Russian traditions at the birth of a child. These signs for the birth of a child will help you find out his character and fate, and the rituals will ward off trouble

The birth of a new person is a kind of sacrament. And since ancient times, people have especially celebrated this significant event, performing ritual actions and special ceremonies. The miracle of birth caused not only joy, but also fear, since people believed that at the moment of birth, the gates between the other world and this world were opened, and therefore, first of all, the mother and child should be protected from the wiles of evil spirits so that they could not harm their health and well-being.

For example, in ancient Russia, the time of the onset of childbirth was hidden until the last - they were afraid of the evil eye, and the midwife was led to the woman in childbirth in roundabout ways and gardens, so that God forbid someone would not see. The name of the newborn was supposed to be given on the same day, and the day of baptism was immediately appointed.

Unbaptized children were treated with caution, they could not be kissed, talked to, or put clothes on them (unbaptized babies were only wrapped in swaddling clothes). Moreover, in some Russian villages, the mother did not have the right to refer to her baby by name until the baptismal ceremony was performed.

Forty days were considered a particularly important period for the newborn and his mother. It was believed that at this time the child was especially defenseless against otherworldly forces, and therefore amulets and amulets were hung over his cradle, and it was undesirable for the mother to leave the house or go outside the yard - she had to be near the baby all the time.

At the birth of the heir, the inhabitants of Altai did not give fire to anyone from their yurt for the same forty days, and sometimes for a year. It was believed that this is necessary for the happiness of the child. In general, many peoples did not welcome it when strangers came into the house of the puerpera. Among the Greeks, on the doors of the house where the child was just born, they hung special "identification" signs: a wreath of olive twigs meant that a boy was born, and a headband of sheep wool said that a girl was born. Entering such a house was like defiling it.

Special ceremonies that help a child grow up healthy and strong, to put it mildly, are sometimes quite peculiar. For example, in the Indian state of Maharashta, Muslims throw newborn babies from the wall of one of the temples, the height is a mere trifle. Some 15 meters. Of course, the children below are caught on the stretched fabric. It is believed that after this procedure, all children will grow up brave, healthy and they will be lucky.

Approaching a well (river, lake), she touched the bottom of a bucket of water, and then came back, and offered her parents to buy her "find", which they did for a certain fee. Trying to confuse the evil spirits, children were given names that did not correspond to their gender, boys - female names and vice versa. Or they even gave the names of birds, animals, or inanimate objects. Often the child had two names, one was known to everyone, and the second - only to close people. This custom still takes place here and there.

Ethnographic materials testify that in all regions of Ukraine great attention was paid to traditional customs and rituals associated with the birth of a child. According to popular beliefs, the observance and implementation of the corresponding ordinary attitudes and rituals is a necessary prerequisite for the successful birth, health and well-being of the mother, child and their happy fate.

Ethnographies divide this complex of rituals into four groups: prenatal customs and rituals, the birth itself; postpartum; ritual actions, marking the "joining" of the child to the family, clan, community.

Prenatal embraces a number of ritual, magical actions and customs that were performed already during the wedding and were aimed at ensuring the fertility of spouses, the birth of sons (loosening the hair by a young boy, arranging the first bed of the young on unmilled sheaves, etc.).

The period of pregnancy was furnished with a number of amulets, warnings and beliefs. We tried to hide the pregnancy from strangers for a longer time. A woman who was expecting a child was advised to avoid meeting with cripples, sick, ugly-looking people and generally bad impressions, so that this would not be transmitted and would not affect the physical development of the fetus. She was not supposed to look at the fire and the deceased, beat animals, take something alien, get angry, swear, get angry, etc. It was believed that the mother's behavior, her psychological state directly affect the health, development, formation of the character and appearance of the child. before his birth.

The custom ordered not to refuse a pregnant woman when she asks for something to help or lend to satisfy, when she wanted (wanted) something to eat, drink. Recommendations, amulets, norms of behavior of a pregnant woman, the attitude of other people towards him were based mainly on folk experience and rational knowledge of traditional medicine, understanding of the physiological psychological state of a woman during pregnancy. They had much in common with similar customary traditions among other peoples. Many of them continue to exist in our time.

The cycle of customs and rituals that accompanied the birth of a child preserved many archaic ideological ideas in the folk life of Ukraine in the 19th - early 20th century. The birth of a new person is a great sacrament, it required adherence to the traditions of rituals and customs.

The implementation of the whole complex of warnings, magical actions, rituals was considered the basis for the successful birth of a child, protection from an evil mother and baby.

Childbirth (evil, gave birth) took place at home, but without outsiders. They tried to shield the bed of a woman in labor with a "curtain" (row or other cloth) to protect her and the baby from evil eyes. The midwife, who was invited in advance, took the birth. In different regions of Ukraine she was called: a woman, a grandmother, a midwife, a kusharka grandmother, a captive woman, a childbearing woman, a puporizka woman, etc. It was on her knowledge and skills that successful childbirth, life and health of mother and child depended in many ways. Therefore, the midwife was respected among the people.

In addition to direct measures for the adoption of the child, the midwife performed certain ritual actions, also gave her respect: solving knots, unlocking locks, loosening braids and more - to facilitate childbirth, cutting off the umbilical cord for boys on an ax, a log, and for a girl on a spindle, combs to instill in them skills for basic agricultural labor; burying the placenta (place), the first bathing of the child, etc. The grandmother was even given the right to christen a sick, dying child. The umbilical cord was tied with hemp yarn - mother, - "so that the child was fertile", "so that the woman had children." When they did not want to have children, they tied them up with linen yarn. Tying, the midwife would say: "tie up happiness, health and many years," "ties you with happiness and health, and the age is long, and the mind is good."

A significant ritual after the birth of a child was the first font

It was accompanied by certain actions and verbal formulas, which retained an echo of ancient beliefs in the magical power of water, words and the child's first (initial) contact with various vital objects. The first baptismal font was considered not only as a cleansing, but also as a child's protection from evil spirits. Holy water was added to the first font, medicinal herbs, a piece of bread or a little grain were put in, silver or gold coins were thrown. In some places, honey and milk were added to the first font of the girls, a needle was put (Hutsulshchina), the boys were given a drill to be able to craft (Boykovshchina). In modern times, a pen and a pencil have been added to these and other objects so that the child is smart and learns well. When someone entered the house during the first baptismal font, they had to throw some kind of coin. The water of the first font should have been poured in the morning into some corner where no one entered.

In some places in folk rituals, drying of a child after the first font near a burning stove (in the customs of Ukrainian Transcarpathia), lighting a candle after the birth of a child, the light of which, according to beliefs, protected the woman in labor and the baby from evil forces, etc.

Within a few days after the birth of the child, the calendar of customs in Ukrainian was the visit of married women from a family, neighbors, girlfriends to the woman in labor with congratulations and the obligatory bringing of products traditional for such an occasion (cottage cheese, butter cake, porridge, raw eggs, etc.).

Despite the benevolent humane meaning, this custom also belongs to the group of postnatal ritual actions, which also mean the child's introduction to a wide family group. This trend is even more expressed in other traditional postnatal acts: the choice of a name (according to the church calendar in accordance with the birthday or, as was common, giving the newborn the name of a grandfather, grandmother or other of the ancestors) baptism with the obligatory participation of godparents - godfathers, who invited from family or friends. In some of them several couples were invited to "godfathers". Subsequently, the godson called them: godfather, godmother, uterus, father, nanashka, nanashko. If there were no children in the family (dying), then to help this, in some localities of Ukraine there was a custom of imitation of selling a newborn to godfathers through a window.

Church baptism also usually accompanied by various folk customs, magical actions and conspiracies. Before baptism, the child was placed on the casing, on the table, on the stove, between loaves of bread, which was supposed to provide her with prosperity, close connection with the hearth, and protect her from evil. And here the main ritual role belonged to the midwife: she prepared the diapers, swaddled the baby, passed it on to the godfathers, saying: "Here you have a newborn, but bring us a prayer and godmother" (Kharkiv region), sometimes she carried the baby to church and only there passed it to the godfathers made sure that everything was done "as it should". It was believed that the child should be carried to the cross only on the right hand, with it should be traditional amulets (garlic, salt, a piece of bread, and sometimes a whole loaf).

In different areas of Ukraine, there were other customs that were supposed to protect the child, provide him with a happy life, symbolized the introduction to the family and society. The generally accepted custom was a celebration, a solemn celebration of the birth of a child, to which the family, godfathers, and neighbors were invited. This ancient custom in Christian times was mainly timed to coincide with the day of baptism. At the baptismal ceremony, guests (christenings) brought gifts: linen, bread, eggs, and in our time - also sugar and other products.

Traditionally, the set of dishes for christening was also determined. Almost everywhere, porridge was a must in it (apparently, the remnant of ancient donations in the form of cereals). In some, ethnographers recorded interesting ritual actions with porridge: the midwife or godfather at the table lifted a pot of porridge, wishing goodness and happiness, like "stars in the sky." There are known customs of "praying porridge", "breaking porridge", i.e. break a pot of porridge, which is treated to guests who pay for it with donations for a child, a woman in labor or a midwife. In the Hutsul region, the ancient custom of cutting a child's hair at christenings has been preserved, symbolizing her introduction to the family. In some places, after the christening, kalachins were also held - on one of the holidays, the child's parents visited godfathers with kalachins, presented them with gifts.

After the christening, they also practiced various protective actions to protect the child and mother from the harmful influence of evil forces and spirits, "bad eyes" - the evil eye. Metal sharp objects (knife, scissors, needle) were placed in the cradle, believing in their magical power. A red ribbon or thread was tied to the child's hand - "from the lessons." The swaddled child was tied with a red edge. A year after the birth, the ceremony of tonsure of the child was performed - the first tonsure, and in the Poltava region, Kharkiv region, Chernihiv region even very solemnly, with the participation of godfathers and from the living room. This custom had traditional ritual elements: first, the godfather or godfather cut the hair above the forehead, back of the head, ear, then they cut it off, hid the hair or kept it, let it float, and burned it. In Western Ukrainian lands, only individual elements of the rite of the first tonsure are recorded.

Collected in the XIX-XX centuries. ethnographic materials about the customs and rituals associated with the birth of a child bring to us rich archaic elements and a variety of their local variants. In existence, they were not always comprehended according to their original magically symbolic significance. However, comparison was protected steadily, since the folk tradition combined them with vital functionality - a successful birth, the health of the mother and child, the well-being and happiness of the newborn. These are the main motives of the whole complex of folk customs and rituals, their practical-rational and magical illusory, superstitious elements.

A large number of superstitions and prohibitions have always been associated with pregnancy and childbirth. Folk omens helped parents determine the character of the child and find out how his future life will turn out. To ward off bad luck, our ancestors performed rituals and adhered to certain traditions. At different times, customs appeared, the observance of which was supposed to attract good luck and luck.

Folk omens associated with the birth of a child

There are many superstitions associated with the birth of a child. Some old omens today seem to be silly prejudices, others have scientific justification. For example, the most famous belief says that a newborn should not be shown to anyone for 40 days. It is believed that during this period the baby is the weakest and most vulnerable to negative energy. From a medical point of view, superstition has a logical explanation:

• a newborn can easily pick up an infection from a stranger;
• noisy company can provoke stress in the child, which will lead to disturbed sleep.

Old Russian customs that have come down to our days

In Russia, the birth of a child was accompanied by a series of rituals in which all family members took part. Some customs have survived to this day. Our ancestors were sure that adherence to traditions is a guarantee of the well-being and a happy fate of the baby. For example, the first bathing of a newborn was of great importance. According to popular beliefs, a silver coin dipped in water helps to attract material goods. To keep the child healthy, honey and elecampane broth were added to the bath.

An ax or a hammer was placed under the font for boys, threads and needles for girls. It was believed that thanks to this, the child would grow up economic and homely. If bathing was carried out in the evening, the water was left overnight and poured out at sunset.

Other, no less interesting customs have survived to this day:

1. The tradition of tying a newborn envelope with a ribbon goes back to the pagan past of the Slavs. In ancient times, babies were tied with a belt embroidered with protective signs and symbols.
2. Previously, a newborn was wrapped in a sheepskin coat or sheepskin so that his whole life would pass in abundance. Today the child is simply put on a fur coat made of natural fur. This should be done on the first day after discharge from the hospital.
3. Many peoples have a tradition of giving a newborn a silver spoon. In Russia, this metal symbolized wealth and protection from evil spirits. They began to feed the child with a silver spoon immediately after the command of the first tooth. It was believed that the process of teeth emergence would be easier and less painful.
4. The old Russian custom of "ransom from the midwife" was carried out on the third day after childbirth. The woman who helped the child to be born left the mother's house with gifts. In our time, it is customary to thank the midwife who delivered the birth. She is given a present upon discharge from the hospital.

He was born, the boy's umbilical cord was cut with an ax or an arrow so that he would grow up as a hunter and artisan, for a girl - on a spindle so that she would grow up as a needlewoman. The navel was tied with linen thread woven with the hair of the mother and father. After the successful completion of childbirth, the midwife buried the baby's place in some corner of the hut, then washed the newborn with heated water, in which silver coins were usually placed, wishing the baby wealth in the future.

The grandmother brought the born baby into the house and handed it over to his father, who himself put it in the cradle and, as it were, officially recognized the baby as his son or daughter.

To keep the child calm, after birth he was wrapped in his father's ports or when swaddling, they used thick threads, the so-called twigs, and covered them with green cloth on top.

Signs and customs for the birth of a child

If a child was born on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday, he was predicted to have a long, happy life.

A boy who looked like a mother and a girl who looked like a father was considered happy.

Fortunately for the child, if on the day he is born, there is some profit in the house, and unfortunately, if there is any loss, loss in the house, or when something is given to another house permanently or on loan.

It's not very good if the baby was born at the end of the month.

After the baby is born

Warm mash or fish pies were prepared for the mother. In the first days after giving birth, relatives, neighbors, mostly of childbearing age, came to visit the woman in labor and brought various food - bread, rolls, pies, cookies. Later, especially in cities, this custom was transformed into a gift of money to the newborn "for a tooth", "for washing the legs" - hence the modern custom of giving the baby toys, baby clothes, etc.

Useful tips for expectant and young moms

❧ If a pregnant woman gets scared, it can severely damage the unborn baby. To avoid trouble, her husband must pour water through a sieve, and a woman must wash with this water.

❧ If a pregnant woman gets scared of something and at the same time grabs her stomach, then her child may subsequently have red spots on her body. To avoid this, say:

Jesus, be signified by the light of your face

On my baby

And be with him

Till the end of time.

❧ It has long been noticed: if a pregnant woman picks up a rope, then her baby can be born wrapped in an umbilical cord. To chastise the mistake, the woman's husband has to buy a new rope and throw it in the street with the words:

Judas took the rope

Judas wove a noose

But not my wife.

Amen. Amen.

❧ A pregnant woman should not step over a pregnant cat, otherwise her baby will be moody and noisy.

❧ A pregnant woman should never give the remains of her food to the dog, otherwise the child will be born stupid.

❧ Pregnant women should not wear tight and short skirts, because by doing so they shorten the life of their child.

❧ If a pregnant woman chokes and starts coughing, she must immediately say:

I cough from a crumb

Not my baby.

If this is not done, then the child is likely to suffer from coughing in the future. In addition, there is a sign according to which if a pregnant woman chokes, then in old age she will suffer from the rudeness and inattention of her child.

❧ A pregnant woman should not throw her head back when she drinks, otherwise her child risks becoming addicted to alcohol in the future.

❧ A pregnant woman should not pick up bread crumbs from the table, otherwise her child will live a life in poverty.

❧ Don't let strangers touch your belly.

If this happens, immediately say:

My angel, close my child

Save, save him and me.

❧ A pregnant woman should not say phrases such as "Get out!" Otherwise, she risks not delivering the child before the due date.

❧ It has long been noticed: if a pregnant woman commits theft, then her child will not live to be thirty-three years old. If you nevertheless committed a similar sin, then you must turn to the master.

❧ A pregnant woman should not look at the deceased or go to the cemetery. The fact is that there she can pick up damage or become a victim of spirits from another world, and since a child at this age is still very weak, he will take on all the negative of his mother and will hardly live a long and happy life.

❧ Ask your relatives and friends women not to come to meet you at the hospital if they have periods on that day, otherwise your child may later develop skin problems.

❧ A pregnant woman should not go to funerals or cemeteries, or the baby may die early.

❧ If you had suicides in your family, then do not call your child the same name, otherwise the child will repeat the life of the one who died not by his own death, but by demonic death.

❧ A person born on August 2, on Ilya's day, should not be called Ilya, otherwise he will be sullen, angry and hot-tempered. A person who was born on Ilyin's day is hardworking and very frugal, you cannot spoil him and you won’t take money in vain (he’s sorry to spend money even on himself).

❧ If a girl is not cut until the age of seven, then she will grow up smart and talented and live a long life.

❧ A boy under seven years old cannot be cut baldly, otherwise he will have weak offspring (hair can only be trimmed).

❧ Until the child is one year old, you should not sell his things.

❧ Until the child is one year old, do not sew him clothes from your old things, otherwise you will condemn him to poverty. If a mistake has already been made, then buy a new piece of cloth, take it to the church and give it to the beggar who stands closest to the corner of the church fence. Then submit your child's health note for the entire year.

❧ You should not paint a portrait of a child until he is seven years old (before this age he is still considered an infant).

❧ Those who have a baby in their home should not lend bread and salt, so as not to give the child's happy share.

❧ When bathing a child, do not let strangers into the house.

❧ Bathing the child for the first time should be in a diaper, which then needs to be taken with you to the christening, and after the ceremony, hide in a secluded place. Such a diaper will give parents longevity.

❧ Never burn your baby's first bed. Better sell or donate to friends. However, the bed should not be given to the family where the third child was born.

❧ Until the child is one year old, ask your female acquaintances not to come to visit you during your period, otherwise the child may become loud. If this has already happened, you need to read the following conspiracy:

Eve's blood stopped - the child was born.

Eve was born - the blood appeared.

How you blood come and go

So that any trouble is gone.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

❧ Of course, children need to be praised, but all the time, with or without reason, this should not be done, otherwise you risk jinxing the child. If this happened and after your irrepressible praise the child became capricious and stopped sleeping at night, then you need to urgently reprimand this. To do this, pour water from glass into glass, saying: Water will wash away with water.

❧ If a child breaks his nose, lip or eyebrow, never wipe his face with the hem, otherwise the child will live a very difficult life. If something like that still happened, then take the child by the hand, three times in a row move him through the threshold of the front door (back and forth), while reading this conspiracy:

People come and go

So that every trouble

She walked away from my child.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Now and ever and forever and ever.

❧ If you have a dog, be careful that the child does not allow him to bite off his food. Healers have long noticed that if a child then eats such food, then for the rest of his life he will become an outcast: people will not recognize him. If this does happen, you should contact a healer.

❧ Do not let your child sit on the newly dug garden bed, or he may get sick. If you overlooked, then you should immediately say:

Not to the ground, not to the ground,

And on the ground.

❧ If you see bees circling over a baby carriage, this portends a serious illness or even the death of a child within a year. In this case, you must immediately say:

Body, bone, blood, resin,

It's a pity, the bee, yourself, and not God's servant (name).

Defend, Lord, my baby,

His soul and body.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Now and ever and forever and ever.

❧ Even in jest, never blow a child in the face - this is how you blow away his happy share. If you made a mistake, then read the following conspiracy:

Do not bring, Lord, to mature

Any trouble for the servant of God (name),

Autumn him with a cross safe from all evil.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

❧ You should not tickle your child often, or he may grow up stupid.

❧ After sunset, you should not play with your child, throwing him over his head, otherwise he will often get sick.

❧ Explain to your children not to play wedding or game. funeral, otherwise it can leave a negative imprint on the rest of your life. If this still happened, then seek help from a healer.

❧ Ask your child not to jump on the bed, otherwise it will be difficult for him to sleep.

❧ People born in a leap year are more likely to die from violent deaths. In early childhood, they can have dangerous illnesses or serious injuries. People born in leap years often have an unrequited fate. Fortunately, there are strong magical conspiracies that can be used to talk to these people.

❧ On the third day after the baby is baptized, the mother looks to see if the baby is long or not. To do this, she takes the baby's hair and, rolling it up in wax, lowers it into holy water. If the wax sinks, then the child is not a tenant. Wasting no time, you need to talk to the baby for longevity. If you do not know how to do this, you need to contact an experienced master.

❧ When the firstborn is born and baptized, this baptismal shirt is removed until the next birth and christening. Because if a family baptizes all children in one shirt, then they will always love each other very much and will never quarrel.

❧ At christenings, do not put a lot of food on the plates. If guests leave leftovers, the newly baptized will be unlucky.

❧ During christening do not allow to light another candle from their own candle.

❧ On the day of christening, they do not sew, knit, spin, do not wash, do not salt pickles, do not chop twigs on trees and firewood, do not dig the ground and plant nothing, do not kick animals and do not shear sheep, do not pinch chickens and do not slaughter livestock. Any work is done in advance or postponed until another day.

❧ It is customary not to open doors to anyone until they return from church after baptism.

❧ Do not allow guests to get drunk on the day of christening, especially for godfathers, otherwise the child will be a drunkard.

❧ There should be no quarrels on the day of christening.

❧ People of another faith cannot become receivers of your child, because the main duty of godparents is to teach the child the basics of the Orthodox faith, take him to church and pray for him, in accordance with the Orthodox tradition.

❧ Do not invite people leading a dissolute life as godparents: this is especially true for those suffering from alcoholism or drug addiction. Remember, no matter how you treat someone or feel sorry for someone, we are talking about the life of your child, for whom you are still responsible. Think about what example such godparents will set him, although they promise you now to repent and take up your mind. Of course, people need to be trusted and helped, but in such a case it is better to insure yourself once again.

❧ It is better when the child has both a godfather and a godmother. If for one reason or another you cannot invite two receivers at once, then the boy should be baptized by a man, and the girl by a woman. Sometimes the church allows you to do without godparents at all, but these are extreme cases. In addition, the child's recipients will take care and protect him if, God forbid, something happens to the baby's parents.

❧ Do not invite a pregnant woman to be godparents, thereby you can shorten the life of the child.

❧ Do not invite your siblings to be godparents.

❧ The spouses should not be godparents, because after the ceremony they will be bound by spiritual kinship, which does not imply a carnal relationship. For the same reasons, one of the child's parents cannot marry or marry one of his godparents.

❧ An unmarried woman should not baptize a girl, otherwise she will then have problems in her personal life.

❧ Do not invite a widowed person to be godparents, otherwise your child may become a widow in the future.

❧ Do not invite a person with the same name as the child to become godfather.

Introduction

Our country is rich in traditions and holidays. For centuries, the Russian people sacredly honored and preserved their traditions, passing them on from generation to generation. And today, after tens and even hundreds of years, many customs have not yet lost interest for us. So, for example, on Maslenitsa, as well as a hundred years ago, they burn a scarecrow, bake pancakes, and arrange merry games. And at festivities and the other day, cities continue to play scenes from Old Russian rituals. And this is understandable, because these traditions are part of the rich history of the Russian people, and you need to know the history of your country.

Each nation has its own views and customs for conducting rituals. The rite is a folk play full of secret meaning, filled with great power, systematically repeated, interesting in general, since it best illustrates the content of the national consciousness. Here the old merges with the new, the religious with the folk, and the sad with the cheerful.

National culture is the national memory of the people, what distinguishes a given nation from others, keeps a person from depersonalization, allows him to feel the connection between times and generations, to receive spiritual support and life support.

In my test work, I would like to talk about the main national customs and rituals of the Russian people that have developed over the centuries

Birth of a child

Caring for a child began long before his appearance. From time immemorial, the Slavs tried to protect future mothers from all kinds of dangers.

If the husband was away, the young woman was advised to gird herself with his belt and cover herself with some of his clothes at night, so that the "power" of the husband would protect, protect the wife.

In the last month before giving birth, the pregnant woman was not advised to leave the yard, but rather from the house, so that the brownie and the sacred fire of the hearth could always come to her aid.

To protect a pregnant woman, there was a special prayer that had to be read at night, so that sinful deeds committed (even unintentionally) during the day would not affect the child being born. Protective amulets and amulets with conspiracies and prayers were hung from the bed of the woman in labor and the baby.

A pregnant woman had to observe a number of prohibitions, for example, avoid looking at anything ugly, so that she would have a beautiful child; do not stroke cats, dogs, pigs - otherwise the child may be born dumb or will not speak for a long time; not be present when the animals are slaughtered, - the baby will have a "relative", etc.

During pregnancy, a woman could in no way work on church holidays - a violation of this prohibition by a pregnant woman, as it was believed, would inevitably have an effect on the newborn.

The pregnant woman should have consumed more milk, then, according to legends, the baby's skin will be white as milk; she should eat red berries (lingonberries, cranberries) to keep the baby ruddy.

Particularly important was the determination of the sex of the child. The material well-being of the peasant family depended on whether a boy or a girl was born: with the birth of a boy, an assistant, a new owner was expected, the birth of a girl often led to a decrease in material well-being - she needed a dowry.

Often peasant women paid little attention to pregnancy at all and worked until the birth began.

In accordance with the beliefs about the "uncleanness" of a pregnant woman and women in labor, so that she would not "defile" a dwelling house, even in winter she went to give birth away from housing - to a bathhouse, a barn, a barn.

Or at the onset of childbirth, all the people in the house said goodbye to the woman in labor and went to another hut or another place, without telling strangers about what was happening (it was believed that childbirth is the more difficult the more people know about them).

Her husband and the called-up midwife remained with the mother. The midwife and husband tried to alleviate the suffering of the mother.

The midwife could not refuse a request to come to the woman in labor: her refusal was viewed as an unforgivable sin that could lead to immediate punishment.

The peasants rarely turned to the midwives who appeared in the villages in the second half of the 19th century. Peasant women preferred midwives, as they could immediately speak of a hernia. And midwives; in the majority of girls, they could jinx the baby, they said, besides, the use of obstetric instruments was considered a sin.

Midwives, if necessary, could baptize newborns. Not every woman could become a midwife. The village grandmother is always an elderly woman of impeccable behavior, not noticed in her infidelity to her husband. In some places, it was believed that only widows could obey. They avoided inviting childless women or those whose children of their own or those she adopted were dying.

When the puerperant recovered enough and the grandmother considered it possible to leave, there was a purification of all those present and taking any part in the birth. They lit a candle in front of the icons, prayed and then with water, in which they put hops, eggs and oats, washed themselves and washed the baby.

Usually, mother and grandmother poured water on each other's hands three times with water, to which they added various objects bearing a certain semantic load, and asked for mutual forgiveness. After that, the midwife could go to receive the next child.

The rite of cleansing, or washing of the hands, necessarily ended with the woman giving the midwife a gift (soap and a towel). In the second half of the XIX, and especially in the late XIX - early XX centuries, the gift was supplemented with a small amount of money. The midwife was fed the best dishes, watered tea with sugar.

The midwife cooked, or at least served the so-called baba's porridge. Rituals with Babina's porridge necessarily included collecting money (selling porridge). The midwife received the main monetary remuneration precisely "for porridge" from the guests and household members present (the woman in labor, who, even if she was present at the christening, did not participate in the collection of money).

There was one day in the year when a holiday was organized especially for midwives - "babins", or "woman's porridge". This is the second day of Christmas - December 26, old style.

The last rite in which the midwife participated was the rite of belting the baby on the eve of the fortieth day: the midwife reminded the woman in labor of the need to accept a cleansing prayer and performed the rite of belting. The belt with which she tied the child was considered both as a magical amulet against evil forces, and as a sign of longevity and health.

Playing the role of a grandmother creates a certain relationship between her and the child, whom from that moment she calls her grandson, and he calls her grandmother. Every year these grandmothers bring the child a birthday present, they are invited to all the main events in the life of her "grandson" - both to a wedding and to see him off to the army.

After giving birth, the mother was taken to the bathhouse. Whatever the birth, the midwives prepared "water from the lessons" in the bathhouse. River water was used for this, the grandmother specially followed it with a clean bucket and always scooped it up the river. Returning from the river to the bathhouse and performing the Jesus Prayer, the midwife immersed her right hand in a bucket and, having scooped up a handful of water there, lowered it down her hand through the elbow into the prepared tub, whispering: “As water does not hold on the elbow, so on the servant of God (the name of the mother ) neither lessons nor prizewinners hold on. " At the same time, she kept the score to nine with negation - not one, not two, not three, etc. Thus, she scooped water on the elbow three times.

With a prayer, the grandmother dipped three red-hot coals into this water. Then, with a handful of her right hand through the elbow of her left, she poured this water three times onto the extreme stone of the heater, then three times onto the door bracket, holding the cupboard so that the spilled water again flowed into it. At the same time, the grandmother said every time: "As water does not hold on a stone (or a bracket), so neither lessons nor patrons hold on to the servant of God (name)!"

After that, the water was considered so strongly spellbound that no sorcerer could destroy its healing power.

Then the grandmother put the parturient woman facing east - if only she could stand, otherwise she would put her on the bath threshold and three times sprinkled her face with the spoken water taken into her mouth, saying: “As water on the face does not hold, so on the servant of God (name) neither lessons nor prizewinners hold on! " Having poured out the remaining water on the mother's head, the grandmother collected the water as it fell from the head into the right handful and sprinkled it on the stove from under her left leg.

The husband often screamed and moaned instead of his wife, diverting evil forces from the woman in labor.

In difficult childbirth, a whole set of magical means of helping a woman in labor was used. It was believed, for example, that any isolation interferes with childbirth, so they resorted to actions that symbolized or imitated a break in isolation: they untied all the knots on the clothes of the woman in labor and her husband, unlocked all the locks in the house, unlaced the braids, etc.

They also used a three-fold walk around the table by the woman in labor, on the corners of which heaps of salt were poured.

When a woman had to be tormented by childbirth for two or three days, they asked the priest to serve a prayer service to the female saints, “the pattern-resolvers,” helpers during childbirth - the Great Martyr Catherine, the Most Holy Theotokos Fedorovskaya, or the Three-Handed, or the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos. In some localities, they took a church belt from a priest to tie it to a woman in labor.

When a child was born, the boy's umbilical cord was cut with an ax or an arrow so that he would grow up as a hunter and artisan, for a girl - on a spindle so that she could grow up as a needlewoman. The navel was tied with a linen thread woven with the hair of the mother and father. After the successful completion of childbirth, the midwife buried the baby's seat in some corner of the hut. Then she washed the newborn with heated water, in which they usually put silver coins, wishing the baby wealth in the future.

Sometimes the midwife corrected the child's head. It was believed that she could make him chubby or long-faced.

Then the grandmother fussed around the puerpera: steamed her in the bath or in the oven, ruled her stomach and squeezed her breasts to remove the first bad milk.

To keep the child calm, after birth he was wrapped in his father's ports or when swaddling, they used thick threads, the so-called twigs, and covered them with green cloth on top.

In general, the belt is like an amulet, a magical attribute played a large role in paganism. This is reflected in many later religions. The belt symbolically divides the human body into two halves - earthly and heavenly, unclean and pure, and performs the function of protection from evil forces. The same protective role was played by the belt with which the godmother tied the child after six weeks from the date of his birth. It was believed that an unbelted child could die.

Thus, the modern custom of tying a newborn, swaddled in a blanket, at discharge from the hospital with a ribbon - a blue (blue) boy, and a red (pink) girl has an explanation. The royal house of the Romanovs had a custom to award a newborn boy with the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called (blue ribbon), and a girl with the Order of St. Catherine (red ribbon).

The father's shirt served as the first diaper for the son, the mother's for the daughter: In general, all the very first actions with the baby (bathing, feeding, cutting hair) were surrounded by rituals.

On the fortieth day, the mother with the newborn, according to the rules of the church, entered the church: the mother listened to the cleansing prayer, and the baby was churched, that is, was introduced into the community of believers.

In the first postnatal days, women - relatives, neighbors, mostly of childbearing age - came to visit the woman in labor and brought various food to her family - bread, rolls, pies, cookies.

Later, especially in cities, this custom was transformed into an offering of money to a newborn "for a tooth", "for washing the legs." It has survived to this day, often in the form of gifts to the newborn from relatives and friends in the form of toys, children's clothes, etc.