KLECHALNY CUSTOM AS A SPIRITUAL PHENOMENON OF UKRAINIAN CULTURE

Abstract

The Purpose of the article. The research paper aims at introducing a scientifically substantiated characteristics of the klechalny custom, its origin and content within the context of the Ukrainian spiritual culture. The Methodology of the Research. The research methodology is based on the principles of historicism, objectivity and comprehensiveness. The authors have applied the methods of a typological and comparative historical analysis. The Scientific Novelty. The scientific novelty of the obtained results consists in the attempt to reconstruct the tradition of decorating dwellings and farm buildings with tree branches and herbs as well as to present a new perspective on its origin and semantic content. The Conclusions. In the research it has been proved that the Ukrainians used ritual greener, primarily, to invite deceased relatives to their homes on the eve of Zeleni Sviata (Pentecost holidays) and Holy Trinity Day. Indeed, according to traditional beliefs, all major calendar holidays should occur with the obligatory presence of deceased relatives, since the success of the living people in household management and family life depended on their support and help. The meticulous analysis of the data-based materials suggests that the klechalny custom is very ancient in origin, its roots go back to the historical period when there was no division of deceased people into different categories. The absence of ancient ideas about demons in the Ukrainian worldview testifies to the vague reception of them, their predominant identification with the spirits of ancestors (anthropomorphic, zoomorphic, phytomorphic, not personified); all traditional ceremonies were ended with the ancestors’ send-offs, rather than the destruction of “evil”. Just only later, the reception of “close ones” (forefathers) and various demonological characters were formed on the basis of the cult of the dead. Simultaneously, we can observe the differentiation in using verdure embellishment, that is to say, in the interior the greenery was designed for “didy” (ancestors) and in the exterior the greenery was designed for “rusalky” (mermaids). In turn, this fact explains the existence of different ways the Ukrainians treat and deal with the Trinity greenery after the holiday.