Vota

Vota ( ancient Macedonian and ancient Greek : Βοτά, which means grazing animal, cattle) is an annual celebration in honor of the Greek pagan god Pan , the patron saint of cattle. The celebrations of Vota and Vrumalia were so rooted among the inhabitants of the empire that the Christian church constantly fought against pagan customs.

Cathedral of Thrull (Sixth Ecumenical Council, from the point of view of Orthodoxy ) in 691 issued for this purpose the 62nd rule, which says:

“The so-called calends , Vota, Vrumalia and a bunch of people on the first day of the month of March, we wish to completely expel the faithful from life. Similarly, popular dancing of women, great harm and destruction can be done by the powerful, as well as in honor of the gods, the dances and rituals falsely called by the Greeks, masculine or female, and, according to some old and alien Christian life, are customary, rejected and determined: to dress in women's clothing, nor to the wife in the husband's inherent clothing; Do not wear the guise of comic, or satirical, or tragic; with the pressure of the grapes in the sharpeners, do not proclaim the infamous name of Dionysus , and when pouring wine into the barrels, do not make laughter, and, by ignorance, or in the form of fuss, do not belong to demonic charms. Therefore, those who henceforth, knowing this, are bold enough to do any of the above, If the essence of the clergy, we command to cast out from the priestly rank, If the laity, to excommunicate the church. ”

According to the interpretation of this rule given by Theodore Walsamon , “Vota and Vrumalia were Hellenic holidays. The first took place in honor of the deceitful god Pan, who observed how the Greeks uttered empty flocks, that is, sheep and other animals. The second in honor of Dionysus, the savior of wine, as they said unholyly. For Vrumius was the nickname of Dionysus ” ^[1] .

In the West of the Roman Empire among the Latin peoples, a similar holiday was called Lupercalia (Latin Luperc is an analogue of the Greek Pan).