Christmas Gifts Russian Style: Snegurochka is Father Christmas's Little Helper
In the Russian Christmas tradition, Snegurka, or Snegurochka (Snow Maiden, or Snow Girl), is Father Christmas' granddaughter: a fair maiden that travels with him in the sledge (drawn by horses or an invisible force, not reindeer) and helps him hand out gifts to children.
While Snegurochka as a folk tale character dates back at least a thousand years, she is a very recent addition to Russia's winter season. In Old Slavic folklore, Snegurka, or Snow Girl, figures as a snow sculpture that comes alive to be the adoptive daughter to a childless peasant couple. She then melts away when challenged by other village children to jump over the bonfires on St. John's night.
In the mid-19th century when folklore studies took Europe by storm, Russia made no exception and turned to its own roots and mythology. In 1873, a leading playwright A. N. Ostrovski wrote The Winter Tale, or Snegurochka -- a theater play set in pagan Russia. The story portrayed Snegurochka as the daughter of Father Frost and his wife Springtime: a faerie maiden who wished to fall in love with a human and then melted away, overwhelmed by the feeling, when her mother granted her her wish.
Russian Christmas Cards and Decorations Depicted Snegurochka and Father Christmas
Although Russians started celebrating Christmas in 1700, complete with the tree, gifts and fireworks, Father Christmas, or Father Frost, first appeared in Russia in 1910 -- without Snegurochka by his side yet, although the play was often performed at Christmas parties and tree decorations, as well as Christmas cards and postcards depicting her were produced.
Christmas was still celebrated in the first Soviet years, but as Joseph Stalin came to power, he banned all religious holidays in 1926, including children's Christmas parties. The Xmas tree and the figure of Father Frost were ridiculed as "obsolete", and folk tales, including Snegurochka, were branded as "damaging for children's mental development".
Russian Christmas and New Year's Traditions
In 1935 though, as the new Soviet government realized the importance of giving its citizens a winter celebration, it reintroduced the tradition of children's Christmas parties, with one exception: they were moved to the New Year and became New Year's parties. Father Frost was reinstated, as were the tree and the gifts delivered by the bearded wizard. Children's parties were staged in theaters, at schools, kindergartens and children's clubs.
In 1937, the scriptwriters of the Kremlin's New Year's party felt inspired by A. Ostrovski's theater play and decided to give their Father Frost a granddaughter: Snegurochka. Since then, she is Father Frost's faithful companion in Russia. Dressed in a white, light-blue or red fur coat and color-coordinated fur hat, boots and mittens, she is blonde, slim and extremely kind.
But even these days, Russian children have their parties on New Year's day, not on Christmas. Normally, Snegurochka opens the party by herself, pretending Father Frost is gone or lost, and asking the children to help her find him. After a few rounds of songs and games, Father Frost is finally '"found", and his appearance makes the climactic moment of the show, followed by more games and the distribution of gifts. On Russian Christmas and New Year's cards and postcards Father Frost is almost always depicted with his beautiful and kind-hearted granddaughter.
Sources:
Only in Russia: Snegurochka. RussiaToday.com, last accessed Oct 30, 2010
Snegurochka -- Snow Maiden. RussianGateway.com, last accessed Oct 30, 2010
Irene Woodhead - Irene Woodhead is a bilingual English/Russian freelance writer and translator. After years of working as a professional opera/jazz singer, ...
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