrovsky’s play “The Snow Maiden”
Vasnetsov V. Snegurochka
It would be in vain to look for its analogues in Western New Year and Christmas mythology. Neither Malanka (participating in Galicia, Podolia and Bessarabia on December 31 in the ritual action), nor St. Katherine and St. Lucia, who act as givers among some European nations on their namesake days, nor the Italian Befana, who throws gifts into children’s shoes on the night of Epiphany, do not in any way resemble the Russian Snow Maiden, and neither of them has a male “partner.” There are no female characters associated with the New Year and the Christmas tree in the West...
2. worlds.ru: The tale of the Snow Maiden originated from the ancient Slavic funeral rite of Kostroma. Kostroma is buried in different ways. A straw effigy depicting the girl Kostroma is either drowned in the river or burned, like Maslenitsa at the stake. The word Kostroma itself has the same root as the word bonfire. The burning of Kostroma is also a farewell to winter. The ritual is designed to ensure the fertility of the land. Likewise, the Snow Maiden lived until spring and died at the stake.
Let us remember the origin of the Snow Maiden. According to many versions of the fairy tale, she is, in fact, a snow woman come to life. This means that the Snow Maiden was one of the symbols of winter/death, a force hostile to people and almost otherworldly, associated with the afterlife. After all, Kostroma also has two meanings. This is, on the one hand, an agricultural goddess whose death is necessary for the future harvest. On the other hand, Kostroma is also a pawned dead man, that is, a dead man who died an unnatural death and is dangerous for the living. According to the Slavs, a person who does not die a natural death, unexpectedly or commits suicide, turns into a special type of evil spirit - a hostage. A dead man who has been taken as a hostage lives out his allotted time on earth after death and at the same time tries in every possible way to harm people, especially his family and friends. Not only suicides become pawns, but also unbaptized babies, children cursed by their parents, and people who died from drunkenness.
The ritual of Kostroma's funeral and a similar children's game were recorded by folklorists in the Volga lands until the first half of the 20th century. In some versions of the ritual, Kostroma was depicted as suddenly dying. As a rule, she died after getting drunk on wine at a merry feast, that is, she was a hostage deceased. In one of the ritual songs it is sung like this: “When Kostromin’s father began to gather guests, plan a big feast, Kostroma went to dance. Kostromushka danced, Kostromushka played out. She drank wine and poppy seeds. Suddenly Kostroma fell over. Kostromushka died.” The fusion in the image of Kostroma of both the agrarian goddess and the hostage deceased is not at all surprising. After all, a mortgaged deceased is one of the varieties of a deceased ancestor. And the veneration of dead ancestors and the opinion that they are the embodiment of enormous power, good or evil, are characteristic of all archaic myths.
Of course, after the adoption of Christianity, which replaced paganism in Rus', the dead began to be viewed exclusively as evil, devilish forces. Very little is known about the pantheon of Slavic gods. And therefore it is difficult to say what place Kostroma occupied in it. Judging by the games with elements of ancient ritual actions that survived until recently, Kostroma could be the personification of evil forces hostile to man. Hence her role as a hostage dead man. But it could be different. Since Kostroma was burned or drowned in the name of future fertility and harvest, she could well belong to the number of dying and reborn good deities. Cults of such gods existed all over the world. Let us recall, for example, the Egyptian Osiris. Be that as it may, Kostroma was clearly a powerful creature. But its power was gradually forgotten. Over time, she herself turned from a formidable goddess into a gentle Snow Maiden. And her ceremonial burning became an accidental jump over the fire. Now the ritual significance of this whole story is forgotten. From an ancient agrarian myth grew a sad, romantic fairy tale.
There is another interpretation of Kostroma, which also relates her to the hostage dead, but gives a different history of the image.
Kostroma is the daughter of Kupalnitsa and Simargl, the sister of Kupala. One day, when Kostroma and Kupala were still small, they ran to a pure pole to listen to Sirin’s bird of death, and there a misfortune happened. The Sirin bird carried Kupala to the Dark Kingdom. Many years passed, and then Kostroma (sister) walked along the river bank and wove a wreath. The wind tore the wreath from his head and carried it into the water, where Kupala picked it up. Kupala and Kostroma fell in love with each other and got married, not knowing about their relationship, and when they found out, they decided to drown themselves. Kostroma became a mermaid or Mavka.
The image of Kostroma is associated with the celebration of “Green Christmastide” - seeing off spring and welcoming summer, rituals that sometimes take the form of funerals.
Kostroma could be depicted by a young woman, wrapped in white sheets, holding an oak branch in her hands, walking accompanied by a round dance. During the ritual funeral of Kostroma, she is embodied by a straw effigy. The effigy is buried (burned, torn into pieces) with ritual mourning and laughter, but Kostroma is resurrected. The ritual was intended to ensure fertility.
3. Version of Zharnikova S. Since the image of Father Frost originates in the ancient mythological Varuna - the god of the night sky and waters, then the source of the image of the Snow Maiden, who constantly accompanies Father Frost, must be sought next to Varuna. Apparently, this is a mythologized image of the winter state of the waters of the sacred Aryan river Dvina (Ardvi of the ancient Iranians). Thus, the Snow Maiden is the embodiment of frozen waters in general and the waters of the Northern Dvina in particular. She is dressed only in white clothes. No other color is allowed in traditional symbolism. The ornament is made only with silver threads. The headdress is an eight-rayed crown, embroidered with silver and pearls.
Snow Maiden..mythological roots
The snow girl who comes to us on New Year’s Eve is a unique phenomenon. In no other New Year's mythology, except Russian, is there a female character! Meanwhile, we ourselves know little about her...
Pedigree
They say she is made of snow... And melts with love. At least, this is how the writer Alexander Ostrovsky presented the Snow Maiden in 1873, who can safely be considered the ice girl’s adoptive father.
The true roots of the Snow Maiden's relationship go back to the pre-Christian mythology of the Slavs. In the northern regions of pagan Rus' there was a custom of making idols from snow and ice. And the image of a revived ice girl is often found in the legends of those times. A. N. Afanasyev studied the tales of the Snow Maiden in the second volume of “Poetic Views of the Slavs on Nature.” The book fell into the hands of Ostrovsky, he was inspired and wrote the play “The Snow Maiden,” where he shed light on the origins of the cold beauty.
The Snow Maiden's parents turned out to be Frost and Vesna-Krasna. The girl lived alone, in a dark, cold forest, without showing her face to the sun, she was yearning and reached out to people. And one day she came out to them from the thicket.
According to Ostrovsky’s fairy tale, the icy Snow Maiden was distinguished by timidity and modesty, but there was not a trace of spiritual coldness in her. Staying in frosty equanimity, somewhere inside the beauty was gnawing at melancholy: the Snow Maiden wanted to experience real warm emotions. But if her heart falls in love and becomes hot, the Snow Maiden will die! She knew this and nevertheless decided: she begged Mother Spring for the ability to love passionately.
Sweet femininity, revealing real courage behind fragility and trepidation - who wouldn’t be conquered by such a character? That’s why the Snow Maiden took root among people.
What she looked like was demonstrated by the artists Vasnetsov, Vrubel and Roerich. It was thanks to their paintings that we learned that the Snow Maiden wears a pale blue caftan and a cap with edges, and sometimes a kokoshnik.
Children saw her like this for the first time at the 1937 Christmas tree in the Moscow House of Unions.
Activity
The Snow Maiden did not come to Santa Claus right away. Although even before the revolution, Christmas trees were decorated with figures of a snow girl, girls dressed up in Snow Maiden costumes, and New Year’s performances were made from fragments of fairy tales, Ostrovsky’s play or Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera of the same name.
In Soviet Russia, officially celebrating the New Year was only allowed in 1935. All over the country they began to install Christmas trees and invite Santa Claus. But then an assistant suddenly appeared next to him - a sweet, modest girl with a braid over her shoulder, dressed in a blue fur coat. First a daughter, then - no one knows why - a granddaughter. The first joint appearance of Father Frost and the Snow Maiden took place in 1937 - it has been the same since then. The Snow Maiden leads round dances with the children, conveys their requests to Grandfather Frost, helps distribute gifts, sings songs and dances with the birds and animals.
And the New Year is not a New Year without the glorious assistant of the main wizard of the country.
Location
The residence of our Father Frost, as everyone knows, is located in the Vologda region, in Veliky Ustyug. The Snow Maiden does not live with him. Where?
Two places are vying for the title of “family nest” of the daughter of Frost and Spring. In the Shchelykovo estate in the Kostroma region, Ostrovsky came up with his play based on an old fairy tale - this, it seems, is the birthplace of the Snow Maiden. But in the village of Abramtsevo near Moscow, Viktor Vasnetsov was born with the image of an icy beauty. Here the artist created the scenery for the first theatrical production based on Ostrovsky’s play and, again in Abramtsevo, on the stage of Savva Mamontov’s home theater, Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera was performed for the first time.
Dilemma. But Snegurochka is mysteriously silent and does not reveal her residential address. Probably afraid of annoying reporters.
In 2006, another residence of Father Frost opened in Moscow's Kuzminki Park. A two-story house was also built here for his granddaughter. The wooden tower is made in the “onion” style according to the design of Kostroma craftsmen. They say that the Snow Maiden really likes it.
The story of the Snow Maiden
The image of the Snow Maiden is not recorded in Russian folk ritual. However, in Russian folklore she appears as a character in a folk tale about a girl made of snow who came to life.
Tales of the Snow Maiden were studied by A. N. Afanasyev in the second volume of his work “Poetic Views of the Slavs on Nature” (1867).
In 1873, A. N. Ostrovsky, under the influence of Afanasyev’s ideas, wrote the play “The Snow Maiden”. In it, the Snow Maiden appears as the daughter of Father Frost and Spring-Red, who dies during the summer ritual of honoring the Sun God Yarila. She looks like a beautiful pale blonde girl. Dressed in blue and white clothes with fur trim (fur coat, fur hat, mittens). Initially the play was not a success with the public.
In 1882, N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov staged an opera of the same name based on the play, which was a huge success.
The image of the Snow Maiden was further developed in the works of teachers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who prepared scenarios for children's New Year trees. Even before the revolution, figures of the Snow Maiden were hung on the Christmas tree, girls dressed up in Snow Maiden costumes, fragments from fairy tales, Ostrovsky’s plays or operas were staged. At this time, the Snow Maiden did not act as a presenter.
The image of the Snow Maiden received its modern appearance in 1935 in the Soviet Union, after the official permission to celebrate the New Year. In books on organizing New Year trees of this period, the Snow Maiden appears on a par with Father Frost, as his granddaughter, assistant and mediator in communication between him and children. At the beginning of 1937, Father Frost and the Snow Maiden appeared together for the first time at the Christmas tree celebration at the Moscow House of Unions.
Snow Maiden in folk art
The Snow Maiden's pedigree is unclear and dark. It is impossible to say exactly when Snegurochka established herself as the “granddaughter” of Father Frost.
In Russian folklore, in particular in fairy tales, we meet the girl Snegurushka, but she is not connected by any blood ties with the bearded winter deity.
In some Great Russian regions, a snow woman was called “Snegurka”.
Undoubtedly, the image of the Snow Maiden is a mutation and transformation of many pre-Christian beliefs, myths and customs. First of all, this applies to such holidays as Maslenitsa, Krasnaya Gorka, when the villagers called for spring, Yarilino Gulbishche, and the funeral of Kostroma. All of these holidays are united by the tradition of committing a certain improvised straw effigy to fire (earth, water). Perhaps the Snow Maiden is somehow connected with the February Kumakha: the Kostroma villagers believed that in the dense forest lives a girl Kumakha, who at the end of winter sends her sisters “to shiver people, torment a sinful body, to crush white bones.”
Russian Orthodoxy has absorbed many pagan ideas. Thus, the Orthodox holiday of the Trinity, celebrated as the day of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, in Rus' merged with the ancient Slavic holiday of Semik, associated with the veneration of the spirits of vegetation. That is why on Trinity it was customary to decorate houses with greenery, dance around birch trees, weave wreaths, and bake loaves.
Snow Maiden in literature
The most famous literary work about the Snow Maiden is the play of the same name by A.N. Ostrovsky, written in 1873.
In the drama “The Snow Maiden” (the writer defined its genre as a “spring fairy tale”) A.N. Ostrovsky makes an attempt to touch the deep roots of Russian and Slavic culture, to learn the secrets of folk mythology. The author’s first remark to the text reads: “The action takes place in the country of the Berendeys in prehistoric times.” “The Snow Maiden” by A.N. Ostrovsky is both a mystery, and a national legend, and a parable, and a beautiful utopia about a happy fairy-tale kingdom. The story of the daughter of Father Frost and Spring-Red, living among the simple and good-natured Berendeys, immerses us in the harmonious world of ancient pagan beliefs and spiritualized nature. The ending of the “spring fairy tale” is tragic: the meek Snow Maiden pays with her life for the joy and “sweet gift” of love. The merchant Mizgir, who is in love with the Snow Maiden, also dies. Everything that falls outside the usual, natural way of life is doomed to perish. It is significant that the death of the heroes does not sadden the Berendeys. Thus, conceived as an extravaganza, as a cheerful fairy-tale performance, the play grows to the limits of a deep philosophical and symbolic drama.
A Spring Tale by A.N. Ostrovsky was highly appreciated by A.I. Goncharov and I.S. Turgenev, however, many responses from contemporaries were sharply negative. The playwright was reproached for moving away from social issues and “progressive ideals.” Thus, the caustic critic V.P. Burenin complained about the emerging gravity of A.N. Ostrovsky to the false, “ghostly and meaningless” images of the Snow Maidens, Lelya, Mizgirey. In the great Russian playwright, criticism wanted to see, first of all, an exposer of the “dark kingdom.”
It is not surprising that the theatrical production of The Snow Maiden by the Moscow Maly Theater (May 11, 1873) actually failed. Despite the fact that all three troupes were involved in the performance: drama, opera and ballet, and the music for it was written by P.I. Tchaikovsky, despite the use of technical wonders: moving clouds, electric lighting, gushing fountains hiding the disappearance of the “melting” Snow Maiden in the hatch, was mostly criticized for the play. The public, like the critics, was not ready for the poetic pirouette of the author of “The Thunderstorm” and “The Deep.” Only at the beginning of the twentieth century did the dramatic plan of A.N. Ostrovsky was appreciated. A.P. Lensky, who staged The Snow Maiden in September 1900 in Moscow, noted: “Ostrovsky would have had more than enough imagination to fill his fairy tale to the brim with native devilry. But he, apparently, deliberately saved the fantastic elements, saved in order not to overshadow the enchantment of another, more complex element - the poetic one.
Snow Maiden in musical art
In 1873, music for the “spring tale” by A.N. Ostrovsky's "Snow Maiden" was written by P.I. Tchaikovsky (1840-1893). The composer's work was easy and relaxed. In three weeks, he wrote 19 numbers that made up the score of the musical performance.
Responses to the musical accompaniment of the play were mixed. A certain P. Akilov in “Theater Notes” noted that the music for “The Snow Maiden” is monotonous “to the point of putting you to sleep.” Banality and clumsiness, lack of grace and taste were discovered in the music of P.I. Tchaikovsky Cesar Cui. Perhaps this impression was contributed by the disgusting performance of the musical numbers by the orchestra under the direction of I.O. Shramek.
Today, the above assessments have been relegated to the category of historical incidents. Sunny music for the spring fairy tale by A.N. Ostrovsky cannot but evoke positive emotions. It is no coincidence that P.I. Tchaikovsky defined his plan as follows: “This music should have noticeably joyful, spring mood".
In 1900, A.T. wrote his own version of the music for the play “The Snow Maiden”. Grechaninov (1864-1956). The premiere took place on September 24, 1900 at the Moscow Art Theater. Roles performed by: Tsar Berendey - V.I. Kachalov, Snegurochka - M.P. Lilina, Lel - M.F. Andreeva.
In 1880, from the pen of N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) published the opera “The Snow Maiden” - one of the pinnacles of Russian musical classics.
The composer was completely captivated by the themes and images of A.N. Ostrovsky. Having rented a dacha for the summer in the Stelevo estate in the St. Petersburg province, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov indulged in the quiet joys of village life: he went picking mushrooms and berries, swam in the river, and helped his wife make jam. “I liked everything here, I admired everything,” the composer recalled. “Everything somehow especially harmonized with my pantheistic mood at that time and with my love for the plot of “The Snow Maiden.” Some thick and gnarled branch or stump, overgrown with moss, seemed to me to be a goblin or his home; forest “Volchynets” - a protected forest; naked Kopytetskaya Hill - Yarilina Mountain... . Until now, no composition has come to me with such ease and speed as “The Snow Maiden.”
Music by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov is permeated with the fragrance of spring, warmth and light, warmed by folk song motifs.
The first performance of the opera took place on January 29, 1882 at the St. Petersburg Mariinsky Theater. Conducted by E.F. Guide. Roles performed by: Snow Maiden Girl - F.N. Velinskaya, Vesna-Krasna - M.D. Kamenskaya, Kupava - M.A. Makarova, Lel - A.A. Bichurin, Tsar Berendey - M.D. Vasiliev, Mizgir - I.P. Pryanishnikov, Father Frost - F.I. Stravinsky.
On October 8, 1885, “The Snow Maiden” was staged in Moscow on the stage of the Private Russian Opera by S.I. Mamontova. The role of the Snow Maiden on the recommendation of P.I. Tchaikovsky was sung by N.V. Salina. This production is notable for its magnificent artistic design by V.M. Vasnetsov, I.I. Levintan and K.A. Korovin.
Opera N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov was successfully performed in the best Russian theaters. At different times, M.A. shone in the role of the Snow Maiden. Eikhenwald, N.I. Zabela, E.Ya. Tsvetkova, A.V. Nezhdanova, E.K. Katulskaya, N.A. Obukhova.
Snow Maiden in the cinema
At the end of the 1960s, the famous Soviet actor Pavel Kadochnikov realized his directorial plan - he directed the film “The Snow Maiden” based on the play of the same name by A.N. Ostrovsky. The film was released in 1970.
Roles performed by: Evgenia Filonova (Snegurochka), Pavel Kadochnikov (Tsar Berendey), Evgeny Zharikov (Lel), Irina Gubanova (Kupava), Boris Khimichev (Mizgir), Sergey Filippov (Bermyata), Natalya Klimova (Spring-Krasna), Lyubov Malinovskaya (bobylikha) , Valery Malyshev (Brusilo), Gennady Nilov (Smoking room).
Filming took place near Kostroma. On the outskirts of the city, Berendeyev Posad was built: log houses of the Berendeys, the peaked palace of Tsar Berendey.
After filming was completed, Berendeyev Posad was decided not to be dismantled. Today, Berendeyevka Park is one of the favorite vacation spots of Kostroma residents.
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Of course, our favorite New Year's characters are Father Frost and Snow Maiden. But if some semblance of our Russian pagan God Father Frost under different names exists in many countries, then the Snow Maiden is our purely Russian heritage, the product of the great and generous truly Russian spirit.
We have long been accustomed to the annual appearance of this fabulously beautiful, eternally young, cheerful and infinitely kind Russian Goddess at New Year's celebrations and every time we chant with pleasure: “Snow Maiden! Snow Maiden! Snow Maiden!" And it’s even hard to imagine that no one will respond to our call.
But here is what is known about the Snow Maiden from other, earlier sources.
The image of the Snow Maiden is not recorded in Russian folk ritual. However, in Russian folklore she appears as a character in a folk tale about a girl made of snow who came to life.
Tales of the Snow Maiden were studied by A. N. Afanasyev in the second volume of his work “Poetic Views of the Slavs on Nature” (1867).
In 1873, A. N. Ostrovsky, influenced by Afanasyev’s ideas, wrote the play “The Snow Maiden”. In it, the Snow Maiden appears as the daughter of Father Frost and Spring-Red, who dies during the summer ritual of honoring the Sun God Yarila. She looks like a beautiful pale blonde girl. Dressed in blue and white clothes with fur trim (fur coat, fur hat, mittens). Initially the play was not a success with the public.
In 1882, N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov staged an opera of the same name based on the play, which was a huge success.
The image of the Snow Maiden was further developed in the works of teachers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who prepared scenarios for children's New Year trees. Even before the revolution, figures of the Snow Maiden were hung on the Christmas tree, girls dressed up in Snow Maiden costumes, fragments from fairy tales, Ostrovsky’s plays or operas were staged. At this time, the Snow Maiden did not act as a presenter.
The image of the Snow Maiden received its modern appearance in 1935 in the Soviet Union, after the official permission to celebrate the New Year. In books on organizing New Year trees of this period, the Snow Maiden appears on a par with Father Frost, as his granddaughter, assistant and mediator in communication between him and children. At the beginning of 1937, Father Frost and the Snow Maiden appeared together for the first time at the Christmas tree celebration at the Moscow House of Unions (i.e., at the most important Christmas tree in the Soviet Union).
The story of the Snow Maiden. Snegurochka is a Russian New Year's character. She is a unique attribute of the image of Santa Claus. None of his younger or foreign brethren has such a sweet accompaniment.
The image of the Snow Maiden is a symbol of frozen waters. This is a girl (not a girl) - an eternally young and cheerful pagan Goddess, dressed only in white robes. No other color is allowed in traditional symbolism, although from the mid-20th century blue tones were sometimes used in her clothing. Her headdress is an eight-rayed crown embroidered with silver and pearls. The modern costume of the Snow Maiden most often corresponds to the historical description. Violations of the color scheme are extremely rare and, as a rule, are justified by the inability to make the “correct” suit.
The image of the Snow Maiden is not recorded in the ancient Russian folk ritual. The Snow Maiden is a relatively recent achievement of Russian culture.
Nowadays there is often a deeply erroneous, anti-scientific opinion that the image of our Snow Maiden arose from the image of a certain pagan goddess of winter and death, Kostroma.
Let us remember here that in historical science there is a term “armchair mythology”, in which well-known scattered facts are artificially “pulled by the ears”, powerfully supplemented by the “researcher’s” own imagination, and as a result a quasi-historical work in the fantasy style arises, which has nothing to do with reality . Often, such mythological scientists work under the order of authorities - local or state.
In historical science, “armchair mythology” did not arise yesterday and will not disappear tomorrow. In all sciences there have always been and are fans of inventing gags that are not related to reality. The connection between the image of the Russian Snow Maiden and Kostroma was “found” by Kostroma local historians when the Kostroma authorities decided to declare their places the birthplace of the Snow Maiden.
Note that the supposedly “ancient” ritual associated with the image was first noted and described only in the 19th century, so the antiquity of information about it is very small. Much later, from these descriptions, local Kostroma “armchair mythologists” concluded that the myth of the Snow Maiden arose from the “ancient” Slavic funeral rite of Kostroma, which was carried out by peasants in the areas around the city of Kostroma.
But let’s look at who Kostroma is in this ritual.
The word "Kostroma" has the same root as the word bonfire. According to the descriptions of 19th-century researchers, at the end of winter, peasants in the vicinity of the city of Kostroma buried the effigy of Kostroma in different villages in different ways. A straw effigy representing Kostroma, joyfully, with hooting and jokes, was either drowned in the river or burned.
From conscientious descriptions by researchers of the 19th century, it is clear that the ritual of destroying the effigy of Kostroma repeats to the smallest detail the ritual that has existed since ancient times of the festive destruction in the spring of the effigy of the annoying evil Winter-Madder, in different localities also called Morena, Marana, Morana, Mara, Marukha, Marmara.
From the descriptions of the ritual it is clearly clear that the winter goddess Kostroma is not a separate independent deity, but just a local (local) Kostroma name for the common Slavic Madder (Morana), the pagan goddess of death, winter and night.
Morana (Marana, Kostroma...) was personified in a terrifying image: implacable and fierce, her teeth are more dangerous than the fangs of a wild beast, she has terrible, crooked claws on her hands; Death is black, grinds its teeth, quickly rushes to war, grabs fallen warriors and, plunging its claws into the body, sucks the blood out of them.
The plurality of Morana-Kostroma names in the Russian language is not surprising. In the 19th century in Rus' there were still many local features of the Russian language, which by the middle of the 20th century had practically disappeared due to the introduction of a single standardized education. For example, the same ancient pagan harvest festival, traditionally celebrated on the day of the autumnal equinox, was called Veresen, Tausen, Ovsen, Usen, Autumn, Radogoshch in different parts of Russia.
Burning an effigy of Winter (Madder, Kostroma, etc.) is a farewell to a boring winter, practiced in the spring by all the peoples of Europe, including the Slavs, who in pre-Christian times had a common religion of druids/magi (among the Slavs, pagan priests-druids were called “ Magi").
In pre-Christian times, the effigy of Winter was destroyed by drowning in water or burning on the day of the vernal equinox during the pagan holiday of Komoeditsa (see details). Later, when the victorious Christian church, under pain of grave punishment, banned the pagan Komoeditsa and introduced in its place the Christian holiday Maslenitsa (in Europe called “carnival”), people began to destroy the effigy of Winter on the last day of Maslenitsa.
The ritual of burning on Komoeditsa on the day of the vernal equinox (later in Christian times - on the last day of Maslenitsa) an effigy of the annoying Winter-Madder (and not Maslenitsa, as some mistakenly believe) was intended to ensure the fertility of the lands.
Of course, there is no reason to associate the image of our Russian Snow Maiden with the image of the ancient evil and cruel goddess of winter, death and night Morana (Kostroma) - these are just ridiculous anti-scientific stretches of overly witty Kostroma local historians acting under the orders of local authorities.
It is also pointless to try to look for the roots of the Snow Maiden’s kinship in the pre-Christian mythology of the Slavs, which by the 13th century was completely and irreparably destroyed by the clergy, and about which almost nothing is now known.
In the cruel medieval times of the introduction of Christianity in Rus', conquered and enslaved by alien Scandinavian bandits-Varangians (Vikings), the Russian people lost both their mythology and the ancient Slavic runic writing, and together with the runic writing - all their historical chronicles, which were kept by the Magi. It was then that the history, beliefs and customs of the Slavs of pre-Christian times were carefully destroyed by the clergy and Varangian authorities for several centuries and became unknown.
Let's turn to the real story of the origin of our Russian Snow Maiden.
It is known that gods are once born, live in the minds of people for some time, and then die, erased from memory.
In the great Russian culture of the 19th century, the miracle of the birth of a new Goddess took place, who will never disappear from the memory of the Russian people as long as our Russian people exist.
To understand this Russian cultural phenomenon, one should not mistakenly assume that only the cunning Jewish people are capable of creating new gods, and that other peoples, in their creativity and traditions, must certainly dance to the tune of only Jewish religious fantasies. As the cultural history of the 19th and 20th centuries shows, Russian people are also not born with bast. It would be nice if Russians did not forget about this in the current 21st century.
Since ancient times, people have made likenesses of humans from various materials (i.e. sculptures), sometimes imagining their sculptures to come to life (remember the ancient myth of Pygmalion and Galatea).
The image of a revived ice girl is often found in northern fairy tales. In Russian folklore of the 19th century recorded by researchers, the Snow Maiden also appears as a character in a folk tale about a girl made of snow who came to life.
Most likely, the Russian folk tale about the Snow Maiden was composed somewhere in the middle of the 18th century, perhaps under the influence of northern tales that came through the Russian Northern Pomors, and was then interpreted in the oral works of various storytellers. This is how versions of this fairy tale appeared in Rus'.
In Russian folk tales, the Snow Maiden miraculously emerges from the snow as a living person. The great Russian playwright A. N. Ostrovsky made the Snow Maiden the Slavic Goddess in 1873, giving her the Slavic gods Father Frost and Red Spring as her parents. And as you know, gods give birth to gods.
The Russian fairytale Snow Maiden is a surprisingly kind character. In Russian folklore there is not even a hint of anything negative in the character of the Snow Maiden. On the contrary, in Russian fairy tales the Snow Maiden appears as an absolutely positive character, but one who finds herself in unfortunate environmental conditions. Even when suffering, the fairy-tale Snow Maiden does not show a single negative trait.
The fairy tale about the Snow Maiden, generated by the creativity of the Russian people, is a unique phenomenon in the entire world of fairy tales. There is not a single negative character in the Russian folk tale “The Snow Maiden”! This does not happen in any other Russian fairy tale or in the fairy tales of other peoples of the world.
The amazing Russian culture of the 19th century gave birth to another similar unique work - the opera “Iolanta”, in which there is also not a single negative character, and the entire plot is also built on the struggle of good noble heroes with unfavorable natural circumstances. But in the opera “Iolanta” the heroes (with the help of scientific achievements) win, but in the folk tale “The Snow Maiden” the heroine dies under the influence of the irresistible force of earthly nature.
The modern image of the pagan Goddess Snow Maiden, whose name has the same root as the words “snowman” and “snow,” is a relatively recent creation of the great Russian culture of the 19th century.
Our divine Russian Snow Maiden originated as a literary character.
The initial study of folk tales about the Snow Maiden was carried out by A. N. Afanasyev (see the second volume of his work “Poetic views of the Slavs on nature”, 1867).
Influenced by information about the fairy-tale snow girl received from Afanasyev, in 1873 A. N. Ostrovsky wrote the poetic play “The Snow Maiden”. In it, the Snow Maiden appears as the daughter of the Slavic gods Father Frost and Spring-Red, who dies during the festive ritual of veneration of the Slavic god of the spring sun, Yarila, who comes into his own on the Day of the Vernal Equinox (on the day of the beginning of astronomical spring, which our ancient pagan ancestors had and New Year's Day).
Later, writers and poets turned the Snow Maiden into a granddaughter - gods are not born as a result of a single creative act of an individual, but always accumulate many ideas of the people.
Many people liked the lyrical, beautiful story about the Snow Maiden. The famous philanthropist Savva Ivanovich Mamontov wanted to stage it on the home stage of the Abramtsevo circle in Moscow. The premiere took place on January 6, 1882.
Costume sketches for her were made by V.M. Vasnetsov (in a light sundress with a hoop or headband), 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, based on the play by N.A. Ostrovsky.
Two more famous artists were involved in creating the appearance of the Snow Maiden. M.A. In 1898, Vrubel created the image of the Snow Maiden for a decorative panel in the house of A.V. Morozova (in white clothes woven from snow and down, lined with ermine fur). Later, in 1912, N.K. presented his vision of the Snow Maiden. Roerich (in a fur coat), who participated in the production of a dramatic play about the Snow Maiden in St. Petersburg.
The image of the Snow Maiden was further developed in the works of teachers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who prepared scenarios for children's New Year trees. The story of the snow girl who came to people became increasingly popular and fit very well into the city's Christmas tree programs.
Even before the revolution, figures of the Snow Maiden were hung on the Christmas tree, girls dressed up in Snow Maiden costumes, fragments from fairy tales, Ostrovsky’s plays or operas were staged. At this time, the Snow Maiden did not act as a presenter.
During the period of repressions of 1927–1935, the Snow Maiden suddenly disappeared.
The image of the Snow Maiden received its modern appearance in 1935 in the Soviet Union, after the official permission to celebrate the New Year. In books on organizing New Year trees of this period, the Snow Maiden appears on a par with Father Frost, as his granddaughter, assistant and mediator in communication between him and children.
At the beginning of 1937, Father Frost and the Snow Maiden appeared together for the first time at the Christmas tree celebration at the Moscow House of Unions. It is curious that in early Soviet images the Snow Maiden is often depicted as a little girl; she began to be represented as a girl later. Why is still unknown.
During the war period, the Snow Maiden was forgotten again. As an obligatory constant companion of Santa Claus, she was revived only in the early 1950s thanks to the efforts of children's classics Lev Kassil and Sergei Mikhalkov, who wrote scripts for Kremlin Christmas trees.
Father Frost and the Snow Maiden entered the public life of the country as obligatory attributes of the coming New Year. Since then, every New Year, the Snow Maiden has been given responsibilities, which Santa Claus successfully handles on his own at the American and Western European Christmas trees. And on New Year’s Eve, theater students and actresses often worked as Snow Maidens. In amateur productions, older girls and young women, often with fair hair, were chosen for the role of the Snow Maidens.
Following our wonderful Russian New Year's tradition, now the European New Year's Grandfather has also begun to be accompanied by a beautiful granddaughter.
