Many have heard the expression: "What a violent disposition he has!" Or: "I like this girl." So what is temper?
To put it very briefly, these are the norms of behavior and morality accepted in society. No wonder they say "high moral person." However, in books one can find a more general meaning. What is temper? According to writers (representatives of realism), temperament is character (courage or shyness, will, mercy), as well as feelings (passion, love, compassion, hatred) and all those habits, traditions and beliefs that have developed in a particular nation in process of historical development. These are patterns of behavior accepted (or rejected) in a particular social stratum.
On the examples of classical works you can see what Russian customs are. The selflessness of Andrei Bolkonsky, the purity of Natasha Rostova, the desire of Green's Gray to create a miracle for Assoli with his own hands. But at the same time, the hypocrisy of the “high society” in relation to the unfaithful wife Anna Karenina or the craving for excitement (the notorious Russian hope for “maybe”: what if she’s lucky?) Among the heroes of Dostoevsky or Pushkin’s Hermann. The actions of people are determined by their temper (both innate and acquired in the process of upbringing), and animals act only by obeying instincts.
The customs of Russia were laid in ancient times. They are based on spirituality and the breadth of the soul. It is widely believed that people in the West live better, because they know how and love to work, and the Russians, they say, are loafers: such Emelya is sitting on the stove, waiting for manna from heaven. But our fairy tale hero is always ready to share the latter, he is kind and compassionate.
Era and morality
What is temper? This word comes from the word "morality." Morality is a conditional internal assessment by the person himself of the norms of his own behavior, of his actions from the point of view of the value of good. The term is closely related to another concept - morality, because it is, in our understanding, that it is responsible for the differences between good and evil. The moral of today's society relies heavily on the ten biblical commandments. Our ancestors lived a whole era before the adoption of Christianity by Vladimir the Holy and the spread of Orthodoxy in Russia. It turns out that they did not have morality in our modern sense of the word, but does this mean that they were immoral? Or the answer to the question "What is temper?" different for each era?
Celebration of Ivan Kupala
If we recall some traditions and customs of the ancient Slavs, then this is precisely so. One of the main gods of the pagan pantheon of the ancient Slavs was Perun. It was he who, long before the pagan reform of 980, was worshiped by the majority of Slavic tribes. A holiday dedicated to this god was celebrated on Ivan Kupala.
This day coincided with the day of the summer solstice and was identified with the divine essence of fire; a burning hoop was rolled from the mountain, jumped over bonfires, collected herbs - it was on this day that they had special strength. At night, according to the legend of the Slavs, fern bloomed - a grass that does not bloom at all. The lucky one who saw the fern flower could expect his dream to come true. The cherished desires of many young men and women came true that night, when games and fun became frank. They bathed together in a river or lake and indulged after this with love joys. It was possible to find a bridegroom that night, and subsequently play a wedding in the fall, at the end of the harvest.
Why can not swear ?
On the other hand, modern youth would not envy harsh customs regarding profanity. These words, according to the Slavs, possessed a strong energy that could even raise the dead. Women were forbidden, under pain of death, to pronounce the names of the male genital organs in the presence of men, because negative female energy violated male power, which affected the tribal clarity. It was customary to use these words solely to deter evil spirits. To do this, you should go out at noon in a field sown with rye or buckwheat, stop and shout out all those words that we now consider obscene. The rite was performed alone so that no one would fall ill.
Thus, the concept of "morals" we can interpret as well-established forms of human behavior in this community. Answering the question posed above, it is necessary to get acquainted with another side of the life of the ancient Slavs - the material, that is, to illuminate the topic "life and customs of Ancient Russia."
Men's amulets
The meaning of the word “life” according to Ozhegov’s dictionary is a way of life, everyday life and all the objects that are associated with it. To exist, i.e. to live. The life and customs of Ancient Russia speak not only about the originality of Russian customs, but also about the wisdom of the ancients. Some words and expressions came to modern Russian from the dictionary of traditions and customs of the ancient Slavs. For example, the protective (protective) function in a person’s wardrobe was performed by belts. If commoners were limited to a thin ribbon (girdle) around a body shirt and a lace (a traffic cop in ports), the richer and more prosperous wrapped wide sashes of silk several times around their waist. Rusichs believed that the belt is a circle that does not let anything terrible from the outside world that could seriously harm a person. At the same time, the ends of the belt were necessarily and very carefully hidden in forged plates. And the accompanying word “unbelievers” at that time meant dishonor and shame. In general, it’s indecent to “gang up” even today, people should be able to control themselves.
Women's amulets
The woman - the guardian of the family hearth, extended the clan, was perceived exclusively as a sacred creature, was the bearer of wisdom.
Women's clothing included significantly more amulets than men's. Women's clothes were modest, long and carefully concealed the figure, but the embroideries on women's shirts were much larger, and most often they embroidered the sun sign - “swastika” as a universal protection. Moreover, the symbol could be either male or female, located at different angles of inclination and rotation of the “tails”, which meant profit, health, disaster, and omnipotence at once. Often the embroidery was also in the form of ducks, for some tribes this sign signified the fundamental principle of the world. The horse amulets forged from silver, bronze or copper were the most favorite jewelry, because it is a symbol of goodness and happiness associated with the great cult of the sun. Apparently, the current “horseshoe for happiness” is the remainder of the ancient Slavic beliefs. It is easy to see that modern fashion often refers to ancient customs and traditions. So, for example, massive earrings in the form of large circles very popular today, decorated with stones and metal carvings, are nothing but colts - pendants to headdresses. They did not become massive for a reason: their swaying was to distract evil spirits. Ancient ancestors adorned the head and temples, but did not pierce the ears. Instead, they wore jewelry in the form of temporal rings and colts: their ears were hidden under a scarf or other headgear.
Features of life and customs of Ancient Russia
The expression “start from the stove” emphasizes the role of this structure. The Russian stove served as an ordinary stove (in the modern reading of the word) for cooking, as well as a bed for sleeping, a dryer for utensils, a steam room for weak old people and small children. The place near the stove was called the “woman’s corner” (to bake). The term “blame” meant in that far epoch too much work or bondage, which was a heavy female share. Today, this word is used mainly in the combination “imprison”, which also means little good. These were the manners of Ancient Russia.
A steam-park and stroking, and getting along!
And in the continuation of this topic - a bathhouse! For a long time, the bathhouse was considered a charm from all sorts of misfortunes and ailments. Unlike foreigners - pretentious English and loving French - Russians washed themselves in a bathhouse and soared with pleasure. They said: "The bath is floating, the bath rules." And brooms were traditionally harvested in early June so that the birch leaf did not become hard. Since each broom was only steamed once, then up to 70 brooms per person per year. The purest nation in the world in every sense of this expression! And in the sense of morality, too.