Ded Moroz - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Ded Moroz is a fictional character who in some Slavic

Slavic peoples

The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...

cultures plays a role similar to that of Santa Claus

Santa Claus

Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...

. The literal translation of the name would be Grandfather Frost, although the name is often translated as Father Frost.
Ded Moroz is said to bring presents to children, however, unlike the secretive Santa Claus, the gifts are often delivered "in person", at New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...

parties and other New Year

New Year

The New Year is the day that marks the time of the beginning of a new calendar year, and is the day on which the year count of the specific calendar used is incremented. For many cultures, the event is celebrated in some manner....

celebrations.

The "in-person" gifts usually occur at organized celebrations at kindergartens or schools and at circus performances around New Year time where the gifts can be standardized. Various agencies provide Ded Moroz visits to families and offices. In such cases specific gifts can be chosen for particular members at the parties. The clandestine placing of gifts under a New Year tree

New Year tree

New Year trees are decorations similar to Christmas trees that are displayed in various cultures, but should not be confused with a North American practice of not removing a tree until New Years; such a tree is still considered a Christmas tree....

occurs when a Ded Moroz visit is not arranged for some reason.

Depictions of Ded Moroz commonly show him accompanied by Snegurochka

Snegurochka

Snegurochka , or The Snow Maiden, is a character in Russian fairy tales.In one story, she is the daughter of Spring and Frost, and yearns for the companionship of mortal humans. She grows to like a shepherd named Lel, but her heart is unable to know love...

, or 'Snow Maiden,' his granddaughter. She is a unique attribute of Ded Moroz, no traditional gift-givers from other cultures are portrayed with a similar companion.

The traditional appearance of Ded Moroz resembles that of Santa Claus, with his coat, boots and long white beard. Specifically, Ded Moroz is often shown wearing a heel-length fur coat

Fur clothing

Fur clothing is clothing made of the fur of animals. Fur is one of the oldest forms of clothing; thought to have been widely used as hominids first expanded outside of Africa. Some view fur as luxurious and warm; others reject it due to moral beliefs...

, a semi-round fur hat, and valenki
Valenki
Valenki are traditional Russian winter footwear, essentially felt boots: the name valenok literally means "made by felting". Valenki are made of wool felt. They are not water-resistant, and are often worn with galoshes to keep water out and protect the soles from wear and tear...

or jackboots on his feet. Unlike Santa Claus, he is often depicted as walking with a long magical staff.

The official residence of Ded Moroz in Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

is considered to be the town of Veliky Ustyug

Veliky Ustyug

Veliky Ustyug is a town in the northeast of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Sukhona and Yug Rivers. Administratively, it is incorporated as a town of oblast significance . It also serves as the administrative center of Velikoustyugsky District, by which it is completely...

. The residence of the Belarus

Belarus

Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...

ian Ded Moroz (Dzied Maroz in Belarusian) is said to be in Belavezhskaya Pushcha.

Development of the character

The earliest tales of Ded Moroz presented him as a wicked and cruel sorcerer, similar to the Old Slavic gods 'Pozvizd' — the god of wind and good and bad weather, 'Zimnik' — god of winter, and the terrifying 'Korochun

Korochun

Korochun is a Slavic holiday, it is considered the day the Black God and other spirits associated with decay and darkness are most potent.It was celebrated by pagan Slavs on December 21 the longest night of the year and the night of the winter solstice...

' — an underworld god ruling over frosts. According to legend, Ded Moroz liked to freeze people and kidnap children, taking them away in his gigantic sack. Parents were said to have to give him presents as a ransom in return for their children. However, under the influence of Orthodox

Russian Orthodox Church

The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...

traditions, the character of Ded Moroz was completely transformed, later adopting certain traits from the Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

Sinterklaas

Sinterklaas is a traditional Winter holiday figure still celebrated today in the Low Countries, including the Netherlands and Belgium, as well as French Flanders and Artois...

(or Saint Nicholas), the prototype of Santa Claus.

Since the 19th century the attributes and legend of Ded Moroz have been shaped by literary influences. The fairy tale play Snegurochka
The Snow Maiden
The Snow Maiden: A Spring Fairy Tale is an opera in four acts with a prologue by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, composed during 1880–1881. The Russian libretto, by the composer, is based on the like-named play by Alexander Ostrovsky .The first performance of Rimsky-Korsakov's opera took place at the...

by the famous Russian playwright

Playwright

A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...

Aleksandr Ostrovsky was influential in this respect, as was Rimsky-Korsakov

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five.The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful or The Mighty Coterie, refers to a circle of composers who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the years 1856–1870: Mily Balakirev , César...

's Snegurochka
The Snow Maiden
The Snow Maiden: A Spring Fairy Tale is an opera in four acts with a prologue by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, composed during 1880–1881. The Russian libretto, by the composer, is based on the like-named play by Alexander Ostrovsky .The first performance of Rimsky-Korsakov's opera took place at the...

with libretto

Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...

based on the play. By the end of the 19th century Ded Moroz had become the most popular of the various mythical New Year gift-givers in Russia.
Following the Russian Revolution, Christmas traditions were actively discouraged because they were considered to be "bourgeois and religious". Similarly, in 1928 Ded Moroz was declared "an ally of the priest and kulak
Kulak
Kulaks were a category of relatively affluent peasants in the later Russian Empire, Soviet Russia, and early Soviet Union...

". Nevertheless, the image of Ded Moroz took its current form during Soviet

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

times, becoming the main symbol of the New Year’s holiday that replaced Christmas. Some Christmas traditions were revived following the famous letter by Pavel Postyshev

Pavel Postyshev

Pavel Petrovich Postyshev was a Soviet politician. He is considered to be one of the principal architects of the so-called man-made famine of 1932–33, or Holodomor.Postyshev was born in Ivanovo-Voznesensk....

, published in Pravda
Pravda
Pravda was a leading newspaper of the Soviet Union and an official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party between 1912 and 1991....

on December 28, 1935. Postyshev believed that the origins of the holiday, which were pre-Christian in any case, were less important than the benefits it could bring to Soviet children. In 1937, a man playing Ded Moroz arrived at the Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

Palace of Unions

House of the Unions

The House of the Unions or called "Palace of Unions" is the historical building in Moscow, Russia. It is situated on the corner of Bolshyaya Dmitrovka and Okhotny Ryad streets.-Origins:...

for the first time. Joseph Stalin

Joseph Stalin

Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...

ordered Palace of Unions' Ded Morozes to wear only blue coats, so that they would not be mistaken for Santa Claus. During Stalinist times, Ded Moroz, Snegurochka

Snegurochka

(or "Snow Maiden"), and New Year Boy

Baby New Year

The Baby New Year is a personification of the start of the New Year commonly seen in editorial cartoons. He symbolizes the "birth" of the next year, and that the "old" year is gone; in other words, a "rebirth"...

were featured in Communist-type Nativity scene

Nativity scene

A nativity scene, manger scene, krippe, crèche, or crib, is a depiction of the birth of Jesus as described in the gospels of Matthew and Luke...

s, or public appearances, with Ded Moroz as the equivalent to Joseph

Saint Joseph

Saint Joseph is a figure in the Gospels, the husband of the Virgin Mary and the earthly father of Jesus Christ ....

, Snegurochka

Snegurochka

as the equivalent to Mary

Mary (mother of Jesus)

Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...

, and the New Year Boy

Baby New Year

as the equivalent to the Christ child

Child Jesus

The Child Jesus represents Jesus from his Nativity to age 12. At 13 he was considered to be adult, in accordance with the Jewish custom of his time, and that of most Christian cultures until recent centuries.The Child Jesus is frequently depicted in art, from around the third or fourth century...

.

During the period of the Soviet Union's dominance over Eastern Europe, Ded Moroz was officially introduced to many nations, despite being alien to them. Following the fall of the Soviet Union, there have been efforts to revive local characters.

Ded Moroz in modern Russia

Ded Moroz is very popular in modern Russia. In 1998, the town of Veliky Ustyug

Veliky Ustyug

in Vologda Oblast

Vologda Oblast

Vologda Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is Vologda. The largest city is Cherepovets.Vologda Oblast is rich in historic monuments, such as the magnificent Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, Ferapontov Convent , medieval towns of Velikiy Ustyug and Belozersk, baroque...

, Russia was declared the home of the Russian Ded Moroz by Yury Luzhkov, then Mayor of Moscow. Between 2003 and 2010, the post office in Veliky Ustyug received approximately 2,000,000 letters from within Russia and from all over the world for Ded Moroz. On January 7, 2008, then President Putin

Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...

of the Russian Federation was reported to have visited Ded Moroz' residence in the town of Veliky Ustyug

Veliky Ustyug

as part of the Russian Orthodox Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...

celebration.

The western Santa Claus

Santa Claus

Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...

made inroads in the Russian Federation during the "turbulent" 1990's when many western ideas such as liberal democracy

Liberal democracy

Liberal democracy, also known as constitutional democracy, is a common form of representative democracy. According to the principles of liberal democracy, elections should be free and fair, and the political process should be competitive...

and market-oriented capitalism

Market economy

A market economy is an economy in which the prices of goods and services are determined in a free price system. This is often contrasted with a state-directed or planned economy. Market economies can range from hypothetically pure laissez-faire variants to an assortment of real-world mixed...

were considered panacea solutions for Russia. The resurgence of Russia in the early 21st century brought about a renewed emphasis on the basic Slavic

Slavic peoples

character of Ded Moroz. This included the Russian Federation and subordinate governments sponsoring courses about Ded Moroz every December, with the aim of establishing appropriate Slavic norms for Ded Moroz and Snegurochka

Snegurochka

("Snow Maiden" - Ded Moroz' granddaughter) roles for the New Year holiday. People playing Ded Moroz and Snegurochka now typically make appearances at children's parties during the winter holiday season, distributing presents and fighting off the wicked witch, Baba Yaga

Baba Yaga

Baba Yaga or Baba Roga is a haggish or witchlike character in Slavic folklore. She flies around on a giant pestle, kidnaps small children, and lives in a hut that stands on chicken legs...

, who children are told wants to steal the gifts.

Ded Moroz, and on occasion the Belarus Dzied Maroz, are presented in the media as being in on-going détente

Détente

Détente is the easing of strained relations, especially in a political situation. The term is often used in reference to the general easing of relations between the Soviet Union and the United States in the 1970s, a thawing at a period roughly in the middle of the Cold War...

with various counterparts from other cultures, such as the Estonian Santa Claus (Jõuluvana or "Old man of Christmas"), the Finnish Santa Claus (Joulupukki
Joulupukki
Joulupukki is a Finnish Christmas figure. The name Joulupukki literally means Christmas Goat or Yule Goat. The Finnish word "pukki" comes from the Swedish "bock" and is an old Scandinavian tradition...

or "Yule Goat

Yule Goat

The Yule Goat is one of the oldest Scandinavian and Northern European Yule and Christmas symbols and traditions. Originally denoting the goat that was slaughtered during the Germanic pagan festival of Yule, "Yule Goat" now typically refers to a goat-figure made of straw...

"), and other Santa Claus

Santa Claus

Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...

, Father Christmas

Father Christmas

Father Christmas is the name used in many English-speaking countries for a figure associated with Christmas. A similar figure with the same name exists in several other countries, including France , Spain , Brazil , Portugal , Italy , Armenia , India...

, and Saint Nicholas

Saint Nicholas

Saint Nicholas , also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century saint and Greek Bishop of Myra . Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker...

figures. The détente efforts portrayed have included one-on-one meetings, group meetings and friendly competitions, such as the annual November Santa Claus championships of Celle

Celle

Celle is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the River Aller, a tributary of the Weser and has a population of about 71,000...

, Germany.

In November and December 2010, Ded Moroz was one of the candidates in the running for consideration as a mascot for the 2014 Winter Olympics

2014 Winter Olympics

The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially the XXII Olympic Winter Games, or the 22nd Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event scheduled to be celebrated from 7 to 23 February 2014, in Sochi, Russia with some events held in the resort town of Krasnaya Polyana. Both the Olympic and...

in Sochi

Sochi

Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...

, Russia.

GLONASS Tracks Ded Moroz

In November 2009, for the first time, the Russian Federation offered competition to NORAD Tracks Santa

NORAD Tracks Santa

NORAD Tracks Santa is an annual Christmas-themed entertainment program, which has existed since 1955, produced under the auspices of the North American Aerospace Defense Command...

with GLONASS Tracks Ded Moroz, which purports to use GLONASS

GLONASS

GLONASS , acronym for Globalnaya navigatsionnaya sputnikovaya sistema or Global Navigation Satellite System, is a radio-based satellite navigation system operated for the Russian government by the Russian Space Forces...

(GLObal NAvigation Satellite System or “the Russian GPS”) to track Ded Moroz on New Years Eve (according to the Gregorian Calendar

Gregorian calendar

The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...

).

The Russian language website (a language not currently offered by the competing NORAD Tracks Santa) includes these features: "real-time tracking" of Ded Moroz, "news" of Ded Moroz throughout the year, a form to send e-mail to Ded Moroz, photos, videos, streaming audio of Russian songs, poems and verses from children's letters to Ded Moroz, information on Veliky Ustyug

Veliky Ustyug

in Vologda Oblast

Vologda Oblast

(considered to be Ded Moroz's hometown) and opportunities to enter competitions and win prizes.

Regional differences

There are equivalents of Ded Moroz and Snegurochka all over the former USSR, as well as the countries once in the so-called Soviet bloc and in the former Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....

Belarus

In Belarus

Belarus

Ded Moroz is known as Dzied Maroz. He is not a traditional Belarusian character and is never mentioned in national folklore.

The official residence of Dzied Maróz ' onMouseout='HidePop("23736")' href="/topics/Bialowieza_Forest">Biełavieskaja Pušča

Bialowieza Forest

The Belovezhskaya Pushcha / Białowieża Forest, in Belarus and Puszcza Białowieska in Poland, is an ancient woodland straddling the border between the two countries, located north of Brest and south-east of Białystok...

Armenia

In Armenia

Armenia

Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...

Ded Moroz is known as Ձմեռ Պապ (Dzmer Pap) literraly means winter grandfather.

Former Yugoslavia

In socialist Yugoslavia

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...

(Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...

, Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

, the Republic of Macedonia

Republic of Macedonia

Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...

, Montenegro

Montenegro

Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...

, Serbia

Serbia

Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

and Slovenia

Slovenia

Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...

) the character who was said to bring gifts to children was called "Grandfather Frost" (Bosnian

Bosnian language

Bosnian is a South Slavic language, spoken by Bosniaks. As a standardized form of the Shtokavian dialect, it is one of the three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina....

: Djed Mraz, Croatian

Croatian language

Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...

: Djed Mraz, Macedonian

Macedonian language

Macedonian is a South Slavic language spoken as a first language by approximately 2–3 million people principally in the region of Macedonia but also in the Macedonian diaspora...

: Дедо Мраз (Dedo Mraz), Serbian

Serbian language

Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....

: Деда Мраз (Deda Mraz), Slovenian

Slovenian language

Slovene or Slovenian is a South Slavic language spoken by approximately 2.5 million speakers worldwide, the majority of whom live in Slovenia. It is the first language of about 1.85 million people and is one of the 23 official and working languages of the European Union...

: Dedek Mraz). He was said to bring gifts for the New Year

New Year

as celebration of Christmas was discouraged by the Communist regime.

Croatia

After the breakup of Yugoslavia, Djed Mraz was labeled Communist and Djed Božićnjak (literally: Grandfather Christmas) was introduced. Attempts were made in the mass media and advertising to replace Djed Mraz with Djed Božićnjak. After 1999 the names of Djed Mraz and Djed Božićnjak became more or less synonymous, including in their use on public television. In some families Djed Mraz is still said to brings gifts at New Year.

In Croatia, children also get presents on December 6. The presents are said to be brought by a traditional figure called Sveti Nikola (Saint Nicholas

Saint Nicholas

) who closely resembles Djed Mraz or Djed Božićnjak, except for the fact that he is accompanied by Krampus

Krampus

Krampus is a mythical creature recognized in Alpine countries. According to legend, Krampus accompanies St. Nicholas during the Christmas season, warning and punishing bad children, in contrast to St. Nicholas, who gives gifts to good children....

who takes misbehaving children away.

In some religious families, little Jesus is said to brings gifts at Christmas instead of Djed Božićnjak.

Slovenia

In Slovenia

Slovenia

the name Ded Moroz was translated from Russian as Dedek Mraz (literally, 'Grandpa Frost'). Dedek Mraz is depicted as a slim man wearing a grey leather coat, which has fur inside and is decorated outside, and a round dormouse

Edible dormouse

The edible dormouse or fat dormouse is a large dormouse and the only living species in the genus Glis.-Description:...

fur cap. This version of the character is based on traditional imagery, especially as depicted by Maksim Gaspari. Initially he was said to live in Siberia

Siberia

Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...

, but with the Informbiro

Informbiro

Informbiro was a period in the history of Yugoslavia characterized by conflict and schism with the Soviet Union...

crisis and the schism between Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

his home was relocated to Mt. Triglav

Triglav

Triglav is the highest mountain in Slovenia and the highest peak of the Julian Alps. While its name, meaning "three-headed", can describe its shape as seen from the Bohinj area, the mountain was most probably named after the Slavic god Triglav. The mountain is the preeminent symbol of the Slovene...

, Slovenia's (and also Yugoslavia's) highest peak. The notion of Grandpa Frost was ideologically useful because it served to reorient the December/January holidays away from religion (Saint Nicholas Day and Christmas

Christmas

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

) and towards the secular New Year

New Year

.

After the demise of the Communist regime

Communism

Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...

at the beginning of the 1990s, two other "good old men" (as they are currently styled in Slovenian) reappeared in public: Miklavž (Saint Nicholas

Saint Nicholas

) is said to bring presents on December 6, and Božiček ("Christmas man") on Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...

. St. Nicholas has had a strong traditional presence in Slovenian ethnic territory and his feast day remained celebrated in family circles throughout the Communist period. Until the late 1940s it was also said in some areas of Slovenia that Christkind

Christkind

Das Christkind is the traditional Christmas gift-bringer in regions of Austria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, parts of Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Slovakia, Hungary, parts of Hispanic America, in certain areas of southern Brazil and in the Acadiana region of Louisiana...

(called Jezušček ("little Jesus") or Božiček ("Christmas man")) brought gifts on Christmas Eve.

Slovenian families have different preferences regarding their gift-giver of choice, according to political or religious persuasion. Slovenian popular culture depicts Grandpa Frost, Saint Nicholas and Santa Claus as friends http://dedekmraz.talija.com/ http://www.dnevnik.si/uploads/image_cache/7e45567245956709072f67abe70ee280.jpeg and has also started blending attributes of the characters, for example, mention of Santa's reindeer is sometimes mingled into the Grandpa Frost narrative at public appearances. Due to his non-religious character and strong institutionalization, Grandpa Frost continues to retain a public presence.

Bulgaria

The traditional local name of Santa Claus in Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

is Дядо Коледа (Dyado Koleda, "Grandfather Christmas

Father Christmas

"), with Dyado Mraz (Дядо Мраз, "Grandfather Frost") being a similar Russian-imported character lacking the Christian connotations and thus popular during Communist rule. However, he has been largely forgotten since 1989, when Dyado Koleda again returned as the more popular figure.

Poland

While there is no traditional analog of Ded Moroz in Polish folklore, there was an attempt to introduce him as Dziadek Mróz during the communist period. In the People's Republic of Poland

People's Republic of Poland

The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...

the figure Dziadek Mróz was used in propaganda

Propaganda

Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....

, since the traditional Święty Mikołaj (Saint Nicholas

Saint Nicholas

, the Polish Santa Claus

Santa Claus

Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...

) was determined to be "ideologically hostile", as part of the campaign against religion, which included elimination of Christmas

Christmas

in favor of New Year

New Year

. Often officials insisted on using the figure in Polish schools and preschools during celebrations and events for Polish children, instead of Santa Claus in order to give an impression of traditional cultural links with the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

. Despite those efforts, Dziadek Mróz never gained any popular support among the Polish people, and after the fall of communism he disappeared from Poland.

Romania

In 1948, after the Communists gained power in Romania, it was decided that Christmas

Christmas

should not be celebrated. December 25 and December 26 became working days and no official celebrations were to be held. As a replacement for Moş Crăciun (Father Christmas), a new character was introduced, Moş Gerilă (literally "Old Man Frosty", a Romanian language

Romanian language

Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...

adptation of the Russian Ded Moroz). He was said to bring gifts to children on December 31.

Officially, the New Year's Day

New Year's Day

New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...

celebrations began on 30 December, which was named the Day of the Republic, since it was the day when King Mihai I of Romania abdicated in 1947.

After the Romanian Revolution of 1989

Romanian Revolution of 1989

The Romanian Revolution of 1989 was a series of riots and clashes in December 1989. These were part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several Warsaw Pact countries...

, Moş Gerilă lost his influence, being replaced by Moş Crăciun.

Tatarstan

In Tatar

Tatar language

The Tatar language , or more specifically Kazan Tatar, is a Turkic language spoken by the Tatars of historical Kazan Khanate, including modern Tatarstan and Bashkiria...

Ded Moroz is known as Qış Babay (Кыш Бабай, literally: "Winter Grandfather") and Snegurochka

Snegurochka

is known as Qar Qızı (Кар Кызы or "Snow Girl").

Yamal

The Nenets people

Nenets people

The Nenets are an indigenous people in Russia. According to the latest census in 2002, there are 41,302 Nenets in the Russian Federation, most of them living in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug and Nenets Autonomous Okrug...

of Yamal

Yamal Peninsula

The Yamal Peninsula , located in Yamal-Nenets autonomous district of northwest Siberia, Russia, extends roughly 700 km and is bordered principally by the Kara Sea, Baydaratskaya Bay on the west, and by the Gulf of Ob on the east...

know Ded Moroz as Yamal Iri
Yamal Iri
Yamal Iri is a character associated with Christmas in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia, a counterpart of Ded Moroz and Santa Claus....

(Grandfather of Yamal).

External links

"Just Don't Call Me Santa!" A history of Ded Maroz in English.
"Father Frost, the Red Nose" on Russia Info-Centre.
Reveling in Russian Santa’s fairytale home.
Home page all of the Ded's Moroz (in Russian).
GLONASS Tracks Ded Moroz (in Russian).
Геральдика Деда Мороза Heraldry of Ded Moroz (in Russian).

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Development of the character

Ded Moroz in modern Russia

GLONASS Tracks Ded Moroz

Regional differences

Belarus

Armenia

Former Yugoslavia

Croatia

Slovenia

Bulgaria

Poland

Romania

Tatarstan

Yamal

See also

External links