Wikipedia
Koliada or koleda ( Cyrillic: коляда, коледа, колада, коледе) is an ancient pre-Christian winter festival. It was later incorporated into Christmas.
Koliada, Koleda or Kolyada or Kolęda can refer to:
- Koliada, a pre-Christian Slavic winter ritual
- Koliada (deity), in Slavic mythology, a pagan god, impersonating the newborn Sun.
- Kolęda, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, a village in Poland.
- Kolyada (surname)
- Koleda, the Bulgarian word for Christmas.
- Kalėdos, the Lithuanian word for Christmas.
Koliada, in Slavic mythology, the name of a goddess of the sky. She brings up a new sun every day; for that reason, she is hunted by Mara to stop her and cause total darkness. The pagan feast of Koliada took place between the January 6 and January 19, but has since been merged into the celebration of Christmas.
The name is thought to derive from Greek Kalanda, romanized as Calandae.
Koliada or Koleda is a Slavic mythological deity, that personalizes the newborn winter infant Sun and impersonates the New Year's cycle. It is connected with the solar cycle, passing through the four seasons and from one substantial condition into another. The four personifications of the Sun according to the ancient Slavic religion are:
- Koliada - the small, weak winter Sun, reborn at the morning after the winter solstice
- Yarilo - the strengthened Sun, that has turned into an adolescent at the morning after the spring equinox
- Kupala - the mighty Sun, that appeared at the morning after the summer solstice
- Khors - the aging and enervating, but wise Sun, that rose at the morning after the autumn equinox.
In the different Slavic countries at the Koliada winter festival were performed rituals with games and songs in its honour - like koleduvane. In some regions of Russia the ritual gifts (usually buns) for the koledari are also called "kolyada". In the lands of the Croats it was symbolized by a doll, called Koled. In the ancient times Slavs used to sacrifice horses, goats, cows, bears or other animals that impersonate fertility. Koliada is mentioned either as male or a female deity in the songs.