creation of the world. Saturday was also celebrated in early Christianity; after dissociating themselves from Judaism, Christians began to celebrate the first day of the week, on which the resurrection of Christ took place, as a holiday. Survival names of the days of the week associated with astral cults have survived in some European countries to this day, for example: German Montag, English Monday – day of the moon (Monday), Sonntag, Sunday – day of the sun (Sunday), French Vendredi – day of Venus (Friday), English-Saturday – Saturn day (Saturday) and other words.

In everyday life, the beginning of the week was Sunday, and the end was Saturday; in church practice, the week usually began on Monday and ended on Sunday. After the adoption of Christianity in 988-989. the calendar “from the creation of the world” was introduced (based on the Byzantine model), the New Year was celebrated from March 1. Under Ivan III, from 1492 (year 7000 “from the creation of the world”), the New Year began to be celebrated on September 1. Peter I in 1700 introduced a new (Julian) calendar “from the Nativity of Christ”, the New Year was celebrated from January 1. Under Soviet rule, the current Gregorian calendar was introduced in 1918, which is now 13 days ahead of the Julian calendar, so we also celebrate the old New Year. The modern international era is the era from the Nativity of Christ (in the literature it is designated: before R. X., after R. X., before or after our, or new era). It was created in 525 by a Roman monk, papal archivist Dionysius the Small – a Scythian by origin. When compiling Paschals, Dionysius calculated the year of Christ's birth – 754 from the founding of Rome or 284 before the beginning of the era of Diocletian. In the VI century. this era spreads in Western Europe, and by the 19th century. in all Christian countries. In Russia, it was introduced by Peter I on January 1, 1700. “History of the New Year and chronology in Rus'”, A.E. Tikhomirov, published in Lokomotiv, December 2005, No. 21, the newspaper of the workforce of the Orenburg Locomotive Repair Plant, also in the Collection of Articles. Orenburg, 2014

"ORIGIN" OF SANTA CLAUS AND THE SNOW Maiden

Imagine that in some countries local gnomes are considered the ancestors of Santa Claus. In others, medieval wandering jugglers who sang Christmas carols, or wandering children's toy sellers. There is an opinion that among the relatives of Father Frost is the East Slavic spirit of cold Treskun, aka Studenets, Frost. The image of Santa Claus has evolved over centuries, and each nation has contributed something of its own to its history. But among the elder’s ancestors there was, it turns out, a very real person. In the 4th century, Archbishop Nicholas lived in the city of Mira. According to legend, he was a very kind man. So, one day he saved three daughters of a poor family by throwing bundles of gold out the window of their house. After the death of Nicholas, he was declared a saint. In the 11th century, the church where he was buried was robbed by Italian pirates. They stole the remains of the saint and took them to their homeland. The parishioners of the Church of St. Nicholas were outraged. An international scandal broke out. This story caused so much noise that Nicholas became the object of veneration and worship of Christians from different countries of the world. In the Middle Ages, the custom of giving gifts to children on St. Nicholas Day, December 19, was firmly established, because this is what the saint himself did. After the introduction of the new calendar, the saint began to come to children at Christmas, and then on New Year. Everywhere the good old man is called differently, in England and America – Santa Claus, and here – Father Frost. Who is he – our old friend and good wizard Russian Father Frost? Our Frost is a character in Slavic folklore. For many generations, the Eastern Slavs created and preserved a kind of “oral chronicle”: prosaic legends, epic tales, ritual songs, legends and tales about the past of their native land. The Eastern Slavs have a fabulous image of Moroz – a hero, a blacksmith who binds water with “iron frosts”. Frosts themselves were often identified with violent winter winds. There are several folk tales where the North Wind (or Frost) helps lost travelers by showing them the way. Our Santa Claus is a special image. It is reflected in ancient Slavic legends (Karachun, Pozvizd, Zimnik), Russian folk tales, folklore, Russian literature (A.N. Ostrovsky’s play “The Snow Maiden”, N.A. Nekrasov’s poem “Frost, Red Nose”, poem by V.Ya. Bryusov "To the King of the North Pole", Karelian-Finnish epic "Kalevala"). Pozvizd is the Slavic god of storms and bad weather. As soon as he shook his head, large hail fell to the ground. Instead of a cloak, the winds dragged behind him, and snow fell in flakes from the hem of his clothes. Pozvizd swiftly rushed across the skies, accompanied by a retinue of storms and hurricanes. In the legends of the ancient Slavs there was another character – Zimnik. He, like Frost, appeared in the form of an old man of small stature, with white hair and a long gray beard, with his head uncovered, in warm white clothes and with an iron mace in his hands. Wherever it passes, expect severe cold. Among the Slavic deities, Karachun, an evil spirit that shortens life, stood out for its ferocity. The ancient Slavs considered him an underground god who commanded frost.

But over time, Frost changed. Severe, walking the earth in the company of the Sun and Wind and freezing the men he met along the way to death (in the Belarusian fairy tale “Frost, Sun and Wind”), he gradually turns from a formidable man into a fair and kind grandfather.

“The ancient fortified cities