“In an interview with UNIAN, researcher of traditional culture, writer Gromovytsa Berdnyk talked about the peculiarities of the perception of Halloween in our time and a century ago, and how the day of commemoration of the dead became part of Ukrainian tradition.”, — write: www.unian.ua
Anyone who has read “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors” by Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi or seen the brilliant film adaptation of this work by Serhii Paradzhanov, remembers the moment when Ivan and Palagna invite the souls of their ancestors to their dinner. This action took place at Christmas, although Ukrainians commemorated their ancestors at least three times a year. The other two times fell on the period after Easter and on the autumn “Grandfathers”, or Dmitrov Saturday – a traditional time for honoring ancestors who have already departed to the other world.
Europeans had one date for this – All Saints’ Day. It, like Dmitrov’s Saturday, fell on November 1. And on the eve – October 31 – Halloween (Samain) was celebrated in Europe – a holiday with ancient Celtic roots. About this root and its connection with Ukraine, UNIAN talked with the researcher of traditional culture, the head of cultural and artistic programs of the NGO “Ukrainian Spiritual Republic”, the writer Gromovytsa Berdnyk.
Ms. Gromovitsa, let’s start with definitions. What is All Saints’ Day, or Halloween, or Samhain? What is its sacred meaning?
Our ancestors, like the ancestors of Europeans, in the old days lived according to a certain calendar. And this calendar included both the stages of the agricultural year and certain sacred points. Actually, Samhain or Savannah – the transcription may be different – is one of the great holidays of the ancient Celtic tribes. This is a turning point. The point when the dark side of the Universe begins to dominate the world. That is, it is not the good and evil of Christianity. These are two sides of the Universe that change each other, and the world is held by this balance and conditional struggle.
So Savannah is the transition to the final onset of the dark season, when the day gradually becomes shorter after the autumnal equinox.
It was believed that as the world plunges into darkness, we can communicate with those who are beyond. First of all, these are our deceased ancestors. Those who gave us life, physical, spiritual, etc. Therefore, these days in all European nations were associated with honoring the dead. Moreover, we are talking about both the native dead and the so-called bad dead (those who died a sudden death, who died in a foreign country, who were not expected from a war, a distant campaign, from distant lands, who disappeared or whatever).
But can it be said that this is the same as the specific Ukrainian commemoration of ancestors?
I wouldn’t say so. I am convinced that in all cultures knowledgeable people perceived the world in the same way, and through them came an understanding of what traditions, rituals, etc. should be. Our ancestors felt the rhythms of nature, felt contact with the other world, and developed all this over the centuries… But we cannot say directly that our “Grandfathers” are the Savan. Too much time has passed.
Both Europe and our territories have been Christian for too long, and traditions have been modified. In Russia, for a long time, there was a strong moment of popular Christianity, the tradition of dualism: people, having accepted the Christian faith, incorporated all the ancient traditions into the new religion in order to feel a connection with the sacred space through them.
But our “Grandfathers” are no longer the same “Grandfathers” who were 100-200 years ago, and Halloween, like the eve of All Saints’ Day, is no longer the same Halloween, because nowadays it is a cheerful commercialized holiday. It seems to me that it is more appropriate to talk about the subtle echo of culture and traditions.
Now Halloween is a fun commercialized holiday / photo ua.depositphotos.comAt the same time, our “Grandfathers” now acquire a new meaning, because we have a lot of missing, tragically dead, sudden deaths (death by a rocket can also be considered as such). We do not know how many people died in the occupation, that is, how many souls appeared that need commemoration. After all, our autumn “Grandfathers”, or Savan with its tradition of lighting a fire and entering the dark season, is a memorial not only for our relatives, but also for all those fallen souls whose names we do not know, but whom we must honor.
Halloween in its current form is borrowed from Western culture. How should we incorporate Ukrainian tradition into “Halloween” events, and should we do it?
In fact, the tradition of such a masquerade came to America with Irish immigrants. There they formed a large community and for a long time preserved the remains of ancient Celtic celebrations and their superstition. With the beginning of Christianization, the Celts began to celebrate All Saints’ Day, commemorating both relatives and non-relatives – everyone.
In Ireland, this day was always accompanied by a masquerade, like our Malanka. But why the masquerade? Because, commemorating the good spirits, people were afraid that others – evil ones – might come along with them. No wonder everything happened in the dark. Therefore, it is necessary to pretend that we are exactly like that, so that evil spirits do not distinguish us. This is where the tradition of scary masks comes from.
By the way, they were really scary – just look at the photos from Ireland at the end of the 19th – beginning of the 20th century. That’s how we got into Malanka. And the demand for “treats or mischief” in Ireland at that time sounded literally, because if the participants of the action did not receive their treats, they could cause damage to the owners – throw a cart on the roof of the house or something.
But it was like that in ancient times. In the 1950s, America decided to commercialize this holiday – after the Second World War, it was necessary to raise the spirit of the people. Christmas was also commercialized after the war. This was done by large American department stores that needed to sell a lot of gifts. This is how Santa Claus and all other accompanying characters appeared – deer, gnomes, etc. And then Hollywood did its job…
How to combine all this with our tradition? No way. They should not be combined. A cheerful holiday is one thing, but commemoration of the dead is quite another. Children who are interested in Halloween as a masquerade should gradually explain the origins of this day. It’s the same with Christmas: at first, children simply receive gifts, and then parents explain why we celebrate Christmas on these days.
For children, I think, up to a certain age, rituals as such are more interesting than explaining where their roots come from. By the way, is the tradition of carving pumpkins purely European?
No, our ancestors also had pumpkin stories with candles. They are mentioned in the records of ethnographers from around the end of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century… Somewhere – on the autumn of “Grandfather”, and somewhere – on Andrii (November 30, previously – December 13, – UNIAN) in Ukraine, pumpkins or turnips were also hollowed out, candles were inserted, hung on gates… This is a general tradition, which was designed to light the way for kindred souls and scare away strangers and unkind people.
By the way, these pumpkins can be related to those that girls presented to unwanted bridegrooms. Because they got married in Ukraine on Dmitrivska Saturday, and this happened to be the day of commemoration of the dead… If a girl did not want to get married, she pumpkin pie Perhaps those pumpkins that remained there somewhere in the storerooms were then carved on All Saints’ Day.
In Ukraine, our ancestors also carved pumpkins / photo ua.depositphotos.comAnd what other traditions, rites, prohibitions or warnings were in force on this Day?
If we take the entire complex of fairy tales, legends, and legends, it follows from them that it was undesirable to leave the house on this night. But if you are already going, then you must go with a candle. And to be changed into masquerade clothes and a mask so that evil spirits cannot approach you. And if they do meet, then so that they do not recognize who it is and do not take it with them. The third warning: you should not respond if someone is calling you.
In Europe, it was believed – and there are many stories about this – that the Wild Hunts take place on this night, when the Great God in his dark guise hunts for the last time souls who are guilty of something, have sinned in something… So, if on All Saints’ Day there was a blizzard outside, there was a wind, a strong storm, then people said that these were the Wild Hunts. At this time, it was better not to leave the house, but to stay in the house – in the circle of the closest ones – and light fires for your ancestors.
Were our ancestors afraid of death at all?
No. In fact, of course, they tried to delay it, but for them death was the other side of the Universe. That is, for our ancestors, death was not nothingness, it was a transition to another world. That is why all the holidays and commemorations arose, when it was believed that relatives who have already died can come, and we can see them. Even if not physically – with our eyes, but we can feel them.