We bring to your attention several options for reconstructing the Slavic month, a comparison and order of months in different Slavic languages, as well as a detailed explanation of the origin and meaning of the names of each of the months of the year. It should also be noted that the true Slavic calendar was solar; it was based on 4 seasons (seasons), each of which celebrated the solstice (brace, solstice, equinox). With the advent of Christianity in Russia, they began to use the lunar calendar, which is based on the period of changing the phases of the moon, as a result of which a certain "demolition" of dates by 13 days has formed (new style). The dates of Slavic pagan holidays (many of which were replaced over time by Christian names) are considered according to the old true style and "lag" behind the newly-minted calendar by 13 days.

Table 1. Variants of the names of the Slavic months.

Origin of month names

Originally, the Romans had a lunar year of 10 months, beginning with March and ending with December; which is indicated, by the way, and the names of the months. So, for example, the name of the last month - December comes from the Latin "deka" (deca), which means the tenth. However, in a short time, according to legend - under the king Numa Pompilius or Tarquinia I (Ancient Tarquinia) - the Romans switched to the lunar year of 12 months containing 355 days. To bring it into line with the solar year, they began to add from time to time an extra month (mensis intercalarius) already under Numa. Still, the civil year, with holidays designed for certain seasons, did not coincide at all with the natural year. The calendar was finally put in order by Julius Caesar in 46 BC: he introduced sunny year 365 days with the insertion of one day in every 4th year (we have this day - February 29); and set the start of the year from January. The calendar and annual cycle was named after the great Roman commander and statesman Julian.

The months were designated by the same names as now. The first six months are named after the Italic gods (with the exception of February, named after the Roman holiday), July and August were called Quintilis (fifth) and Sextilis (sixth) until the time of Emperor Augustus, they were named Julius and Augustus in honor of Julius Caesar and Augustus ... Thus, the names of the months were as follows: Januarius, Februarius, Martius, Aprilis, Majus, Junius, Quintilis (Julius), Sexlilis (Augustus), September (from Lat. "Septem" - seven, seventh), October (from Lat. "Okto "- eight, eighth), November (from Lat." novem "- nine, ninth) and, finally, December (tenth). In each of these months, the Romans counted the same number of days as it is now. All names of months are adjectives in which the word "mensis" (month) is either implied or added. Calendae was called the first day of every month.

In Russia, the word "calendar" has been known only since the end of the 17th century. It was introduced by the emperor Peter I. Before that, it was called "month". But whatever you call it, the goals remain unchanged - fixing dates and measuring time intervals. The calendar allows us to record events in their chronological order, serves to highlight special days (dates) in the calendar - holidays, and for many other purposes. Meanwhile, old names months for Ukrainians, Belarusians and Poles are still in use!

January so named because it was dedicated by the ancient Romans to Janus, the god of Peace. In our country, in the old days, it was called "Prosinets", as it is believed, from the blue of the sky beginning to appear at this time, the brilliance, from the intensification, with the addition of day and sunlight. By the way, on January 21, Prosinets is celebrated. Take a closer look at the January sky and you will understand that it fully justifies its name. The Little Russian (Ukrainian) name for January "sechen" (sichen, sichen) indicates either the turn of winter, which, according to popular belief, occurs precisely in January, the division of winter into two halves, or bitter, severe frosts. Some of the researchers single out the root "blue" in the word "blue", believing that this name was given to January for the early twilight - with "blue". Some scholars associated the name with the old folk custom of going to Christmastide from home and asking for food. In Russia, the month of January was originally the eleventh in a row, for the first was considered March, when the year began to be reckoned from September, then January became the fifth; and, finally, since 1700, from the time of the change made in our chronology by Peter the Great, this month became the first.

February the Romans had last month in the year and is named for Febra, the ancient Italian god, to whom he was dedicated. The indigenous Slavic-Russian names of this month were: "ssechen" (the name he has in common with January) or "snow", probably from the snowy time or by the verb to whip for blizzards, common in this month. In Little Russia from the 15th century, in imitation of the Poles, the month of February began to be called "fierce" (or lute), because it is known for its fierce blizzards; the settlers of the northern and middle Russian provinces still call him "bokogrey", because at this time the cattle come out of the barns and warm their sides in the sun, and the owners themselves warmed the sides by the stove. In modern Ukrainian, Belarusian and Polish languages \u200b\u200bthis month is still called "fierce".

March... From this month, the Egyptians, Jews, Moors, Persians, ancient Greeks and Romans, as well as, once upon a time, our Slavic ancestors began the year. The name "March" was given to this month by the Romans in honor of the god of war, Mars; it was brought to us from Byzantium. The true Slavic names of this month in the old days in Russia were different: in the north it was called "dry" (little snow) or "dry" from the spring warmth, which drains all moisture; in the south - "berezozol", from the action of the spring sun on the birch, which at this time begins to fill with sweet juice and buds. Zimobor - conquering the winter, opening the way for spring and summer, the thawer - this month the snow begins to melt, thawed patches and drops appear (hence another name for drip). Often the month of March is called "flyby", since spring begins with it, the harbinger of summer, and together with the following months - April and May - constitutes the so-called "flyby" (the holiday of which is celebrated on May 7).

April comes from the Latin verb "aperire" - to open, it indicates, in fact, the opening of spring. The Old Russian names of this month were birch (tarn) - by analogy with March; snow drift - streams run, taking with them the remnants of snow, or even pollen, because it is then that the first trees begin to bloom, spring blooms.

May... The Latin name for this month was given in honor of the goddess Mai, as well as many others, it came to us from Byzantium. The Old Russian name of this month was herbal, or herbal (herbalist), which reflected the processes taking place in nature at that time - a riot of growing herbs. This month was considered the third and last month. summer month... This name is known in the Ukrainian language.

June... The name of this month comes from the word "Junius" given to him in honor of the goddess Juno by the Romans. In the old days, the original Russian name for this month was Izok. Isokom was the name of a grasshopper, of which this month was especially abundant. Another name for this month is the worm, especially used among the Little Russians, from the worm or the worm; this is the name of a special kind of dyeworms that appear at this time. This month is called the same and multi-colored, for nature is born with an indescribable riot of colors of flowering plants. In addition, in antiquity the month of June was often called by the people a "kresnik" - from the word "kres" (fire).

July comes from the name "Julius", given in honor of Gaius Julius Caesar, and, of course, has Roman roots. In our old days, it was called, like June - worm - from fruits and berries, which, ripening in July, are especially reddish (scarlet, red). The folk-poetic expression "summer is red" can serve as a literal translation of the name of the month, in which attention is drawn to the brightness summer sun... Another original Slavic name for July is lipets (or linden), which is now used in Polish, Ukrainian and Belarusian as the month of linden blossom. July is also called the "top of summer", since it is considered the last summer month (July 20 is celebrated as "Perun's Day", after which, according to popular beliefs, autumn comes), or also "sufferer" - from the painful summer work, "thunderstorm" - from severe thunderstorms.

August... Like the previous one, this month got its name from the name of the Roman emperor - Augustus. The indigenous Old Russian names for the month were different. In the north, it was called "glow" - from the glow of lightning; in the south "serpen" - from the sickle, which is used to remove bread from the fields. Often this month is given the name "zornichnik", in which it is impossible not to see the changed old name "glow". It will be unnecessary to explain the name "stubble", for in this month the time for harvesting in the fields and harvesting came. Some sources interpret the glow as associated with the verb "roar" and denotes the period of roaring of animals during heat, while others suggest that the name of the month contains an indication of thunder and evening lightning.

September - "Sentemvrius", the ninth month of the year, while the Romans had the seventh, which is why it got its name (from the Latin word "septem" - the seventh). In the old days, the original Russian name for the month was "ruyin" - from the roar of autumn winds and animals, especially deer. The Old Russian form of the verb "ryuti" (to roar) is known, which when applied to the autumn wind meant "to roar, blow, call out". He got the name "frowning" due to his weather differences from others - the sky often begins to frown, it rains, autumn is in nature. Another name for this month "Veresen" is explained by the fact that heather begins to bloom at this time.

October - "oktovry", the tenth month of the year; among the Romans it was the eighth, which is why it got its name (from the Latin "octo" - eight). Among our ancestors, it is known under the name "leaf fall" - from autumn fall of leaves, or "baptismal" - from pazderi, boon, since this month flax, hemp, habits begin to crumple. Otherwise, it is a "dirty man", from autumn rains, causing bad weather and dirt, or a "wedding man" - from weddings, which are celebrated at this time by peasants.

November... We call the eleventh month of the year "November", but the Romans had it as the ninth, which is why it got its name (nover - nine). In the old days, this month was called the breast itself (breast or breast), from the heaps of frozen earth with snow, since in general in the Old Russian language the winter frozen road was called the breast path. In Dahl's dictionary, the regional word "pile" means "frozen ruts along the road, frozen hummocky mud."

December... "Decembriem" (Latin December) is called the 12th month of the year; among the Romans, it was tenth, which is why it got its name (decem - ten). Our ancestors called it "jelly", or "jelly" - from the cold and frost, common at that time.

The word "month" itself indicates the connection between the allocation of such a chronological segment with the lunar cycles and has common European roots. Consequently, the length of the month ranged from 28 to 31 days; it is not yet possible to specify the count of days by month more precisely.

Table 2. Comparative names of months in different Slavic languages.

In the "Ostromir Gospel" (XI century) and other ancient monuments of writing, January corresponded to the name Prosinets (since at that time it was getting lighter), February - cut (since it was the season of deforestation), March - dry (since in some places the earth was already drying up), April - birch, birch ash (names associated with a birch that begins to bloom), Mayu - grass (from the word "grass"), June - izok (grasshopper), July - worm, serpen (from the word "sickle", indicating the time of the harvest), August - glow (from "glow"), September - ryuen (from "roar" and the roar of animals), October - leaf fall, November and December - breast (from the word "heap" - a frozen track on the road) , sometimes - jelly.

Thus, the Slavs did not have a single idea of \u200b\u200bthe order and name of the months. From the whole mass of names, proto-Slavic names come to light, which speaks of the unity of the origin of the calendar. The etymology of the names is also not always clear and gives rise to all sorts of disputes and speculations on this topic. The only thing that most reenactors agree on is the connection between the names and natural phenomenacharacteristic of the annual cycle.

Tratova Maria Vadimovna, grade 9 MBOU "Konevskaya secondary school"

Research topic "Popular names of months in the national calendar."

At the end of the 19th century, the well-known researcher of folk mesyaslov A.S. Ermolov wrote that far-reaching science should “try to restore the long-broken connection between the exact scientific knowledge, on the one hand, and direct folk experience, on the other. " Now, after a century and a half, Yermolov's words seem especially relevant.

Relevance research is determined by the interest in the study of folk speech, the desire through the medium of the word to define and deeper understand the originality of the folk picture of the world.

Research object are the folk names of the months.

Research subject are the semantics of their names.

Object and subject studies have identified purpose of the work: Explore the semantics of month names. In accordance with the set goal, in the course of the study, its tasks.The material for the description was 252 lexical units with the meaning of a measure of time, namely the folk names of the months used in Russian. The material is taken from explanatory dictionaries and months, as well as the Internet. The literature on this issue was analyzed.

As a result of our research, we found out that the Russian folk calendar developed gradually. It has long been called the month. The word "calendar" in Russian has been known since the end of the 17th century. It was introduced by Emperor Peter I. The names of the Slavic months, as well as their order, differ depending on regions and countries

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District study and research conference

"Youth of Pomorie"

Direction LANGUAGE

Popular names of months

in the Russian calendar

Completed by a student of grade 9 b

MBOU "Konevskaya secondary school"

Plesetsk district

Tratovoy Maria Vadimovna

Academic Supervisor - Russian language teacher

And literature MBOU "Konevskaya secondary school"

Chernokova Valentina Leonidovna

p. Plesetsk, 2014

1. Introduction p.1
2. Main part. Popular names of months in the Russian calendar. p.2

A) From the history of the Russian folk calendar. p.2

B) Popular names of months, their semantics. page 3

3. Conclusion. page 8

4. Bibliographic list. page 10

5. Appendix No. 1 Variants of folk names for the Slavic months

6. Appendix No. 2 Comparative names of months in different Slavic languages

7. Appendix No. 3 Names of months in Slavic languages \u200b\u200bof different groups

8. Appendix No. 4 Names of months in different groups of Slavic languages

9. Appendix No. 5 From the history of the Russian calendar

1. Introduction.

The well-known researcher of folk mesyaslov A.S. Ermolov wrote at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries that the far-gone science should “try to restore the long-broken connection between exact scientific knowledge, on the one hand, and direct folk experience, the keen observation of ordinary rural people - with other". Now, after a century and a half, Yermolov's words seem especially relevant.

Relevance research is determined by interest in the study of folk speech and culture, the desire through the medium of the word to define and deeper understand the originality of the folk picture of the world.

Research object is a collection of folk names for months.

Research subject are the semantics of the folk names of the months.

Object and subject studies have identifiedpurpose of the work : to explore the semantics of the month names. In accordance with the set goal, a range of specifictasks, which determine its achievement:

1. To give a general idea of \u200b\u200bthe Russian chronology system.

2. Describe the popular names of the months in terms of semantics.

3. Determine the origin of these words.

4. Find out what role the words of this thematic group played in the formation of the Slavic linguistic picture of the world.

The main research methods methods of descriptive, as well as elements of component, comparative, etymological analysis were used to achieve the goal and solve the assigned tasks.

The object, subject, purpose of the study and the implemented tasks determinednovelty research. The names of the months that functioned in different periods of the development of the Russian language and in different forms of its implementation (literary language and dialects) have been investigated and described.

The material for the description was252 lexical units with the meaning of a measure of time, namely the folk names of the months used in Russian.

Material taken from the following sources: V. I. Dal " Dictionary of the living Great Russian language "," Dictionary of the modern Russian literary language "in 17 volumes," Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language of the late XX century. Language changes "edited by G. N. Sklyarevskaya," Dictionary of Russian folk dialects ", M. Vasmer's etymological dictionaries" Etymological dictionary of the Russian language "," Etymological dictionary of the Russian language "edited by N. M. Shansky.

One of the first to analyze the vocabulary denoting the concept of time in Russian linguistics was M.M. Pokrovsky is the founder of linguistic semantics. This tendency was further developed in the works of A.I. Moiseeva, A.B. Mordvinov and other scientists. They are aimed at the systematic study of the naive picture of the world of the native speakers of the Russian language, the reconstruction of which is carried out on the basis of the lexical and grammatical meanings of words denoting the categories of time.

The ethnic component of the issue was studied by scientists V.N. Toporov, N.I. Tolstoy, considering time in Slavic folk culture.

1. Popular names of months in Russian.

A) From the history of the Russian folk calendar

The Russian folk calendar took shape gradually, absorbing the knowledge of nature and the laws of human life accumulated over centuries and generations, agricultural experience, a special attitude to things that were seen not only as a practical side, but also as a spiritual principle.

Long since the ancient Slavic calendar bore the namemonths of words and contained the original native names of the months, which have survived to this day in some Slavic languages. Traditionalpagan the names of the months are associated with events and phenomena occurring in nature, as evidenced by their names. The names of the Slavic months, just like their order, differ depending on the regions and countries, nevertheless, they all have a single Proto-Slavic origin., what can be seen from the comparison.

The word "calendar" in Russian has been known since the end of the 17th century.It was introduced by the emperor Peter I. In ancient Rome, there was a custom to repay debts or pay interest on them on the first day of each month. These days were calledcalendars ... The usurers wrote down the amounts brought by the debtors in a special debt book -the calendar ... Later, the list of months and days of the year began to be called calendars, and it acquired its modern meaning.

The way of life of the farmer was determined primarily by the change of seasons. At the same time, the Russian folk (agrarian) calendar was guided by centuries-old observations of natural phenomena and church holidays. It should be noted that practically until the 16th century, there were three calendars in Russia: civil, church and folk (agrarian).

Usually, scientists and collectors start the folk calendar from January 1, although this date has nothing to do with the agricultural year. Its beginning is either the arrival of spring (preparation for sowing), or the onset of autumn (the end of the harvest). It is no coincidence that before 1348 new Year in Russia it was officially celebrated on March 1, and from 1349 to 1699 - on September 1, and only Peter I promulgated the decree “to count the summer” from January according to the European model (Appendix No. 5).

Over the centuries, not only the timing of the New Year has changed, but also the names of the months. Modern names reflect the Latin names of months borrowed by the official culture, some of which date back to the count of months from March that existed in Ancient Rome. These are the names of September, October, November and December, respectively, meaning the "seventh", "eighth", ninth "and" tenth "months, which does not coincide with their current ordinal number in the year. Some of the names of the months are dedicated to some gods of the Roman pantheon January - to the god Janus, March - to the god of war Mars, May - to the goddess of fertility Maya, June - to the goddess Juno.July and August are named after the famous Roman commander, Emperor Gaius Julius Caesar (Caesar) and Emperor Octavian Augustus. Etymology of names February and April , according to scientists, is still controversial: some researchers believe that February was dedicated to the goddess Febris or the god Febru, and April to Venus-Aphrodite through the Etruscan version of the name; others believe that February (or the word from which this name ) denoted the once great atoning sacrifice performed at the end of the year, and April goes back to the Latin verb aperire - "to open"

B) Popular names of months, their semantics.

January - prosinets, February - cut, March - dry, April - birch, birch, May - grass, June - isok, July - cherven, serpen, August - glow, September - ruyen, October - leaf fall, November and December - breast, jelly. These names of months are found in the "Ostromir Gospel" (XI century) and other ancient written records. The traditional Russian calendar has retained the folk names of the months. The semantics of many of them is quite transparent and is associated with the nature of the motivating basis of the word (January is winter, February is bokogrey, March is a trail, April is a snowman, bloom, May is a herbalist, June is a grain grower, July is a top of summer, August is pickle, September - gloomy, October - leaf fall, wedding, November - half winter, December - jelly). Some names require special explanation, since they reflect the traditional for that time, but today practically forgotten types of activities (April - berezozol); or these are names that are Old Russian or dialect words that are not used in modern Russian (August - serpen, June - isok, July - senosarnik, kosn, August - stubble, November - breast, breast and others.As we can see, the names of the months in Russia also reflected its "character".

Zimobor, thawing, dry, berezozol (March) - from this month the Egyptians, Jews, Moors, Persians, ancient Greeks and Romans began the year. The indigenous Slavic-Russian names of this month in the old days in Russia were different: in the north it was calleddry or dry from the warmth of spring, which drains all moisture, in the south -berezozol,, juice - from the action of the spring sun on the birch, which at this time begins to fill with sweet juice and buds.Zimobor - conquering winter, opening the way for spring and summer,protector - this month the snow begins to melt, thaw patches and drops appear. The month of March is often called"Flyby", as it begins spring, the harbinger of summer, and together with the following months - April and May - constitutes the so-called "flyby". Also called Marchrookery, vesnovka, spring, droplet, morning of the year.

Birch trees, pollen, snow drift (April) - Old Russian names of the month of April were:birch, snowman - streams run, taking with them the remnants of snow, or else -pollen, after all, it is then that the first trees begin to bloom, spring blooms, andcapricious and cunning for the changeable nature of the weather andsteam room - firstborn of the year with a positive average temperature air.

Herbalist, pollen (May) - the old Russian name for the month of May washerbal, or herbal , which reflected the processes taking place in nature at that time - a riot of herbs. This month was considered the third flying month.In Russia, May has long been calledleaf beetle, moore, dewdrop.Leaf beetle from the "leaf" and "bunch of grass", since at this time young leaves appear, and dense grasses cover the ground. Namemoore associated with the appearance of grass - ants. "Green" means "green".Rosenik - from abundant May dews.

Multicolor, worm, isok (June)... In the old days, the indigenous Russian names for the month of June wereisoc, ... Isocom was the name of a grasshopper, of which this month was especially abundant. Another name for this month isworm, especially common among Little Russians, from a worm or a worm; this is the name of a special kind of dyeworms that appear at this time. In addition, in the old days the month of June was popularly calleda chair, - from kres (fire), and at the same time from the day of John the Baptist (Ivan Kupala).Grain grower and hoarder; grain-growing, he saves the harvest for the whole year, enriches our house.For the abundance of light, juicy greens, the overflow of colors of flowering meadows, people called Junelight, flowering, rose - color, blush of the year.

Sufferer, worm, lipets (July)... In our old days it was called, like June, -worm - from fruits and berries, which, ripening in July, are particularly reddish (scarlet, red). This month is also calledlipstick - from the linden, which usually appears in full bloom at this time. July is also calledthe top of summer since it is considered the last summer month, or elsesufferer - from long-term summer work,fearsome - from severe thunderstorms.

Stubble, glow, serpen (August)... In the north, it was calledglow, - from the glow of lightning; on Southsickle - from the sickle, which is used to remove bread from the fields. This month is often given a namezornichnik , in which it is impossible not to see the changed old nameglow. The name of the stubble, hospitable person, bakery, skits, pickles it will be unnecessary to explain.Mezhnyak - the border of summer and autumn (boundary). Vladimirskiy gustar is in the Vladimir region - "eat thickly, abundantly" .

Veresen, frowning, ruyin (September)... In the old days, the original Russian name of the month wasruyin , from the roar of autumn winds and animals, especially deer. Namefrowning he got it thanks to his weather differences from others - the sky begins to frown often, it rains, autumn is in nature.Spring, Sunday- by the time of flowering of melliferous heather, a low, evergreen shrub common in Polesie, in forests and partly in forest-steppe. According to another version, the wordheather comes from the Ukrainian "vrasenets" - the old name for frost, which sometimes appears in September. September -fieldfare.

Leaf fall (October)... Our ancestors know him by the nameleaf fall a, from the fall of leaves, orbastard, - from pazderi, boonies, as this month flax and hemp begin to crumple. Otherwise -scum , from autumn rains, causing bad weather and dirt, orwedding man - from weddings that are celebrated at this time in the peasant life.In Russia they named himleaf beetle, yellow- this is the time of yellowing of foliage, golden autumn. Another October -baker and sawmill; harvest the last fruits and carry out seasonal agricultural work. Theyskit - smelled of cabbage.

Breast (November)... In the old days this month was actually calledbreast or breast , from piles of frozen ground with snow, since in general in the Old Russian language, a winter frozen road was called a chest path.November has other names:snow, falling leaves, leaf-bearing, mocharets, off-road vehicle, semi-winter and summer offender, twilight of the year and solstice, die-hard and the month of the sleigh first, the eve of winter, her singing and gate, sevens of the year.

Jelly (December).Our ancestors called itjelly, or cold , from the cold and frost common at that time.Another variant -frowning , that is, the time for the gloomy sky and early twilight. In Russian dialects, December is called poetically -wind chime and wind chill, chill and wrap, freeze and pull, chill and chill, fierce and lute - Mother winter is furious. For the deep snow they call himsnowing.

Prosinets (January)... In the old days we used to call itprosinets , as it is believed, from the blue of the sky beginning to appear at this time, brightening, from the intensification, with the addition of day, of sunlight. By the way, take a closer look at the January sky - it lives up to its name. Narodnoe Vasiliev month, the turning point of winter. Little Russian name for Januaryssechen,, indicates either the turning point of winter, which, according to popular belief, occurs precisely in January, the cutting of winter in two halves, or the crackling, severe frosts. In Russia, the month of January was originally the eleventh month, because March was considered the first, but when the year began to be counted from September, January became the fifth; finally, since 1700, since the change made in our chronology by Peter the Great, this month became the first.

Snow, Széchen, Bokogrey (February) - The indigenous Slavic-Russian names of this month were:ssechen,, (the name he has in common with January) orsnow probably from the snowy time. In Little Russia from the 15th century, in imitation of the Poles, the month of February began to be calledfierce ; the settlers of the northern and middle provinces of the Russians still call himside warming since then the cattle come out of the barns and heats their sides in the sun, and the owners themselves warmed the sides by the stove. Popular name -wide roads.

So, in the popular names of the months for the most part the weather characteristics were reflected: phenomena (thunderstorm, rain, wind, blizzard, dawn, lightning, drops) and conditions (cold, cold, frost, heat, heat, flowering) of nature, as well as the main concerns and aspirations of peasants associated with their practical activities : slash farming, haymaking, harvesting, harvesting, flax processing.The popular perception of time (months) was characterized by oppositions of the type favorable / unfavorable, good / evil. This is reflected in the type namesberezozol (according to some scientists, the name of this month is interpreted as "a time bad for birches"). Namesdry, strangler, thunderstorm, frowning, lute, muddy, blizzardassociated with the manifestation of bad weather, which means - an unfavorable time.

Enough large group make up the folk names of the months, motivated by nouns with the meaning of "plants" (baker, skit, strawberry, linden, berezen).The ancient Slavs worshiped the sun and the moon, revered reservoirs, stones, trees. Many names of months are devoted to the latter.

The popular names of the months reflect the main stages of the growing year: the growth of grasses, flowering, earing of bread, foliage falling (names of the type of grass, pollen, leaf fall), as well as important stages in the life of animals (names of the type of arrival, bird whistling, nightingale month, howler, animal wedding).

And such names as “June” retail outlet, “July” light garden and others may testify, in our opinion, about the origin of aesthetic feelings in our ancestors' perception of the surrounding world, about the development of such a concept as beauty.

The folk names of the months reflect not only the harsh everyday life of the peasant, but also the holidays, the time of rest (wedding, wedding, red hill). In traditional folk culture, rest from physical labor, fun has never been understood as idleness, completely free, unoccupied time. Therefore, along with the names related to any holidays, there were others, testifying to the practical activities of the peasants in the same period.

As our materials show, adjectives with the meaning of color, light were widely used at the basis of the nomination of a particular month. These are the names of yellow, red, white, worm, prosinets and others.

The peculiarity of the folk calendar was the reflection in it of the knowledge of history, acquaintance with the church month. Therefore, we meet such names of months as meeting (February), Vasilyev's month (January - old new year-Vasilyev's holiday), red hill (April, May) (Appendix No. 3)

Many month names do not have unambiguous interpretations. Various layers of human life are associated with them: agricultural activity, tools of labor, natural phenomena, traditions, peculiarities of flora and fauna, Christian holidays. So, sechen - the ancient Russian name for January - is associated, according to some etymologists, with slash farming (compare with the name sechivo - "tool", "tool"), according to other scholars, - with the verb cut - from the coming turn of winter, as if cutting it in two halves. There is a third point of view, according to which this month got its name for the cross-cutting, strong winds that are frequent at this time.

The basis of word creation in the folk calendar is metaphorization in the broadest sense of the word, which fully corresponded to the special artistic, poetic thinking of the creator of the folk month.

Some of the names referred to more than two months (slice, chest, etc.) (see Appendix # 1). The same feature is observed in some other Slavic languages, in particular, in Serbian. For example, the name of the wedding party. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the territory of the country is large and the climate is different, or the discrepancy between the old and the new style (a difference of two weeks).

Most of the Russian folk names of the months have correspondences in other Slavic languages. (Appendix # 2) The Slavic peoples find a relative unity in the name, for example, of months like June. Almost everywhere these are extensions of the ancient form * play (and * cn\u003e bs), as a result of this observation, it can be assumed that the origin of the names has a single Proto-Slavic basis. (Appendix # 3)

The Czech researcher Vladimir Shaur believes that the Proto-Slavs had common names for the months, on the basis of which he tried to reconstruct the names: so January is prosin ', February is sěčín, March is berzín, April is květín, May is travén, June is čírvén, July - lipьnь, August - sьrpьnь, September - vers, October - rujьnь, November - listopadъ, December - grudьnь (Appendix No. 4)

All folk names of months are revealed and specified in sayings, proverbs, and folk signs.

1. Conclusion.

1. Folk calendar (mesyaslov), associated almost exclusively with the oral linguistic tradition, reflected the peculiarities of the people's consciousness and was the treasury of the living Russian word that has come down to us from time immemorial.

2. The language of the folk mesyaslov reflects a special type of thinking characteristic of the ancient Slavs, which can be characterized as artistic, figurative, poetic, mythological, associated with a special nature of cognition of the surrounding world, a special way of mastering it.

3. The self-consciousness of the Russian peasant (and the Russian mentality in general) was formed against the background of the interaction of two cultures, two religions - paganism and Christianity, the most important evidence of which was the interaction of two calendars - the national and the church. And this interaction is reflected in the presence of special names for the months in the national calendar.

4. Among the nouns denoting months, motivated words make up the majority. So, simple in structure, motivated singlenominations there are 140 in our file cabinet; single nominations with complex structure - 74; a group of unmotivated single names consists of 16 words; group of nominations- phrases is represented by 22 items.

5. The names of the months are formed mainly from the ancient foundations (Proto-Slavic, Indo-European). Most of the names are motivated by nouns and adjectives, less often by verbs and very rarely by numerals. This is due to the fact that the names of the months arose most often on the basis of an object - a symbol of a particular period or sign - comparison (similarity). In the folk calendar (months), nouns that name months are one of the most ancient groups of vocabulary.

The modern names of the months, in contrast to the popular names, where the people put their content into each name-symbol, reflected various eras and cultural influences, and primarily the features of the calendar system of Ancient Rome.

Theoretical significance The study consists in the fact that it implements an integrated approach to the analysis of lexical units using descriptive, elements of semantic, etymological and linguoculturological methods, which ensures the integrity of the consideration of linguistic phenomena.

Practical significance The study consists in the fact that its results and conclusions, research methods can find practical application in school practice (in courses on the historical grammar of the Russian language, lexicology, in preparation for the subject Olympiad in the Russian language).

1. Bibliographic list

1. Dal V.I. Explanatory dictionary of the living Great Russian language in 4 volumes, -M: Russian language, 1999.
2. Ermolov E.S. Folk agricultural wisdom in proverbs, sayings and omens... Part 1 All-People Monthly, -Spb, 1901 -880 p.
3. Narodny mesyaslov / compiled by Ryzhenkov G.D., -M: Sovremennik, 1991, 127 p.
4. Russian names. Folk calendar / compiled by A.A. Ugryumov, - Arkhangelsk: North-West Book Publishing House, 1993 - 220 p.
5. Dictionary of the modern Russian literary language in 17 volumes, -M; L., -BAS, 1948-1965
6. Dictionary of Russian folk dialects, М-Л: RAS, Science, 1965-2010.-
7. Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language of the late XX century. Language changes edited by G.N. Sklyarevskaya, Moscow: RAS, Institute of Linguistic Research, 1998. -700s.
8. Fasmer M. Etymological dictionary of the Russian language in 4 volumes. M: Terra, 2008.- 2944 p.
9. Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language "edited by N. M. Shanskiy, - M: Bustard, 2004.

For the first time on Earth. Historical and educational project of the AFN.

"Slavic calendar" by Andrey Tyunyaev

Russian holidays

Slavic names of months of the year

Prosinets - January

Szécheny - February

Szechen (Lute, Prosinets)

Prosinets - "to shine" - means the revival of the Sun. The middle of winter Prosinets is celebrated with blessing of water. On this day they glorify the Heavenly Svarga - the Host of all Gods. The heavenly Surya poured onto the earth on this day makes all the waters healing.

Time to cut trees to clear land for arable land. Bokogrey - the cattle comes out to warm in the sun. They also called it "low water" (the boundary between winter and spring). Winds in February whip cold. But it is still fierce. Because of the frequent blizzards and snowstorms, February was also called "wind blower" and "lute". In February, there are large frosts, which are respectively called: Kascheev (February 2), Veles (February 11). February thaws.

February is the beginning of a new life. A leap year is considered a bad year. It is in a leap year that Kashchei Day is celebrated on February 29. February Fridays should be completely devoted to rest and the goddess Makosha: on these days men cannot work in the field, and women cannot spin. The way of life of the peasants changes with the lengthening of the day; they stop working on fire, women stop spinning, preparations for field work begin.

Folk signs:

February will add three o'clock in the afternoon.
Father frosts in January, snowstorms in February.
February will warm up the side of the bear in the den.
In February, the wall is wet from the sparrow.
Father February has come, the man has outgrown the winter.
February will let the water in, March will pick it up.
The wall is wet from the sparrow.
Blizzards, blizzards in February flew!
If at night the frost sweeps over the trees and the pillars, then during the day there will be no snow.
When blue is spilled over the forest in February in the afternoon, they say: "This is for warmth!"
February is cold and dry - August is hot.
If February is rainy, then the same can be expected in spring and summer.
In February, the sun goes down for the summer, and the winter for the frost.
February blows out the winter, and March breaks.
As in February it will click, so in the fall it will come around.
Warm February will deceive and bring a cold spring with frosts.
If the ground freezes deep, and water spills out of the hole in the river, the ice on the rifts of the river will become mountains, heaps, long and thick icicles from the roofs - there will be a good summer.

Dry - March

Berezol - April

Berezozol (Kviten)

There are two options for decoding the name of this month: the first - in the month of birch trees, the Slavs fed the earth with Birch ash, only after which they threw grains into it; the second - Berezin is an old Russian hunting name derived from the common Aryan roots "ber" (bear), "evil" - evil. That is, birch is the month of the angry (hungry, just awakened from hibernation) bear, in which the awakening of the bear was celebrated.

From the series: Do you know what?

or how wonderfully mixed up the names of the months in the Slavic countries :)

So January

The Latin name for the month Januarius is in honor of the god Janus.
In general, it is obvious. Janus is the Roman door deity responsible for entrances and exits. Before the cult, Jupiter was a deity of the sky and sunlight, who opened the heavenly gates and released the sun into the firmament, and locked these gates at night. The beginning of everything. Including the year :)

The Slavic name "Prosinets" - either from "to shine" - means the revival of the Sun, or from the blue sky appearing in January.
Little Russian name for January "very". After gray December, the colors of nature become rich and bright.
In the Ukrainian language, the name has slightly changed, but remained - "sichen"
It sounds similar in Belarusian, but refers to the hard January frosts - "jelly"

February
Latin name Februarius. Februs is the god of the underworld of the dead, on which the feast of the purification of Februa was held, when the living brought sacrifices to the dead, calling for their protection. Unimportant month :) Therefore, apparently, it was made the shortest.
Slavic names, as always, are climatogenic and reflect rural workheld at this time: "Szechen", "Bokogrey", "Vetrodui", "Lute", "Mezhen".
Széchen - because it was time to cut trees to clear the land for arable land. Well, and they talked about the winds in February - they whipped with the cold. They are fierce. Bokogrey - the cattle comes out to bask in the first sun. "Mezhen" - the boundary between winter and spring. "Wind blow" - because of the frequent blizzards and snowstorms.
In the Ukrainian language, the month is called "luti"
In Belarusian he is "fierce".

March
Latin: Martius. Named after the god Mars. It was later that he became the god of war. And in 700 BC, when, according to legend, the second Roman king Numa Pompilius, who considered himself a direct descendant of the sacred Romulus, rewrote the names of the months, Mars was just the god of fertility and spring shoots :)
This later his name merged with the name of Ares - the Greek god of war ...

The indigenous Slavic-Russian names of this month in the old days in Russia were different: in the north it was called "Dry" or "Dry" from the spring heat, which drains all moisture, in the south - "Berezozol", from the action of the spring sun on the birch, which time begins to fill with sweet juice and starts budding. They also called him "Zimobor" and "Protalnik" - it's clear why :)
Ukrainians and Belarusians like birch sap very much, it seems - the month is still called "Berezen", in Belarusian - "sakavik" (trees begin to let out sap).

April
Latin: Aprilis. It is named after the goddess Aphrodite or from the Latin word aperire - to open, to open (about buds and leaves, one must think).
The Old Russian names of the month of April were: "Brezen", "Snegogon", "Blossom" - obviously, spring comes here a month later than among the Ukrainians :).
In the Ukrainian language, the month is called "quiten" (blossoming)
In Belarusian - "handsome". Apparently, it is beautiful in Belarus in April :)

May
The Latin name Maius goes back to the name of the ancient Roman goddess of spring Maya.
Finally, everything turns green and among the Slavs - the names "Traven", "Grass" - nature blooms.
Ukrainians are not original - "grass".
But the Belarusians did not support this time and also call the month "May". I wonder why?

June
Latin Junius - named after the ancient Roman goddess Juno, the wife of the god Jupiter - the goddess of the firmament, "the Queen of gods and people". In Rome, Juno was a highly revered goddess of marriage and childbearing. She was also the patroness of all women from birth to death (in contrast to the ancient Greek Aphrodite and Hera, who clearly divided their spheres of influence on the premarital free life of a woman and life in marriage in the guise of the guardian of the hearth). She was especially supportive of the newlyweds who worshiped her - she not only blessed their union and the birth of children, but also ensured the duration and stability of family relationships. The month of June was named after this goddess and is still considered the most favorable month for marriage. Women also came to Juno's shrines to ask for help when their marriage was not going well.
And the root Russian name of the month was "Izok". Izok is a grasshopper, there were especially many of them in June. Another name "Cherven" - especially popular among the Little Russians, from a worm or a worm - this is the name of a special kind of dye worms that appear at this time.
And even in the old days, the month of June was very often called by the people a `` kresnik '' - from kres (fire), and at the same time from the day of John the Baptist (Ivan Kupala) (how did traditions and beliefs merge ...).
In the Ukrainian language, the month is still called "worm". However, the Belarusian "cherven" is no different.

July
The Latin Julius is naturally in honor of Julius Caesar. It was named so in 44 BC. Previously called quintile from the word quintus - the fifth, because it was the 5th month of the old Roman calendar, when the year began with March. In general, the Romans did not get tired further, all the following months were just a statement of their serial number. But if you translate - the confusion comes out ... October is the "eighth", but according to the calendar - the tenth :)
We used to call July "Cherven" in the old days - however, it has nothing to do with worms. The name is derived from fruits and berries, which, ripening in July, are particularly reddish (scarlet, red). They also called "Lipets" - the tree, respected by the people, blooms in July. "Groznikom" - from severe thunderstorms. And simply - "Top of the summer", as in middle lane It is considered to be the last summer month in Russia. Well, and the "working" title, but what about - "Stradnik" - from the painful summer work.
"Lipen" and "Lipen" have taken root in the Ukrainian and Belarusian languages, respectively.

August
Latin: Augustus - in honor of Emperor Augustus in 8 BC Just like with July - it was previously called sextile from the word sextus - the 6th month of the old Roman calendar.
And the Slavs are still suffering - "Serpen", "Stubble" - time to mow the wheat. In the north, August was also called "Zarev", "Zornichnik" - from the glow of lightning.
The Slav brothers shared the old names. In Ukraine - "serpen", in Belarus - "zhniven".

September
Latin: September. I have already explained why - they just counted.
But the original Russian name of the month was now almost unpronounceable "Ruyin", from the roar of autumn winds and animals, especially deer. "Hmuren" - the weather began to deteriorate.
In Ukrainian, the month is called "Veresen" (from flowering honey plant - heather).
In Belarusian - "Verasen".

October
Latin: October.
The wonderful Slavic name was "Listopad". The month also bore the name "Pazdernik" - from pazderi, kostriki, as in this month flax, hemp, habits begin to crumple. Otherwise - "Dirty", from the autumn rains and abyss. And also "Wedding" - in the peasant life at this time the main agricultural work was ending, it is not a sin to celebrate a wedding. In October, peasants married en masse (especially after the holiday of the Intercession) - and this time is still considered favorable for marriage.
Ukrainian "Zhovten" means yellowing of the leaves, and what the Belarusian means "Kastrychnik", I, frankly, never found ...

November
Latin: November.
The Slavic name "Breast", apparently, from piles of frozen earth with snow. In general, in the Old Russian language, the winter frozen road was called the chest path. In Dahl's Dictionary, the regional word pile is “frozen ruts along the road, frozen hummocky mud”. Well, in principle, yes, in November this good - in bulk :)
It is interesting that in the Ukrainian language the month is called "Listopad", and in the Belarusian language - "Listapad". That is, apparently, as with April, the influence of the climate - for them, both spring comes earlier, and autumn leaves later ...

December
Latin: December.
The Slavic name "Jelly" is a cold month, after all.
In the Ukrainian language, the month is called "Gruden" (apparently, again a jamb with Old Church Slavonic one month ago). In Belarusian it is "Snezhan".

It is very interesting to compare the names of the months, modern and Old Church Slavonic. They don't tell us anything, but in the Slavic ones you can see features that were significant for our ancestors. July is a hard time, the time of hard work in the field, October is a wedding party, the most suitable time for a party, and December is fierce, a time of cold weather. Popular names help to learn about the life of the villagers, about their observations, signs. The traditional calendar was called the month.

March

It is from this spring month usually the year began, and not only among the Slavs, but also among the Jews, Egyptians, Romans, ancient Greeks and Persians. Traditionally, the beginning of the new year, the peasants associated either with the beginning of spring work, that is, preparation for sowing, or with the end. Peter the Great ordered to calculate the time according to the European model.

They called the first birch tree - in the south, dry - in the north of Russia, as well as the protalnik, winter harbor, beloyar. The explanation of the names of the months is simple and intuitive. Dry, that is, dry, draining spring moisture. Juice, birch - it was at this time that the birch began to give juice, the buds swelled. Zimobor is the first warm month after a frosty winter, conquering winter. Protalnik - the snow begins to melt. March was also called the month of passage, since the spring was called the passage. There are also known options such as droplet, morning of the year, spring, vesnovka, rookery.

April

The name of the Old Church Slavonic months is often associated with observations of nature. April was called primrose and bloom because at this time nature begins to bloom, the first flowers and trees bloom. The last snow melted like snow, caddis - because of the drops and numerous streams, birch and birch ash - because of the awakening of white birches from sleep. The names of the cunning and the capricious are also known, because the weather this month is very changeable, thaws are replaced by frosts. Since the month brought the first warmth, they called him a steam room. As you can see, due to the difference in climate in one area, April was associated with flowering of grasses, and in another - only with snow melting.

May

The Old Slavonic names of the months of the year tell us about what processes took place at that time. The most common name for May is herbal, herbalist, since it is in this month that the lush growth of vegetation begins. This is the third month of flight. May also has many popular names: pollen (the beginning of flowering of many plants), yarets (in honor of the god Yarila), leaf beetle (the appearance of bunches of grass and leaves), mur (murava grass appears), dewdrop (due to abundant morning dew) ...

June

Old Slavonic names of the months of the year may surprise, since many words of the language used have been forgotten. For example, most often the month of June was called Izok. This was the name of a common insect - an ordinary grasshopper. It is in June that you can hear their singing most often. Another common name is the worm, due to the appearance of dye worms. You can also hear the kresnik (from fire, kres), hoarder, grain grower (saves grain for the whole year). For the abundance of colors, light: multicolored, light, rose-color, blooming, blush of the year.

July

The Old Church Slavonic months corresponded to one of the four seasons. The middle of summer was July, so it was called the crown of summer. Most often, you can hear the name cherven because of the numerous berries and fruits that have a red color. Linden is in full bloom, it secretes sweet sticky juice, so the second common name is linden or lipstick. Sufferer - from hard labor in the fields, thunderstorm - from numerous thunderstorms.

August

The name of the months may not reflect the occupation of the peasants at that time. In August, the harvesting of bread begins, so it was most often called stubble or serpen. The names of hospitality, bread, cabbage, pickle are known. Gustar, dense beetle - this month they eat abundantly, thickly. Mezhnyak is like a border, a border between summer and autumn. In the north, due to the bright glow of the lightning, the names "glow" and "zornichnik" were used.

September

Old Slavonic names of months of the year and modern ones can be very different. So, the ancient Russian name for September was ruin or howler, ruen - from the autumn roar of deer and other animals, possibly winds. Frowning hints at changing weather conditions, cloudy, gloomy sky, frequent rains. The name vresen, vresen has several versions of its origin. Polesie is home to a low evergreen shrub and melliferous heather. In August-September, it begins to bloom. Another version says that a similar name could come from the Ukrainian word "vrasenets", which means frost, which can already appear in the morning. Another name for September is fieldfare.

October

The name of the Old Slavic months often characterizes the weather conditions very clearly. You can easily guess that under the name of the fall leaves it is October, the month in which the abundant fall of leaves begins. Or it may be recognized under another name - padzernik, because it is at this time that they begin to tear, crumple flax and hemp. Due to the frequent rains and wet weather, you can hear another name - muddy. The main agricultural work was coming to an end, the bins were full, it was high time to get married, so because of the numerous weddings - a wedding. October in Russia was also called leaf-beating, yellow because of the golden autumn. He smelled of cabbage, therefore - skit. And also a baker and a sawmill.

November

There is such a word in the Old Russian language - "heap". This is the ground frozen with snow, even the frozen winter road was called the chest path. So November, which gave the first frosts, was most often called breast, breast or breast month. November is rich in names: leaf-bearing, leaf fall (the last leaves fall, October gold begins to turn into humus), mocharets (heavy rains), snow and semi-winter (from the first snow at the beginning of the month it goes to real snowdrifts and frosts), off-road vehicle, summer offender, zeppevka winter, winter's eve, gates of winter, twilight of the year (it gets dark early), solstice (the day is rapidly decreasing), diehard, the seven of the year, the month of the first sleigh ride (they begin to go on a sleigh).

December

In the cold season, such simple and speaking names, which were called the Old Church Slavonic months, are asked to speak. Our ancestors called December cold, jelly, cold, chilly, because of the frosty cold, common at this time. Mother winter is fierce, hence the names fierce, fierce, lute. The snowdrifts are already deep - snow. Overwhelmed by the cold strong winds and blizzards - wind-winter, wind-chime, wrap up, chills, pull, freeze.

January

The name of the Old Slavic months is not always clear. It can help modern man take a slightly different look at familiar things. We associate January with the very height of winter, its middle. But in the old days it was called a prosinets. At this time, the weather often becomes clear, a blue sky begins to appear, there is more sunlight, and the day increases. Popular names: turn of winter, cut (winter is split into two halves), Vasilyev's month, winter. Frosts are still strong and unabated - more severe, crackling.

February

The name of the Old Church Slavonic months may be the same for different periods of time. The winter months, especially February, are a good example. The common Slavic-Russian name is Széchen. But often there was also a snowy, fierce, blizzard, that is, names characteristic of others winter months... One of the interesting names is bokogrey. On warm days, the cattle left the barn to warm their sides under the sun. Lies - on the one hand, the barrel heats, and on the other - it chills. Another popular name is wide roads. It was believed that it was in February that forest animals created pairs, so the month could be called an animal wedding.