Zanimljivosti ROMI.HR

Vasilica ili Nova godina, nije najvažniji praznik za Rome u Rusiji, ali je jedan od najomiljenijih. Praznično razdoblje obično počinje od Božića i traje sve do 14. siječnja, dana koji se u Rusiji zove Stara Nova godina.

Za mnoge ljude Nova godina je vrlo važan simboličan praznik tokom kojeg se ljudi opraštaju sa starom godinom i dočekaju Novu. S obzirom da niz pravoslavnih crkava još uvijek živi po julijanskom kalendaru, Nova godina se u tim zemljama slavi 14. siječnja. Julijanski kalendar se trenutno razlikuje od gregorijanskog za 13 dana, što u praksi znači da 1. siječanj prema julijanskom kalendaru dolazi 13 dana kasnije 1. siječnja  prema gregorijanskom kalendaru i ''pada'' na 14. siječanj. Istovremeno u drugim sferama života, te pravoslavne zemlje žive po gregorijanskom kalendaru, što stvara jedinstvenu povijesnu pojavu dvostruke proslave Nove godine.

Kako bi se u pravoslavnim zemljama Zapadnog Balkana razlikovale dvije Nove godine, ona Nova godina, koja se slavi po julijanskom kalendaru, naziva se mali Božić, Srpska Nova godina ili Vasilica po svetom Vasiliju Velikom, čiji se dan obilježava 14. siječnja. Budući da je većina Roma u takvim zemljama pripadnici pravoslavne vjere, oni se Novu godinu također slave 14. siječnja. Ovaj dan se obično naziva romska Vasilica. Zanimljivo je da na ovom području Vasilicu slave ne samo pravoslavni Romi, već i Romi koji su muslimani.

Romski narod, živeći na Balkanu preuzeo je mnoge tradicije i običaje naroda s kojima u dugom vremenskom razdoblju živi, ali istovremeno nije zaboravio i vlastite tradicije. Zato postoje određene razlike u načinu na koji Romi slave Vasilicu od ostalih pravoslavnih naroda koji žive na Balkanu. Neka od takvih tradicija je šopanje peradi povodom praznika i izrada različitih vrsta jela od peradi koja se kasnije mogu naći na svečanom stolu.

S obzirom na to da Ruska pravoslavna crkva također živi po julijanskom kalendaru, pravoslavni kršćani u Rusiji, uključujući Rome, također slave Novu godinu tokom noći 13./14. siječnja, a 14. sječanj se u Rusiji zove Stara Nova godina.

Staroj Novoj godini prethodi Malanja, odnosno Melanijin dan, u čast svetoj Melanije Rimljanke. Večer uoči Stare Nove godine zove se Šedrij večer (Velikodušna večer) ili Vasilijeva večer po svetom Vasiliju Velikom, čiji se dan obilježava 14. siječnja.

Smatra se da je Stara Nova godina sjajno vrijeme za koledovanje. To je stara slovenska tradicija obilaska obližnjih kuća uz pjevanje pjesama i primanja slatkiša, koju su također prihvatili Romi u Rusiji.

Romske obitelji u Rusiji obično sve praznike slave zajedno, uz uzajamne posjete tokom cijelog razdoblja od Božića do Stare Nove godine.

Na Staru Novu godinu gazdarice pripremaju mnoštvo različitih specijaliteta. Vjeruje se da će bogat stol osigurati blagostanje vlasnicima kuće tokom cijele godine. Budući da se sveti Vasilij Veliki smatra zaštitnikom svinjara, obavezno jelo na stolu je pečeno prase ili bilo koje drugo jelo od svinjetine. Još jedno jelo koje mora biti na stolu je kutja - pšenična kaša pomiješana s suhim grožđem, sjemenkama maka, medom i orasima. Posna kutja je tradicionalno jelo i za Badnjak, ali s obzirom na to da je Božićni post završen, domaćice obično dodaju meso, komade sala, maslac, vrhnje i mlijeko. Osim jela od svinjetine i kutje, za Staru Novu godinu se tradicionalno spremaju vareniki - okruglice u obliku polumjeseca, kuhane u slanoj vodi. Vareniki mogu imati slatko ili kiselo punjenje, ali za Staru Novu godinu se obično spremaju vareniki s iznenađenjem - unutra se stavlja papar, šećer, sol, grah, pa čak i kovanice. Važno je ne zaboraviti upozoriti goste na "čarobno" punjenje. Na Novogodišnjem stolu se mogu također naći palačinke i različite vrste kolača. Proslava Stare Nove godine kod Roma u Rusiji je obično puna zabave, pjevanja i plesa.

Kao i Rusi, za Staru Novu godinu Romi vole gatati. Mnogi vjeruju kako sposobnost čitati sudbinu Romi nasljeđuju s majčinim mlijekom, iako isključivo po ženskoj liniji. Romkinje u pravilu proriču sudbinu vrlo profesionalno i s velikom pouzdanošću.

Vjeruje se da postoje određena pravila koja se ne mogu kršiti na Staru Novu godinu. Zabranjeno je posuđivati ili davati novac na posudbu novac, jer će u protivnom čovjek biti dužan cijelu godinu. Bolje je ne slaviti Staru Novu godinu isključivo u ženskom društvu, jer će inače iduća godina biti usamljena i nesretna. Za Staru Novu godinu se također ne preporučuje spremati kuću, inače je moguće izbaciti sreću zajedno sa smećem.

Istovremeno se vjeruje, ako na Staru Novu godinu prvo u kuću uđe osoba iz brojne obitelji, godina će biti sretna i uspješna.

Među Romima u Rusiji postoji uvjerenje da tokom praznika konji raspravljaju o svojim vlasnicima dok stoje u štali: jesu li pažljivi prema njima ili ne, kako ih hrane, kako se brinu o njima. Znajući da se o njima priča, vlasnici pokušavaju prisluškivati razgovor svojih konja. U ovo praznično razdoblje vlasnici hrane svoje konje najboljom hranom, stavljaju najbolje sijeno kako bi konji imali dobro mišljenje o njima.

Također postoji novogodišnja tradicija "krađe" konja. U pravilu to rade mladi ljudi. Pokušavaju tiho ući u dvorište, otvoriti štalu i odvesti konja. Nakon toga novi vlasnik dovodi konja u svoju štalu, hrani ga, poji i brine se o njemu kao o vlastitom konju, tako da se zakoniti vlasnik ne osjeti uvrijeđenim. Sljedećeg dana vlasnik konja sazna da konja nema, počinje ga tražiti i, kada ga pronađe, mora platiti “otkupninu”. Platiti “otkupninu” znači pozvati osobu koja je "ukrala" konja i njegovu obitelj na večeru i počastiti ih.

Kao i Romi na Zapadnom Balkanu, Romi u Rusiji su uvelike prihvatili religiju i, posljedično, ruske tradicije i običaje proslave praznika, uključujući i Staru Novu godinu. Istovremeno, imajući svoju jedinstvenu kulturu i tradicije, Romi u Rusiji su ih povezali s ruskim tradicijama, na takav način obogaćujuči proslavu Stare Nove godine.

Vasilica or New Year is not the most important holiday for Roma in Russia but one of the most beloved ones. The celebration period usually starts from Christmas and lasts until January 14, a day that is in Russia called Old New Year.

For many people, New Year is a very important symbolic holiday when they bid farewell to the old year and meet the new one. As some Orthodox churches still live according to the Julian calendar, they celebrate New Year on January 14. The Julian calendar currently differs from the Gregorian calendar by 13 days, which practically means that January 1 according to the Julian calendar comes 13 days later after January 1 according to the Gregorian calendar and falls on January 14. At the same time in other spheres of life, these Orthodox countries live according to the Gregorian calendar, which creates a unique historical phenomenon when New Year is celebrated twice.

In order to distinguish two New Years in Orthodox countries of the Western Balkans, New Year, which is celebrated according to the Julian calendar, is called small Christmas, a Serbian New Year or Vasilica in honor of Saint Vasiliy the Great whose day is celebrated on January 14. As the majority of Roma in these countries are Orthodox, they also celebrate New Year on January 14, which is usually called Roma Vasilica. Interestingly, not only Orthodox but also Muslim Roma celebrate Vasilica on this territory.

The Roma people living in the Balkans took over many traditions and customs of the people with whom they have been living for a long time but also did not forget their own traditions. That’s why there are certain differences in the way Roma celebrates Vasilica from other Orthodox peoples living in the Balkans. One of such traditions is raising poultry on the occasion of the holiday and making different kinds of dishes of poultry that can be later found on the festive table.

As the Russian Orthodox Church also lives according to the Julian calendar, Orthodox Christians in Russia, including Roma, also celebrate New Year on the night of 13/14 January, a day that is in Russia called Old New Year.

Old New Year is preceded by Malanja (Melania's Day) in honor of Saint Melania the Roman. Old New Year’s eve is also called Shchedry vecher (Generous evening) or Vasiliev evening named after St. Vasiliy the Great whose day is celebrated on January 14.

It is common to do shchedrovanije (caroling) this day. This is an old Slavic tradition of visiting nearby houses singing songs and receiving treats from the owners that were also adopted by the Roma in Russia.

Roma families in Russia usually celebrate holidays altogether paying visits to each other during the whole period from Christmas to Old New Year.

On Old New Year hostesses prepare many delicious dishes. It is believed that dinner with a great variety of dishes will ensure prosperity to the owners of the house for the whole year. Since Saint Vasiliy is considered the patron saint of swineherds, a must-have dish on the table is roast pig or any other pork dish. Another dish that should necessarily be on the table is kutia – a wheat porridge mixed with raisins, poppy seeds, honey and nuts. One can also find kutia on Christmas eve, but this time fasting period is over and hostesses usually add meat, pieces of pork fat, butter, cream and milk. Apart from pork dishes and kutia it is also common to prepare vareniki - half-moon-shaped dumplings boiled in salted water. Traditional vareniki can have sweet or sour filling, but on Old New Year vareniki are cooked with a surprise – one can find pepper, beans, sugar, salt and even money inside. It is important not to forget to warn the guests about the "magic" filling. One can also find pancakes and pies with different fillings on Old New Year table. Roma celebration of Old New Year is usually full of fun, singing and dancing.

Like Russians, Roma like to do fortune-telling on Old New Year. It is believed that the ability to read fortune is inherited by Roma with mother's milk solely through the female line. Roma women usually read fortune very professionally and with great reliability.

There are certain rules that cannot be violated on Old New Year. It is forbidden to borrow or to lend money, otherwise, one will be in debt the whole year. It is better not to celebrate Old New Year solely in the women's company, otherwise the whole next year will become lonely and unhappy. It isn’t also recommended to clean the house this day, otherwise there is a chance that one will accidentally throw out luck along with the garbage.

At the same time it is believed that if the first person who enters the house on Old New Year is from a large family, the coming year will be full and prosperous.

There is a belief among the Roma in Russia that on holidays horses discuss their owners while standing in a barn or a stall: whether they are attentive to them or not, how they feed them, how they look after them. The owners, knowing that they are being discussed, try to overhear the conversation of the horses. During this period of holidays owners tend to feed their horses with the best food, lay the best hay so that horses have a good opinion of them.

Another tradition is to “steal“ horses from each other on Old New Year. As a rule, it is done by young people. They try to enter the yard quietly, open the barn and take the horse away. Then the new owner of the horse brings it to his stall, feeds it, gives water and looks after it as his own horse, so that the legitimate owner does not feel offended. The next day, the owner of the horse finds out the horse is missing, starts looking for it and when he finds it, has to “pay the ransom”. “To pay the ransom” means to invite the person who “had stolen“ the horse and his family to his place for dinner.

As Roma in the Western Balkans, Roma in Russia largely adopted the religion and consequently Russian traditions and customs of celebrating holidays, with Old New Year being one of them. At the same time having their own unique culture and traditions, Roma in Russia added them to the Russian ones, making the celebration of Old New Year richer and more varied.