Festival of Veles, Veles' Day is a holiday in honor of the

Slavic god The pagan Slavs were polytheistic, which means that they worshipped many gods and goddesses. The gods of the Slavs are known primarily from a small number of chronicles and letopises, or not very accurate Christian sermons against paganism. Addi ...

Veles, celebrated by

rodnovers The Slavic Native Faith, commonly known as Rodnovery * bg, Родноверие, translit=Rоdnoverie * bs, Rodnovjerje * mk, Родноверие, translit=Rodnoverie * cz, Rodnověří * hr, Rodnovjerje * pl, Rodzimowierstwo; Rodzima ...

in February.

Origin of the holiday

Like other Slavic neopagans' holidays, the day of Veles is based on folklore. In Christian folk rituals, the festival of Veles corresponds to the day of saint Blaise. In the Orthodox tradition, St. Blaise is the protector of cattle, and his feast falls on 11/24 February; it is also believed that he wins over Winter-

Morana Morana may refer to: * Moraña, a municipality in Galicia, Spain * Morana Dam, an earthfill dam on Morana river near Patan, Satara district in the state of Maharashtra in India * Marzanna Marzanna (in Polish), Morė (in Lithuanian), Marena (in ...

. In the

Catholic tradition Sacred tradition is a theological term used in Christian theology. According to the theology of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Assyrian churches, sacred tradition is the foundation of the doctrinal and spiritual authority of ...

Blaise is the patron of throat diseases, and on his feast day apples and candles are blessed to protect from these diseases; his feast day is 3 February. Pieces of apples sacrificed on the day of St. Blaise were once also given to cattle.

Traditions

During the festival, prayers are offered to Veles for protection of the

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animal ...

and health by sacrificing

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modula ...

. An important part of the festival is a feast held near the place of worship (e.g. a temple), during which it is strictly forbidden to eat veal. The main dish eaten during the Weles festival is

groats Groats (or in some cases, "berries") are the hulled kernels of various cereal grains, such as oat, wheat, rye, and barley. Groats are whole grains that include the cereal germ and fiber-rich bran portion of the grain, as well as the endospe ...

richly seasoned with fat. The celebrations are often accompanied by the organization of ritual fights. The holiday is celebrated around 11 February or 24. Since 2017, the Palace of Culture Świt in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

has hosted the National Veles Festival, organized by the Association of Pomeranian Rodnovers "Jantar" and the Drzewo Przodków in cooperation with the Wioska Żywej Archeologii (''Village of Living Archaeology''), whose regular elements include lectures and panel discussions.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{Slavic holidays, state=collapsed Slavic holidays Modern pagan holidays Slavic Native Faith

Origin of the holiday

Traditions

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography