Paper short abstract:

The paper depicts major church, domestic and outdoor rituals on one of the biggest Christian Orthodox holidays dedicated to the Cross (14/27.09) in Russia and Bulgaria and reveals historical, cultural and natural reasons for the differences in the two folk calendars’ beliefs and practices.

Paper long abstract:

The presentation scrutinizes the Russian and Bulgarian celebration of Exaltation of the Life-Giving Cross in the folk Christian Orthodox calendars (14/27.09) regarding dwelling ritual practices, movement/static ideas and cultural/natural beliefs. Apart from similarities (strict fasting, construction of crosses on the cross-roads, finalizing and sanctifying of the sacred buildings), there are many differences, mostly of folk traditional origin. Many of them are tightly connected with the terminology of the holiday, exemplifying the symbiosis of language and (folk) culture. In Russian tradition, out from the Church Slavonic term for the holiday one word (and idea) is extracted and simplified - that of Exaltation (Russian Воздвижение turns into движение, 'motion'). In Bulgarian tradition, the idea of the Cross dominates (Кръстовден), which brings to life specific ritual complexes and legendary beliefs performed in specially constructed places, such as the Cross Mountain in Rhodopes and others. In both traditions, the holiday marks the beginning of autumn, but due to the geographical and agricultural differences, vegetative and zoological beliefs are not similar (in Russia, the cabbage is the main object of celebration, while in Bulgaria grapes dominate). The concept of motion on the day of Exaltation in Russia is linked with the changes in the animals' behavior (snakes, bears, etc.) which generate a bunch of bans for the people to leave the domestic space and to go to the woods. Commemorative practices also differ, being in Bulgaria typical for the Balkan cultural continuum.