A fabulous vacation at the motherland of winter. The expression "mother winter" is evidence that Russians lived in the southern regions, where winter is a wet season and summer is dry, Zimushka is dead winter Yarensk is in contact

In Moscow, winter was turned on for a couple of days. And memories of huge snow-white snowdrifts, cleared white paths and crisp snow underfoot came to my mind. And also the frosty sun in the blue sky and the long whiskers of the black fluffy cat covered with frost! We plunged into such a wonderful snowy winter during the first stage of the expedition "Opening the Silver Necklace" in the village of Yarensk, the accent on the letter Ya Yarensk is located practically on the border of the Arkhangelsk region and the Komi Republic. The climate is sharply continental, so it is cold and snowy winter and a short hot summer.
We arrived in the village in early March and it was 27 on the street. Some sources indicate that the lowest temperature dropped to -50.
In ancient times, Yarensk flourished, being an important transit point for the trade route to the Urals and Siberia, as well as the birthplace of explorers. But with the opening of more southern routes to Siberia, Yarensk lost its significance, and in 1924 it lost its status as a city. The explorer of Kamchatka was born in Yarensk, Aleutian Islands and Alaska Stepan Glotov. And the famous Robinson Crusoe, according to the plot of Daniel Defoe's book, passed the trade route through Yarensk!
Now the ancient origin of the village is reminiscent of the remains of the city earthen rampart, old wooden houses and several stone merchant buildings.
Many local wooden houses have more than 100 years of history.






We were especially pleased with the cleared paths and the lack of reagents.
The cat was calm like a boa constrictor and did not pay the slightest attention to the bloggers who surrounded him.
In general, Yarensk gave the impression of a place remote from civilization, but with the presence of life in it.
The first brick building in Yarensk, the house of the merchant Eshkelev, was built in 1820. Now it houses the Residence of Mother Winter. Not as popular as the Residence of Santa Claus, but a very interesting and sincere place: it will be interesting for children to take part in an interactive excursion with the participation of Zima and her assistants, and for adults - to be inside an old merchant house.
In the courtyard of Mother Winter, the inhabitants of the fabulous Lena forest live: Leshy, Kikimora and Baba Yaga met us. And although we are all no longer children, it turned out to be a lot of fun
The easiest way to get to Yarensk is by car. What we actually did. Another way is by train to railway station Mezheg, through which trains pass from Moscow and St. Petersburg to Syktyvkar, Vorkuta and other cities of the Komi Republic. Then take a regular bus.
We look at the photo and remember what the "right" winter should be

Harness the crows. I invite everyone to visit! I will show all the miracles, I will feed you lunch from the heart ... From you - gifts, toasts.
There is a special card in Russia. A fabulous country. They live in it: Kysh-Babay, Leshy, Kikimora, White mushroom, Santa Claus ... And three years ago
there was another fabulous place - residence Mothers - Winters in Yarensk, Lensky district, Arkhangelsk region.
Without hesitation for a long time, a group of Vperyod editorial staff with children of all ages, and some with grandchildren, went to visit our Arkhangelsk neighbors.
From Kazluk (the border of the Komi Republic with the Arkhangelsk region) to Yarensk is a distance of 20 kilometers. Leaving Aikino (regional center
Ust-Vymsky district, Aikatyl in the local dialect) at 9 o'clock in the morning, at about 11 we were already in place - in just two hours.
In the courtyard of the residence of Mother Winter, we were met by the inhabitants of the fabulous Lena forest: Leshy, Kikimora and, as usual, Baba Yaga. And right there
on the street we had a game program with our motley group: we went on fabulous skis, took part in funny relay races, and threw felt boots at a distance.
Then we had an excursion around the residence of Mother Winter - a real winter Tale! Terem, where Winter moved in - an old merchant
House. The house is really "winter" both outside and inside. Rooms with stucco moldings and cold vaulted cellars. Very nice design
illumination in blue and white tones. Everywhere there are winter attributes and a lot of snowflakes. The house itself is much less pretentious than the apartments of Father Frost in Veliky Ustyug, more "homey".
The speech of Zimushka's assistant sounds smoothly and melodiously, who tells how on December 21, 1882 in Yarensk there was a strong blizzard with the North wind, "so that the roofs of many houses were removed." And that night a daughter was born to Santa Claus and a snowstorm, and they named her Zimushka.
She liked so much in the Lena Territories that after one hundred and thirty years she decided to settle here: grow green grass under a snowy feather bed, store pickled icicles, canned Northern Lights, salted snowballs in birch tubs in her cellar and
keep icy jewels in an ancient heavy safe.
And here is Mother Winter herself! Despite fears, she turned out to be very nice and friendly. She said that in the old days winters were winters, and in summer, nothing got confused. Well, but when people began to interfere a lot in the course of weather affairs, confusion began.
Then they remembered about the mistress of snows and blizzards, called to live nearby ...
We listened with pleasure to the story of Winter, who showed her chambers. First, we visited Zimushki's office. And the children were amazed by the throne room. "If you sit on the snow throne, make a wish, it will certainly come true," said the sorceress Winter.
Then she took us to the refectory, where the dishes are all pure silver, and then to a cozy bedchamber. And there everything is as it should be - a bed with high feather beds and winter pillows - whatever winter sleeps, this will be the weather.
We visited the cellars, saw salted snowballs in a birch tub. Unfortunately, they were not allowed to try it (not salted yet!). And there are also pickled ones, but they say that from the tub they are the most delicious! After that, the doors of the treasury opened, and in the pantry we saw a safe with jewelry that shone in special lighting like real diamonds. And each child put a coin in a special safe to come here again.
At the end of the excursion, we were invited to the workshop of Mother Winter, where experienced helpers of Winter conduct a master class on making snowflakes and other New Year's attributes. We were taught to make amulets. How everyone tried, both children and adults! And after all
no one left without a beautiful amulet! And in the shop, which is next to the workshops, one could buy souvenirs and handicrafts.
Then we were fed lunch in the dining room-refectory from Mother Zima, after the meal we were taken to the local museum of local lore, located in a former church.
In the local history museum of Yarensk, a real museum quest was waiting for us - attentiveness had to be turned on to the fullest! We not only visited the halls of the museum, got acquainted with the northern flora and fauna, but also learned Interesting Facts about the history of ancient Yarensk
and about its famous inhabitants, in a playful way answering the questions of the guide. And we also heard music from the beginning of the last century pouring from a working gramophone!
And bidding farewell to the hospitable Yarensk, the smallest representatives of our groups rode in a phaeton, which was being carried along the snow-covered streets by a real fairy-tale horse.
... OUR CHILDREN LOVE A FAIRY TALE, and we try to present this fairy tale to them: we invite Santa Claus and the Snow Maiden, who will bring long-awaited gifts. Well, and we ourselves, adults, how are we different from children? Although we grew out of their age, we still hope that the New Year will give something very kind: our dreams will come true, and some miracle will happen in life ...
And, it turns out, the Fairy Tale is nearby - just a two-hour drive from the regional center. don't believe me?
Come to Yarensk, see for yourself.

On December 21, her whole family will gather in Yarensk for the birthday of the snow magician: Father Frost, Mother Blizzard, Siverko's faithful companion of Winter, daughter Snow Maiden, aunts and uncles Snowmen and Snow Women, as well as numerous nephews and nieces of Snowmen and Snowflakes. In honor of this event, a winter ball "Snow Lace of Winter" will be held.

On the way to the motherland of Mother Winter, be sure to stop in the village of Belopashino - village games, treats and a Russian stove ... Belopashinsky gatherings are still fun!

The program of events at the Residence of Mother Winter:

DECEMBER

December 1-21- Festival "Tales of the Lena Forest":
- Competition "Happy Birthday, Winter!";
- "Opening of the festival" Tales of the Lena Forest "(theatrical performance);
- Festival of masters "Good people for a feast for the eyes!" (interactive programs, exhibition-fair, master classes, etc.);
- Opening a Christmas tree in the meadow near Mother Winter;
- "Rising Stars" (children's art competition);
- "Wedding in winter's tale"And the opening of the" Lovers' Alley ";
- "Miracles under New Year"(Opening of the New Year tree);
- "Snow Ball of Winter" (theatrical performance).
December 24-27- interactive theatrical performance " New Years Adventure Snowballs and Snowballs ".
December 27-30- a festive outdoor program with the participation of Santa Claus and the Snow Maiden "Invite a fairy tale into the house."

JANUARY

January 2-12- New Year's receptions at the Winter Residence.
6th January- a theatrical performance based on Nikolai Gogol's work "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka".
Jan. 7- Christmas festivities.
January 17- “Send Christmas carols to us” (folk festivities).

In Russian there is an expression "mother winter".
Can't you hear the contradiction that this expression contains. Winter is cold, nothing grows, but for some reason she is affectionately called mother. Clearly ends meet ...
You say, Winter - the peasant is triumphant, resting. Good time of the year.
No, mother is an indication of fertility, and not just an opportunity to relax. If it really were a vacation, then they would not wait so impatiently for spring. It makes more sense than meets the eye. This expression preserved evidence that earlier our ancestors lived in a completely different climatic zone. It was different from the middle band modern Russia different order of the seasons. The key to understanding the meaning of this expression was suggested to me by Sanskrit. In Sanskrit, the word for winter is pronounced hima. In this phonetic form, it is not only consonant with the English word "humidity", but also synonymous with it, since in the foothills of the Zagros, the wet season was called winter. Thus, originally the word "winter" meant "wet season" as opposed to dry, summer. In Russian, the root "chem-" is present only in the borrowed words "humor" (humor), "humus" (fertile soil layer), which from the point of view of formal analysis are not even related to the word "winter". In fact, etymologically, the words "winter", "humor", "humus" are related, since they not only go back to the concept of "fertile, moist, favorable", but are also phonetic forms, once derived from the same word.
The etymology of the word "summer" in Russian is not clear, if we take into account its meaning in the Indo-European lexical context, then it will not seem blessed. For example, in Greek mythology there is an expression "sink into oblivion." V German the word "Leiche", phonetically close to the Russian word "summer", means "corpse", and the English word "late", from the same phonetic series, one of the meanings "deceased, deceased". This line can be continued up to the goddess Leto, whose children Artemis and Apollo literally sow death around them. Summer is death, the dry season, when life practically dies, although in climatic conditions modern Russia is a favorable season.
Thus, the expression "mother winter" travels with us from that region of residence of our ethnic group, where winter was wet, rainy and, therefore, fertile season, in contrast to summer, dry, that is, "dead" season. It wasn't necessarily Africa. This also applies to the Middle East. For example, in Mesopotamia, it was “winter” that was considered the “farmer of the gods”, responsible for the waters of life and for everything that grows.
Desert Sahel in Arabic. It sounds exactly the same in Old Russian DRY
Russia was in the vastness of ZaEuphraty, to the west of it. Rome was in Sudan, and Greece was somewhere in Egypt ...
Based on materials from V.V. Makarenko

The next character co Fairy card Russia, there will be Mother Winter, who lives in the city of Yarensk, Arkhangelsk region. Her birthday is just around the corner - December 21st.

No matter how I tried, but to draw out some kind of folklore and mythological thread coming from the depths of centuries regarding this character, I will not succeed. The most distant reference in history is to Pushkin's "Eugene Onegin". Well, remember, he had about winter there

Goes sorceress winter,
Came, crumbled; shreds
Hanged on the branches of oak trees,
Laid down in wavy carpets
Among the fields around the hills.
Brega with a motionless river
Equalized with a plump shroud;
Frost flashed, and we are glad
Leprosy mother winters.

In general, it turns out that Russian poets (Derzhavin, Pushkin, Tyutchev, etc.) invented a magical and enchanting appearance of winter, and Pushkin also called winter mother. And since we all memorized poetry at school, and Pushkin is our everything, then Mother Winter was somehow remembered.

The current fairy-tale character Mother Winter owes her appearance to the head of the department of social development of the Lensky district of the Arkhangelsk region, Natalya Rocheva, from Yarensk, who, apparently, is herself a wonderful storyteller in life.

The village of Yarensk is very ancient, and although the year of foundation is not precisely established, the Vychegodsko-Ipatievka (Misailo-Evtikhievskaya) chronicle of 1384 is considered the first written mention of it. For a long time, Yarensk flourished due to the fact that it was on busy trade routes, since Arkhangelsk was the only Russian seaport... And after Peter the Great and the founding of St. Petersburg, the trade routes withered, and in 1924 Yarensk became a village from a city. Under the USSR, there was a state farm and logging. And then the USSR collapsed. And Yarensk, like many other small towns and villages, began to die slowly.

A thousand kilometers to the regional center. There are closed enterprises and four thousand people all around, who by the 2010s are beginning to understand that soon it will not be possible to find such a point on the map, if something is not urgently done.

And then a miracle happened. Almost fabulous.

The story goes that one day in December 2011, standing over a sink full of dishes and grinding the plates, Natalya Rocheva suddenly heard on TV in the familiar "Tales of the Vienna Woods" the prophetic - "Tales of the Lena Forest". After washing the dishes, she sat down to read "Arguments and Facts" and saw there an article titled "New Year's Orphan?" that the Snow Maiden, who is traveling around the country with Grandfather Frost, has no mother at all. And I thought, why not take the vacant place of mother?

No sooner said than done. Yarensk is an ancient place that has seen a lot of things. In the annals of the Transfiguration Cathedral, which today houses the Yarensky Museum of Local Lore, a record was found very quickly that "On December 21, 1882, in the vicinity of Yarensk there was a strong snow storm with a north wind, so that the roofs of many houses were removed." December 21 - the day of the winter solstice! It was on such a night, according to the authors of the idea, that Frost and Blizzard had a daughter, Zima.

They turned to the creator of the "Fairy Tale Map of Russia" project with a proposal to include their character in the number of characters. And after a request to make a justification, to find some kind of connection to the area, they began to look for where this could happen. And they found it. It turned out that in the last century, three kilometers from Yarensk was the village of Siberia!

Looking ahead, I will say that the plan to create a family for the Snow Maiden has been fulfilled and exceeded. Now the Snow Maiden in Yarensk has a mother, Mother Winter, a father - North wind Siverko, grandmother - Snowstorm (wife of Santa Claus), aunt - Snow Woman and numerous nephews - Snowballs and Snowflakes. And they are all registered in the village of Siberia, Lensky District, Arkhangelsk Region.

On December 21, 2011, the New Year tree in Yarensk was opened on Zima's birthday. Residents of the district congratulated Zima on her birthday and presented her with a birth certificate.

The organizers understood from the very beginning that Mother Winter had to live somewhere, and this place will play the main role in the success of the project. The residence was housed in one of the buildings of the museum, "House of the merchant Eshkilev", which is a monument of history and culture of the eighteenth century.

They were able to get a regional subsidy for the reconstruction and repair of the building for the project, but there was no more money for anything, so the organizers threw a cry to the people to help, who can do what they can. Residents of Yarensk collected antique furniture, utensils and dishes for the residence, restored them and painted them in white, blue and silver colors, placed them in the house, creating an atmosphere of a magical fairy tale.

The bedchamber, the throne room, the cellar with the treasury, where the medicine from the canned northern lights is kept, pickled snowflakes ... Yarensk shone with fabulous beauty.

The magic throne of Mother Winter, sitting on which, you can make a wish. They say that in addition to children, adults sometimes do this, even all sorts of oil and gas managers.

In 2012, at the invitation of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of the Arkhangelsk Region, specialists from Moscow came from Moscow to hold a seminar and consultations on the project "Yarensk - Mother Winter's Motherland" locals learned a lot about how to run a fabulous business. But the consultants also learned a thing or two. The entire population, even children, is not always involved in such projects.

In the same year, at the fair in Yarensk, within the framework of the project of the government of the Arkhangelsk region "Constellation of Northern Festivals", the festival "Tales of the Lena Forest" was held.

A great many guests came to Yarensk from all parts of the region. The festive concert of the festival was opened by the most long-awaited guest - the State Academic Northern Russian Folk Choir. Then artists from the Komi Republic, the Vologda Oblast, and, of course, the Arkhangelsk Oblast took the stage.

The main event of the fair was the arrival of Father Frost from Veliky Ustyug to the Fairy Tales of the Lena Forest festival. He came not alone, but with Baba Zhara, and Mother Winter met them. This was her first official public appearance.

It's summer. And in winter there was a festival of arts "Snow Lace of Winter", which was attended by guests from Syktyvkar - the State Song and Dance Ensemble "Asya kya" and the group "Balalaika" named after Nalimov.

I must say that funding for the project is allocated quite modest, but the enthusiasm of the residents of Yarensk is simply huge, and it is on the enthusiasm that everything rests

Three years after the launch of the project, the residents of Yaren were able to proudly say: "If in 2012 the Residence was attended by 1400 people, then in 2015 - already 7150. We conducted 604 excursions, 57 cultural and entertainment programs and 83 master classes."

A Euro-class hotel was built in the village, a horse yard, a new cafe and shopping center, people got jobs, and a penny flowed into the budget ... Festivals, fairs, holidays, weddings, looking for treasure on the streets of a 600-year-old village - and now there are 3 buses of tourists a day.

Not only school tours and local tourists of the surrounding regions come to visit, but also distant tourists on the way to the Fatherland of Father Frost in Veliky Ustyug often stop by and visit Mother Winter.

The ancient interiors of the merchant's mansion attract not only children, but also adults. In the courtyard of Mother Winter, the inhabitants of the fabulous "Lena Forest" live: Snezhiki, Vodyanoy and Kikimora, and in the forest hut - Baba Yaga herself.

Now the festival "Tales of the Lena Forest" is held in December and lasts a whole month.

Every year the festival program is rich various activities: festival of craftsmen and craftsmen, trade fair, contests for the best toy for Christmas tree and a sketch of a postcard from Mother Winter, a gastronomic holiday "According to the recipes of the magical cuisine of Baba Yaga", a winter ball "Winter's Snow Lace"

Here's a story.

And I don't even know what is more wonderful in it - a fairy tale about Mother Winter or a fairy tale that has become a reality, how the inhabitants of little Yarensk gathered their strength and, on almost naked enthusiasm and love for their small homeland, pulled out a project that is now being compared in terms of level with the Fiefdom of Santa Claus, with absolutely incomparable financial capabilities.

Do not forget to stop by if you are in those parts.