Sunshine and green foliage bring joy. Spring months are abundant in various
celebrations. The waking of nature inspires parties and fests. There is always
a reason!
Our ancestors had specific significant causes for it: ploughing and seeding
times, changes of nature and religious solemnities. Historically Perm region
is unique in ethnocultural terms. There are three main groups of people, determined
traditions: Finno-Ugric (Komi-Permyak, Udmurt, Mari, Mansi), Turkic (Tatars
and Bashkirs) and Slavonic (Russian). So far, the settlements of these peoples
still can be traced geographically. Such a mosaic is a good reason for the journey
to learn more about the geographical and cultural landscapes in any of the spring
months!
Calling the spring — meeting the birds
The incoming flights of birds are the obvious sign of spring. In Russian tradition
rooks' feather picked up while plowing, considered to be a talisman. On March
22 women baked buns with rye flour in a lark shape. Children played with them
and sang: "Lark, lark, winter is ending, give us summer".
In the Turkic tradition the winged guests got special food - porridge. Holiday
"Kargatuy" (crows'or rooks' porridge) was important because the crows
were believed to bring spring on the tips of their wings. People cooked porridge,
ate it and treated Mother Nature to pray for peace and harvest, enough sunny
and rainy days. Finally, the crows were given with porridge in gratitude of
bringing spring back.
Rebirth and flowering
Spring comes later to the northern part of Perm Region. And there is a special
bird worshiped in the territory. Local inhabitants (Jazva-Komis) organized fun
festivities to meet sarchiks (wagtails) on May 22. People got together not far
from a village, set a pole and put a straw wagtail on the top. They danced,
sang, sat by the fire. The fun lasted until the evening. Women baked ceremonial
bird-shaped cookies. One of the girls climbed on the roof of the barn and served
meals (baked eggs) for the birds. According to legends, having eaten the treatment
the birds will stay for summer and help with good weather and fertility.
Modern life forces people be stressed. Perhaps the best spring vacation is a
tour to a beautiful place where you can plunge into the atmosphere of original
holidays.
The full text of the article about Spring holidays read in the journal Welcome
to Perm on
