Autumn Kuzminki - signs and proverbs: features of Autumn Kuzminki. Kuzminki autumn Day of Kuzma and Demyan

23.04.2024 -

Kuzminki. Kuzma and Demyan. Kuzminki - autumn wake, meeting winter. According to the folk autumn calendar, the time is allocated from the Second Savior to Kuzminki. The last weddings were played out on Kuzminki - forging happiness for the young. Saints Cosmas and Damian were considered as craftsmen and patrons of the family hearth, blacksmiths, and therefore it was a great sin to work in the forges on this day.
From Kuzma and Demyan, who were considered the patrons of all handicrafts, women sat down to spin winter yarn and, turning to the saints, asked for help in keeping up with those who began spinning earlier: Father Kuzma - Demyan! Compare me, the late one, with the early ones.
Kuzminki was also a girls' holiday. On this day, the girls got together and prepared the table, and in the evening they invited single guys to visit. The obligatory dish was porridge. Kuzminki continued “until light”, and then the guys, having finished with the treat, went to steal other people’s chickens.
Chicken slaughter time. Usually a chicken was kept in a peasant's yard for two years. During this period, she laid almost 400 eggs - two-thirds of her productivity assigned to her by nature for her entire short, on average six-year life. Therefore, every autumn housewives tried to replenish the chicken coop with “pulls”, and the “overaged” ones were sent to the table.
The beginning of winter, the first frosts, Kozma - Demyan with a bridge, Nikola (December 19) with a nail. If Kuzma and Demyan shackle the river, then Mikhailo (November 21) will unbreak it. Cold on Kuzma - Demyan - warm on Mikhail. Kuzma - Demyan's path is not a path, but a crossroads in winter. The river will not be frozen in winter until today. For Kuzma and Demyan, a leaf on a tree means frost in a year. If the leaf remains on the tree, then next year there will be pestilence.

Day of Kuzma and Demyan. The river will not be frozen in winter until today.
Usually there are moderate frosts on this day.
In the evening the frost weakens - leading to cloudy weather the next day.
The rooster stands on one leg - it means frost.

Other folk signs of November.

Frost on the trees means frost, fog means thaw.
Mosquitoes in November - be a mild winter.
Many ducks remain for the winter if the winter is expected to be warm.
In November there will be snow and bread will arrive.
If the snow falls on the damp ground and does not melt, then in the spring the snowdrops will bloom early and amicably.
If snow falls on frozen ground, then we can probably expect a good grain harvest next year.
If the ice on the river becomes piles, there will be piles of bread.

Russian folk signs and superstitions.

It is a sin to extinguish God's fire (fire from a thunderstorm).
Bark, bark, little dog, where is my betrothed (the girls are wondering about Christmas time, knocking on the gate with a spoon).
The brownie (grandfather, neighbor) of the horse curled his mane.
The horse came to the yard: the neighbor got into a tangle.
A cuckoo crows on a dry tree, indicating frost.
If it knocks in the sky, it can be heard on earth.
An evil eye looked at us (don't look at us).

On July 14, Orthodox believers remember two unmercenary brothers - Cosmas and Damian of Rome. They lived in the 3rd century in Rome under King Carina. The brothers treated sick people and animals, and provided assistance to poor people. And for all this they did not ask for any payment. With their teachings they converted many people to Christianity.

The brothers were called “unpaid doctors.” But still, there were people who did not like their activities, and they disgraced and killed their brothers with particular cruelty.

On the day of Kuzma and Demyan, people asked Cosma and Damian for help to save them from various diseases. The brothers were the patrons of healers, so those who were somehow related to medical activities prayed to them, lit candles and asked for knowledge, protection and strength.

This day is called:

"Kuzma and Demyan"
"Day of Kozma and Demyan"
"Woman's holiday"
"Women's holiday"
"Kuzminki" The holiday received this name on behalf of one of the brothers who is honored on July 14 - Cosmas. This name was not very familiar among the people, so people chose one very close to it.

Haymaking at that time was at the very top, that is, everyone went to mow the grass. People said: “Kozma and Demyan came - we went to mowing,” “Kuzma-Demyan gets up at the crack of dawn, they take the women to mowing.”

Also at the very peak was weeding the beds, since it was necessary to remove all the weeds and begin to collect the first harvest of root crops for sale. They said: “A vegetable garden is a woman’s income.”

On this day it was already necessary to collect raspberries and gooseberries, from which they would then make compotes and gooseberries. It was believed that raspberry jam was the most delicious during this period. But gooseberries themselves were also added to meat dishes, especially to stewed chicken.

Summer Kuzminki is considered a women's holiday. After the work done for the whole day, young girls and women gathered for festivities in the evening. At the feast they cooked porridge or, as it was also called, “prefabricated porridge”, to which they added everything that everyone brought with them (cereals, flour, milk, eggs), and drank beer. The women also sang songs, shared useful tips and just talked. They prepared a lot of food so that they could treat their neighbors and the poor.

They believed in omens about Kuzma and Demyan:

If in the evening the crescent moon is slightly red in color, there will be wind, and if the edges are slightly dull, showers will begin.

They believed that whatever you dreamed about in a dream that night would soon come true; There was no point in starting something new - it wouldn’t come true anyway; before sunset you need to ask each other for forgiveness.

Birthday people on this day: Alexey, Angelina, Arkady, Vasily, Demyan, Ivan, Konstantin, Kuzma, Lev, Nikon, Pavel, Peter, Tikhon

Day of Kuzma and Demyan. Usually there are moderate frosts on this day.
In the evening the frost weakens - leading to cloudy weather the next day.
The rooster stands on one leg - it means frost.

Tales of the Russian people collected by I.P. Sakharov.

Notes - Customs

The villagers of the Tula province believe that frosts begin on this day. They preserved their observation about this frost in a saying: Kozma and Damian with a nail.
The villagers celebrate their name day on this day. This old custom was known in Moscow. There, in Tolmachevsky Lane, beyond the Moskva River, women gathered around the Church of Kozma and Damian with chickens. Diligent old women served prayer services after mass. Rich people sent chickens as gifts to their relatives. In the villages, women came with chickens to the boyar's courtyard and with petitions brought them to their boyar for a red life. The boyars gave gifts to the villagers with ribbons for linguish. Such petitioning chickens were held in high esteem: they were fed oats and barley and were never killed. The eggs they laid were considered medicinal: they were fed to patients suffering from bile disease.
In the Tula province, votive works were prepared by the boyars for this day. They used the money they earned from selling their products to give alms to the poor and to buy candles.
In the villages of Myshkinsky district of Yaroslavl province, villagers kill kochet in barns. The eldest in the house chooses the kochet and cuts off his head with an ax. Cochet's legs are thrown onto the huts so that there will be chickens. The kochet itself is boiled and eaten by the whole family at dinner.
In the villages of Valdai district, Kozmodemyan beer is brewed for honest guests.
The villagers of the Yaroslavl province are governed on this day by the courtyard. This is what they call a brownie who takes care of livestock. If there is a dashing horse in someone’s yard, they take a broom, mount a horse that the yard boy doesn’t like, and ride it around the yard. During these travels, they wave a broom in the air and shout: “Father of the yard! Don’t destroy the yard and don’t destroy the animals.” After this they remain calm and think that the dashing one has calmed down. Others dip the broom in tar with the intention of marking a notch on the bald head of the yard man. With this notch, it’s like a dashing person is running away from the yard.

On November 14, the Orthodox Church honors the memory of the silverless men Cosmas and Damian, who were originally from Asia Minor. They were skilled healers and could heal a hopelessly ill person with the power of prayer. Thanks to the brothers, many people converted to the Christian faith. The Roman Emperor Carin tried to force Cosmas and Damian to sacrifice to the pagan gods, but, struck by a sudden illness, he himself turned to their help. After the saints healed him, they were allowed home with honor.

The brothers did not take any payment from people, for which they were called silverless. One day they were able to heal a hopelessly ill woman. In gratitude for this, she brought Damian three eggs and asked him to take them in the name of the Holy Trinity. The saint could not refuse her. When Cosmas found out about this, he was very upset and bequeathed that after his death he should be buried separately from his brother.

The brothers learned medicine from an old doctor, who over time became very jealous of their fame. Driven into a frenzy by this passion, under the pretext of collecting medicinal plants, he called the saints to the mountains and killed them there, and threw their bodies into the river.

When the brothers' bodies were found, people did not know how to bury them - together or separately. But then a miracle happened: a camel that had once been healed of rabies said in a human voice that the brothers should be buried nearby, because Damian accepted the gift not out of self-interest, but out of mercy. That's what people did.

Autumn Kuzminki: the history of the holiday

In Rus', Cosma and Damian (in everyday language Kuzma and Demyan) have been revered since ancient times. If in the canonical lives the saints are presented as healers of mental and physical ailments, then among the people they were more often represented as “handicraftsmen” who did not take money from anyone for their work. The miracle-working brothers were often perceived as one saint and were called Kuzmodemyan (Kosmodemyan).

For a long time in Rus', miracle-working brothers were also revered as organizers of married life and patrons of artisans, mainly blacksmiths. In the popular imagination, Kuzma (Cosma) was directly related to blacksmithing. He was endowed with extensive, multifaceted abilities and qualities - completely human and at the same time magical and miraculous - that blacksmiths possessed. In the eyes of ordinary people, the main calling of Christian saints (healing) was presented as a kind of reforging of the patient, his remaking and hardening.

In the verbs of the same name “forge” and “forge” one of the most ancient and main meanings is to create, create, as well as process, remake, transform, change, give any form. Blacksmiths in mythology are the creators of the world, the first plowmen, magicians and sorcerers, skilled healers dealing with metals endowed with supernatural abilities in the ritual practice of peoples: from the time when people learned to mine metal (copper, iron), metal products were used as powerful talismans, amulets, etc.

In folklore, the image of a blacksmith is often found, and the concept of “forging” is applied to various natural phenomena and situations (educational, family, marriage, educational, military, etc.). There are still expressions: “forge personnel”, “the smith of one’s own happiness”, “fettered by illness”, “fettered by frost”.

Kuzma and Demyan are popularly known as blacksmiths in the literal and figurative sense.

Blacksmith Kuzmademyan forges ice on land and water.

Without Kozmodemyan the river cannot be sealed off in winter.

Kuzma will forge, and Mikhail will unforge (often in there is a thaw).

Kozma with a nail, Nikolai ( ) with a bridge.

Autumn blacksmiths considered Kuzminiki their professional holiday. On this day they were forbidden to work: out of fear of their patron saints and out of respect for them.

Kuzma and Demyan are patrons of not only the art of blacksmithing and blacksmiths, but also women's needlework. From this date, women diligently took up spinning and asked the saints to help them keep up with those who began spinning earlier: Kuzma and Demyan, compare me late with early.

In some legends and epics, the holy brothers are associated with agricultural work - they are threshers and plowmen. There was a legend that Kuzma and Demyan were most willing to hire out to thresh. They never demanded payment for their work and only asked to be fed porridge on time. Because of this, the brothers are sometimes called “kashniks.”

In some places, on the day of Kuzma and Demyan, the barn was “honored”, timing the start of threshing to coincide with this date. They carried porridge into the barn, treated the threshing workers, and helped themselves. A little porridge was left in the barn for its owner, the barnkeeper.

Even on this day they remembered the brownie, who, according to legend, is especially outrageous and violent in November. To calm the raging spirit, they either cajoled it, leaving all sorts of treats, or drove it away with a broom.

The holy brothers (patrons of any craft) were also perceived by the people as bearers of knowledge. For our ancestors, Kuzma and Demyan became prayer helpers in enlightening the mind and teaching literacy. In Ancient Rus', the school year began when all agricultural work came to an end: either on November 1 (on the day of Kuzma and Demyan), or on December 1 ().

Autumn Kuzminki: traditions and customs

November Kuzminiki was often called “smoking name day” or “smoking holiday”. On this day, they brought chickens to church and cooked porridge, which they not only ate themselves, but also offered to taste to the patron saints of the day:

Kuzma and Demyan, come and have some porridge with us.

On the day of Kuzma and Demyan - chicken death (chickens are slaughtered).

For Kuzma-Demyan - the chicken is on the butt, and the chicken is on the table.

From this day on, they began to kill chickens for sale, fried chicken meat, held a prayer service in the chicken coops and sprinkled them with holy water. This ritual was called “praying chickens.” In order to keep poultry, you must try a chicken dish on this day. While eating, chicken bones were not broken so that the bird would not get sick.

The holy brothers were perceived as the patrons of a happy family life and home. The image of wonderful blacksmiths was addressed in Christmas and wedding songs.

Everywhere Kuzminiki was considered a girls' holiday. There was a custom according to which the bride girl on this day was considered the mistress of the house. She prepared food for the whole family. The treat of honor was chicken noodles.

In a number of places, unmarried girls, in order to prove their readiness to get married, organized dumping parties in a rented room on this holiday - they bought food together and had a feast. In the evening they received the guys and treated them to chicken noodles (chicken soup). The celebration lasted until the morning. If all the treats were eaten, then the guys went fishing - they stole the neighbor's chickens. The peasants treated such thefts leniently; if they swore, it was more for the sake of order.

In some places it was customary for girls to walk around the village and beg for food, from which they would then prepare food. They treated these dishes to the invited guys and adults who stopped by to see them.

In the Penza province there was a custom to organize a “funeral for Kuzma-Demyan.” The girls made a stuffed animal: they stuffed a man's pants and shirt with straw and attached a head to them. The effigy was girded with a sash, shod in old bast shoes and planted in the center of the hut. First, they “married Kuzka” to one of the girls, then they put her on a stretcher and carried her outside the outskirts or into the forest. There they stripped the stuffed animal, pulled out the straw, danced on it, and then burned it. In Nizhny Novgorod villages, the effigy was not burned, but drowned in the river. The next day, the girls held a wake, to which they invited the guys, made mash, cooked porridge, and baked pancakes. The first pancake was certainly given to the guys.

At the Kuzma festivities they sang songs, danced in circles, and took part in various games.

Video: Kuzminki - autumn gatherings

The Autumn Kuzminki folk holiday is celebrated on November 14, 2019 (the old style date is November 1). On this day, believers of the Orthodox Church honor the memory of the holy unmercenaries and wonderworkers Cosmas and Damian of Asia and their mother, the Monk Theodotia.

history of the holiday

Cosma and Damian (Kuzma and Demyan) were brothers. Their mother raised them in Christianity, and they preached this faith in their hometown. When the brothers reached adolescence, they were sent to study medicine. Imagine the surprise of many when they began to heal people doomed to death from illnesses. However, they did not take payment for their efforts.

One day they cured a woman of a fatal illness, and she, in gratitude, in the name of the Lord God, asked Kuzma to accept 3 eggs from her. He could not refuse her and accepted the gifts. Then his brother was offended by him, saying that Kuzma had broken the vow they had made and forbade them to bury themselves next to him.

After their death, Christians began to think about fulfilling Demyan’s will. While they were racking their brains, a camel appeared in the crowd, which the brothers had once saved. He spoke in a human voice and ordered to put them together, since Kuzma did not accept the woman’s gifts for selfish reasons. So the brothers were buried in the same grave.

Traditions and rituals

On this day it was customary to exchange chickens as gifts. Such chickens were never slaughtered until they themselves died; they were fed oats or barley. It was believed that the eggs that such a chicken would lay would be healing. Some people believed that the legs of a rooster killed on this day, thrown onto the roof of a house, would help increase the number of poultry.

On November 14, the girls organized Kuzminsky parties. A few days before the holiday, they rented a hut, collected food and brewed beer. In the evening, young people came and fun, dancing and flirting began. When food ran out, young people went to steal chickens. On this day, such thefts were considered excusable.

The last autumn weddings were celebrated on Kuzminki.

Women began to make yarn.

Blacksmiths did not work on this day, as this was considered a great sin.

Signs

If the weather is warm during the day, then winter will be warm.

If the autumn trees on Kuzminki have not completely shed their leaves, then the winter will be severe and the harvest will not be harvested.

If it snows, then in the spring the river will overflow.