Orthodoxy has always been one of the pillars of the Cossacks. This is emphasized even by the fact that often the Cossacks were called "the soldiers of Christ." Of course, behind the scenes Muslims entered the Cossack detachments, but often later they converted to Orthodoxy. One way or another, but the Orthodox holidays were the main ones for the Cossacks. Even the now traditional New Year was not celebrated on such a grand scale as Christmas. And, of course, Easter, i.e. the day of the Resurrection of Christ was an unusually significant holiday for the Cossacks, for which they prepared in advance. And, naturally, it acquired purely Cossack traditions and rituals.
A holiday, like a military operation, requires preparation
The preparations for Easter were extremely thorough. The hostesses did not just clean up the hut, but brought it to a state of crystal shine. Particularly zealous owners re-whitewashed the walls and even renovated the floors. All clothes were stretched and put in order. If the income of the Cossack family allowed, then the Cossacks ordered new Circassians and beshmets, boots and leggings. For the faithful, they bought fabric from which they sewed elegant dresses for themselves. They did not forget about clothes for little Cossacks.
Before Easter, cattle were slaughtered so that skillful Cossack cooks could make the table delicious dishes. On Maundy Thursday (also called Maundy Thursday), all family members went to the bathhouse to steam the body to the bone.
The famous Easter cakes and curd cheese began to be prepared on Good Friday. On the day of preparing Easter, both children and adult Cossacks were sent out of the hut for the whole day, so that the dashing soldiers would not accidentally scold them. The rooms were supposed to be calm - rudeness, and even more so quarrels were unacceptable on that day. Any attempt at a conflict was usually extinguished by the eldest woman in the hut.
The Easter cake had to be tall and large, the top was decorated with cones, crosses, flowers, bird figurines, smeared with egg white and sprinkled with colored millet. And, of course, they painted eggs, both goose and chicken eggs that we are used to today. The eggs were painted in different colors: red symbolized blood, the sacrifice of Christ made for the sake of people, yellow - the sun, blue - sky and water, and green - grass, life in its vegetative diversity. Of course, only natural dyes were used: onion peels, beets, chamomile broth, blueberries, elderberries, etc.
Easter night and bright morning
On the night from Saturday to Sunday, i.e. on Easter night, most of the Cossacks and Cossacks gathered for the night service. Those who did not have enough space in the temple took places outside. By tradition, the Cossacks who remained outside the church walls lit large bonfires. A "persecution of death" was arranged, such a fire was considered purifying. Old dried wood flew into the fire - broken wheels, cracked barrels, etc. Willow branches were also thrown into the fire, but not fresh, alive, but deathly dry, like all the rest of the wood.
The entire population of the villages on the morning of Easter without fail went to church for matins - the morning service. There was also a somewhat hooligan custom. Cossacks and Cossacks tried to climb the bell tower and strike the bell at least once. It was believed that this would bring happiness and prosperity. However, the church officials were not particularly opposed to the custom, therefore, almost the entire holiday Sunday, the villages were drowned in the bell ringing.
Nowadays, parishioners often bring not only Easter and Easter eggs, but also sausage, cheese and other products to the church for consecration. The priests are trying to convince that only Easter and eggs should be blessed, and the rest of the products are not traditionally blessed. Indeed, one day the author saw with his own eyes how a young family, among other things, brought a whole pineapple with oranges to the consecration, which looked somewhat fake. However, perhaps the desire to consecrate the whole feast comes from the Cossack antiquity.
So, contemporaries noted that the Cossacks did not bring some modest knapsacks to the Easter consecration - they brought whole carts filled with Easter cakes, cottage cheese Easter, eggs, homemade sausage, boiled pork, pickles and other dishes. There was also a place for baked piglets stuffed with buckwheat with horseradish or apples.
Walking and a little "hooliganism"
After the consecration, the traditional feast and festivities began. The feast was unusually plentiful and hospitable in a Cossack manner. In addition to the dishes described above, drinks occupied a special place. From non-alcoholic drinks were uzvar and kvass. Contrary to the desperately cultivated delusion that the Cossacks from alcoholic beverages did not drink anything better than muddy moonshine in a large bottle, the reality was the opposite. In addition to various sorts of vodka, from aniseed to orange, there were liqueurs (kalganovka, plumyanka, robin), mead, wine and even ordinary cognacs (brandy according to a confusing foreign classification) on the table.
Terek, Don and Kuban Cossacks knew a lot about grapes so much that the dispute about whether they themselves domesticated wild grapes or used cultivated varieties is still going on. At the same time, one thing is indisputable: the Cossacks cultivated autochthonous grape varieties like Tersky scarlet, and not the ubiquitous Cabernet and Riesling imported from Europe. Most often, the so-called chikhir, young wine, was produced from grapes. Aged wine was called "parental". Sometimes already from the chikhir they distilled kizlyarka, i.e. cognac, but without aging.
The most prosperous Cossacks could afford a bottle or two of sparkling Tsimlyansky, which was the favorite drink of the famous ataman Matvey Ivanovich Platov. By the way, the grapes of the Tsimlyansk black variety are autochthonous, so to speak, an aborigine of the Don and the Northern Black Sea region. And contrary to the stereotype about the antiquity and inviolability of the role of France in sparkling wines, the production of "Tsimlyansky" alone by Cossack winemakers has more than 300-year-old roots.
Naturally, the Cossack way of life affected even the manner of drinking. Before knocking over a glass of vodka or drinking a glass of wine, the Cossack put his elbow far ahead. This is a purely cavalry habit. To "make friends" with his horse and earn his trust, the rider shared food with him, and then the horse involuntarily reached out to the rider when he decided to have a snack or drink water. So the rider put his elbow out to move the horse's muzzle, and habit is second nature even at the festive table.
But the feast was not limited to the feast. Almost every village built a carousel or simple swing for Easter. At the same time, the carousel was a strong pillar, on top of which wheels were installed. Ropes with characteristic wooden handles at the end were tied to the wheel. Of course, after gatherings with the family, the young people came together with their own company, and the married Cossacks with theirs. Easter games were different too. Young people loved kissing games, and also danced round dances in which a guy and a girl could come together. We also played "catching the ball". This game in some villages of the Caucasus often resembled tough rugby.
Easter was celebrated almost all week after Sunday, then you could afford and make a little hooliganism. For example, among the Terek Cossacks, the tradition was adopted that everyone who did not appear on Monday morning service was accused of weakness, and as punishment they were doused with icy well water so that they would be quicker. There was also a sly side to this tradition. The accused Cossack could buy off a noble treat. As a result, the Cossack "service for the execution of punishments" left the hut of the accused drunk.
Surprisingly, some Terek and Kuban Cossacks, having captured Easter cakes and Easter eggs, crossed the Caucasian defensive line and headed for the enemy's auls. The Caucasian war was special, so the Cossacks started kunaks both among the Circassians and among the Vainakhs. And to come to the kunak with a present for a holiday, even if he did not celebrate it, was considered a common thing. The paradoxes of the long war …
