Page:The Mythology of All Races Vol 3 (Celtic and Slavic).djvu/477

 CHAPTER III THE RUSALYE MONG the Slavs the Rusalye are celebrated at the Whitsun holidays. The word itself is of foreign origin (from the Greek ῥουσάλια "feast of roses"), and so are many ceremonies connected with the festival, although numerous indigenous customs have been preserved side by side with these rites.

In Russia the Rusalye were celebrated in the following way. On Whitsun Monday a small shed, adorned with garlands, flowers, and fragrant grasses, was erected in the centre of an oak grove; a straw or wooden doll, arrayed in holiday garments, was placed inside; and people assembled from all quarters, bringing food and drink, dancing round the shed, and giving themselves up to merriment. In the Great Russian Governments people leave the towns and villages for the forests on the Thursday preceding Whitsunday (Semik), singing ancient songs and picking flowers which they make into wreaths. Then the lads fell a nice young birch-tree which the lasses dress in woman's robes, trimming it with gay-coloured ribbons and gaudy pieces of cloth. As they carry this tree along, they sing festive songs; and then follows a dinner of flour, milk, eggs, and other provisions brought for the occasion, while wine and beer are purchased by voluntary contributions. After dinner they take the birch, and singing merry songs, they carry it in procession to the village, where they put it down in a house chosen for the purpose, leaving it there till Sunday.

The doll which, in the course of these ceremonies, is finally