Magpies

Forty Martyrs of SebasteThe origin of the holiday - Soroki (Saraki) can be considered from two sides - from the side of Christianity and paganism. His Christian origin is based on the fact that on this day in 313 in the Armenian city of Sebaste forty Christian Wars were executed, who refused to offer sacrifice to pagan gods before the campaign. In order to break their will and force them to renounce Christ, the soldiers were brought to the ice of the lake in a fierce frost, the ice melted and bright crowns appeared over the heads of the martyrs. The soldiers were beaten to death with sticks and the bodies burned.

However, it can be assumed that the number forty and the name of this “sprysvyatka” could come to us from the pagan tradition, where it is such a number of dark forces that constrain the earth throughout the winter.

March 22 is the spring solstice. It is almost the main event in the life of our ancestors-Slavs. Literally all spring holidays are dedicated to this natural phenomenon.

At the Soroki were waiting for the arrival of 40 bird flocks and for their meeting women baked from the dough of the figure of larks - "sorac javaranka".

Early in the morning, the boys ran barefoot into the yard and tried to throw 40 chips over the roof - they believed that the search for bird nests in the summer would be successful.

In the evening, boys and girls gathered for dancing, treated to beer brewed specifically for this day. The girls performed magical rites that were supposed to contribute to the rapid onset of warm spring days. To defeat the mysterious forces that kept the land in winter captivity, to break the bonds, the girls in the morning at the Forty broke 40 ropes or broke 40 planks.

The elders watched the weather and performed various rituals aimed at obtaining a good harvest.