Koleda
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Kolyada or koleda (Cyrillic: коляда, коледа, колада, коледе) is an ancient Slavic winter ritual celebrating the Old New Year. It was later incorporated into Christmas.[1] The word is still used in modern Belarusian (Каляды, Kalady, Kalyady), Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian (Коледа, Коледе) and Croatian, Czech, Slovak (Koleda) and Greek: Κόλιαντα (Koliada). Some suppose the word was borrowed the word from the Latin calendae [1]; compare "Kalends". Others believe it derived from Kolo, "wheel". Another speculation is that it derived from the Bulgarian/Macedonian word "коля/колам" (kolia/kolam), which means "to rip, to kill (a man), to cut animal for eating", or from the Serbo-Croatian "коло, колодар" (kolo, kolodar). Some claim it was named after Kolyada, the Slavic god of winter [2] or Koliada, the goddess who brings up a new sun every day.
In pre-Christian Croatia, "koleda" was a celebration of death and rebirth at the end of December in honour of the sun and god - Dažbog, whose power once more begins to increase in those days. Krijes, meaning bonfire in Croatian, is another festival honouring the sun, during the summer at the time of his greatest strength; a celebration for good harvest.
In modern Ukrainian (koliada), Russian, Czech, Croatian (koleda) and Polish (kolęda [kɔˈlɛnda]) the meaning has shifted from Christmas itself to denoting the tradition of strolling, singing, and having fun on Christmas Eve, same in the Balkan Slavs. It specifically applies to children and teens who walk house to house greeting people, singing and sifting grain that denotes the best wishes and receiving candy and small money in return. The action is called kolyadovanie and is now applied to similar Old East Slavic celebrations of other old significant holidays, such as Generous Eve (Ukrainian: Щедрий вечiр) the evening before New Year's Day, as well as the celebration of the arrival of spring. Similarly in Bulgaria and Macedonia, in the tradition of koleduvane (коледуване) or koledarenje (коледарење) around Christmas, groups of boys visiting houses, singing carols and receiving a gift at parting. The boys are called 'koledari' or rarely 'kolezhdani' who sing kolyadka (songs).
Koleda is also celebrated across northern Greece by the Slavic speakers of Greek Macedonia, in areas from Florina to Thessaloniki, where it is called Koleda (Κόλιντα, Κόλιαντα) or Koleda Babo (Κόλιντα Μπάμπω) which means "Koleda Grandmother" in Slavic. It is celebrated before Christmas by gathering in the village square and lighting a bonfire, followed by local Macedonian music and dancing.
Croatian composer Jakov Gotovac wrote in 1925 the composition "Koleda", which he called a "folk rite in five parts", for male choir and small orchestra (3 clarinets, 2 bassoons, timpani and drum). There is also a dance from Dubrovnik called "The Dubrovnik Koleda."
[edit] See also
- Kolyadka
- Koliada
- Koleda in the Serbian tradition
- Kolęda in the Polish tradition
- Christmas carol
- Christmas Waits
- Shchedryk
- Koledari
- Yule or "Yuletide" (translated by "Koleda"), celebrated by Germanic people
- Yule Goat
- Colindă, a similar Romanian/Moldovan tradition
- Beltane, Gaelic festival in honour of the sun
