Koročun or Kračun was a pagan Slavic holiday. It was considered the day when the Black God and other spirits associated with decay and darkness were most potent. The first recorded usage of the term was in 1143, when the author of the Novgorod First Chronicle referred to the winter solstice as "Koročun".[1][3]
It was celebrated by pagan Slavs on December 21[citation needed], the longest night of the year and the night of the winter solstice. On this night, Hors, symbolizing old sun, becomes smaller as the days become shorter in the Northern Hemisphere, and dies on December 22, the winter solstice. It is said to be defeated by the dark and evil powers of the Black God. On December 23, Hors is resurrected and becomes the new sun, Koleda[citation needed].
Modern scholars tend to associate this holiday with ancestor worship[citation needed]. On this day, Western Slavs lit fires at cemeteries to keep their loved ones warm, and organized feasts to honor the dead and keep them fed. They also lit wooden logs at local crossroads. In some Slavic languages, the word came to denote unexpected death of a young person and the evil spirit that shortens life.[1][3][5]
^ abArchiv für Slavische Philologie, 1912, Vol XXXIII, pp. 618-22.
^Nay, Alain Du; Nay, André Du; Kosztin, Árpád (1997). Transylvania and the Rumanians, Alain Du Nay, André Du Nay, Árpád Kosztin, Matthias Corvinus Publishing, 1997, ISBN 1882785096, p. 204. ISBN9781882785094.
January 01, 1970
korochun, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, april, 2013, lear. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Korochun news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2013 Learn how and when to remove this message Korocun or Kracun see other variants below is one of the names of Slavic pagan holiday Koliada In modern usage it may refer to the winter solstice in certain Eastern European languages and also to the holiday of Christmas Contents 1 Names and etymology 2 Religious and mythological significance 3 See also 4 ReferencesNames and etymology editBelarusian Karachun Karacun Bulgarian Krachon Kracon or Krachunek Kracunek Czech Kracun Macedonian Krachun Kracun Old Russian Korochun Korocunŭ Russian Korochun Korocun or Karachun Karacun Ruthenian K e rechun K e recun or G e rechun G e recun Serbian Krachun Kracun Slovak Kracun Hungarian Karacsony Romanian Crăciun Max Vasmer derived the name of the holiday from the Proto Slavic korcunŭ which is in turn derived from the verb korcati meaning to step forward 1 Gustav Weigand Alexandru Cihac ro and Alexandru Philippide offer a similar Slavic etymology based on kratŭkŭ curt short or kracati to make steps 2 On the other hand Hugo Schuchardt Vatroslav Jagic and Luka Pintar sl proposed a Romanian origin of the word 3 4 5 as does also the Romanian Etymological Dictionary 2 tracing its roots back to the Latin creatio nis However most probably the Romanian word as well as the Hungarian are loanwords with Slavic roots 6 Religious and mythological significance editKorocun or Kracun was a pagan Slavic holiday It was considered the day when the Black God and other spirits associated with decay and darkness were most potent The first recorded usage of the term was in 1143 when the author of the Novgorod First Chronicle referred to the winter solstice as Korocun 1 3 It was celebrated by pagan Slavs on December 21 citation needed the longest night of the year and the night of the winter solstice On this night Hors symbolizing old sun becomes smaller as the days become shorter in the Northern Hemisphere and dies on December 22 the winter solstice It is said to be defeated by the dark and evil powers of the Black God On December 23 Hors is resurrected and becomes the new sun Koleda citation needed Modern scholars tend to associate this holiday with ancestor worship citation needed On this day Western Slavs lit fires at cemeteries to keep their loved ones warm and organized feasts to honor the dead and keep them fed They also lit wooden logs at local crossroads In some Slavic languages the word came to denote unexpected death of a young person and the evil spirit that shortens life 1 3 5 See also editCrăciun disambiguation References edit a b c Max Vasmer Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language Korochun a b Romanian Etymological Dictionary Crăciun a b c Archiv fur Slavische Philologie 1886 Vol XI pp 526 7 Archiv fur Slavische Philologie Vol II p 610 a b Archiv fur Slavische Philologie 1912 Vol XXXIII pp 618 22 Nay Alain Du Nay Andre Du Kosztin Arpad 1997 Transylvania and the Rumanians Alain Du Nay Andre Du Nay Arpad Kosztin Matthias Corvinus Publishing 1997 ISBN 1882785096 p 204 ISBN 9781882785094 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Korochun amp oldid 1193977263, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
