WEEK 42 - Local myths and connection with contemporary culture

PETRA

On Friday we had a very interesting class about myths. Not only we listened to a theory and some stories but we also came up with our own local myths and looked for connections with our culture.

In Czechia we have a lot of myths telling us the unwritten history of our country. But it’s different from Norwegian or Greek mythology. There are no gods or heroes or anything magical. Even though there were Celts, Germans and after them Slavs living in our lands.  They say it’s because the first Czech writers were influenced by christianity. It was eastern christian monks bringing us our first alphabet to help spread the new religion in our lands. So they just skipt the oldest myths because they were pagan and didn’t fit into the new christian culture.

But still we can find some of its relics in today's culture.

Welcoming spring

Vesna is a goddess of spring and she is a lover of Perun. Perun is a god of thunder, one of the highest gods. The story says every year when spring is coming Vesna is the most beautiful and while Perun sees her, drops his lightning he’s holding, it causes thunder and storms and it’s a sign of spring.  Vesna is also the sister of Morana, goddess of winter.

At the beginning of spring we make a big puppet of Morana, a straw figure dressed in a woman's dress, and take it somewhere to the water to drown it to leave and make a space for spring. 

Burning of the witches

On the last day of April we build huge bonfires sometimes with witch figures and burn them in the evening. People gather around and burn brooms symbolising the witches. It is said to have been practiced since the pagan times.

Harvest festivals

In Czech called Dožínky is a festival of harvest connected with Slavic cult of nature and plants. Back in the days they celebrated harvest of grapes, potatoes, hemp or hops. In pre-Christian times the feast usually fell on the autumn equinox, in modern times it is usually celebrated on one of the Sundays following the end of the harvest season. The most popular festivals of this kind nowadays are grapes harvest and hops harvest.

Christmas

Old Slavs celebrated festival of winter solstice called Kračun (somewhere also Koleda or Hody). Christian Christmas took place of this festival but we can still see some of the Slavic traditions included.

During Kračun people celebrated the god of the sun called Dažbog. He is symbolised by a wild boar. Nowadays we say if you do not eat the whole day on 24 of December you see a golden pig. They say it could be connected to the symbol of Dažbog.

Days after the solstice were meant to torn down borders between the world of living and death. Even in modern days a lot of families prepare the Christmas table with one more spot to avoid dining in a group of even numbers. Because Death is passing by houses and if she sees a group of even numbers she is coming back the next year taking someone with her.