Koliada or Koleda ( bg, Коледа, translit=Koleda}) is a Slavic mythological deity, that personalizes the newborn winter infant SunБългария, славянски богове
in Bulgarian and impersonates the New Year's cycle.Мифы народов мира (второe издание)/изд. "Советская Энциклопедия"/Москва/1987, том 1/стр.665 It is connected with the solar cycle, passing through the four seasons and from one substantial condition into another. In the different

Slavic countries Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...

at the Koliada winter festival were performed rituals with games and songs in its honour - like koleduvane. In some regions of Russia the ritual gifts (usually

bun A bun is a type of bread roll, typically filled with savory fillings (for example hamburger). A bun may also refer to a sweet cake in certain parts of the world. Though they come in many shapes and sizes, buns are most commonly round, and are ...

s) for the

koledari Koledari are Slavic traditional performers of a ceremony called ''koleduvane'', a kind of Christmas caroling. It is associated with Koliada, a celebration incorporated later into Christmas. This type of caroling is called "kolędowanie" in Pol ...

are also called "kolyada". In the lands of the

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, G ...

it was symbolized by a doll, called Koled.Мифологический словарь/Гл.ред. Е.М. Мелетинский - М.:'Советская энциклопедия', 1990 г.- 672 с. In the ancient times Slavs used to sacrifice horses, goats, cows, bears or other animals that personify fertility. Koliada is mentioned either as male or a female deity in the songs.

In modern culture

There are many traditions that recall both the deity and the ritual of Koliada. All of them are on or around Winter Solstice: * Koleduvane is a ceremony with pagan roots that is still performed on Christmas Eve in many Slavic countries. *Koleda is the modern

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

word for Christmas. *

Koliadka Koliadka ( uk, колядка, cz, koleda, bg, коледарска песен, ro, colindă) are traditional songs usually sung in East Slavic peoples, Eastern Slavic, Central Europe, Central European and Eastern European countries during the ...

, Koliada or Kaleda is a traditional song usually sung in Eastern Slavic countries (

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

) only on Orthodox Christmas holidays, between the 7 and 14 of January *Crăciun is the

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

and Karácsony - the Hungarian word for Christmas. They are both derived from Korochun/Krachun - one of the names of the pagan holiday Koliada, although neither Romania nor Hungary are Slavic countries. *Kalėdos is the

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...

word for Christmas. There are Slavic neopagan communities in most of the Slavic countries whose goal is to popularize ancient pagan belief and practice in present-day society. Some Slavic

pagan rock Pagan rock is a genre of rock music created by adherents of neopagan traditions. It emerged as a distinct genre from gothic rock in the 1980s. Bands in this genre will often use pagan and occult imagery and deal with pagan themes. In some cases ...

and

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

bands have songs about Koliada: *Song of the Russian folk band

Ivan Kupala Kupala Night ( be, Купалле, pl, Noc Kupały, russian: Иван-Купала, uk, Івана Купала, Купайла), also called Ivanа Kupala, is a traditional Slavic holiday that was originally celebrated on the shortest night of ...

, called Kolyada *Song of the Russian pagan metal band Arkona, called Kolyada *Song of the Belarusian pagan metal band Kolo Pravi - Goy Kolyada *Song Kolyada of the Russian band Veter vody *Song Kolyada of the Ukrainian female singer

Iryna Fedyshyn Iryna Petrivna Fedyshyn ( ua, Іри́на Петрі́вна Феди́шин, born in Lviv) is a Ukrainian singer and songwriter. Biography Iryna Fedyshyn was born on 1 February 1987 in Lviv, Ukrainian SSR, in the family of a musician. From an ...

*Song Kolyada my of the Ukrainian female singer Iryna Fedyshyn *Song Kolyada-kolyadka of the Ukrainian female singer Iryna DolyaKolyada-kolyadka Iryna Dolya
/ref>

References

External links

Koliada
// Russian mythological calendar
Kozlov, M.М. God–baby Koljada in pagan consciousness of east Slavs
{{Slavic mythology Slavic pseudo-deities Slavic gods Slavic Christmas traditions Slavic culture Slavic holidays

In modern culture

See also

References

External links