Advento-kalėdų papročiai, dainos, giesmės ir žaidimai Dzūkijoje

LTAdvento laikotarpis - niūriausias gamtos metas, kai pasaulį apgaubia tamsus sąstingio metas - gamtoje beveik nelieka gyvybės ženklų, vos patekėjusi saulė netrukus ir vėl leidžias. Svarbiausi laukų darbai pabaigti, tad žemdirbys gali atsikvėpti. Tačiau per adventą nerasime didelės linksmybės - tai rimties ir susikaupimo metas, kurio metu skelbiamas pasninkas, nerengiami šokiai ir pasilinksminimai. Ilgais žiemos vakarais į didesnę pirkią susirinkęs jaunimas ir senimas vakarodavo, drauge dirbdami įvairius darbus, Dzūkijoje dainuodamas advento dainas, žaisdamas specialius santūrius žaidimus, kurių bažnyčia nedrausdavo. Būdavo stebima gamta ir spėjamas būsimų metų oras ir derlius, merginos burdavo, ištekės kitais metais, ar ne. Kalėdų išvakarių - Kūčių diena (XII. 24), anot mitologo Norberto Vėliaus, yra viena svarbiausių mūsų tradicinių šeimos švenčių, nors švente ne visuomet įvardijama. Kūčių pavadinimas, kaip įrodė kalbininkas Kazys Būga, yra pas mus atėjęs XII a. iš slavų, kurie savo ruožtu jį perėmė iš senovės graikų. Graikų kukkia reiškia protėvių vėlėms skirtą maistą, kurį sudarė aguonų, kviečių, pupų, miežių ir žirnių mišinys, pagardintas medumi. Šis apeiginis valgis būdavo valgomas visų šeimos narių Kūčių vakare, kai pasirodydavo Vakarinė žvaigždė. Visų rūšių javų valgoma, kad jie gerai kitais metais derėtų. Ir saldžiai, kad gyvenimas būtų saldus. Seniausią Kūčių paminėjimą randame Volfenbiutelio postilėje (1573), kurioje rašoma, kad lietuviai „buria su Kūčiomis, su žirniais, su kviečiais, medum sumaišytais“ ir tai daro, „kad apsigintų nuo velnių ir perkūno“ (BRMŠ II: 445). Vėliau (1690) Kūčias mini Matas Pretorijus, pastebėdamas, kad „Kūčių vakarą jie visų gyvulių tvartuose pabarsto žirnių ir kviečių, kad gerai sektųsi gyvuliai“. [p. 4].

ENThe calendar customs, songs, carols and games of the period of Advent- Christmas of the past have particularly survived in Dzūkija (the ethnographic region of Lithuania) to the present day. Advent (from the Latin word adventus, which means „coming“) is the Pre-Christmas period, when Christians are waiting for the coming of the Christ Child. The time period between Christmas and The Three Kings (January 6) refers to the days between holiday and Christmas or the Holy Night period. The period of Advent is the darkest time of the year, when the darkness creeps up on us and the nature overshadows us in a grand gesture of solemnity. It is the time when major fieldwork is completed and the farmer may feel calm and relaxed. However, Advent is not a joyous time but rather the time of quietness and concentration, the period of fasting, which is marked by the increased prayer and restricted entertainment. On long winter evenings young and older people used to gather in large farmhouses to proclaim the coming of the light and to do different activities, whereas in Dzūkija (the ethnic region of Lithuania) people used to sing Christmas carols and play quiet games, which were not restricted by the church. People made observations of nature and the predictions on the forthcoming weather and harvest, while girls did magic spells to find out whether they will get married in the upcoming year. According to Norbertas Vėlius, Christmas Eve (December 24) is traditionally the most important family holiday. It is strongly believed that by Christmas Eve one should pay off all debts and come to terms with his neighbours. On Christmas Eve it was forbidden to work hard; women cooked Christmas meals, tidied rooms and did the washing up.At the end of Christmas dinner all the rest of the food was left for the souls. On Christmas Eve, as well as during the period of Advent, people did a lot of magic spells, predicted the forthcoming weather, harvest and the increment of livestock; moreover, by performing magic spells they wished to see if they will get married in the upcoming year. Christmas Day (December 25) as an ancient holiday is widely celebrated in numerous European countries. It derived from the Latin word calendae, which means „the first day of a month“. Christmas holiday lasted for three-four days. Major Christmas Day rituals involved mummer walks and their greetings that were delivered to people. The period of time between Christmas Day and The Three Kings (January 6) lasted for twelve days. The New Year interpolates in the between-holiday time (January 1). This holiday was first celebrated not long ago; therefore the folk calendar is not abundant with rituals. The customs of Lithuanian Advent - Christmas Eve - Christmas Day retain archaic features that enable us to consider separate ritual procedures to be the imitation of the myth on the creation of the old Indo-European world. Songs and games of the period of Advent make the most abundant part of the surviving calendar folklore. The Catalogue of Lithuanian Folk Calendar Songs (LLOK), which was published by Vanda Misevičienė in 1972, mentions 3602 variants of calendar songs, 2139 of which are considered the songs and games of the period of Advent. They have survived in Dzūkija and the eastern part of Lithuania, the areas that distinguish themselves for the longest existing one- street villages, where young and older people had evening gatherings and did various activities together. A relatively large number of song lyrics and games have survived so far.The vast majority of songs and games of the period of Advent-Christmas have the structure of the parallel composition - songs consist somewhat of two parts: the first part involves nature motifs, while the second part heeds on human relations, chiefly matchmaking and marriage. There is nothing surprising: the period of Advent is followed by the eating of meat - the time for matchmaking and marriage. In the Advent calendar games a relatively simple though symbolic choreography goes along with plenty of action and imagination. Presumably, this is the reason why they are so popular among kids. The folklore works of the secular content may be considered as a separate branch, encompassing the carols of calendar rituals and holidays that supplement the tradition of ancient folk calendar holidays and rituals, which are inextricably intertwined with the aforementioned ones. In addition, traditional calendar holidays and the folklore elements have largely retained the Pre-Christian tradition of the past.