Green week

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This article is about the Slavic festival. For the German trade fair, see Green Week.
Green week
Semik crop.jpg
Semik, Russian lubok, 19th century
Also called
various names in Slavic languages
  • Belarusian: зялёныя святкі, зелянец, сёмуха
  • Bulgarian: русалска седмица
  • Czech: rusalné svátky, rusalje
  • Russian: зелёные cвятки, русальная неделя, русалии
  • Polish: zielone świątki
  • Ukrainian: зелені свята, русалії
Observed bySlavic people
BeginsEaster + 42 days
EndsPentecost
Datethe week preceding Pentecost
Frequencyannual
Related toPentecost, Trinity Sunday, Eastern Orthodox liturgical days, Rosalia

Green week, or the green holidays (Russian: зелёные святки; Polish: zielone świątki), is a traditional Slavic seasonal festival celebrated in early June and closely linked with the cult of the dead and the spring agricultural rites. In Russian villages, the seven weeks after Easter have historically been a time of festivity. Green week takes place during the seventh week leading up to the Pentecost,[1] and includes the seventh Thursday after Easter called Semik (Russian: Семик).

The end of green week is followed by Trinity week, also known as the holiday of the Trinity (Russian: Троицкие святки) in Eastern Christianity. It is also widely known as Whitsuntide week in the English-speaking world, especially Great Britain, and inaugurated by the celebrations of Trinity Sunday, the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity.

Observance[]

Celebrants carrying green branches on river boats during green week celebrations, Urzecze, Poland, 2017

The Thursday of green week was called Semik and included burial services for the unclean dead (those who had died before their time).[2][3]

On Semik, funeral rites were held for the unclean dead.[2][3] Birch trees were particularly significant, because they were considered hosts for the souls of the deceased.[1] Sometimes people would honor a particular tree by decorating it or carrying it around. At other times, people would cut birch branches and hang them in their homes.[1][2] The birch was also seen as a symbol of vegetative power, and may have been honored with the hope of bringing its vitality to the coming season's crops.[2]

Springtime and fertility rituals were also important to the holiday. Girls brought offerings of fried eggs (a symbol of rebirth) and beer to birches, and spoke charms about improved harvest when weaving garlands for the trees.[1] Another tradition is for girls to pledge vows of friendship before the chosen birch tree.[1][2] Some believe this to be the remnant of ritual sexual activity associated with the cult of spring.[1] Like Kostroma during Maslenitsa, a chosen birch tree was destroyed at the end of the festivities. It was usually drowned,[1][2] "in order to provide the needed rainfall for the sprouting crops".[4]

Association with rusalki[]

Main article: Rusalka

The rusalki are nature spirits (navki, mavki) associated with green week traditions. They derived their name from Rusalii, another name for these holidays. Some believe they were associated with deceased family members,[1][2] or perhaps only unclean dead.[2] Sometimes an honored birch tree would be named for a rusalka as part of green week.[1] Some of the rites of green week (like making offerings of eggs and garlands) were thought to placate the rusalki so they would stay away from the village's agricultural fields for the season and not bring them harm.[2][3] The rusalki are also associated with water and fertility, and so may be invoked during green week in an attempt to bring their moisture and vigor to the fields.[2] During green week, rusalki were believed to be more active, making them a greater threat to villagers.[2] One precaution villagers took during this week was avoiding swimming, because rusalki were thought to live in the water and might drown passers by.[2]

Related observances[]

See also: Rosalia (festival) and Pentecost

There is a similar holiday celebrating Pentecost in Romania, called Rusalii.[5] There is also a similar Germanic tradition, for example, Pfingstbaumpflanzen in Germany. In modern-day Poland it is celebrated along with Pentecost Sunday as Zielone Świątki.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Sokolov, Yuriy M. (1971) [1950]. Russian Folklore. Detroit: Folklore Associates. pp. 188–195. ISBN 0-8103-5020-3.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Ivanits, Linda J. (1992) [1989]. Russian Folk Belief. Armonk, New York and London, England: M. E. Sharpe. pp. 75–82. ISBN 0-87332-889-2.
  3. ^ a b c Gasparini, Evel. "Slavic Religion". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  4. ^ Joanna Hubbs. Mother Russia: The Feminine Myth in Russian Culture. Indiana University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-253-20842-4. Page 73.
  5. ^ "Rusalii (Pentecost) holiday customs: Calusarii dance". Romania Business Insider. Business Insider SRL. 2010-05-20. Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2011-06-10. An important Romanian celebration is coming up this Sunday, May 23rd. It’s called Rusalii or the Descent of the Holly [sic] Spirit (the holiday is also called Pentecost sometimes) and it is always celebrated by the Orthodox Church 50 days after Easter.

External links[]

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