| Koliada | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also called | Kolyada, Коледа, Kоляда, Коледе, Kalėda, Colindă |
| Observed by | Eastern European,Balts andSlavic people |
| Significance | celebration of New Year re-birth |
| Begins | January 6 |
| Ends | January 7 |
| Date | December 25, January 7, January 6, December 24 |
| First time | unknown |
| Related to | Christmas traditions, Eastern Orthodox liturgical days |
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Koliada orkoleda (Cyrillic: коляда, коледа, колада, коледе) is the traditional Slavic name for the period fromChristmas toEpiphany or, more generally, for Slavic Christmas-related rituals, some dating to pre-Christian times.[1] It represents a festival or holiday, celebrated at the end of December to honor the sun during the Northern-hemispherewinter solstice. It also involves groups of singers who visit houses to sing carols.[2][3]
The word is still used in modernRussian (Коляда́),Ukrainian ("Коляда", Koliadá),Belarusian (Каляда, Kalada, Kaliada),Polish (Szczodre Godykolęda[kɔˈlɛnda]),Bulgarian,Macedonian,Serbo-Croatian (Коледа, Коледе, koleda, kolenda),Lithuanian (Kalėdos, Kalėda),Czech,Slovak,Slovene (koleda) andRomanian (Colindă).[4]
The word used inOld Church Slavonic language (Колѧда - Kolęda) sounds closest to the current Polish language pronunciation, as Polish is one of two Slavic languages which retains the nasal vowels of the Proto-Slavic language (the other is closely related Kashubian). One theory states thatKoliada is the name of a cycle of winter rituals stemming from the ancientcalendae[5] as for example theKalenda Proclamation.
In modernBelarusian, Ukrainian (koliada),Czech,Slovak,Croatian (koleda, kolenda),Kashubian (kòlãda [kwɛlãda]) andPolish (kolęda[kɔˈlɛ̃da], Old Polishkolenda[6]) the meaning has shifted from Christmas itself to denoting the tradition of strolling, singing, and having fun onChristmas Eve, same in the Balkan Slavs. It specifically applies to children and teens who walk house to house greeting people, singing and sifting grain that denotes the best wishes and receiving candy and small money in return. The action is calledkolyadovanye (Russian:Колядования) in Russian,kolyaduvannya (Ukrainian колядування) in Ukrainian and is now applied to similar OldEast Slavic celebrations of other old significant holidays, such asGenerous Eve (Russian:Маланья, Щедрый вечер,Belarusian:Шчодры вечар,Ukrainian:Щедрий вечiр) the evening before New Year's Day, as well as the celebration of the arrival of spring. Similarly inBulgaria andNorth Macedonia, in the tradition ofkoleduvane (коледуване) orkoledarenje (коледарење) around Christmas, groups of children visiting houses, singing carols and receiving a gift at parting. The kids are called 'koledari' or rarely 'kolezhdani' who singkolyadki (songs).
Koleda is also celebrated across northernGreece by theSlavic speakers of Greek Macedonia, in areas fromFlorina toThessaloniki, where it is calledKoleda (Κόλιντα, Κόλιαντα) orKoleda Babo (Κόλιντα Μπάμπω) which means "Koleda Grandmother" in Slavic. It is celebrated before Christmas by gathering in the village square and lighting a bonfire, followed by localMacedonian music and dancing.
Croatian composerJakov Gotovac wrote in 1925 the composition "Koleda", which he called a "folk rite in five parts", for male choir and small orchestra (threeclarinets, twobassoons,timpani anddrum). Also,Dubrovnik kolenda is one of the oldest recorded traditions of this kind in Croatia (its first mentioned in 13th century).[7] There is also adance fromDubrovnik called "The Dubrovnik Koleda."
It is celebrated in the Büyükmandıra village ofBabaeski district,Kırklareli Province inTurkey as ahalloween-like festival and dates back a thousand years.[8]
