What is Christmastide? These are holy days, or more precisely, a whole complex of the winter period, which consists of 12 holiday dates. As they say, it lasts “from the star to the water.” That is, it begins at the time when the first star appears on Christmas Eve, and continues until the consecration of the water for Epiphany. Since ancient times, many traditions and customs have been associated with such a period as Christmastide. When do the festivities begin, what are the traditions and customs, and how do people tell fortunes at this time? All answers to questions are presented in the article. Not only will we take a closer look at what Yuletide is, but we will also learn a little history regarding this magical period.
The history of the appearance of Christmastide
The tradition of holy days between the two greatest religious holidays was established in the 5th century. How did this happen? How did you start celebrating Christmastide? The Feast of the Epiphany began to be widely celebrated in the church back in the 4th century, and it happened on January 6th. This day was dedicated to three gospel events: the Nativity of Christ, the adoration of the Magi, and the Baptism of Christ. However, by the end of the 4th century, some churches in the East began to celebrate Christmas on December 25, separate from Epiphany. As a result, in 451, separate celebrations of this date were allowed within the Christian church, but officially established for all 12 holy days between Christmas (Epiphany) and Epiphany. This is how Christmastide came into being. Not everyone celebrates it in January, but almost everyone knows about this special period.
Magical power of the period
For each person, this time is associated with different traditions. What are Christmastide for believers? This is primarily a visit to temples, fasting, an opportunity to cleanse yourself and get rid of sins. What is Christmastide for most people? This is a fun and stormy period associated with ceremonies, rituals, and festivities. According to legends, during Christmas time the old solar year ends and a new one opens. It is on these days that it is activated, incomprehensible and mysterious events occur constantly. It is believed that the souls of dead people are close to the living at times such as Christmastide. When fortune-telling begins, rituals that can predict the future, lift the veil over the unknown.
Celebration traditions
In the old days, on the very first day of Christmas time, a fire was lit and kept going until the end of the period. Even today, in some rural settlements, people are happy to maintain the traditions of their ancestors. That same evening everyone dressed up in festive attire, sang, danced, and went from house to house singing carols. It was believed that such rituals would give the owners of the house a good harvest and prosperity next year, so carolers could enter any house without knocking. Who wants to live poorly?
There is also a tradition of not sweeping rubbish out of the house from Christmas Eve until January 14, and then all the garbage must be burned at once. During this period, special attention was paid to dreams. It was believed that Christmastide is a time of prophetic visions.
A little about holidays
Christmas with carols and dresses was described a little above, but one cannot help but say what the other days of the period are marked with. For example, on January 8, women in labor and midwives should be honored. This is logical - Christ has just been born, which means we need to pay tribute to all women who give birth to children, and those who are also involved in this action.
On January 11, the memory of the infants killed by Herod was honored. The Church mourned the 14,000 martyrs who were killed by order of the king who wanted to destroy Jesus.
On January 16, it was customary to turn to the brownie for help and support. The Lyuli were sure that it was on this day that evil witches spoiled livestock, and only a small bearded brownie could help.
Christmastide ends on January 19, the feast of Epiphany. To this day, an ice hole is made in reservoirs in the shape of a cross, then it is blessed by a priest, and then everyone can swim there.
Fortune telling for your betrothed on Christmastide
During this period, as we have already said, many were not averse to turning to dark forces to find out answers to their questions. Young girls especially often gathered together and told fortunes about their betrothed, although this could also be done alone at home. Let's look at the most popular fortune telling for one's betrothed during Christmas time.
Buy a deck of cards
This fortune telling should be done the night before Christmas. Before going to bed, the girl should take the card out of the deck and place it under her pillow. This night, as always, the lady should look great. Therefore, before going to bed, you need to comb your hair, wash your face, even apply it. After this, you should wholeheartedly turn to higher powers, ask them for your betrothed to come into your dreams that night. Now you can go to bed. It is believed that the person you see in your night dreams will become your destiny.
The bow will help you find out the name
This fortune telling will be especially useful for those representatives of the fair sex who have several candidates for the role of their betrothed, but it is difficult to choose the best one among them. To do this, you need to take as many bulbs as you have suitors, and sign them or mark them in some way so that each vegetable is “responsible” for a specific man. On the first day of Christmas time, place the bulbs in water and wait until the first one sprouts. Once this happens, look at the signature. Whose name appears on this vegetable, that person will be the betrothed. Fortune telling has enormous power and significance, since the whole process takes place during the magical Christmas time, which means that the reliability of fortune telling is very high.
The rooster will tell the future
This method is suitable for those girls who like to tell fortunes not alone, but in a company, and this can be done on any of the festive evenings, although, of course, preferably on Christmas. So, all representatives of the fair sex who want to find out about their future betrothed should get together in one house and “count themselves.” Then you need to scatter wheat or any other grain that you feed your bird on the floor. At midnight the rooster must be “called” into the house. Now all that remains is to watch him carefully. If he gets hungry and eats absolutely all the grains, then the girl who spilled the food on the floor will wear a wedding dress this year. If the bird is full, and a certain number of grains are still left, then the one whose number corresponds to the number of grains absorbed by the bird will marry. But if the rooster is not hungry and does not eat at all, then the fortune-telling will have to be repeated next year, since none of those present will be able to wear the bride’s outfit this year.
Fortune telling with hair
This method is suitable for those girls who are already dating a guy and are making plans for the future, but something haunts them, some doubt lives in their hearts. It’s better to tell your fortune for Christmas time and be calm about your fate. Just stock up on a hair from your groom’s head in advance. So, take a shallow bowl, pour water into it, add a pinch of ash, sugar and salt. Mix everything thoroughly and set aside for a while to allow the liquid to “calm down.” As soon as this happens, put your betrothed hair and yours into the water. Now hide the container from prying eyes until the morning, and then interpret the result. If the hairs are not only nearby, but even intertwined, then you should be the bride of this young man. If they are far from each other in the water, then it’s not in vain that you were worried; the relationship is not destined to develop further.
Guess, have fun during this period, create your own customs!
Winter holiday has centuries-old traditions on Russian soil that are associated with the mysticism and pagan roots of our ancestors. It is worth saying that Christmastide has a long history of origin and development, overgrown with traditions and rituals. Christmastide has long been the main and most cheerful winter holiday in Rus', and the festivities lasted for half a month.
“Svyatki” or “holy days” start with Christmas Eve, which falls on the sixth of January, and ends on the coming of the nineteenth of January. On Christmastide, according to tradition, it was a sin to work so as not to cause trouble for yourself and your loved ones. But this was already in the times of developed Christianity, and before that, during the times of paganism in Rus', there was a similar winter holiday dedicated to the supreme heavenly god Belbog, who also had the name “Svyatovit”, from the root of the Old Slavonic word “sviatki”, that is, “soul” ancestors." On these days, according to popular belief, the souls of the departed returned to earth from another world, but in addition to them all kinds of evil spirits came, and witches on these days organized their own Sabbaths to amuse the infernal patrons.
On Christmastide, it was customary to guess about the future, perform magical rituals, recite spells for the year ahead, and use Christmas signs to find out the fate of the harvest, family, and home. Of course, the opportunity to peek at their future could not but arouse keen interest among girls, so they, traditionally, told fortunes about their betrothed. Until now, many young people are not averse to telling fortunes the night before Epiphany.
During the yuletide winter period, it was believed that Kolyada, the embodiment of the birth of the sun, was passing through Rus'. On the night of the Kolyada holiday, the Slavs lit huge bonfires, moreover, from sacred fire obtained in an ancient secret way, and they were supposed to burn for exactly twelve days. The fires were surrounded by smartly dressed young people, they danced around them, told fairy tales, asked each other riddles, sang and had fun, jumped over the flames, and rolled a set fire wheel down the mountain. But most importantly, the youth “dressed up” - they dressed up in sheepskin coats turned upside down, hiding their faces behind masks, which was symbolic and was perceived as a renewal of Mother Nature. In the evenings, dressed up, they went from house to house singing carols, they quoted jokes, amusing the owners, wished them prosperity, health and wealth, and they had to treat them with ritual food.
It was believed that to the extent that the owners of the house where the mummers came with carols were generous to their guests, then they would have such prosperity in the coming year. This was the most striking ritual event in Rus'. The holy days began with it. Caroling is an exciting theatrical spectacle that takes place to the accompaniment of special themed songs and wishes to the owners of the house. It was customary to carol at Christmastime on the night before Christmas, on New Year’s Day, or as it was called “Vasil’s Day” in those days, as well as on Christmas Eve before Epiphany. Christ was glorified, mainly by children and youth, and sometimes by adult men, walking around the village from house to house, carrying a Christmas star in their hands.
The main holidays during Christmas time were Christmas, New Year, Epiphany, as noted above. It is clear that these days, against the backdrop of ongoing public festivities, were celebrated more solemnly. In the evening, ritual meals were held in every house, during which people ate ritual food, and what was left on the table from dinner was placed on the threshold or window so that the souls of their deceased parents could be treated to it. This ritual was called “feeding the ancestors.” Christmastide days were divided into “holy” and “terrible” evenings. In the first week after Christmas, they had fun on Christmastide, because these were “holy” evenings, when they could have fun at night - dancing, sleigh rides, playing snowballs, and on the “scary” evenings in the second week after Christmas they told fortunes.
Christmastide was replete with rites and rituals, thanks to which our ancestors wanted to appease the souls of the dead so that they would bring prosperity to everyone. Of course, many rituals had purely everyday overtones. To increase the fertility of livestock, on the eve of Christmas they baked “kozulki” - small livers in the form of figures of animals and birds. To make life happy next year, the sheaf was placed in the red corner - under the icons, for this purpose straw was poured on the floor of the hut, the remains of the kutya from Christmas Eve were given to chickens, and trees in the gardens were tied with multi-colored ribbons. On the morning of Christmas and New Year, the boys had to perform a sowing ceremony in every house in the settlement. The child entered the house and scattered grains, accompanied by a song congratulating the owners on the New Year holiday. The performance of such a ritual, according to our Slavic ancestors, guaranteed a rich harvest next year.
As with any other folk holidays in Rus', many signs were associated with Christmastide. They said that if the day on Christmas day is warm without frost, then a cold spring should be expected. It was believed that God would punish those who sin by working on Christmastide: those who weave bast shoes - with sick cattle, those who sew clothes - with blind cattle, those who make rockers and runners for sleighs - with barren cattle. Of course, people did the main housework, but within the framework of what was permitted by Christmas traditions.
But young people were completely freed from work during Christmas time and were only busy having fun and looking for a mate. Every evening during the holy days, with the exception of Christmas Eve, young people organized games, so boys and girls could notice each other, and even prepare for marriage. At gatherings, they dressed up in outfits and masks and played games.
Christmas fortune-telling has become a distinctive feature of winter holidays in Rus'. Fortune telling was performed in every family: adults told fortunes about the harvest, young people told fortunes about marriage. The girls gathered in the evenings in one house and arranged fortune-telling, trying to find out: will they get married this year, who will be the groom, what will their fate be like? The guys also wondered about their betrothed.
When Christianity was established in Rus', the holiday of Christmastide changed its sacred meaning. The Russian Church condemned folk festivals; it spoke especially harshly about fortune-telling, caroling, and mummery. But the Russian people loved the winter holidays so much that they were unable to give up this fun, so they decided to veil the pagan roots of the holiday under the morality of Christianity. The holiday of Kolyada, revered by the people, was transformed into the Nativity of Christ. The Church was able to convince people that carrying out many traditional rituals of Christmastide and fortune-telling is a sin for an Orthodox Christian, but still a trick was found here: the time from Christmas Day to Epiphany was considered possible for fortune-telling, because sins could be washed away in the ice hole, which On the feast of Epiphany, they cut down rivers in a cruciform shape, and they plunged there to wash away the sins of amusements and fortune telling during Christmas time. And, in general, fortune telling is no longer called an unclean act; it has become ordinary pampering.
Time has passed, and the meaning of the ancient pagan traditions of the holiday of Christmastide has finally been erased from people’s memory, since now the Russian people glorify the Nativity of Christ, the mercy of the Lord, who showed the miracle of Epiphany to the world. Of the traditions and rituals of the Christmastide days of pre-Christian Rus', in our time only carol songs, fun and fortune-telling remain, but they are perceived only as winter folk entertainment accompanying the ancient folk holiday of Christmastide.
Russian Christmastide is a period of time usually associated with the so-called winter solstice. They usually open the people's solar year. Currently, Christmastide is celebrated throughout Russia and, as a rule, is considered a youth holiday. The favorite entertainment of young people during this period is carols and various fortune telling. But how did young people in Rus' spend their holy days? Let's talk about all this in more detail.
What kind of holiday is this - Christmastide?
What are holy days? This is a whole festive complex of Slavic origin. The Yuletide period consists of 12 (according to the number of months) and lasts from the appearance of the first star (on the eve of the Nativity of Christ, on Kolyada) until the famous holiday of Yuletide has such a Christian tradition.
What is Christian tradition in this case? It's simple! Under the influence of the Christian church in Rus', the original Slavic holiday - Christmastide - merged with many January Christmas rituals. All this led to the fact that it began to be celebrated according to the church calendar - from the Nativity of Christ (on the first star) to the Epiphany.
Christmastide in Rus' has always been divided into 2 periods: and terrible evenings. The first period began on Christmas Day and lasted a week. The second began immediately after the first and continued until Epiphany. If everything is clear with the holy evenings, then why did terrible evenings begin after them?
The fact is that in the old days, Russian peasants blindly believed in evil spirits. They believed that before the Epiphany of the Lord, a dark force begins to walk on the earth so that smoke comes out like a rocker. True, not everyone understood that the role of evil spirits was played by young boys and girls who were actively playing mischief on these holidays. For example, on Christmastide it was customary to plug chimney pipes with something, and also to roll firewood around the courtyards of civilians.
How were Christmastide in Rus'?
In the old days, village youth began to prepare in advance for a series of January holidays. Girls and boys wanted to have as much fun as possible these days. Their favorite pastime was, of course, the legendary caroling. By the way, we owe this custom to the ancient pagan god - Kolyada. So, how did the chants go during the winter Christmastide?
For the carols to be successful, young people had to walk around the villages holding a star glued together from silver paper in their hands. Girls and boys knocked on different houses, and when the doors were opened for them, they joyfully sang (caroled) and congratulated the owners on the current holidays. In return, the guys received some kind of edible (and not so edible) gifts.
In the old days, it was customary not only to give gifts to caroling youth, but also to hospitably invite young men and women into your home, seating them at your table and treating them to Christmas dishes. What can I say: it was a pleasant job - caroling on Christmastide!
What are Christmas masquerades? Let's find out more about this.
Masquerades for Christmastide
On the second day after the Nativity of Christ, the so-called Christmas masquerades began. Each of the guys tried to make themselves some kind of original face mask. For example, boys dressed up as wolves and bears, and girls dressed up as chickens and goats. The essence of such a masquerade was to dress up as skillfully as possible: no one in the entire village should recognize you!
To do this, it was necessary not only to sew an animal costume, but also to put on a fair amount of makeup. The guys rubbed their cheeks with black soot, tied a long washcloth to their chin, attached a mustache under their nose, attached horns to their heads, cut out fang teeth from turnips, etc. Then a whole horde of costumed youth wandered through the villages, singing and dancing, scaring the children. Passers-by tried to discern their friends, children, and grandchildren in them. Whoever was recognized was obliged to take off his mask.
The most important thing to do during the holidays
What else are winter holidays famous for? Of course, fortune telling! You can't think of a better time for this. As you know, young people in Rus' were known for their enviable zeal for knowing their immediate future: young men and especially curious girls loved to lift the veil of the mystery of their fate on Christmas Day.
The girls, for example, were eager to know when their wedding day would come and who their grooms were. The guys, in turn, were interested in the character of the future bride, her external data. At this time, young people mainly gathered in churches, baths and at so-called evening parties, in a word, in places intended for fortune telling.
Fortune telling and sub-songs
Christmas time in January is known for many fortune-telling events; it is simply impossible to list them all, so we will tell you only about one. One of the most striking Christmas fortune-telling was the so-called divination with sub-dish songs. The girls had to dress up and sit on benches along someone's hut. Young men sat opposite them. Between them stood a table with a tablecloth laid on it. A huge dish of water was placed on it.
You had to throw your jewelry into this dish: earrings, rings, rings. When a girl threw, for example, a ring into the water, she had to make a wish and sing a song. Such songs were called subblyudnye. When the song ended, the young men shook the dish, after which they pulled out one decoration from there. Based on the content of the sung underwater song, the future fate of the owner of this decoration was judged.
So, in this article we learned what Christmastide was like: what this holiday is, how and when it was celebrated. But there is something we don’t know yet! For example, at one time in the Russian Empire there was a law according to which on holy days it was strictly forbidden to “play games according to ancient idolatrous legends”, as well as “to perform dances in the streets and sing seductive songs, dressing up in idol and demonic clothes.” Fortunately, now all this is a relic of the past.
Holy Week is the days between the birth of Christ and his baptism. Not everyone knows what date Christmastide begins and how many days it lasts. And Christmas Eve begins on Christmas Eve on January 6 in the evening after the first star rises in the sky, the final final date is Epiphany on January 19. As a result, the Yuletide period lasts 2 weeks, right up to the Epiphany itself.
In 2018, Christmastide also begins with the Nativity of Christ and continues until Epiphany Eve. In the church calendar, this is an important winter holiday in Rus'. There are many beliefs associated with Christmas. The holiday week in 2018, as in other years, will begin on Christmas Eve on January 6th.
From January 6, from the beginning of Christmas time, the souls of the dead return to our world of the living. From this day on, evil spirits are activated. On holy days, witches hold a sabbath, go wild and have fun with the unclean. But, besides this, on these important Christmas days, in which a miracle is possible.
Magic rituals can begin when the holiday week begins. Fortune telling and rituals for Christmastide for the betrothed are the most popular these days. Christmastide in Rus' lasts 2 weeks: holy week from the evening of January 6 to January 13 (Old New Year), as well as January 14 to 19 -a terrible week, right up to Epiphany. These days are best suited for fortune telling, ceremonies, divination, and rituals. Christmas fortune-telling will help you find out the future, and rituals will help you shape and attract the desired development of events in the coming year.
What to do on Christmas time: traditions
The Nativity Fast ends on January 6th. On this day you can already drink a little alcohol. On the first day, they visit relatives and friends. People come to visit with congratulations and gifts. It is also customary to thank loved ones for their care and love. Do it sincerely, with all your heart.
Christmastide begins to be celebrated on January 7th. You can start the meal the day before, January 6, when the first star rises. At least 12 dishes are placed on the table.
Another tradition is “Yuletide tales”; in the evenings the whole family gathered in a close circle, invited guests and told tales. There are entire collections of folk stories. Among them you can find original works. Tales were distinguished by mystery, the presence of magic, and miraculous events always took place in them.
During the day on holy days, it was customary for people to go sledding down the hills. And after Christmas time, brides and grooms were matched together, the period of matchmaking began.
In the last days of the holy week, they prepared for Epiphany. They made an ice hole in nearby reservoirs. The ice hole had a special shape - a cross.
Throughout the holiday period, you should analyze your income, draw up a budget, and do planning. It is also customary to carry out various fortune telling for Christmas and Christmastide.
What not to do on Holy Week
Popular wisdom put forward a number of requirements that prohibited performing certain actions on holy days.
- You can't count money. It is especially prohibited to count small coins. You will attract tears.
- You cannot sew, embroider, knit in the evening before holidays, or on holy days, otherwise there will be a lot of worries throughout the year that will be difficult to cope with.
- You cannot buy real estate, start new businesses, or open a business during the holiday weeks. At this time, evil spirits are active, they can ruin all your endeavors and bring disaster.
- You can't do hard work.
- It is forbidden to baptize children and get married.
- 7, also on Epiphany on January 19, it is forbidden to guess so as not to lose your luck.
Christmas time fortune telling, superstition
The most suitable time for fortune telling, various predictions and rituals is Christmastide. These days in January, information about the future is open. Every year, young girls and boys used it for Christmas fortune-telling, although this was not approved by the church. Information about upcoming events was available because in the week from Christmas Eve until Epiphany, spirits descend to earth, and through them it was possible to get answers to people’s questions.
Fortune telling is a fascinating and extraordinary way to find out your future. To be precise, fortune telling means prediction. Since ancient times, man wanted to know what awaited him ahead. For this purpose, he used various available means. What motivates people in this case? ...
Fortune telling in Christianity is considered a sin, but on Christmastide one could tell fortunes about grooms, find out about the future harvest, and predict the weather. And then the sins were washed away at Epiphany in an ice hole.
Yuletide fortune-telling was especially popular with young girls of marriageable age; they really wanted to know whether they would get married, what kind of husband they would have. Adults also wondered; they learned about their future. During Christmas time it was allowed to tell fortunes in certain places. Baths, vegetable gardens, verandas, and crossroads were used for this sacred event. In the house it was possible to come into contact with evil spirits only at night, and for protection it was necessary to light candles.
Christmastide fortune telling at home
If you are interested in the topic of fortune telling and prediction, then you should try popular folk techniques. Fortune telling during the Yuletide period is carried out at home; for this you should prepare the attributes in advance, study the technique, choose a place and make sure that no one disturbs you.
Fortune telling for Christmas time, prediction on wax
Want to know your future? For Christmas fortune-telling, prepare white paraffin candles and leftover wax candles, metal dishes, a deep cup, fire, and water.
Place the candles in a bowl, place the container on the fire and wait until the wax and paraffin melt. Pour the melted wax into another white container filled with water. Wait until the figure freezes. It is used to look at the future of the person being guessed at. There are the following interpretations of cast wax figures.
Interpretation of wax figures
- Home - replenishment, prosperity, for a virgin - early marriage.
- Ruins are a misfortune in life in the coming year.
- Cave, pit - predicts serious illness, death.
- Rock - obstacles on the way, in the work begun.
- Heart – love, mutual understanding.
- Tree - if its branches are raised up, then joyful events are expected in the near future, drooping branches promise melancholy, sad news.
- Flower - joy, success, brilliant prospects.
- Ring - wedding soon.
- A candle or a church dome is a wedding.
- Damn, which also fell to the bottom - protracted girlhood, obstacles to marriage.
- A dog, an animal with an open mouth - impending trouble.
- Angel - receiving help from above.
- A dog, a horse's head - a faithful friend, support for loved ones.
- Drop – cash replenishment, payments.
- The star is an ambulance of the Higher powers, all problems in life will be solved by themselves;
- Ship - changes, travel, changes in the financial, spiritual, personal spheres;
- The horseshoe is a harbinger of successful transactions.
- Turtle - slowdowns in business.
- Rooster - it's time to act.
- Snake - duality: curled up in a ball - there is a person who is watching you, if the snake is active - aggression towards the one who is telling fortunes.
- The bear is a strong helper, protector; Teddy bear is a caring period.
- Mouse - empty bustle, fussiness, fear.
- Caterpillar - complete collapse, failure.
- Spider is cunning and cunning.
- A hare is a danger for a man, but a gift for a woman.
- Pig – correct actions, deferred profit (true).
- Hedgehog - the intensity of relationships with people, a certain person.
- Waves – quick decisions, unexpected changes.
Christmastide fortune telling by shadow
A simple and familiar fortune telling to many. Take a sheet of newspaper; regular white A4 will do. Knead in your hands to form a ball. There is no need to knead tightly. The leaf is crumpled by the one to whom it is predicted. Then place the paper ball on a plate, it should be very flat, you can just turn the regular one over. The plate is placed next to the wall. They set the paper on fire and wait for it to burn out. Place a candle behind the plate. Look at the shadow, and they predict the future from it. The shadow is formed by burnt paper. The meaning of the figures coincides with the interpretation of the figures in wax fortune telling.
Christmas fortune telling for marriage by egg
To predict the future, on holy days in the evening you need to take a glass, pour 3/4 of water into it and beat in the white of a chicken egg. First hold it in your hands and mentally formulate the question. The glass with the protein must be placed in the oven. Preheat the oven. Wait until the whites turn white. Take it out of the glass. Now, look at the resulting figure.
If the squirrel figurine looks like:
- ring - wait for the wedding;
church dome - get ready for a wedding; - a square, a figure with right angles - expect a fatal disease;
- ship - get ready to move to another city after the wedding.
- Damn, it's a flat circle - you'll still be wearing girls for a long time.
Fortune telling about your betrothed in the mirror
All girls of marriageable age dream of one thing - to find out what their groom will be. Yuletide fortune-telling will help you predict what your husband will be like. They are held on any day of Christmastide. But our grandmothers believed that the most accurate fortune telling was on the night of the 14th, that is, 13th at midnight. This night is the best time to cast a spell on the groom.
Yuletide fortune-telling for the groom is an accurate, effective prediction ritual that is performed at mirrors. They choose a large room with a balcony for prediction, take two mirrors - one large, the other smaller. Previously, the ritual was carried out secretly in the bathhouse by girls who wanted to see their betrothed.
Preparing for fortune telling: take off the cross, tight clothes, put on a loose shirt, a dress without a belt, let your hair down, take off your shoes.
Place the mirrors as follows: a small mirror opposite a large one so that a visual mirror “corridor” is created in the large one. It will be endless. For better visibility, place lit candles on both sides of the mirror.
As soon as you approach the mirror, say: “My betrothed, in disguise, show yourself in the mirror.”
Sit quietly and peer into the mirror “corridor”. Try to focus your gaze. In about ten minutes you will see a picture of your future husband. Some people need more time for this, for example, 15-20 minutes. At the moment the image appears, sharply place a small mirror on the table with the mirror surface down and shout: “Cheer me!” Then cross yourself.
Christmas fortune telling for 4 kings for the betrothed
Ritual fortune telling for kings is a great way to find out what your husband will be like. Conducted by all girls who have not found their soulmate. To carry out this ritual you will need a deck of cards (regular, playing, new).
The technique for performing Christmas fortune telling for 4 kings and 4 jacks is as follows: Take a deck of cards, select 4 kings and 4 jacks from it, remove the rest. Before going to bed, mix kings and jacks and tuck them under your pillow. At the same time say:
Go to bed, try to remember the dreams you have that night. In the morning, as soon as you wake up, draw one card at random with your hand. If you come across:
- jack - your future husband will be young;
- king - means that the groom will be older than you in age.
As for suits, spades mean a wealthy, successful man. Cross a stranger, a new acquaintance. Worms - the chosen one will be from the circle of closest friends and acquaintances. Tambourines are a betrothed acquaintance of friends who will introduce you.
Fortune telling for wish fulfillment
They perform fortune telling during the holiday week; the night from 13 to 14 is best suited for this. There are several techniques for making wishes come true.
For cereal. Take the rice and place it on a plate. Make a wish over the cereal. State clearly without interpretation. Then take a handful of rice and lightly throw them on the table. Count the grains. If there are an even number of them, then HURRAY! Your wish will come true!
On the water: Pour clean water into a bowl. Whisper your wish. Take the cup of water to the porch or balcony, outside, preferably under the open sky. In the morning, look: you will find a hole in the water - your wish will not come true; if the surface is flat, wait for your plan to come true.
On chicken bones. Prepare the chicken. Eat a paw for dinner. Save the bones. Carefully fold them into a rag or red paper napkin. And then take it outside the gate to the street. Make a wish. The following words are said:
Place the package outside the gate and go home.
Come to this place early in the morning and check: if the bones are not in place, then the wish will not come true; if the bones are dusted with snow, then you should abandon your plan, and if the bones are untouched, then everything you planned will come true.
Methods of fortune telling at Christmas time, simple and popular
There are several ways of fortune telling on Christmas Day. In Rus', the following items were used for predictions: cereals, salt, cards, mirror, water, wax, candles. They often took coins and made predictions with the help of animals. The most popular in the village were simple methods of fortune telling at Christmas time; they were believed to be the most accurate. And in order for this to be so, you just need to believe! You all probably know the most popular fortune telling at Christmastime - throwing a boot or felt boot through a gate or out a window. Wherever your toe points, from there you can expect the groom.
Rituals on Christmas Day during the Holy Week
In the days from Christmas to Epiphany, our ancestors were always looking for signs and clues that would allow them to predict the future. Rituals on Christmas days before Epiphany were carried out with one purpose - to find out about your future. During this period, they wondered about the future groom, health, and fate. In order to see their future directly, they tried to perform the ritual and have a prophetic dream.
The ritual of “ordering” a prophetic dream was popular mainly among women. Do you also want to see a dream predicting the future, in which there will be clues and signs of fate? Remember, on holy days all the doors to the subtle world are open, so treat your dreams with special attention. Very often in the period from 7 to 19 prophetic dreams occur.
If you deliberately want to see a prophetic dream, then perform the following ritual. Take a round mirror. Place it under your pillow before going to bed. Relax before going to bed and say the following special words 3 times:
You will definitely see a prophetic dream, just don’t forget that you need to go to bed before midnight.
An original way of fortune telling for Christmas time
Among the original methods of fortune-telling at Christmastime, the following can be mentioned: pulling out a log from a woodpile, to which they approach with their backs and randomly pull out the log with their hand. If the log is straight, then the groom is good, but if it is crooked, the future husband will be clumsy and will have a flaw.
Fortune telling at the closet where clothes are stored. This method is also classified as non-trivial. This is not only an accurate but also a fun way of making predictions. Invite a boy or a girl of about 10 years old into a group of girls. The closet should contain men's and women's clothes. The child should walk with his back to the closet and then pull out one thing at random. At the same time, the child asks the question: “Whose is this?” Vying with each other, everyone who guesses must answer: “Mine.” Whoever is first is the one who gets the prediction.
If taken out of the closet:
- Suspenders - the future husband will have a big belly and a lover of food;
- tie - rich, wealthy;
- cowards - womanizer;
- scarf – with weak potency;
- pants - a cheerful joker;
- socks - a person of modest means;
- skirt - a fashionable person who follows fashion;
- gloves - “thievish”, dishonest;
- jacket or sweater– a good reliable spouse;
- hat - a smart person with high intelligence;
- shirt, shirt- sick, weak in health.
Yuletide ritual love
Holiday week is a good time to perform rituals to bring prosperity into life. These days were created just for those who did not have time to take advantage of the magic of the solstice and did not perform important rituals. Perform love rituals during Christmas time and bring joy and happiness into your life.
The Christmas ritual was performed by those who were lonely and had already despaired of finding love. Everyone who wanted to meet their soulmate and tie the knot with her performed the following ritual at midnight during the holy week. You need to go to the church, walk around it 12 times clockwise. In this case, you should turn to God for help in finding new love. It is believed that such a ritual destroys loneliness and removes vows.