Snow Maiden. History of origin for children

This pretty companion began to accompany the grandfather on the New Year trees only with end XIX. century. It appeared on the light in 1873 due to the eponymous play-tales A.N. Ostrovsky, who, in turn, artistically processed one of the options of a folk fairy tale about a girl climbed from snow and melted from warm sunlight. Pieces plot A.N. Ostrovsky is significantly different from the folk fairy tale. Here, the Snow Maiden is a daughter of frost. She comes to people from the forest, fascinated by their beautiful songs.

Lyric beautiful story About the Snow Maiden liked many. Famous phecksenate Savva Ivanovich Mamontov wanted to put her on the home stage of Abrahasev's mug in Moscow. The premiere took place on January 6, 1882. Sketches of costumes for her performed V.M. Vasnetsov, and three years later famous artist Makes new sketches for the formulation of the Opera N.A. Roman Corsakov, created on the basis of the Piesen N.A. Ostrovsky.

To the creation appearance Snow Maiden relevant two more famous artist. MA Vrubel in 1898 created the image of Snow Maiden for decorative Punk In the house of A.V. Morozova. Later, in 1912, his vision of the Snow Maiden presented N.K. Roerich, who participated in working on production dramatic performing About the Snow Maiden in St. Petersburg.

The modern appearance of the Snow Maiden imagined individual features of the art versions of all three masters of the brush. She can come to the Christmas tree in a light sundress with a hoop or a bandage on the head - so. As I saw it V.M. Vasnetsov; In white, woven from snow and fluff, clothes, chopped by the mountainous fur, as portrayed it ml. Vrubel; Or in the fur coat, which N.K. Roerich.

The story of a girl from the snow, who came to the people, was becoming increasingly popular and very well "fitted" in the programs of urban christmas trees. Gradually, the Snow Maiden becomes a permanent character of the holidays as a helper of Santa Claus. This is born by a special Russian custom Christmas celebration with participation

In Russia, without Snow Maiden does not do any New Year. This fabulous beauties It is an embodiment of purity, youth, fun and makes a winter holiday brighter and joyful.

Since childhood, we used to see her next to Santa Claus at all New Year's events, but few of us thought, where the parents of the Snow Maiden. Let's try to figure out!

• Who is the Snow Maiden and where did she come from?
• Who is the parents of the Snow Maiden and where are they now?
• Who is the author of a fairy tale about the Snow Maiden?
• Who is the Snow Maiden Santa Claus?

Who is the Snow Maiden and where did she come from?

In folklore, three times are mentioned fabulous heroesWho are directly involved in the New Year festivities - Santa Claus, Snowman and Snow Maiden. And if a kind old man has its prototypes in many other countries of the world, then a cute little blond girl does not exist in mythology, nor in the legends and tales of other nations.

Snow Maiden is an original Russian heritage, a kind of angel who can persuade even a shy child not to rob to Santa Claus and tell the poem or sing a song.

There are several versions of the origin of the Snow Maiden. One of them is connected with the ancient Slavic ritual of the funeral of Kostroma - a ritual character symbolizing fertility. According to another version, the origins of the appearance of a snow beauty rise to the pagan beliefs about mythological Bog Water and night sky - Varun, which in some legends is the prototype of Santa Claus.

It is believed that the Snow Maiden is the embodiment of river water clans, which melting the onset of warm spring days.

Who is the parents of the Snow Maiden and where are they now?

Although B. folklore Snow Maiden was known in the pagan times, for the first time they started talking across the country in the second half of the XIX century, when a fairy tale of the girl Snow Maid, or a snowmaker, climbed from the snow was published in Russia. According to this story, the peasant Ivan and the wife of his Marya lived in one Russian village. The world and love always reigned in their house, but they also lived together until the oldest, and could not be able to acquire children.

Once in winter a lot of snow fell in their village. Ivan and Marya went to the courtyard and began to sculpt the snowy doll. Suddenly, the Snow Maiden moved, as if alive, and married couple She accepted this miracle as a blessing of God who sent a child to him. The fairy tale has a sad finale: Jumping with girlfriends through the bonfire, a snowy girl melted.

However, over time, her image came true in the folk consciousness, and from the end of the XIX century began to be actively used in scenarios on the New Year trees. Since Ivan and Marya were ordinary peopleTogether, they died, so the Snow Maiden is now orphan.

Who is the author of a fairy tale about the Snow Maiden?

For the first time, a fairy tale about Snow Magnik and her old men's parents in 1869 recorded in his writings "Poetic views of Slavs in nature" an outstanding Russian collector Folklore Alexander Afanasyev.

The author has a pagan version of the appearance of a winter heroine, according to which the Snow Maiden is a snowy nymph. It is born at the beginning of winter from snow, and with the arrival of spring days evaporates and takes the desire of rural residents with him.

In 1873, the playwright Alexander Ostrovsky, impressed by Afanasyev's stories, created the "Snow Maiden" play, in which he described the winter beauty as a pale girlfriend with blond hair, dressed in a fur coat with a fur neck, cap and mittens. In this work, the author presented a 15-year-old daughter Santa Claus and Spring-Red, letting it go to people in Slobodka Berendevka under the supervision of Bakula-Bobyl.

As in the tales of Afanasyev, in the play of the Ostrovsky Snow Maiden melted, but for another reason - from a bright sunny beam, who brought the vengeful and evil god fertility to her, Yarilo.

Who is the Snow Maiden Santa Claus?

If you believe the play of Ostrovsky, then Santa Claus has a Snow Maiden father, however, in 1935, after the USSR officially allowed to celebrate the New Year, they began to accept their grandfather and granddaughter. In pedagogical allowances for conducting new Year's events Young beauty acts as an assistant old man and his intermediary in games with babies on the Christmas tree.

Who came up with calling the Snow Maiden of the granddaughter of frost, it is still unknown, but their first joint entry took place in 1937 in the house of Moscow Unions, and since then it was so that a good old man has a girl grandfather.

Place of birth Snow Maiden

The legend says that the birthplace of Snow Maiden - Berendevo Kingdom in the Kostroma region. In the Yaroslavl province, which borders with the Kostroma region, there is the village of Berendevka. According to legend, it is there that lives the Snow Maiden.

The Russian people have its own pagan (ie, folk) New Year's Trinity - Santa Claus, Snowman and Snow Maiden. Although most often on New Year's days we meet after all Santa Claus and Snow Maiden. Where did this snow granddaughter come from? In this we will try to figure out.

Kostroma or Snow Maiden?

Initially, this image arose in Russian folk fairy tales as an image of an ice girl - granddaughters, which were blinded by a childless old man with an old woman in consolation, and people on joy. However, there is an assumption that the Tale of the Snow Maiden originated on the basis of the ancient Slavic rite of the funeral of Kostroma. And it means that it can be argued that Kostroma is not just the birthplace of Snow Maiden, it is the same Snow Maiden.

There was such a spring-year-old rite of "Funeral Kostroma", associated with the farewell with the spring and the end of the day of the week. After all, no wonder the Snow Maiden is, after all, from the water.

Kostroma means a gaming character and the game itself, at the end of which the Kostroma is ill and dies, and then gets up and dancing. The final episode of the game and the rite, the death and subsequent resurrection of Kostroma, gave a reason for the perception of the image of Kostroma as a seasonal spirit (the spirit of vegetation), which relates it to the image of the Snow Maiden.

Kostroma four times the birthplace of Snow Maiden:

- The first birth - the emergence of the image from the rite of the funeral of Kostroma, giving the city name;

- The second birth of the Snow Maiden - in spring fairy tale "Snow Maiden" A. N. Ostrovsky, writer and playwright, creating their creations in the Kostroma Earth;

- Third birth - shooting the film "Snow Maiden" by director Pavel Kadochnikov in Berendevka, Forest park in the territory of Kostroma.

- the fourth - the embodiment of the image in a living person playing the role of the Snow Maiden traveling with Russian grandfather Frost in Russia.

In Kostroma, the Snow Maiden is also terem, and the living room, where she welcomes and entertains its guests of any age.

However, there is an opinion that Kostroma is not connected with the Snow Maiden.

The word "Kostroma" has one root with the word bonfire. According to the descriptions of the XIX century researchers, in the end of winter, the stuffed in the vicinity of the city of Kostroma was buried in the vicinity of Kostroma in different villages. Straw scarecrowdepicting Kostroma, joyfully, with hooks and booms or ripen in the river, or burned.

From conscientious descriptions by researchers of the XIX century, it can be seen that the rite of destroying the stuffed Kostroma to the little things repeats the rite of festive destruction of the spring of stuffed in ancient times of the annoying evil marines in various locations, and Maran, Maran, Morah, Marau, Marmara, and Marmara.

From the descriptions of the rite, it is clear that the goddess of the Winter of Kostroma is not a separate independent deity, but just a local (local) Kostroma name of the National Slavonic Marines (Morags), the pagan goddess of death, winter and night.

Moragan (Maran, Kostroma ...) personified in the image of a frightening: inexlarm and a sweat, her teeth are more dangerous to the fangs of the wild beast, on the hands of terrible, curves of claws; Death - Black, grind up his teeth, quickly rushes to war, grabs fallen warriors and, climbing his claws into the body, sucks blood from them.

Of course, there is no reason to associate the image of our Russian Snow Maiden with the image of an ancient evil and cruel goddess of winter, death and nights of Moran (Kostroma).

Snow Maiden and Galatea

Since ancient times, people have made ways of man from different materialssometimes imagining your sculptures revived (remember ancient myth About Pygmalion and Galatee).

The image of a revived Ice girl is often found in the northern fairy tales. In recorded researchers, Russian folklore XIX century, Snow Maiden also appears as a character of a folk fairy tale about a girl made from the snow, which came to life.

Most likely, the Russian folk tale of the Snow Maiden was composed of somewhere in mid XVIII century maybe under the influence of the northern testes that came across Russian northern pomps and then interpreted in oral creativity Different storytellers. So the options for this magic fairy tale appeared in Russia.

Snow Maiden - Literary Character

In Russian folk tales, Snow Maiden miraculously arises from the snow as a living person. Tales of Snow Maiden were investigated by A. N. Afanasyev in the second volume of his work "Poetic views of Slavs in nature" (1867). Slavic goddess Snow Maiden made under the influence of research A.N. Afanasyev in 1873 the great Russian playwright A. N. Ostrovsky, giving her to her parents slavic gov Santa Claus and spring-red. And the gods are known to be bored.

Russian fabulous Snow Maiden - a character is surprisingly kind. In Russian folklore, there are even hints on something negative in the character of the Snow Maiden. On the contrary, in Russian fairy tales, the Snow Maiden appears as absolutely positive character, but fell into unsuccessful surrounding conditions. Even suffering, the fabulous Snow Maiden does not show any negative feature.

In 1882, N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov put the same opera on the play, which had a huge success.

Further development The image of the Snow Maiden received in the works of teachers of the late XIX - the beginning of the 20th century, which prepared scenarios for children new Year's tree. Even before the revolution, the figurines of the Snow Maiden were hanging on the tree, the girls dressed in the costumes of the Snow Maiden, was made to draw fragments from fairy tales, Ostrovsky or opera plays. At this time, the role of the leading Snow Maiden did not speak.

The image of Snow Maiden attracted many poets, writers, composers, artists. Known sketches of the artist M. A. Vrubel. V. M. Vasnetsov performed the scenery for the opera "Snow Maiden" N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov on stage Big Theater. N. K. Roerich filed four times to design the play "Snow Maiden" on the opera and dramatic scenes. The performances were obtained in the theaters of St. Petersburg, London, Chicago, Paris. B. M. Kustodiev Drew sketches of scenery to the play "Snow Maiden".

Each new understanding enriched the image of Snow Maiden, making him loved by the people. Today, the Snow Maiden as a fabulous symbol can attract different categories Tourists: children, youth and adult tourists, for whom it is a favorite way from childhood and makes it possible to relax from their problems.

Modern image of Snow Maiden

Its own modern view The image of Snow Maiden was received in 1935 in the Soviet Union, after the official permission of the celebration of the New Year. In the books on the organization of New Year's Christmas tree of this period, the Snow Maiden performs on a par with Santa Claus, like his granddaughter, assistant and an intermediary in communicating between him and children. In early 1937, Santa Claus and Snow Maiden were first together for the holiday of Christmas trees in the Moscow House of Unions (that is, at the most important Christmas tree of the Soviet Union).

Snow Maiden is more often depicted by a little girl, in the form of a girl she began to posing later. Why - still unknown.

In the war period about the Snow Maiden again forgotten. As a mandatory constant companion, Santa Claus, it was revived only in the early 1950s through the efforts of children's classics of Lion Cassile and Sergey Mikhalkov, who wrote scenarios for the Kremlin Christmas trees.

Santa Claus and Snow Maiden entered public life Countries as mandatory attributes of the meeting of the upcoming New Year. This is the story of the Snow Graduate Hisp. What version to believe, choose you, dear readers.

Happy New Year!

Young assistant Santa Claus - Granddaughter Snow Maiden is a unique New Year character, found only in Russian culture. Incredibly cute Snow Maiden easily finds mutual language With forest beasts and restless kids who see an intermediary in it when communicating with Santa Claus.

Each girl choosing a suit on New Year's carnival, dreams of being a snowmobile, since it is an embodiment of beauty, good nature and pupils.

Come from fairy tales

Always young and shining Snow Maiden entered our reality from the pages of the book "Poetic views of Slavs on nature", the author of which is Russian folkloride Alexander Afanasyev. In 1869 he told touching story About the old childless pair of Ivan and Marry, who lacked only children in the house for complete happiness.

Once in the winter they caught a daughter's Snow Maiden for themselves from snow, which came to life and filled their life with joy. However, family idyll lasts long: with the arrival of heat, the parents hid the Snow Maiden from sunlight, but still did not save her - disobeying old people, she went with girlfriends for the holiday of Ivan Kupala and, together with everyone, decided to jump across the fire.

Inspired by the story of Afanasyev, the writer Alexander Ostrovsky decided to write his play called Snow Maiden, in which the parents of the New Year's beauties are spring-red and Santa Claus.

The playwright depicted a Snow Maiden with a 15-year-old girl clouded in a fur coat with a fur collar, an elegant hat and warm mittens. In the plot, the Snow Maiden lives in the forest and only once under the supervision of Bakula-Bobyl goes to the Slobodie Berendevka to people who fascinated her with their magic songs.

It was on this day that the Spring Equinox Day was celebrated, when in their legal rights pagan god Sun - Yaril, from the heat of which winter drifts melted. It was not resistant under the onslaught of the burning rays and the Snow Maiden, but Taya in the spring, she again revived in winter.

A composer of Rimsky-Korsakov, who wrote the same name, who had a huge success was addressed to the image of Snow Maiden in his work.

Folk roots

Perhaps his biography of Snow Maiden leads from Russian folklore based on pagan beliefs. Fans of the same version, consider Snow Maiden by the embodiment of the goddess of winter - Moran, which symbolized snow, frosty purity and freshness. With the arrival of spring and warmth of Moragan, as well as the Snow Maiden, melted, but again revived with the first frosts.

Others see in the Snow Maiden Kostotyp Kostroma - Stuffed, burned during the celebration of Ivan Kupala. There is also an opinion that this is a born with the arrival of winter Snowy Nymph, which evaporates in the spring, taking with me the dreams of a good harvest of the villagers.

No matter how paradoxically, the Snow Maiden is also associated with the Goddess of Spring - Lelle, seeing the symbol of the Renaissance of Nature: Born out of the snow, she gives the happiness of the elderly, wins the winter shackles, and turning into the water, gives the fertility to the soil.

No wonder the Snow Maiden also consider the imaging of river water, custodized with powerful ice.

Joint exit

When 1935 in the USSR began to officially celebrate the New Year, grandfather Frost and his granddaughter Snow Maiden were defined by the main symbols of the celebration. By the way, it is still unknown, with whose light hands There was such a generic connection between them.

Two years later, in the metropolitan house of unions on the first New Year's ball, the home of the country held a debut joint output of these characters. Since then, the Snow Maiden is faithfully serves her grandfather, helping him to communicate with children, in the distribution of gifts, organization merry games and dance.

A little subsided about the Snow Maiden in harsh years Wars, but in a peaceful time, she again shone with Santa Claus on all Kremlin Christmas tree. By the way fascinating plots The adventures of New Year's heroes came out from under the pen with all the favorite children's writers of Sergei Mikhalkov and Lion Kassil.

Place of birth Snow Maiden

Unlike Santa Claus, who chose his Veliky Ustyug, Snow Maiden settled in Kostroma, where she can send letters to two addresses at once - on ul. Camp 38, where it stands by Terem, and on the street. Lenin 3.

Although residents of the village of Berendevka on the border of Yaroslavl and Kostroma regions, Snow Maiden is considered to be their countrywoman.

Often on this occasion with them, the caretaker of the apparel of the Schelike, in the walls of which Ostrovsky created the play "Snow Maiden".

Another place on the map of Russia associated with the Snow Maiden is the Moscow region estate of Savva Mamontov - Abramtsevo, where the artist Vasnetsov wrote the image of the Winter Beauty in Sarafane, Naps and a tape rim on the head.

In addition, on the stage of the Abrahants Theater was first put dedicated to the Snow Maiden's Piez Island and sounded musical essay Roman Corsakov.

Image of snow maiden

In addition to Vasnetsov over the external mucus of the Snow Maiden, painters Vrubel and Roerich thought: the first portrayed it in a snow-flip fur coat, a burned furry fur, and the second, representing it with the symbol of Russia, painted with mysterious curls and ornaments.

In the modern appearance of Snow Maiden, the old features were added and new features were added: along with the 8-beam crown with silver and pearls, she can wear a hood, get into the costume, both white and blue.

"Snow Maiden" - perhaps the least typical of all the Pieces of Alexander Ostrovsky, dramatically distinguished among other creativity by lyricity, unusual issues (instead social drama the author paid the attention of the drama personal, denoting as central theme The topic of love) and completely fantastic entourage. The play tells the story of the Snow Maiden, which appears in front of us with a young girl, desperately thirsty, which she never had - love. Preserving the loyalty of the main line, the Ostrovsky parallel reveals some more: the device of its semi-ridiculous-semi-nice world, the morals and customs of Berendev, the topic of continuity and reward, and the cyclicalness of life, noting, even in allegorical form, that life and death always go hand in hand.

History of creation

The appearance of the play in the light Russian literary world I owe a happy chance: At the very beginning of the 1873 year, the building of the Small Theater was closed for major repairs, and the group of actors temporarily moved to Big. Deciding to take advantage of the possibilities new scene And to attract spectators, it was decided to arrange an unusual performance-festival for those times, using a ballet, dramatic and opera component of the theater team immediately.

It is with a proposal to write a play for this extravagania and turned to Ostrovsky, who, using the opportunity to implement a literary experiment, agreed. The author has changed its usual to look for inspiration in unsightly sides. real lifeAnd in search of material for the play turned to the work of the people. There he found a tale of the girl-Snow Maiden, which became the basis for his magnificent work.

At the beginning of the spring of 1873, Ostrovsky worked on the creation of the play. And not one - since setting on the stage is impossible without music, the playwright worked together with another young, then Peter Tchaikovsky. According to critics and writers, it is precisely in this that one of the reasons for the amazing rhythm of the "Snow Maiden" - words and music were composed in a single impulse, close cooperation, and penetrated each other's rhythm, initially constituting one whole.

It is symbolic that the last point in the "Snow Maiden" put on the day of his fifty-year-old anniversary on March 31. And just over a month later, on May 11, the show of the premiere play took place. He received quite different reviews among critics, both positive and sharply negative, but already in the 20th century, literary crituals were firmly agreed that the "Snow Maiden" is the brightest milestone in the work of the playwright.

Analysis of the work

Description of the work

At the heart of the plot - life Path Girls-Snow Maiden, born from the Union of Frost and Spring-Red, His Father and Mother. Snow Maiden lives in the fictional Island Berendev kingdom, but not native - from Father-frost, which guarded it from all possible troubles, she left, - and in the family of Bobyl and Bobyli. Snow Maiden craves love, but can't love - even her interest in Lela is dictated by the desire to be the only and unique, desire to the shepherd, evenly gives all the girls warm and joy, was gentle with her with one. And Bobyl and Bobylich and are not going to give it with his love, they have a task more likely: to prove on the beauty of the girl, giving her married. Snow Maiden indifferently looks at Men-Berendev, for the sake of her who change their lives, rejecting brides and violate the social foundations; she is internally cold, she is alien full of life Berendeum - and therefore attracts them. However, and the stuff of Snow Maiden falls on a misfortune - seeing Lelia, favorable to another and rejected it, the girl rushes to his mother asking to allow them to love - or die.

It is at this moment that the Ostrovsky to the limit clearly expresses the central thought of his work: life without love is meaningless. Snow Maiden can not and does not want to put up with the void and the cold, existing in her heart, and spring, which is the essence of the immaculation of love, allows the daughter to experience this feeling, despite the fact that she has a bad thing.

Mother turns out to be right: those who loved the snow Maiden melts under the first rays of hot and clear sun, have time, however, to discover the new world, filled with meaning. And her beloved, before the bride who left the bride and the expelled King Mizgir, parted with life in the pond, seeking to reunite with the water, which the Snow Maiden became.

main characters

(Scene from the ballet - Snow Maiden)

Snow Maiden - the central figure of the work. The girl of extraordinary beauty, desperately wanting to know love, but at the same time cold heart. Clean, partly naive and absolutely alien to people-Berendeum, it turns out to be ready to give everything, even his life, in exchange for knowledge about what love is and why everything is so crazy.
Frost - Father Snow Maiden, Grozny and Strict, strive to protect her daughter from all sorts of trouble.

Spring-Krasnova - the mother of a girl who, despite the premonition of the trouble, could not go on his nature and her daughter's plenty and endowed her ability to love.

Lel - windy and cheerful shepherd, the first aroused some feelings and emotions in the Snow Maiden. It was because of the fact that it turned out to be rejected by him, the girl rushed to spring.

Mizgir - a shopping guest, or, in other words, the merchant who loved the girl so much that not only suggested all his wealth for her, but also left Kupava, who was unwounding his bride, thereby violating the originally observed customs of Berendev Kingdom. In the end, he gained the reciprocity of the one who loved, but not for long - and after her death he himself broke up with life.

It is worth noting that despite a large number of Piese characters, even secondary heroes turned out to be bright and characteristic: that King Berendey that Bobyl and Bobylich, that the former Bride of the Misgi of Kupava - they are all remembered to the reader, possess their distinctive features and features.

"Snow Maiden" - the work is complex and multifaceted, including compositionally, and rhythmically. The play is written without rhyme, but thanks to a unique rhythm and singer, which is literally in every line, sounds smoothly, like any rhymed verse. Decorates the "Snow Maiden" and the rich use of spaticrous revolutions is quite a logical and justified step of the playwright, which, when creating a work, relied on folk talestelling about the girl from the snow.

The same statement about versatility is true and in relation to the content: for the externally simple story of the Snow Maiden (reached real world - rejected people - she got love - penetrated human peace - Died) not only the statement that life without love is meaningless, but also many other, equally important aspects.

So, one of the central topics is the relationship of opposites, without which the natural course of things is impossible. Frost and Yarilo, Cold and Light, Winter and warm time years externally configure each other, enter into an irreconcilateral contradiction, but at the same time the red line in the text passes the idea that one without the other does not exist.

In addition to the lyricity and sacrifice of love, interest is and social aspect Pieces displayed against the background of fabulous men. The norms and customs of Berendev Kingdom are observed strictly, the exile is threatened for violation, as happened to Mizgiry. These norms are valid and to some extent reflect the representation of the island about the ideal Old Russian community, where the price is loyalty and love of neighbor, life in unity with nature. The figure of Tsar Berendeya, the "good" king, who, although forced to take harsh decisions, regards the fate of Snow Maiden as a tragic, sad, causes unequivocally positive emotions; Such king is easy to sympathize.

At the same time, in the Berendevsky kingdom, justice is observed in everything: even after the death of Snow Maiden, as a result of her adoption of love, anger and spores of Yarily disappear, and Berendevtsy can enjoy the sun and warmth. Ceremonies harmony.