Russian folk agricultural calendarThe book by G. D. Ryzhenkov is dedicated to such a unique phenomenon of Russian culture as the folk calendar, also called agricultural, agrarian or peasant. This calendar developed gradually, over many centuries, orally passed down from generation to generation. It reflected the practical experience of the peasant, all kinds of meteorological, astronomical and agronomic knowledge. However, for a long time, man did not limit himself to just contemplating nature, he always sought to know it. Identifying himself with nature, our distant ancestor gave everything that was around (earth, water, fire, plants, trees, heavenly bodies, various elements) a human appearance. At the same time, all these phenomena were deified. In addition, land, water, houses were inhabited by spirits (fieldwort or midday, merman, mermaids, brownies). Finally, complex ideas about the essence of death, the fate of the dead, the connection of spirits who died with the earth contributed to the emergence of the cult of ancestors. Almost all pagan deities, semi-deities and spirits endowed with supernatural abilities , could help a person, or could harm him. Therefore, they had to be won over through sacrifices, certain magical actions, and chants. Such spells had to be repeated from year to year, at the same time, without any changes in words, melody, or body movements. Only under this condition could the surrounding world remain unchanged, and therefore the harvest would be no worse than last year. Rituals associated with the idea of fertility have gone through centuries development even within the framework of paganism: from the simplest techniques of magic to a whole harmonious system of magical rituals, the transformation of individual rituals into a complex of calendar holidays, from belief in spirits of fertility to the creation of complex mythological images - fertility deities. From the combination of the start and end dates of certain works in the field and at home, the most convenient dates for concluding marriages, and finally, agrarian and family rituals and holidays, the pre-Christian agricultural calendar was formed. The adoption of Christianity had a huge impact on it. The Orthodox Church sought to transform the pagan essence of the festivities by superimposing on the folk calendar the church calendar, or calendar, in which the days of commemoration of Christian saints and events from the history of the church were arranged in calendar order. As a result of such an overlap, a kind of “industrial and household” calendar arose - the folk calendar. All 365 days of the year turned out to be dedicated to some saint, or more often even several, or to some important gospel episode, that is, every day of the year became a holiday, large (non-working) or small (working). The names of all pagan gods disappeared from the folk calendar, they were replaced by the names of Christian saints. But despite all these seemingly significant changes, the main thing was preserved - the pre-Christian worldview of the peasantry, which gave the images of saints the function of fertility deities. This is how a special, “everyday Orthodoxy” arose, in which the saints turned into good helpers in rural work and family life. Each of the saints was assigned a special type of “activity”, which was once peculiar to a certain pagan deity. For example, they prayed to Elijah the Prophet, who replaced the thunder god Perun, during a drought and asked for a bucket. Some saints possessed several “specialties” at the same time. Thus, Cosmas and Damian were considered healers of livestock, healers of people, and patrons of marriage. But along with Cosmas and Damian, Florus, Laurus, Modest, Yegoriy were also considered guardians of livestock from diseases and wild animals. Usually, nicknames with clearly everyday connotations were added to the names of saints: often associated with the nature of the weather on that day (Fedot Vetrenoe), with the type of agricultural activities (Boris and Gleb Sowers), with the state of vegetation at that time (Mavra Zelenye Shchi - nettles and sorrel were already growing). Some Christian holidays, the meaning of which was unclear to the peasants, it received a new name: the day of worship of the chains of the Apostle Peter - the day of Peter Half-Food, since by this time half of the winter feed reserves for livestock usually ran out. Along with signs, many of them amaze with their accuracy, special peasant observation [Sign: “On Manuel (June 17/30) the sun stagnates” - this is confirmed by the observations of astronomers: the earth really slows down its movement around the sun. Hereinafter, the first number means the old style, the second, separated by a dash, means the new style] - the folk calendar includes proverbs and sayings relating both to the year as a whole and to individual seasons, months, days, natural phenomena, animals, plants , birds. These sayings demonstrate the remarkable ability of the Russian person to be aphoristic and the poetic expression of thought: “Winter frolics not only in the forest, but also on our noses”; “On a foreign side, even spring is not red”; “April streams awaken the earth.” Other proverbs and sayings arose based on the consonance of the words: “On (the day of) St. Pud, get the bees out from under the bushel”; “Vasily Porisky soars the earth; “The rise of autumn moves towards winter”; “Holy Corailius - away from the ground the rhizome”; “Fedor is chilling the earth.” Another important feature of the peasant month-speak should be noted. The pre-Christian agricultural calendar was oriented according to the sun, and the church calendar was oriented according to the moon. As a result of combining calendars, two types of holidays arose. The first have been celebrated annually since pagan times at the same time (permanent or enduring holidays); second - every year celebrate on different days (fickle, moving holidays). The latter include Easter and various pre- and post-Easter rituals and Trinity with numerous pre- and post-Trinity rituals. Usually, scientists and collectors count the folk calendar from January 1, although this date has nothing to do with the agricultural year. Its beginning is either the arrival of spring (preparation for sowing) or the onset of autumn (the end of the harvest). It is no coincidence that until 1348, the New Year in Rus' was officially celebrated on March 1, and from 1349 to 1699 - on September 1, and only Peter I, by his decree, established the arrival of the next year according to the European model. Nevertheless, the date March 1 is widely celebrated as a welcoming of spring, as a day predicting the weather for spring - summer (Eudokea Summer Pointer). Dedicated to this day There are many signs, proverbs and sayings. No less significant is the holiday of September 1 - the day of Simeon the Flyer, when work in the field stops, autumn comes, gatherings, round dances and games of young people begin. There are also many different sayings attached to Semin days. The Russian agricultural calendar is of great interest as a kind of encyclopedia of folk knowledge, a kind of cradle of scientific natural science. The well-known researcher of the folk month, A.S. Ermolov, wrote at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries that far-gone science should “try to restore the long-broken connection between exact scientific knowledge, on the one hand, and direct folk experience, the sensitive observation of ordinary rural people - with another". Then this call was not heard, but “everything returns back to normal.” Now, almost a hundred years later, Ermolov’s words seem especially relevant. At the same time, the folk calendar is also an encyclopedia of folk aesthetics, a collection of enduring folk values. The materials cited by G. D. Ryzhenkov in the book indicate that that the Russian peasant not only loved nature, but also deeply understood it. Nowadays, the connection with nature has been severed. Not only for the majority of urban, but for many rural residents, the names of herbs, flowers, trees are unknown, not to mention any experience of meteorological observations. However, I would like to believe that every person has an innate feeling of love for nature, but it often lies dormant somewhere in the soul, and a smart mentor is needed to awaken this feeling. G. D. Ryzhenkov’s book can be such a mentor become. Georgy Dmitrievich Ryzhenkov worked for more than thirty years as a forester in the village of Elatma in the Ryazan region. A veteran of the Great Patriotic War, an engineer by training, the author of books about the Russian forest, he collected a large collection of sayings about nature. Our people have amazing proverbs, I will give just three of them, which, in my opinion, perfectly characterize the entire multifaceted activity of G. D. Ryzhenkov: forester, collector of folk wisdom, writer: “Take hold of what you akin"; “A person has not lived his life in vain if he has grown at least one tree” and “Every deed is sanctified by love.” Yes, it is with love for the Russian peasantry, for Russian nature that G.D. Ryzhenkov’s book is filled, and let this love be passed on to everyone who reads this quits.A. I. Rozov