Russian Santa Claus biography. Father Frost

Can any of the children or adults imagine such a beloved and long-awaited New Year holiday without the most important guest, Grandfather Frost? All people wait with equal impatience for both of them. The capricious queen from the fairy tale “The Twelve Months” claimed that there would be no New Year until snowdrops were brought to her. But in reality New Year does not begin until the most welcome guest - Grandfather Frost - comes to visit.

But what is the story of Father Frost and the Snow Maiden? How did Santa Claus and his granddaughter appear? Was he always a grandfather? Very young children are more interested in what gifts he has in his bag, and older children already want to know more about him and his companion.

The history of the appearance of Father Frost, the kind grandfather, goes far into the past; there is no clear opinion about who exactly became his prototype. There are several versions and legends that reveal the secret of the appearance of a magical character:

Lord of the cold

Similar characters appeared long ago in ancient Russian legends. People believed that the lord of the cold wandered through fields and forests, covering them with snow, knocking with his staff, freezing rivers and lakes, and drawing patterns. They called this Lord Frost, Grandfather Studenets, Morozko, Grandfather Treskun or Moroz Ivanovich. This gray-haired old man not only freezes, he also looks after nature, helping plants and animals survive the frosty winter. Morozko did not give children gifts or congratulate them on the New Year; his main task was to take care of nature.

Spirit of ancestors

Ancient people believed that the spirits of the dead cared for the living and protected nature. As a sign of gratitude, people performed a kind of ritual, depicting the spirit of the dead, and went from house to house. For this they received rewards from the owners. The oldest man among all the carolers portrayed a formidable spirit, for which he was called Grandfather. Probably, he could become the predecessor of Father Frost, with the difference that the participants in the ceremony received gifts, and Father Frost, on the contrary, brings them.

Ancient Varuna

In the rites of antiquity, dating back to the period winter solstice During Christmas time, when depicting the sun, it was customary to finish drawing his legs. This meant that now all roads were open to the sun. Now the sun begins its new journey in a circle, which increases daylight hours and frees nature from snow and ice. By analogy with the ancient Varuna, in Rus' this is facilitated by Father Frost, who also connects the world of the living and the dead and helps the souls of the dead return to Earth with rain or snow. It was from Varuna that the winter guest we know adopted the custom of judging people by their actions and rewarding them according to their deserts, of being a strict and fair judge.

Evil Frost

There are several versions according to which the prototype of the dear Grandfathers were completely opposite characters. According to one legend, he is known as an evil and cruel deity, the lord of cold and blizzards, the Great Northern Elder, who freezes people, and one day freezes a young widow to death and leaves her children orphans. According to another version of the pagan peoples, Santa Claus received sacrifices on earth, stole small children and carried them away in his sack.

St Nicholas

According to one version, Santa Claus inherited many of his traits from real person, who lived before our era, the kind and selfless Nicholas. Living in abundance, he willingly helped those in need and those in trouble, Special attention he devoted to the children. Everyone knows that Nikolai helped collect a dowry for the daughter of a poor peasant; he threw a bag of coins into the chimney, and the coins fell into the girl’s sock drying near the fireplace. This legend marked the beginning of the tradition of hiding surprises - "Nicholas" - in children's socks. For his kindness, Nicholas began to be called a saint. And in many countries the custom of giving gifts for the Christmas holidays has become established.

Image and clothes

Previously, Santa Claus was depicted in completely different clothes, which were radically different from the outfit we are used to. Now it’s hard to imagine that Santa Claus was once dressed in a raincoat. Then artists worked on grandpa’s image and outfit, and at the end of the 19th century he wore a red fur coat with white fur trim. Later, the image of a good-natured, fat old man with a gray beard characteristic of his age was created.

Now the grandfather known to us has the following special signs:

Hair and long beard to the floor(same in all collective images character) - thick, gray in color, symbolize power and happiness.

Shirt and pants – white with the same snow-white pattern, symbolize purity. It is a mistake to dress grandfather in red trousers.

Fur coat- very long and exclusively red, trimmed with swan down and decorated with a silver pattern. A short sheepskin coat and fur coats of other colors belong to the wardrobe of grandfathers from other countries.

A cap– red, without tassels or pom-poms, trimmed with swan down, decorated with pearls and silver patterns, with a triangular neckline at the front.

Mittens– always white, not red, decorated with a silver pattern, symbolize purity.

Belt– white with a red pattern, symbolizing the unity of past and present.

Shoes- felt boots or red or silver boots.

Staff– has a twisted silver handle, with a bull’s head or a month on the top, which symbolizes fertility and power, the staff can freeze naughty children and helps to move through snowdrifts.

Bag– bottomless, full of gifts, always red.

Who is the Snow Maiden?

If everything is very complicated and confusing with the appearance of Grandfather Frost, then the story of his granddaughter Snegurochka is known - this is the heroine of the New Year's play, who was so loved by the audience that her image has been popular for more than a hundred years. Although there was an image of a girl in a white fur coat before, it existed in folklore and this girl’s name was Snezhevinochka, Snow Maiden. Her name comes from the word “snow,” because this girl was born from snow.

Sometimes she is depicted as a young girl, sometimes as a little girl, because there is a version that the Snow Maiden is the daughter of Grandfather Frost, but we know her as the granddaughter of a fairy-tale grandfather.

Be that as it may, no one can do without her. children's party, it is she who helps the children call Santa Claus for the holiday, it is she who is his constant companion and assistant.

On holiday

On holiday, Santa Claus manages to visit every house, but he doesn’t invite anyone to visit him, so no one knows him the exact address. People who believe in magic suggest that his home is far in the North, in a land of ice and eternal winter. Many believe that grandfather may well live at the North Pole or that his home is in Lapland. Santa Claus will feel comfortable in any country where winter reigns all year round.

Grandfather comes to visit on a sled flying through the air, drawn by three horses; he can also come on skis or on foot. If someone had to see him on the reindeer, keep in mind that this is Santa in front of you.

Father Frost comes to the children with Snegurochka, who is his granddaughter. Her clothes are snow-white, with silver ornaments, and on her head she wears a crown with 8 rays. The image of the Snow Maiden is very close to children; she takes an active part in New Year's games and competitions and helps children call Grandfather Frost for the holiday.

The appearance and character of Santa Claus were collected from many good and evil, real and fictional characters. Having traveled a long way, he appeared before us as a symbol of power, goodness, justice and holiness. A meeting with him marks the beginning of a new period in the life of a person and the entire planet, in which there will be only good, kind and the best.

For residents of the residence of Father Frost in Veliky Ustyug, the New Year is not a fairy-tale time, as for most people, but a real business. On the eve of 2015, SUPER found out who works as the country's main Santa Claus and how much he earns.

Few people know that the current owner of the residence in Veliky Ustyug is 37 years old. The real name of the favorite of all Russian children is Andrei Balin. The young man got a job as Santa Claus as soon as he appeared commercial project“The House of Father Frost,” - at that time, 22-year-old Andrei had just graduated from the 44th Lyceum with a degree in animal husbandry. A native resident of Veliky Ustyug, having no acting education, entered into an agreement with the city administration employment contract as a specialist in culture and tourism. In a magical mansion built in Serebryany Bor Vologda region, Andrey Balin has been dominant for 15 years.

Over the years of work, Father Frost managed to acquire not only many deputies and various assistants, but also a family. SUPER learned that the main magician of the country is married - his beloved name is Tatyana. Six years ago, the girl gave her husband a daughter. To provide for his wife and child, 37-year-old Andrei Balin opened his own business right in his mansion - a souvenir shop, where Tatyana works as a salesman. Every morning, Father Frost and his wife come to the territory of the estate in their SUV, and in the evening they return home.

Having agreed to fulfill the modest wishes of children in the form of a 10-minute communication with Santa Claus, which, by the way, costs parents of children a tidy sum, Andrei made his own dreams come true. Immediately after he took over as chief Russian Grandfather Moroz, he was given a spacious three-room apartment in Veliky Ustyug.

It’s a sin for a fairy-tale character to complain about income. In addition to the profit from the souvenir shop, Grandfather Frost receives a good salary, considering the prices for entertainment at his residence. Amusement rides, slides, sleigh and horse riding, a trip along the Fairy Tale Trail and walks along magical forest, available at any time of the year, cost a lot of money. The most expensive months for tourists are December and January. At this time, just entry to the territory of Father Frost’s estate will cost visitors 1,000 rubles. Further movements around the estate are paid separately.

Thus, according to average estimates, the revenue that the estate brings to the treasury is more than 1 billion rubles a year. During the first three years of operation of the “House of Father Frost”, the number of tourists visiting Ustyug increased from 2 to 32 thousand per season, and trade turnover in the city increased 15 times.

— Our Grandfather Frost is endowed magical power, he lives in his residence all year round. He doesn’t need money, because he’s a magician,” Father Frost’s press secretary Lyubov Yakimova told SUPER.

Confirmed his affiliation with magical world without money and on my own fairy tale hero, having been on the air of the program “ Evening Urgant»:

— I didn’t notice any sanctions in my fairy tale. Play for yourself with these pieces of paper that you call money. I don't play these games! - Father Frost told the presenter, answering the question about how the sanctions affected him.

The owner of the residence in Veliky Ustyug actually has no sanctions. Including a range of VIP services for wealthy guests of Santa Claus.

- Yes, we can really arrange an individual meeting with Santa Claus in separate room, but 10 minutes will cost those who wish it no less than 50 thousand rubles,” residence administrator Yulia Khudozhilova shared with SUPER. — The main Santa Claus can even come to your home for the New Year, but the price will be much higher.

However, money is not the only thing that can convince the country’s main wizard to leave his native residence and arrive on a special plane in Moscow at the height of the holidays to listen to the poems of the heirs of the capital’s oligarchs.

“I have a rich fleet of vehicles: deer, horses, a flying carpet, and running boots.” “Whichever is more convenient, that’s what I fly on,” Father Frost said about his methods of traveling around the country in the “Evening Urgant” program.

In fact, everything is much more prosaic. To a budgetary institution“The House of Father Frost” does not have enough funding, and therefore, in exchange for Father Frost’s arrival for a private holiday, his colleagues are asking him to donate it to the estate new car or allocate funds to expand the grandfather's residence so that he can accommodate even more children.

“Hello, Grandfather Frost, cotton wool beard! Did you bring us gifts? The guys are really looking forward to it!” - these lines are familiar to us since kindergarten! Most of us perceive this comrade as a fairy-tale character who appears on New Year's Eve and gives gifts to obedient children. Let's take a closer look at who Santa Claus is and where he came from.

When did the image of Santa Claus appear?

The Slavs were able to personify almost everything natural phenomena. Moroz was also not deprived of such an honor. He was presented as a white-bearded old man in a fur coat who was master of the cold and winter cold. You can hear Frost in winter forest, when he “crackles and clicks, jumping from tree to tree.” He usually came from the north. Different Slavic tribes called Moroz in their own way: Treskunets, Morozko, Karachun, Studenets, Zyuzya, etc.

In general, the Slavs held Frost in high esteem, because it was believed that a cold, snowy winter would ensure a good harvest. Therefore, there was a ritual called “Clicking Frost”, when he was treated to ritual food in the form of pancakes and kutya.

A lot of information about Frost can be gleaned from folk art. In many fairy tales, he tested the protagonist, who could be generously gifted or frozen to death.

Many writers of the 19th century described this character in their fairy tales, relying specifically on Slavic mythology. At the same time, it was not associated with the New Year or Christmas, but some attributes modern Grandfather I already had Frost. In the Soviet film “Morozko” you can directly see such a character.

But still, starting from the second half of the 19th century, Santa Claus began to be compared with the New Year holidays. So he began to play the role of “Christmas grandfather,” who, like Nicholas the Pleasant in the West, gave gifts to obedient Russian children.

Already at the beginning of the 20th century, Grandfather Frost was very similar to his contemporary, but with an emphasis on Christmas traditions. However in 1929, the Komsomol strictly prohibited the celebration of Christmas and, accordingly, Moroz Ivanovich went on vacation for several years.

The revival of Santa Claus in our usual form took place on the New Year of 1936! At the same time, the first one in the Soviet Union was officially held. Christmas tree, where he appeared with his granddaughter Snegurochka. It is worth noting that Santa Claus was conceived as a character intended for a children's audience.

By the way, in the USSR they tried to introduce such a character as the New Year Boy, who appeared as the successor of Grandfather.

What does the real Santa Claus look like?

Western culture sometimes makes us confuse the appearance of our Father Frost with the attributes of Santa Claus. Let's figure it out what exactly a Russian New Year's Grandfather should look like.

Beard

A long thick beard has always been an integral attribute of our Santa Claus at all times. In addition to the fact that a beard indicates his age, it also symbolizes wealth and prosperity. Interestingly, the Slavs imagined Frost with a beard down to his feet.

Fur coat

The grandfather must wear a red fur coat, embroidered with silver and trimmed with swan down. Don’t forget about the mandatory presence traditional ornament, for example, in the form of geese or stars. Today fur coats are used in both blue and white, and even Green colour, but many, including historians, criticize this outfit, insisting that for our Frost, red is canonical.

A cap

Santa Claus wears a semi-oval hat, like a boyar's, but on its front part there should be a triangular cutout. Color, ornament, trim - everything should match the fur coat. All kinds of hats with a tassel are for Santa.

Shoes and other accessories

Today, many Grandfathers wear sneakers and leather shoes, which is completely unacceptable. These must be felt boots or boots embroidered with silver. The belt (not a belt!) must be white with a red ornament, which symbolizes the connection with the ancestors. Mittens should also be white, symbolizing the holiness and purity of what Santa Claus gives from his hands.

Staff

The Slavic Morozko used a stick to make a characteristic knock, later the staff was used to create cold and freeze those who did not pass the test. According to the canon, the staff must be crystal or at least silver to resemble crystal. It has a twisted handle and ends with a stylized image of the Moon or a bull's head.

A bag with presents

Santa Claus comes to children not empty-handed, but with a whole bag of gifts. Its color is usually red too. By definition, the bag is magical, because the gifts in it do not end, at least while it is in the hands of Grandfather.

Well, now when dressing up as Santa Claus, you will know what to focus on.

Character of Santa Claus

Unlike his Western counterpart, Santa Claus is not an inveterate merry fellow. He is quite stern, but at the same time kind and fair.. Santa Claus still loves to test people and only then give them gifts, but he no longer freezes anyone, but simply finds out how you behaved last year and asks you to recite a poem.

In many cultures, there is a character who gives children gifts for New Year or Christmas. The most famous throughout the world is Santa Claus, who holds the post of good giver in Western Europe and the USA.

We won't make a detailed comparison between Father Frost and Santa, just remember that our donor's sleigh is pulled by a three-piece, he does not climb pipes, does not smoke a pipe and does not wear glasses. In addition, our Grandfather does not associate with elves, because he has a granddaughter, Snegurochka.

A few words about the Snow Maiden

Direct analogy with Slavic mythology Snegurochka does not, although there is an opinion that this is one of the girls who was frozen by Morozko. The first mentions of the Snow Maiden appear in Russian folklore, where she is described as a revived girl who was made of snow. Later she appears as the daughter of Santa Claus, but in the end the option with a granddaughter took root.

Today, Snegurochka is Father Frost’s indispensable assistant on all New Year’s holidays.

Conclusion

Santa Claus is truly a national treasure, because people worked on his image different eras. Also in Slavic tribes revered the stern master of the cold, who also appears in oral folk art, and in fairy tales of Russian writers. He has come down to us in the form of a kind grandfather who gives children gifts for the New Year.

From childhood, we all remember the cheerful New Year's celebrations with the arrival of Grandfather Frost and the Snow Maiden. Under the cotton swag and shiny hat of a fairy-tale character, there was usually someone very familiar hiding, but I wanted to think that really real Grandfather Frost came to congratulate us and distribute sweets. Where did it come from, from what times and who invented it?

If we turn to history, we will have to take an excursion into the distant past of humanity, thousands of years ago. Finding ourselves in the north of the Eurasian continent, we would see peoples worshiping Varun, the creator of the Universe. The chief judge of people, he was formidable, but fair. All cosmic bodies obeyed this deity. As human society developed, God changed names; among the Slavs he began to be called Svarog. With the advent Christian religion"Grandfather" (Svarog) was renamed Santa Claus by the descendants of the Indo-Europeans. So when did Santa Claus appear in Rus'? The northern peoples of medieval Rus' revered one God - Nicholas the Wonderworker - who was the same Saint Nicholas (Santa Claus) for Christians. The first mention dates back to approximately the 3rd century AD.

In winter, a day called solstice. It's December 21st. Our star turns to summer after the longest night of the year. A little earlier, Christians celebrate St. Nicholas Day. Our ancestors “clicked for frost” from this day until Epiphany. In Russians folk tales appears new character- Father Frost. He, as a prototype of the ancient deity Varuna, also judges people with justice, rewarding those who deserve it and punishing sinners.

Santa Claus has a staff in his hands, and on his shoulder is a spruce tree decorated with stars. The Snow Maiden also comes to the holiday with him - this is a symbol of frozen water. In a Russian fairy tale, a girl melts in the summer. And the thick beard and hair on the head of Santa Claus symbolizes wealth and power. The white mittens on his hands signify holiness; the old man’s gifts are always selfless and pure. The belt on his fur coat is a symbol of our connection with our ancestors. On the feet are boots, usually red or white (silver). At the top of Santa Claus's staff is the head of a bull - this signifies power over the sublunary world.

Residence fairy tale characters is now located in the city of Veliky Ustyug. Near this city there is the village of Morozovitsa, where, according to legend, Moroz (not to be confused with Grandfather), the younger brother of Aquarius, settled. Grandfather Frost's house is built of wood. The building's gabled roof dominates the residence. There is a small zoo. From Veliky Ustyug the winter ruler travels around on holidays Russian cities, excursionists also come to him to see his place of residence and himself.

Father Frost, as he is known, is prohibitively young for a folklore character. The kind, rosy-cheeked grandfather with a bag of gifts is a little over a century old. Our ancestors saw Frost in the guise of a harmful, shaggy old man with an iron stick in his hands, a meeting with whom could be deadly.

Frost, aka Studinets, aka Ded Treskun, aka Karachun

The codling catches severe frosts by pounding forest stumps with an iron club. Meeting him in the forest is not good. Firstly, this is a sign that severe cold is approaching, and secondly, any not-so-nervous Karachun man will be angry at the sight of a short, shaggy old man in a fur coat on his bare feet and with a club in his hands. Studinets and Zyuzya perform a similar function: they create blizzards, cover roads and houses with snow and, while passing by, can freeze a belated traveler, as described in famous poem Nekrasova: “Without chalk, my whole face will turn white, and my nose will burn with fire.”

Frost has slightly different functions. His duties include “covering the fields with snow” in winter so that winter crops do not freeze. In the spring he went to bed under a log. So that Frost sleeps soundly and does not think of coming to the fields earlier late autumn, he should have been “clicked”. To do this, the head of the family brought out kutya - porridge with honey and berries or oat pancakes, and put it in specific place, saying:

"Santa Claus, Santa Claus!
Come eat pancakes and kutya!
Don't go in the summer, don't eat cucumbers,
Don't kill Rosa and don't drive away the children."

They clicked Frost for a whole month, starting from December 20th. Food was left in places considered a “passage to another world,” that is, on the threshold, on the outside of the window, or in the garden. In the Moscow region, slander was shouted into the chimney.

“Clicking” survived until the mid-19th century, only instead of kutya, one of the dishes from the table was displayed - cabbage soup or stew.

Moroz Ivanovich and the main Old Man for Christmas tree delivery

Literary image Father Frost was first introduced by V. Odoevsky in “Tales of Grandfather Irenaeus”. Here Moroz Ivanovich looks not so much harsh as fair. He rewards the hard-working and skillful, and punishes the lazy and incompetent.

Since 1830 in royal family The New Year was celebrated with a Christmas tree, and soon the familiar holiday became firmly established in the life of St. Petersburg. The sale of Christmas trees “charmingly decorated and decorated with lanterns, garlands, wreaths,” according to the Northern Bee newspaper, began in 1840, and the most popular toy became “Christmas old men” sprinkled with white frost. Over time, toy Grandfathers began to be placed under the Christmas tree. Performances were performed in which an old man in a fur coat brought a coniferous tree, and songs were sung. Therefore, when the children asked the question: “Who brings the Christmas tree and puts gifts under it,” the answer was clear: that same old man, Santa Claus. The scary figure of Nekrasovsky’s “Forest Governor”, ​​arranged for children, acts as the ruler of the winter kingdom that has decorated the forest precious stones and silver. And also a zealous owner who built palaces and bridges from ice “like no other people will build.”

At the beginning of the 20th century, Father Frost firmly took his place as the main New Year's figure and a children's literature character. At the same time, according to historian E. Dushechkina, the idea of thousand years of history Frost in Rus'.

It doesn’t matter that Father Frost has a secular origin and has nothing to do with Orthodoxy. In people's minds, the New Year was seen as inseparable from Christmas. “The exploiting classes use the ‘good’ Santa Claus in order to make obedient and patient servants of capital out of the working people,” they wrote in propaganda brochures. The poets echoed them:

"Fir trees dry rod
Looming in our eyes
According to Santa Claus's hat,
Angela - in the teeth!"
Semyon Kirsanov.

However, the majority of “backward” citizens continued to secretly celebrate the New Year, in which they were indulged by the janitors who supplied the Christmas trees. In 1933 V.D. Bonch-Bruevich, in addition to his Leninism, writes the story “Lenin at School” about the Christmas tree in Sokolniki, which the children organized for V.I. Lenin and Nadezhda Krupskaya.

The persecution of Santa Claus ended unexpectedly. At a meeting of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee in December 1935, Stalin's ally Pavel Postyshev suddenly started talking about New Year's holiday, described by Bonch-Bruevich. Stalin noted that Soviet children would also enjoy such an event. An article was immediately published in Pravda, which said that previously only capitalists celebrated the New Year, and in the USSR the children of proletarians also deserve a good holiday.

The triumphal procession of Father Frost across the country has begun. He became the main character at all New Year's performances and children's parties, from Chukotka to Azerbaijan. During the Great Patriotic War Santa Claus from the poster defeated the fascists. And a great many cartoons have been created about him: “Santa Claus and Gray wolf", "Santa Claus and Summer", "Snowman-Postman".

Currently, Santa Claus has received full recognition. He has a residence palace in Veliky Ustyug, numerous assistants and a granddaughter, Snegurochka. And even the United Russia party accepted him into its ranks, and since 2010, as part of the “Father Frost - United Russia” project, it has been delivering gifts for him around the country.

The story of how is of great interest today.