In order not to forget the old traditions, familiarize yourself with how to call spring, bake larks, how to make a Vesnyanka doll, a Martynichka doll. Many want spring to come as soon as possible. For this, our ancestors had different customs: baking larks, and in some regions - waders, from oatmeal or rye flour, making balls to appease Frost, and he quickly left. It was also customary to sing special songs of vesnyanka in order to hasten this warm season with the arrival.
These are wonderful ancient traditions. Do not forget them, you need to tell the children about them, together prepare for the coming of spring.
Feast of the 40 Forties - traditions of different regions
According to the Slavic calendar, the day of the arrival of spring is March 22. The holiday is called Larks or Magpies, in honor of 40 martyrs of Sebaste. This is the vernal equinox, when day is equal to night. This holiday has a lot of names, here are some of them:
- Larks;
- Equinox;
- The fifth day;
- 40 martyrs;
- 40 Sorokov;
- Birthday lark;
- Sorochini.
The name of the holiday depends on the region, as well as the nuances of tradition. So, in Russia they believed that on this day larks and waders arrive, which bring spring.
In Ukraine and Belarus, it was believed that the first birds from Vyriya (from the word "paradise") arrived at this time.
For this feast of 40 Forties, as well as for the 5th week of Great Lent, it is customary to bake larks, in some regions there are waders, sparrows, and nuts. Mostly birds were made in flight with outstretched wings, and birds sitting on nests with testicles were also baked.
Children are happy to be engaged in such creativity, together with adults they make figurines from dough.
In the Voronezh region they say that we meet winter and see off spring. On Soroka, it was customary to bake pancakes and pancakes. And the crumpets were baked, similar to forty. They put money inside, which was supposed to bring happiness. The tail was bent upward in the form of a cross.
In other Slavic regions, 40 balls were created from oat flour, they were called nuts. Such treats, one by one, were thrown out of the window every day, while saying that Frost, red nose, we’ll give you oats and bread, just get out, pick up, hello. People believed that they would appease Frost with a treat, and after eating these "nuts" he would leave so as not to interfere with the spring sowing work.
In the Pereyaslav region, it was customary to cook 40 dumplings with cottage cheese on this day. This was done by the girls, who then treated the guys to food. The village boys had to run barefoot into the yard early in the morning and throw 40 chips over the roof.
In Kargapolye, the holiday of the forty forties is called "Teterochny day". The hostesses prepared the dough, baked lace pancakes from it so that the sun shone brighter.
In Serbian settlements, it is customary to clean up the yard and house, and burn the swept-out garbage. All household members jump over this fire 3 times. In some Serbian regions, it is customary for girls and boys to gather on the eve of the holiday, after 12 at night, light a fire, jump over it, play, sing songs until dawn. When the sun begins to rise, the whole company goes to collect willow branches, with which they returned home.
But this is not all, so that spring would come as soon as possible, those who came had to hit their household with these twigs, sentenced everyone to be fast as a deer, healthy as a bull, fat like a pig, and grow like a pussy willow.
And in the Aleksinatskoe Pomoravye region, it is customary to swallow a dogwood flower early in the morning, then say so that this person is healthy like a dogwood.
It is not for nothing that sometimes the holiday of 40 martyrs is also called "Newlyweds", "Young", and Serbs and Bulgarians are called "Mladentsi". Indeed, it is customary for these peoples on a given day that newlyweds who have lived together for less than a year receive guests. All who come should bring rolls with honey, which symbolizes the sweet, peaceful life of the newlyweds. Those, in turn, must show their dexterity and skill, how well they receive guests and communicate with them. Women baked 40 rolls for this holiday and the first were given to newlyweds who had recently entered into legal marriage.
And in the Balkan region, insects and snakes come out of hibernation on the holiday of forty forties. The Macedonians still have a vivid tradition that swallows fly on that day, while the Bulgarians have storks. Bulgarian children go out in the countryside with small baked bread, roll their mountains, saying that winter will quickly roll back and spring will stop.
Now you know how it is customary in different regions to celebrate the holiday of the 40 forties. Bake larks with the children, you can make these birds from other materials, show the children how to call the spring.
Baking larks for spring
Be sure to do this at least once a year so as not to forget ancient traditions. If you don't know when larks are baked in 2017, this question is easy to answer - March 22. But this must be done early in the morning.
We must not forget that at this time there is a fast, therefore it is customary to make baked goods from lean dough. But now there are many other recipes, you will also get acquainted with them. After all, if a child needs to bring larks to kindergarten, it is better to bake them from baking.
The classic recipe for larks is great for believers who are fasting. For the test, you will need:
- 1 kg of sifted flour;
- 120 ml of vegetable oil;
- 25 g yeast;
- 0.5 cups of sugar;
- a pinch of salt;
- 250 ml of water;
- some sweet tea to grease baked goods and raisins.
Heat the water to keep it warm, dissolve the yeast in it. Pour sifted flour, sugar, salt into another container. Stir. Pour the diluted yeast and vegetable oil into this dry mixture. Knead the dough well, put it in a warm place. It is better if it rises twice.
You can make larks out of dough by first creating a dough of water, yeast, one tbsp. l. sugar and 2 tbsp. l. flour. When the dough rises the required number of times, roll it into a layer, cut into strips 2 by 10 cm in size. Tie each in a center in a knot to create the head of a lark. Attach raisins instead of eyes. To make them soft after baking, pre-soak the raisins in boiling water for 20 minutes, dry them.
Make feathers with a knife. Roll the wings out of the dough and attach them in place. Sprinkle the products with sugar or brush with sweet water, bake until tender.
In order for the child to bring these symbols of spring to the children's institution, he could compose a story on the topic: How I bake larks - make them together with the baby. To make things easier, you can use ready-made yeast dough. If you'd like, make your own buns for the kids.
To do this, you need to take the following products:
- 6 glasses of flour;
- 20 g yeast;
- 250 ml of milk;
- 2 eggs;
- 0.5 tsp salt;
- 5 tbsp. l. Sahara;
- 2 tbsp. l. vegetable oil;
- 30 g butter.
If you want the larks to turn out more rich, then increase the amount of butter to 200 g. Vary the amount of flour based on your feelings. The finished dough should not turn out to be runny, but also not be too steep for the products to rise well.
Also shape the birds, brush them with sweet tea, sprinkle with sugar and bake.
You can create the wings of a lark in a slightly different way. To do this, on one side of a piece of dough, a round head is made with an elongated beak, on the other, it is flattened into a rounded triangle, which must be cut in half with a knife. Then, with the same tool, chop the tips of the feathers in the form of wings
When you sculpt dough larks, you can use another way of forming them.
Begin to create the head and triangular body according to the principle just described. But from a wide edge we make a tail. The second piece of dough is first formed in the form of a tape, the ends of which are slightly flattened by hand.
Then they, as well as the tail, need to be cut into small stripes to get an analogue of feathers.
Spring invocation rites - games
After the larks or other birds from the dough are ready, you need to go outside, string each bird on a stick (be careful not to injure your hands!). Swinging such devices, people sing songs, call out the spring.
Then the bird from the dough is eaten, if there are live birds in the cage, it was customary to release them. If you are spending this holiday with children, prepare:
- twigs;
- dough larks;
- ratchets;
- embroidered towels;
- whistles.
Put on national costumes for children: sundresses, scarves for girls, trousers, hats, shirts for boys. Give them whistles, rattles, of course, before that you need to rehearse with them in advance. Learn songs designed to invoke spring. Teach children to play the games that are traditionally held at this time of year.
Burn, burn clearly
For this game you need to choose a boy who will drive. The others line up in pairs behind him. They pronounce the words of the famous chants about how to burn clearly, not to go out.
As soon as the last words are pronounced, the children from the last pair should run around those who are standing in a column and as they lead. If they managed to reunite before the driver pissed them off, then the game is repeated again. If not, in this case the one who was hated becomes "burning".
Trickle game
Not everyone knows that the game "Stream" symbolized the spring melting of snow, urged the sun to warm up brighter in order to quickly melt the snowdrifts. Children stand in pairs of two, hold hands, but separate their sides so that a person can run along the central trajectory. The driver runs in to the music, chooses a mate for himself, stands behind everyone with this person. The one who was left alone goes ahead of the brook to choose a new pair for himself.
Skittles
At the meeting of spring, it was customary to play kögli, this entertainment is a cross between towns and skittles. For it you will need:
- small lumps sawn across the trunk;
- stick;
- sandpaper.
To prevent children from getting hurt by lumps, sand these blanks with a typewriter or sandpaper. Now these objects are placed at a certain distance, the guys take turns trying to knock out the kyogli. Whoever is more dexterous will win. You can compete not only for one person, but also for two teams.
For the holiday of 40 forties, it was customary to make various dolls. Check out this kind of creativity.
Vesnyanka doll: craft master class
Make a ritual doll for friends and acquaintances, give them, wishing a good spring.
Before starting work, put next to you:
- fabrics of various colors;
- synth fluff;
- thin threads of bright shades;
- for hair yarn;
- red strands of iris.
Master Class:
- For the body and head, you need a flesh or white fabric, from which you need to cut a 12 by 35 cm square.
- In order for the Vesnyanka doll to acquire a beautiful dress, take two pieces of canvas with bright colors measuring 15 by 35 cm each. Since there will be two of them - upper and lower.
- For an apron, it is better to take a wide sewing measuring 7 by 9 cm.
- For the sleeves, use a 12 x 16 cm colored fabric.
To make the doll's body, lay the fabric in front of you, pulling one and the other long edges towards the center. Close to the middle of this part, place a piece of synthetic fluff inside the fold.
Now fold this blank in half so that the soft lump is at the top. Separate the resulting head with a red thread, tying it around the doll's neck.
A wooden stick will help you straighten the folds, straighten knots, threads. Make it out of a sushi stick, sharpening the end with a pencil sharpener.
Take the flap from which you will make your hands, fold it in the same way as you twisted the body.
Tie with a red thread, slightly stepping back from the edge, thread it with a sharpened wooden stick.
Raise your upper body, place the freckle doll's arms perpendicularly here. To give them volume, you can first put a little synthetic fluff in the fold of your hands.
Secure this element by tying a protective cross on the body with a red thread.
Attach a piece of fabric for the petticoat to the bottom of the doll and tie it with thread to form this piece of clothing.
Attach the fabric for the top skirt, lifting it up to the armpits, tie it with a red thread, sequentially forming folds.
The spring doll will be ready very soon. Now you need to wind the thread with your own hands on an appropriate rectangular object, such as a small brochure or DVD.
Cut the hair on one side, using a wooden skewer, pass it between the two strips that form the head of the toy. Now pull your hair up, tie it with a thread of the same color.
If you want the Vesnyanka doll to have a bang, then separate the strand near the forehead before tying all the threads. Braid the girl's braid, tie her back with a red ribbon. Trim the bangs in front to the desired size. Decorate your hair with a gold ribbon.
It remains to tie an apron and a ribbon to the toy to fasten it to the belt. Here is such a wonderful hand-made spring doll.
You can use a paper clip to fix it on the wall or put it on the table to admire the work done.
Doll Martynichka for a meeting
It is called so because it is customary to make such toys in March. They are used in the sacrifice of the spring rite. Such dolls are weaved in pairs using red and white threads. The first will symbolize spring, and the second winter.
It is customary to hang such toys on trees so that the wind flutters them, and at this time a person will make a wish. The scheme for creating a martinichka doll with your own hands is presented below.
As you can see, using a rectangular object, you need to wind threads of the same color around it in a row, after passing a string of the same color on one side. On the other hand, you will cut the threads as they are wound. From the back edge, you will tie these strings to highlight the head.
Right now, the martini doll will get hands. To do this, wind the threads on a smaller rectangular object than for the body. Tie them on both sides. Put your hands back in place. Tie the doll around the waist. If it's a boy, then divide the threads in half at the bottom, fix each to make legs.
Now you know how to celebrate the 40th forties, bake larks, call out the spring, make a freckle and martini doll. Watch the sparkling video to make you even more eager to arrange such a fun holiday.
How to make a freckle doll is described in the next video.
The third will help you bake the larks. Like the heroine of the plots, make them together with the children.
