{{short description|Ancient pre-Christian Slavic winter festival}} {{Italic title}} {{for multi|the Slavic pagan god|Koliada (deity)|other uses|Koliada (disambiguation)}} {{Infobox holiday | holiday_name = Koliada | type = ethnic | image = Trutovsky Kolyadki.jpg | imagesize = | caption = Christmas carolers in Ukraine ("Little Russia") by K. Trutovsky | official_name = | nickname = Kolyada, Коледа, Kоляда, Коледе, Kalėda, Colindă | observedby = Eastern European, Balts and Slavic people | litcolor = | longtype = | significance = celebration of New Year re-birth | begins = January 6 | ends = January 7 | date = <!-- Use next three if holiday is the same day of the same week every year --> | week_ordinal = <!-- "first", "second", "last", etc. --> | weekday = <!-- "Sunday", "Monday", "Friday", etc. --> | month = <!-- "January", "February", "December", etc. --> <!-- Use next three if the date changes in an unusual pattern each year -->| date2012 = <!-- only for days that change each year --> | date2013 = <!-- only for days that change each year --> | date2014 = <!-- only for days that change each year --> | celebrations = | observances = | relatedto = Christmas traditions, Eastern Orthodox liturgical days | alt = | scheduling = | duration = | frequency = | firsttime = unknown | startedby = }} [[File:Парад вуличних вертепів у Львові, початок 2010-х.jpg|thumb|200px|Verteps parade, Lviv, Ukraine]] [[File:Trzej Królowie z Sopotni Małej (2).jpg|thumb|200px|Kolędowanie in Poland, 2019]] [[File:Kalyada KR 2013 45.JPG|thumb|200px|Kolyadka performers in Belgorod Oblast, Russia, 2013]]
'''''Koliada''''' or '''''koleda''''' (Cyrillic: каляда, коляда, коледа, колада, коледе) is the traditional Slavic name for the period from Christmas to Epiphany or, more generally, for Slavic Christmas-related rituals, some dating to pre-Christian times.<ref>{{Cite web|url= http://slovardalja.net/word.php?wordid=13520|title = Толковый словарь Даля онлайн}}</ref> It represents a festival or holiday, celebrated at the end of December to honor the sun during the Northern-hemisphere winter solstice. It also involves groups of singers who visit houses to sing carols.<ref>Brlic-Mazuranic, Ivana. ''Croatian Tales of Long Ago''. Translated by Fanny S. Copeland. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co.. 1922. p. 258.</ref><ref>Tryfanenkava, Maryna A. 2001. "The Current Status of Belarusian Calendar-Ritual Tradition". In: ''FOLKLORICA - Journal of the Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Folklore Association'', 6 (2): 43. https://doi.org/10.17161/folklorica.v6i2.3709. </ref>
==Terminology== The word is used in modern Russian (Коляда́, {{IPA|ru|kəlʲɪˈda|pron}}), Ukrainian ("Коляда" {{IPA|uk|kɔlʲɐˈda|pron|audio=LL-Q8798 (ukr)-Tohaomg-коляда.wav}}), Belarusian (''Каляда'', Kalyada, Kaliada), Polish (Szczodre Gody ''kolęda'' {{IPAc-pl|k|o|ˈ|l|ɛ|n|d|a}}), Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbo-Croatian (''Коледа, Коледе, koleda, kolenda''), Lithuanian (''Kalėdos, Kalėda''), Czech, Slovak, Slovene (''koleda'') and Romanian (''Colindă'').<ref>{{cite book |url=http://bos.zrc-sazu.si/cgi/a03.exe?name=sskj_testa&expression=koleda&hs=1 |title=Slovar slovenskega knjižnega jezika |trans-title=Standard Slovene Dictionary |chapter=Koleda |year=2000 |publisher=Slovene Academy of Sciences and Arts}}</ref>
The word used in Old Church Slavonic language (Колѧда - Kolęda) sounds closest to the current Polish language pronunciation, as Polish is one of two Slavic languages which retains the nasal vowels of the Proto-Slavic language (the other is closely related Kashubian). One theory states that '''Koliada''' is the name of a cycle of winter rituals stemming from the ancient ''calendae''<ref name="Encyclopedia of Ukraine">[http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/pages%5CK%5CO%5CKoliadaIT.htm Encyclopedia of Ukraine]</ref> as for example the Kalenda Proclamation.
thumb|Women singing koliada songs with the star of Bethlehem in Belarus, 2023 In modern Belarusian (каляда), Ukrainian (koliada), Czech, Slovak, Croatian (koleda, kolenda), Kashubian (''kòlãda'' [kwɛlãda]) and Polish (''kolęda'' {{IPAc-pl|k|o|'|l|ɛ̃|d|a}}, Old Polish ''kolenda''<ref>Biblioteka warszawska. 1858 s. 318, Materyały antropologiczno-archeologiczne i etnograficzne 1826 s. 186</ref>) the meaning has shifted from Christmas itself to denoting the tradition of strolling, singing, and having fun on Christmas Eve, same in the Balkan Slavs. It specifically applies to children and teens who walk house to house greeting people, singing and sifting grain that denotes the best wishes and receiving candy and small money in return. The action is called '''kolyadovanye''' ({{Langx|ru|Колядования}}) in Russian, '''kolyaduvannya''' (Ukrainian колядування) in Ukrainian and is now applied to similar Old East Slavic celebrations of other old significant holidays, such as ''Generous Eve'' ({{langx|ru|Маланья, Щедрый вечер}}, {{langx|be|Шчодры вечар}}, {{langx|uk|Щедрий вечiр}}) the evening before New Year's Day, as well as the celebration of the arrival of spring. Similarly in Bulgaria and North Macedonia, in the tradition of '''koleduvane''' (коледуване) or '''koledarenje''' (коледарење) around Christmas, groups of children visiting houses, singing carols and receiving a gift at parting. The kids are called 'koledari' or rarely 'kolezhdani' who sing kolyadki (songs).
Koleda is also celebrated across northern Greece by the Slavic speakers of Greek Macedonia, in areas from Florina to Thessaloniki, where it is called '''Koleda''' (Κόλιντα, Κόλιαντα) or '''Koleda Babo''' (Κόλιντα Μπάμπω) which means "Koleda Grandmother" in Slavic. It is celebrated before Christmas by gathering in the village square and lighting a bonfire, followed by local Macedonian music and dancing.
Croatian composer Jakov Gotovac wrote in 1925 the composition "Koleda", which he called a "folk rite in five parts", for male choir and small orchestra (three clarinets, two bassoons, timpani and drum). Also, Dubrovnik kolenda is one of the oldest recorded traditions of this kind in Croatia (its first mentioned in 13th century).<ref>{{cite news | title = Dubrovačka kolenda proglašena zaštićenim nematerijalnim kulturnim dobrom | date = 2021-02-09 | url = https://radio.hrt.hr/radio-dubrovnik/kultura/dubrovacka-kolenda-proglasena-zasticenim-nematerijalnim-kulturnim-dobrom-3713087 | language = hr | publisher = Croatian Radio | author = Radio Dubrovnik }}</ref> There is also a dance from Dubrovnik called "The Dubrovnik Koleda."
It is celebrated in the Büyükmandıra village of Babaeski district, Kırklareli Province in Turkey as a halloween-like festival and dates back a thousand years.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kırklareli celebrates horror festival Koleda - Türkiye News |url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/kirklareli-celebrates-horror-festival-koleda-179968 |access-date=2023-01-09 |website=Hürriyet Daily News |language=en}}</ref>
==See also== {{Commons category|Koliada}} * Colindă, a similar Romanian/Moldovan tradition * Korochun * Crăciun (disambiguation) * Twelfth Night (holiday) * Yule * Christmas carol **List of Christmas carols *Ķekatas * Koliadka * Koledari *Mummering * Turoń * Koleda (Koledovanie) in the Serbian tradition * Kalenda Proclamation * Shchedryk (song) * Calennig * Christmas Waits * Beltane, Gaelic festival in honour of the sun * ''Festive Procession with a Song. Kolyada''
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Polish folk customs and traditions}}{{Slavic holidays|state=collapsed}} Category:Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity Category:Slavic culture Category:Slavic holidays Category:Folk calendar of the East Slavs Category:Belarusian traditions Category:Bulgarian traditions Category:Czech traditions Category:Polish traditions Category:Russian traditions Category:Serbian traditions Category:Slovak traditions Category:Ukrainian traditions Category:Slavic Christmas traditions Category:Winter solstice Category:Intangible Cultural Heritage of Ukraine Category:Croatian traditions