Pentecost as celebrated by the old-timers and south Russian immigrants to the Altai territory in the mid XX - early XXI centuries

Purpose. Pentecost is one of the most important religious holidays which is not losing its relevance up to now in the calendar of the Russian traditional culture and in folk memory. The article analyzes separate elements of the Pentecost ceremonies in the second half of the XX and the beginning of the XXI centuries. Due to the interest in folk traditions, an alternative celebration, the so-called «Festival of Russian Birch», was introduced in the middle of the XX century. Though based on the Pentecost tradition, its meaning was significantly amended in ritual-semantic terms. Results. The status of the holiday was changed from a religious to a «cultural-mass» event (at the end of the 1960-s - early 1970-s). Its celebration started to include sports competitions and concert performances, which transformed the traditional celebration to a large extent. This led to a different perception of Russian folk traditions by the younger generation. However, despite the Soviet culture influence and the atheist ideology, the Pentecost still remains one of the top holidays in the Orthodox Slavic calendar. We analyzed different aspects of the Soviet influence using the materials of archival documents available. The article focuses on identifying the vestiges of the ceremonial side of this event in various ethno-cultural groups in Altai, particularly among south Russian immigrants. We also pay attention to the processes of festive ritual transformations. Conclusion. Having analyzed the places for celebrating Trinity by representatives of different ethnic and cultural groups, arrangements for the holiday, ritual food, ceremonies of remembering the dead and collecting grass and branches to decorate the home, the use of herbs for healing, methods of utilizing greenery, we identified the features of the Trinity celebration preserved up to now by the old-timers and the south Russian immigrants in the Altai region. At the beginning of the XXI century, the era of globalization, urbanization, etc., such analysis in the frameworks of neotraditionalism, when ethnic traditions are returned to the modern society, is of particular interest. This research is topical due to the contemporary interest of nations in their own ethno-cultural traditions and society being aware of the importance of traditions as a mechanism of culture and ensuring historical continuity for ethnic groups. By addressing traditions and ceremonies of important calendar holidays practiced by Russian immigrants in the Altai region, we create ethnic and cultural mosaic of national folk traditions. This research is based on the author’s fieldwork in 2001-2014 on the territory of the Altai region (villages and towns of Mamontovo, Romanovo, Aleisk, Charysh, Shipunovo, Pospeliha, Kurya), materials of archival documents and surveys of 6-11 grade students from local schools (conducted in 2013-2014).