Snow Maiden

In Russian folklore

The image of the Snow Maiden is not fixed in the Slavic folk rite, but is present in folklore ^[2] . In Russian folklore, the Snegurochka is a character in a folk tale about the girl Snegurka (Snezhevinochka) made of snow, who came to life. This plot was edited and published in 1869 by A. N. Afanasyev in the second volume of his work “ Poetic Views of the Slavs on Nature ”: “The Snegurka (Snezhevinochka, Schneekind among the Germans) was named so because it was born from snow.” In a fairy tale, an old man and an old woman mold a doll from the snow and it comes to life, and in the summer the girl goes with friends in the woods and melts. A different development of the plot has a fairy tale recorded by E.V. Pomerantseva in 1948 in the village of Akhlystino in the Pokrovsky district of the Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (storyteller E.I. Kononova), in which the girl, molded from the snow by the Old Man and Old Woman, is called Snegurushka (the fairy tale is also called ) The neighboring girls go with the Snegurushka to the forest, pick berries, where they kill the Snegurushka with envy, bury them under a bush and fasten them with a twig, while the Old Man and the Old Woman are told that the Snegurushka is lost in the forest. A twig from the grave of Snegurushka, at the request of his son, cuts off the Merchant and makes a pipe out of him, which, when someone plays it, asks about the girl’s death. When the pipe falls into the hands of one of the "girlfriends", she refuses to play it and throws it to the ground, the pipe breaks and a living Snow Maiden emerges from it. "Girlfriends" are sent "to the forest to beasts to be eaten" ^[3] .

In art

In 1873, A. N. Ostrovsky , under the influence of Afanasyev’s tales, wrote the play “The Snow Maiden” . In it, the Snow Maiden appears as the daughter of Santa Claus and Spring-Red, dying during the summer ritual of worshiping the sun god Yarila . She looks like a beautiful pale-faced blonde girl. Dressed in a white-blue coat with a fur edge, a fur hat, mittens . Initially, the play was not successful with the public. However, in 1882, N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov staged the eponymous opera , which was a huge success ^[2] .

The image of the Snow Maiden was further developed in the works of teachers of the late XIX - early XX centuries, who prepared scripts for children's Christmas trees . Even before the revolution, the figures of the Snow Maiden were hung on a Christmas tree , the girls dressed up as Snow Maiden, staged fragments from fairy tales, Ostrovsky's plays or operas. At this time, Snegurochka did not act as the leader ^[2] .

In the Soviet Union

After the revolution, religion was under increasing pressure and control of the state, including Christmas and all the customs associated with it. Since 1929 in Soviet Russia it was forbidden to celebrate the Nativity of Christ ^[4] . According to the decree of the Council of People's Commissars of 09.24.1929 "On working time and rest time in enterprises and institutions that switch to a continuous production week" "On the day of the new year and the days of all religious holidays (former special rest days), work is carried out on a common basis . "

However, in 1935, as a result of the turn of state policy, Christmas traditions were rethought as part of the secular New Year celebration (January 1) . In books on the organization of Christmas trees of the Soviet period, the Snow Maiden acts along with Santa Claus as his granddaughter, assistant and mediator in communication between him and the children. In early 1937, Santa Claus and Snegurochka first appeared together on a Christmas tree holiday in the Moscow House of Unions . It is curious that in the early Soviet images the Snow Maiden is more often depicted as a little girl, they began to present her in the form of a girl later ^[2] . On postcards of the early twentieth century, Santa Claus was often accompanied by a New Year's boy , and if the grandfather was portrayed in a red or white coat, then the boy in a blue suit. This tradition determined the colors of the costumes of the holiday characters that appeared on the first official Christmas tree in the House of Unions: Santa Claus was accompanied by the Snow Maiden in blue clothes ^[5] .

In the post-war period, the Snow Maiden is almost an obligatory companion of Santa Claus in all festive celebrations and congratulations. On New Year's Eve, students of theatrical universities and actresses often worked as Snow Maidens. In amateur performances for the role of Snow Maidens, older girls, girls and women, usually fair-haired, were chosen ^[2] .

Snow Maiden Terem

For the film "The Snow Maiden" (1968), a whole " Berendey village" was built near the Mera River. The choice of location was not accidental: in these parts, in Shchelykovo , Ostrovsky wrote his play . After the filming was completed, the wooden scenery was moved to Kostroma , where the Berendeevka park arose. In addition, in 2008 in Kostroma the Terem of the Snow Maiden was built, in which she welcomes guests year-round. In 2009, on April 4, for the first time, the birthday of the Snow Maiden was officially celebrated. Since that time, the birthday of the Snow Maiden is celebrated in Kostroma annually ^[6] .

In the cinema

Based on a folk tale

• " The Tale of the Snow Maiden " (1957) - a cartoon directed by V. D. Degtyarev .
• “The Snow Maiden ” (1969) - a cartoon directed by V. D. Degtyarev.

Adaptations of the play by A. N. Ostrovsky

• “The Snow Maiden ” (1952) - a cartoon directed by I.P. Ivanov-Vano .
• "The Snow Maiden " (1968) - a film directed by P.P. Kadochnikov , in the role of the Snow Maiden - Evgeny Filonov .
• " Spring Tale " (1971) - a television movie directed by Yu. N. Tsvetkov , in the role of the Snow Maiden - Natalia Bogunova .
• “ Ice Granddaughter ” (1980) - a film directed by B. Rytsarev , in the role of the Snow Maiden / Lyuba - Svetlana Orlova , the prince - Albert Filozov .
• “The Snow Maiden ” (2006) - cartoon directed by M. A. Muat

Original stories

• " Winter's Tale " (1945) - a cartoon fantasy, script - Ivan Ivanov-Vano, Eugene Schwartz, according to the plot, squirrels sculpt a snow girl and the Snow Maiden is born.
• “ When the Christmas trees light up ” (1950) - cartoon, screenwriter Vladimir Suteev, for the first time the Snow Maiden is portrayed as an assistant to Santa Claus.
• “ Well, wait a minute! "(Issue 8, 1974) - a cartoon in the costume of a Snow Maiden - Wolf (as a grotesque image) performs with the Hare" Song of Santa Claus and the Snow Maiden. "
• " New Year's Adventures of Masha and Viti " (1975) - in the role of the Snow Maiden - Irina Borisova .
• “ Santa Claus and the Gray Wolf ” (1978) - cartoon, script Vladimir Suteev, Snow Maiden appears as a companion of Santa Claus.
• " Partisan Snow Maiden " (1981) - cartoon.
• “ Did you call the snow maiden?” "(1985) - in the role of the Snow Maiden - Irina Alferova .
• “The irony of fate. Continuation ”(2007) - in the role - Evgenia Dobrovolskaya .
• “ My mother is the Snow Maiden ” (2007) - in the role of the Snow Maiden - Maria Poroshina .
• “ Santa Claus is urgently needed ” (2007) - in the role of the Snow Maiden - Svetlana Pismichenko.
• “ Snow Maiden. Easter Tale ”(2010) - in the role of the Snow Maiden - Tatyana Petrova.
• Country of Health (2015) - Alisa Khazanova and Daria Ekamasova

In music

• In 1882, N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov wrote the opera The Snow Maiden .
• The song is the duet “Tell me, Snegurochka, where was” Volka ( A. Papanov ) and Hare ( K. Rumyanova ) from the 8th issue of the animated series “Well, wait a minute!” (1974). There is a parody of the Gaza Strip group from the album The Night Before Christmas (1991).
• “Snegurochka” is a song that was not included in the film “ Cruel Romance ” (1984), but is present on a gramophone record with songs from the film, performed by Lyudmila Gurchenko .

In Fine Art

• “The Snow Maiden” (1890) - Mikhail Alexandrovich Vrubel . Watercolor, gouache on paper. 25x17 cm. Museum: Ryazan State Regional Art Museum. I.P. Pity
• “The Snow Maiden” (1899) - Victor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov . Canvas, oil. 116x80 cm. Museum: Tretyakov Gallery .
• “The Snow Maiden and Lel” (1921) - Nikolai Konstantinovich Roerich . Tempera on cardboard. 51x30 cm. Museum of Nicholas Roerich in New York .

• On the eve of the celebration of the new 2012, the Islamic preachers of Dagestan saw in the image of the Snow Maiden a challenge to traditional culture (due to the “short depraved sarafan ”), which led to ignoring the celebrations in a number of schools of the republic ^[7] .

• On the eve of 2014, the state television of Tajikistan announced that it intends to abandon on its air a number of Soviet symbols of the New Year, among which, along with the Christmas tree and Santa Claus , was Snegurochka ^[8] .

• The Snow Maiden Plain is a vast plain in the northern polar region of Venus.
• The flag of the Ostrovsky district of the Kostroma region contains an image of the Snow Maiden.
• Saint Lucia Day

• Afanasyev A.N. Poetic views of the Slavs on nature . - M .: Indrik, 1994 .-- T. 2 .-- 784 p. - ISBN 5-85759-011-6 . Archived April 16, 2015 on Wayback Machine
• Dushechkina E.V. Santa Claus and the Snow Maiden // Domestic Notes : Journal. - M. , 2003. - No. 1 .
• Dushechkina E.V. Three centuries of the Russian Christmas tree // Science and Life: Journal. - 2008. - No. 1 .

• Snow Maiden. Audio story with text (Russian) . Fairy tale told at night. Date of treatment December 1, 2011. Archived on February 20, 2012.
• Official site of Kostroma Snow Maiden
• Saint Lucia - Western European sister of the Snow Maiden // OTR