Madder Day among the Slavs

On the 25th of leaf fall (November), the Slavs celebrated Madder Day. Madder, or Marana, was considered by the pagans to be the goddess of Death and ailments, bitter frosts and severe cold. The same root words for this name are “fool”, “Kikimora”, “darkness”. Madder in Slavic mythology was a symbol of the dying of autumn nature. The pagan Slavs believed that by November 25 the goddess would finally expel the solar Yarila and establish the Kingdom of snow and frost everywhere. According to legends, when Madder comes into its own, then the earth plunges into a long winter sleep. The Slavs believed that from that time on, Marena's minions - maras - walked around houses at night and called out loud the names of household members. Whoever responded was immediately taken to the kingdom of Death. The Goddess cuts the Threads of Life with her sickle. Together with the Maras, Marena tries to kill the sun every morning, but every time she retreats in horror before its great power. However, among the Slavs it was not customary to consider the goddess a negative character, because death is a harbinger of new life. During the celebration of Marena's day, the Slavs did not bring her services and did not honor her. Moreover, on this day it was not even possible to praise other gods, otherwise Marena would take the praise for herself and gain strength. Since the winter cold was worst tolerated by weak children and frail old people, people prayed for their health and happiness. Pancakes and jelly, carrots and turnips must be present on the table on this day. On this day there was a ban on lighting large fires. It was not customary to sing songs and dance in circles. People went to the swamp to show Marena that they were not afraid of her. There they dipped flaming brands into the quagmire to repel the goddess. The Slavs monitored the weather on this day. If at noon the sun was shining brightly and the weather was clear, then early spring was expected. If the clouds floated against the wind, it was necessary to prepare for heavy snowfalls.