Rus Halk Kültüründe Kolyada Bayrami
Kolyada Bairam in Russian Folk Culture

Summary/Abstract: After the adoption of the Christianity which is initially emerged as a elite religion among the Slavic community living in the cities and the castles, the churches waged war against the folk holidays which have attached a great importance among Slavic people and contained elements of pagan. As a result of increasing pressure of the church and the religion some of these holidays which are called as a “folk holiday” or “agricultural holiday” have been disappeared by losing its essence meanings or have been blended with religion and been able to come up to the present. The old beliefs which have been blended with the cults of mythological gods and the idols of Christian saints have continued their existence among Slavic people living in rural areas and forming the majority of their part. One of these holidays that had a significant place before the advent of Christianity among Russian people but then were blended with religious elements is Kolyada the winter solstice holiday of Slavic people celebrated as a birth of sun. After the adoption of Christianity, Kolyada came to be known as Christmas, the event of a new birth of sun that has been associated with the birth of Jesus. In this paper the definition of the holiday mentioned, the way of its celebration, its connection with the past and the present and Russian folk culture will be discussed.

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