Christmas carols are a long-standing tradition of the Slavic peoples. See how to make costumes for him, prepare special treats. Spend the New Year holidays in a fun and interesting way. Remember how Christmas was celebrated in antiquity, maybe it is worth adopting some traditions? Make outfits for children and adults, learn songs, ditties and go caroling in a noisy company to friends, relatives or neighbors. If you are hosting such guests, then prepare treats in advance, some of which will be ritualistic.
A little about Christmas carols
Caroling is a Slavic rite, which was performed mainly on Christmas days. A group of people came to the house, they performed songs and sentences addressed to the owners of the house. The wishes were positive. The hosts treated their guests with special dishes.
Two groups of people walked around the courtyards - mummers and non-mummers carols. The latter mainly pronounced only the text, the mummers, in addition, played a whole performance in front of the owners, the participants of which were the characters they represented.
But there are other carols, whose main goal was magical actions, songs and texts only accompanied this. For example, someone scattered grain, such people were called sowers. Others swept garbage from the corners of the house or poured water over the owners, handed out ritual branches, which, according to legend, were supposed to bring happiness to the household. Some carved sparks from burning logs, such were called polazdniki and were considered "divine guests" who bind both worlds.
There were also carols who came to the house with special ritual items. So, someone carried, with him a branch or a tree, decorated in a certain way; others a figurine of a little Christ in a cradle; still others are a Christmas star; the fourth is the image of a snake.
The ceremony takes place after sunset or at night before dawn, both adults and children participate in this. But the latter went mainly in the morning and in the afternoon, did not particularly dress up, but put on animal masks, sang, and asked for food.
The structure of the rite includes:
- preparation;
- caroling round;
- the end of the caroling, a joint meal of the carol squad.
Everything is prepared in advance, people make the necessary costumes and attributes. A carol round includes a gathering, members of the squad, a procession of those gathered, caroling near the house, in the house, receiving refreshments, saying goodbye to the owners. Well, the third stage is a delicious well-deserved meal.
Goat costume for a party of Christmas carols
Masks can be purchased at the store or made by yourself. Clothes do not have to be sewn, you can quickly do it yourself.
Usually, during caroling, people are involved, disguised as animals such as: goat, bear, deer, mare. If you want to quickly make a goat costume, then use a light fur coat or sheepskin coat, which must be turned inside out, with the fur out. If you have such clothes, all that remains is to make the horns.
If you liked these, then take:
- head hoop;
- soft pink and white fabric;
- artificial flowers;
- pieces of white fur;
- glue.
Cut out 2 oval ears from the pink fabric, pointed at one side. Make the same blanks from fur. Fold the fabric and fur parts in pairs, sew along the edges and top, leaving the bottom free. Turn the ears through it, make a fold in the center, glue or sew them onto the hoop, tucking the edges.
Cut out two horns from thick white fabric, attach them to a semicircular base. You will drape the junction with flowers, at the same time decorating the horns of the goat with them. Using the hoop, you can make other head decorations for this animal, for example, this one.
Take:
- soft dark fabric;
- synthetic winterizer;
- wide elastic band to match;
- scissors;
- threads;
- needle.
Manufacturing instruction:
- Cut in two fabric triangles, grind the sides of each to make cones. Fill them with padding polyester, giving the horns a slightly curved shape.
- Cut out circles from the same canvas to cover the bottom of these cones. But do not do this yet, but cut out the elastic bands along the diameter of the circle with allowances for the seams, tuck their ends between the bottom of the cones and the circles.
- Now you can sew up the bottom of the horns. They fit easily with hair hoops.
Using cloth, paper, glue and braid, you can make a goat's garment that consists of:
- headdress with horns and ears;
- tail;
- hooves.
If desired, horns and ears for a goat for Christmas carols can even be made from disposable tableware.
If you have neither a sheepskin coat, nor a sheepskin coat, nor a fur coat, but you have fluffy light fabric or fur, then make such a skirt and vest out of it.
- For a skirt, it is enough to cut a rectangle, one side of which is the length of the future product - minus 5-7 cm (depending on the width of the belt), the other is the volume of the hips plus a seam allowance.
- Stitch the sides of this rectangle. For a belt, take a wide knitted strip, fold it in half. Insert 1 cm of the skirt inside, stitch the belt with it.
- You can sew a vest without a pattern by attaching a sleeveless jacket, jacket or other non-tight outerwear to the fur. Using this pattern, cut out the back and two shelf parts. They need to be sewn on the sides and shoulders.
If you want the horned goat to have a mask that covers the face, then sew it using the following pattern.
Here's what you get.
But you need to cut out and sew on the ears. For each, one piece is cut out from fabric and fur, sewn in pairs. Place the lining in the goat's head, grind these two pieces around the edges. Open the goat's nose using the following pattern.
Fill it with padding polyester, sew on the muzzle, attach the eyes.
How to make a Christmas deer with your own hands?
This is another character who participates in carols. You can make a costume of this animal or just bring its figurine with you to the holiday. This requires very little:
- cardboard box;
- pencil;
- sample;
- scissors.
Scale up the provided template to the desired size. As you can see, it consists of 4 parts:
- body and head;
- horns;
- hind and front legs.
Disassemble the cardboard box. Attach part templates to it, sketch them with a pencil, cut out.
The deer can be left like this or pasted over with paper of the desired color. The snow-white animal looks good and festive. You can decorate it with A4 white sheets. After the glue has dried, use scissors to make cuts in the parts to connect them. Insert the horns into the notches of the head so that the parts are perpendicular to each other. In the same way, connect the hind and front legs of the animal to the body.
Taking this idea into account, in the future you will be able to create other animals, including a bear, using this technique. If there is no desire or nothing to make his costume from, make such a figurine, carry it with you on carols.
If you want the deer to be the most durable, plan to place its figurine in the country after the holidays, then cut out the details from plywood. Connect them with bolts so that you can unscrew, fold compactly and take them to the address at any time. For a street animal, it is better if you paint or cover it with an antiseptic, then the figure will not be afraid of atmospheric precipitation.
Here's how to make a deer for the New Year, so that then for a long time it will also decorate the dacha. If you don't want to carry a large figurine with you, then make a pocket one.
This will require:
- wine bottle corks;
- twigs;
- glue gun;
- drill or thin screwdriver;
- knife.
Manufacturing instruction:
- Cut the twigs to the desired length so that some of them will soon turn into horns, others into hind and front legs, and the smallest into tails.
- Drill holes in the two plugs to insert the corresponding branches there. If this tool is not available, then gently twist with a thin Phillips screwdriver where you want to drill a hole.
- Using a glue gun, fix the parts, connect the two plugs together with a piece of a thick branch.
- You can decorate the face of the beast by gluing a small ball instead of a nose. Take this figurine with you and go caroling.
If you need to learn not only how to make a deer, but also his costume with your own hands, then check out the following process. If you want to make it faster, then find:
- brown sweatshirt with a hood;
- a piece of beige fabric;
- cardboard;
- brown paints;
- red cloth;
- gum;
- synthetic winterizer;
- red ribbon.
Sequence of creation:
- If the jacket is at the bottom with a drawstring, this will come in handy, if not, then sew a strip of fabric there to insert an elastic band.
- Cut out the tummy lining from the beige linen. It's best to use fleece so you don't have to work the edges. Sew a strip of tape over the top to tie this tummy tuck in the shape of a neck apron.
- Trim the hood strip with the same fabric, sew double ears from it.
- Cut out the antlers of a deer from cardboard, paint them brown, when the coating dries, glue them to the hood.
- If you do not have your own tummy, then you can put fabric under the bottom of the sweater to achieve such a figure for the time being.
- Cut a circle out of red felt, gather its edges with a thread. Fill with padding polyester, sew this deer's nose into place.
This model for men:
- Women can use a dress of this color, attach a beige linen jewelry to their chest.
- Wrap the wire with brown braid, form deer antlers out of it, attach to the hair band.
- To make a nose, drill a hole in the center of the red plastic bottle cap and two holes along the edges. Pass through the side elastic of the same color, tie its ends.
Here's how to make a New Year's reindeer out of a person for carols or for a costume ball. See how you can quickly create another ritual character.
Bear costume for kids and adults
To do this, it is not necessary to sew it from scratch, you can remake an old jacket with a hood, and create an image for a child from a large fur toy. How to make a bear costume, taking these ideas as a basis, has already been described. Now see how to quickly make it for adults.
If a brown fur coat with a hood is available, this is what you need. Ears are sewn to the hood, make-up is done to the person so that he looks like a bear.
If the fur coat is without a hood, an old hat with earflaps is suitable for the head of this animal. If there is no such attribute, then you need to make a bear mask or buy one. Papier-mâché masks, which are created from waste material, turn out to be very interesting.
How to make a horse with your own hands for Christmas carols?
You will also need these skills, as mummers often dress up to look like this character. Usually two people create it. To do this, the first one needs to put on the head of an animal and pants of the same color, the second one dresses up in similar pants, bends over, holds the first one by the belt.
On top of these people are covered with a blanket, to which you need to sew a tail. As it, you can use a tablecloth or a cape on the sofa. But the horse's head will need to be made.
From plush or other brown soft fabric, cut out two parts according to the presented pattern, sew them together, and just tuck and hem the bottom. It should be such that the person's head goes well. But it is best not to overlap the center seam at the front for better air exchange.
If the horse depicts one person, then you need to make a head on a stick, keep it next to your own, covering yourself with a piece of fabric sewn on the side.
To make one, take:
- cardboard;
- paints;
- scissors;
- glue;
- brown fringed braid;
- stick.
Step-by-step manufacturing:
- Cut out two parts of the head from cardboard, color each on the front side, highlight the eyes, nose, mouth. Color the ears separately.
- When the parts are dry, glue the ears in place, attach a mane (fringed braid) between the two blanks on the back of the head, glue them.
- When this solution dries, you just need to thread a stick through the hole and carry the horse's head with it.
If you make a costume of mummers according to the first principle, when two people represent a horse, then you can arrange a fun game. This is how our ancestors enjoyed themselves at this time of year. Two walked around the village or village in the form of a horse, covering themselves with a blanket. Passers-by took turns climbing under it, standing between the first and second characters with a train.
When there were a lot of people crowded, they did not fit under the blanket, the task was to stay there. Those who were able to do this were considered the winners. Those who could not resist became losers.
After such merry contests, Christmas songs, it was high time to refresh ourselves. For this, the hostesses had to prepare a treat for Christmas carols in advance. Check out some of them now.
Christmas carols - recipes
Housewives should take care of the treat in advance if they suspect that they will come to carol for the New Year holidays. They used to do just that. Before Christmas, the hostesses kneaded dough, baked cookies from it, which were called "carols".
The largest was kept in a stable until Epiphany, on that day they were crushed for food by animals. There was a belief that then livestock would not get sick all year round. Of course, you can make such delicious cookies for the mummers. But if they were not made sweet for the animals, they should be decorated with jam and glaze for the guests who came.
This will be a modern innovation, and the dough for Christmas carols has always been made according to the same recipe - from rye flour. Here's what it includes:
- rye flour - 2 cups;
- warm water - 1 glass;
- a pinch of salt.
Recipe:
- All the ingredients are combined, the dough must be kneaded well, covered with a napkin, and left for half an hour.
- After that, a tourniquet is rolled out of it, cut across into pieces of the same size.
- Each is rolled into a cake, the filling is put inside, but the pies are open, so only sides are formed from the dough, the filling remains in a prominent place.
It can be very different, this is how:
- mushroom;
- potato;
- sweet jam;
- carrot;
- from porridge.
- To make mushroom, rinse dried mushrooms, soak them in water for 2 hours, then boil until tender. After that, fry them together with onions in vegetable oil, salt, add seasonings.
- To prepare the second filling, potatoes are washed, peeled, boiled until tender. Now you need to drain the water, heat the potatoes, fill with a small amount of hot milk, add a piece of butter, salt, mix. Use when the filling has cooled.
- For the third, take thick jam, fresh or frozen berries.
- For the fourth filling, take 2 cups of water and put it in a saucepan over the fire. When it boils, add a glass of millet, add salt, a little vegetable oil. Previously, housewives cooked such porridge in an oven, modern ones can use a gas or electric stove for this. So that the filling does not taste bitter, it is better to first pour boiling water into the millet, drain the liquid. Then add 2 cups of hot water, cook according to the recipe. Instead of millet, you can use pearl barley or buckwheat.
- To make a carrot filling, take 300 grams of this vegetable, rinse the root vegetables, peel, grate. Simmer in hot water until tender. Finally, add salt, sugar, some vegetable oil and lemon juice.
It is good that now these forgotten ancient traditions are returning again. Having made the costumes, by all means go to a fun and noisy caroling, as a reward you will receive not only delicious gifts, but also a great mood. To pick it up right now, watch the carols go by.
As you can see, you can also treat the mummers with pies, bagels, sweets. If you didn't manage to make an animal costume, then guys can go caroling in hats, and girls in headscarves. You can take animal figurines with you, you already know how they are made. But how to create the Star of Bethlehem, which they also take with them, look right now.
