Christmastide customs among ob Kommis (field materials of 2000s years)

The Ob Komi the local ethnic group of Komi-Izhemts living in the north of Western Siberia considered the Christmastide (the period from Christmas to Epiphany) as the one of the major holidays of the annual cycle. Ob Komi Christmastide rites much of it is align with the calendar ritualism of Russian and other nations, but there are differences. On the one hand, Ob Komi kept the native Orthodox traditions: attended the church, made fasts, children paraded the streets with Christmas star on Christmas, caroled, consecrated water at the Day of Epiphany. On the other hand, they heathenized, told fortunes and organized a masked ball. Christmastide time was considered as a time, when evil spirits were especially active, hence people laid emphasis on the magical protection of people and homes, observed a taboo on some work. It was impossible to do some kind of needlework, twist, twirl, take in water and take out the garbage after sunset, work with metal, do “wooden ” noise at night. The semantics of these taboos associated with concepts of the birth of the sun, renewal of space, contacts between people and representatives of the lower world. Existed among the northern Komi from the Izhma River the ceremony of “trample of “chyudy ” ” was practiced on the Epiphany Day, and it was the logical conclusion of the Christmastide period and symbolized the exorcism. The same ritual of Ob Komi took place on the first day of the New Year, at that time, when the Christmastide spirits (chudy) has just appeared (get out of the ground or water), and probably was a precaution.