Koliada (deity)
Koliada or Koleda (Bulgarian: Коледа, romanized: Koleda) is a Slavic mythological deity personalizing the newborn winter infant Sun[1] and symbolizing the New Year's cycle.[2] The figure of Koliada is connected with the solar cycle, (the Slavic root *kol- suggests a wheel or circularity) passing through the four seasons and from one substantial condition into another.
Koliada | |
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![]() God Koliada by Andrey Mazin |
In the different Slavic countries at the koliada winter festival people performed rituals with games and songs in honour of the deity - like koleduvane. In some regions of Russia the ritual gifts (usually buns) for the koledari are also called kolyada. In the lands of the Croats a doll, called Koled, symbolized Koliada.[3] In the ancient times Slavs used to sacrifice horses, goats, cows, bears or other animals that personify fertility. Koliada is mentioned either as a male or (more commonly) as a female deity in the songs.[2]
In modern culture
There are many traditions that recall both the deity and the ritual of Koliada. All of them are on or around Winter Solstice:
- Koleduvane is a ceremony with pagan roots that is still performed on Christmas Eve in many Slavic countries.
- Koleda is the modern Bulgarian word for Christmas.
- Koliadka, Koliada or Kaleda is a traditional song usually sung in Eastern Slavic countries (Belarus and Ukraine) only on Orthodox Christmas holidays, between the 7 and 14 of January
- Crăciun is the Romanian and Karácsony - the Hungarian word for Christmas. They are both derived from Korochun/Krachun - one of the names of the pagan holiday Koliada, although neither Romania nor Hungary are Slavic countries.
- Kalėdos is the Lithuanian word for Christmas.
There are Slavic neopagan communities in most of the Slavic countries whose goal is to popularize ancient pagan belief and practice in present-day society.
Some Slavic pagan rock and folk rock bands have songs about Koliada:
- Song of the Russian folk band Ivan Kupala, called Kolyada [4]
- Song of the Russian pagan metal band Arkona, called Kolyada [5]
- Song of the Belarusian pagan metal band Kolo Pravi - Goy Kolyada [6]
- Song Kolyada of the Russian band Veter vody
- Song Kolyada of the Ukrainian female singer Iryna Fedyshyn[7]
- Song Kolyada my of the Ukrainian female singer Iryna Fedyshyn[8]
- Song Kolyada-kolyadka of the Ukrainian female singer Iryna Dolya[9]
See also
- Slavic deities
- Slavic mythology
- Koledari
References
- България, славянски богове in Bulgarian
- Мифы народов мира (второe издание)/изд. "Советская Энциклопедия"/Москва/1987, том 1/стр.665
- Мифологический словарь/Гл.ред. Е.М. Мелетинский - М.:'Советская энциклопедия', 1990 г.- 672 с.
- "List of the songs from the album Kostroma from the official site of the band Ivan Kupala". Archived from the original on 2013-11-02. Retrieved 2014-12-23.
- List of songs from the album Noch' Velesova (The Night Of Veles) of the Russian band Arkona in Encyclopaedia Metallum
- Demo album of Kolo Pravi from 2009
- Iryna Fedyshyn. Ukrajina koljaduje! (Ukraine Singing Carols!)
- Apple Music Preview. Iryna Fedyshyn
- Kolyada-kolyadka Iryna Dolya
External links
- Koliada // Russian mythological calendar
- Kozlov, M.М. God–baby Koljada in pagan consciousness of east Slavs