Ded Moroz, or Morozko (), is a legendary figure similar to Father Christmas and Santa Claus, who has his roots in Slavic mythology. The tradition of Ded Moroz is mostly spread in East Slavic countries and is a significant part of Russian culture. At the beginning of the Soviet era, communist authorities banned Ded Moroz. However, the ban was lifted and he soon became a significant part of Soviet culture. The literal translation of Ded Moroz is Grandfather Frost or Old Man Frost, but traditionally the name is translated as Father Frost.
Ded Moroz wears a heel-length fur coat, in red or blue, a semi-round fur hat, and valenki on his feet. He has a long white beard. He walks with a long magic stick and often rides a troika. He is often depicted bringing presents to well-mannered children, often delivering them in person in the days of December and secretly under the New Year Tree over night on New Year's Eve.
The residence of Ded Moroz in Russia is considered to be the town of Veliky Ustyug, Vologda Oblast. The residence of the Belarusian Dzyed Maroz is said to be in Belavezhskaya Pushcha.
In East Slavic cultures, Ded Moroz is accompanied by Snegurochka (, Snegurochka; , Sniahurka; , Snihurońka; "Snow Maiden"), his granddaughter and helper.
Development of the character
The origins of the character of Ded Moroz predates Christianity as a Slavic personification of winter.
Since the 19th century the attributes and legend of Ded Moroz have been shaped by literary influences, which were also influenced by the Western tradition of Santa Claus.Vyacheslav Ivanov, Vladimir Toporov, Мороз, an article from the Russian encyclopedia The play The Snow Maiden (named Snegurochka in Russian) by Aleksandr Ostrovsky was influential in this respect, as was Rimsky-Korsakov's The Snow Maiden with libretto based on the play. By the end of the 19th century Ded Moroz became a popular character. The children's tradition of writing letters to Ded Moroz has been known since the end of the 19th century.4 декабря – День написания писем Деду Морозу. In Russian
Following the Russian Revolution, Christmas traditions were actively discouraged because they were considered to be "bourgeois and religious".Fir Markets Similarly, in 1928 Ded Moroz was declared "an ally of the priest and kulak".Karen Petrone, Life Has Become More Joyous, Comrades: Celebrations in the Time of Stalin, Indiana University Press, 200, , Google Print, p.85 Nevertheless, the image of Ded Moroz took its current form during Soviet times, becoming the main symbol of the New Year's holiday (Novy God) that replaced Christmas. Some Christmas traditions were revived following the famous letter by Pavel Postyshev, published in Pravda on 28 December 1935. Postyshev believed that the origins of the holiday, which were pre-Christian, were less important than the benefits it could bring to Soviet children. In modern Russia Ded Moroz is very popular in modern Russia. In 1998, the town of Veliky Ustyug in Vologda Oblast, Russia was declared the home of the Russian Ded Moroz by Yury Luzhkov, then Mayor of Moscow. Between 2003 and 2010, the post office in Veliky Ustyug received approximately 2,000,000 letters from within Russia and from all over the world for Ded Moroz. On 7 January 2008, then President Putin of the Russian Federation visited Ded Moroz' residence in the town of Veliky Ustyug as part of the Russian Orthodox Christmas Eve celebration.
The western Santa Claus made inroads in the Russian Federation during the "turbulent" 1990s when Western culture increased its penetration into the post-Soviet Russia. The resurgence of Russia in the early 21st century brought about a renewed emphasis on the basic Slavic character of Ded Moroz. This included the Russian Federation and subordinate governments sponsoring courses about Ded Moroz every December, with the aim of establishing appropriate Slavic norms for Ded Moroz and Snegurochka ("Snow Maiden" – Ded Moroz' granddaughter) roles for the New Year holiday. People playing Ded Moroz and Snegurochka now typically make appearances at children's parties during the winter holiday season, distributing presents and fighting off the wicked witch, Baba Yaga, who children are told wants to steal the gifts.
In November and December 2010, Ded Moroz was one of the candidates in the running for consideration as a mascot for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
Variations of Ded Moroz in ethnic minority groups of Russia Many ethnic minorities have for linguistic reasons other names for Ded Moroz or even have their own culture-equivalent counterparts to Ded Moroz. For example, in Bashkir Ded Moroz is known as , ), in Tatar it has the similar spelling with the same meaning. In Nenets he is known as ("Grandfather of Yamal"). The Yakut indigenous people have their own counterpart to Ded Moroz, which is called ("Master of Cold").
International relations of Ded Moroz
Ded Moroz, and on occasion the Belarusian Dzied Maroz, are presented in the media as being in on-going détente with various counterparts from other cultures, such as the Estonian Santa Claus ( or "Old man of Yule"), the Finnish Santa Claus ( or "Yule Goat"), and other Santa Claus, Father Christmas, and Saint Nicholas figures. The détente efforts portrayed have included one-on-one meetings, group meetings and friendly competitions, such as the annual November Santa Claus championships of Celle, Germany.
GLONASS Tracks Ded Moroz In November 2009, for the first time, the Russian Federation offered competition to NORAD Tracks Santa with GLONASS Tracks Ded Moroz, which purports to use GLONASS (the Russian satellite navigation system, comparable to GPS) to track Ded Moroz on New Year's Eve (according to the Gregorian calendar).
The Russian-language website provides "real-time tracking" of Ded Moroz, "news" of Ded Moroz throughout the year, a form to send e-mail to Ded Moroz, photos, videos, streaming audio of Russian songs, poems and verses from children's letters to Ded Moroz, information on Veliky Ustyug in Vologda Oblast (considered to be Ded Moroz's hometown) and opportunities to enter competitions and win prizes.
Regional differences There are equivalents of Ded Moroz and Snegurochka all over the former USSR, as well as the countries once in the Eastern bloc and in the former Yugoslavia. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, some of these countries made efforts to move away from Soviet and Russian heritage toward their own ancient traditions.
Armenia
The Armenian name for Ded Moroz is Dzmer Pap (), literally Grandfather Winter. His loyal granddaughter Dzyunanushik (), whose name means Snow Sweetie, or Snow Anush (a popular Armenian female name), is another counterpart of Snegurochka. The tradition was set throughout the times of the Russian Empire after the Russo-Persian War (1826–1828), when Eastern Armenia was joined to Russia according to the 1828 Treaty of Turkmenchay.
For almost 160 years of influence Dzmer Pap and Dzyunanushik have hardly changed their appearance or behavior: they come in red, blue or white winter fur coats and, bringing presents to children, expect them to sing songs or recite poems. They are parts of New Year and Epiphany matinées and shows in Armenia. In recent decades well-off parents have developed a tradition to invite Dzmer Pap and Dzyunanushik to their children.
Azerbaijan In Azerbaijan, Ded Moroz is known as Şaxta Baba and Snegurochka as Qar Qızı, with whom Şaxta Baba brings gifts to children at New Year's Eve. Every December, actors playing Şaxta Baba and Qar Qızı stand next to a Christmas tree at Baku Boulevard and other attractions in Baku, giving away presents to and taking pictures with children. Since 2014 however, every actor needs a license costing up to $75.https://eurasianet.org/santa-claus-cousin-ded-moroz-needs-a-license-in-baku In the predominantly Muslim but secular country, where Christians are a small minority, these traditions and celebrations remain very popular, however the Christian origin is barely to not known at all and they're rather cultural. Şaxta Baba is also an Azerbaijani version of Ayaz Ata, the Ded Moroz of Turkic mythology.
Belarus Ded Moroz is () in the Belarusian language. He is not a historical folkloric Belarusian character, but was a replacement for Saint Nicholas, known locally as , whom Soviet authorities disapproved of because of his Christian origin.
The official residence of in Belarus is declared to be in the Białowieża Forest.Маёнтак Беларускага Дзеда Мароза
Bulgaria The Bulgarian name of Santa Claus is (Grandfather Koleda), with ("Grandfather Frost") being a similar Russian-imported character lacking the Christian connotations and thus popular during Communist rule. However, he has been largely forgotten since 1989, when again returned as the more popular figure. Former Yugoslavia In socialist Yugoslavia (i.e. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia) the character who was said to bring gifts to children was called "Grandfather Frost" (; ; ; ; ). He was said to bring gifts for the New Year because public celebration of Christmas was frowned upon during communism.
Croatia In Croatia, after the breakup of Yugoslavia, was promulgated by Christian democratic right-wing media as an example of a "communist creation", therefore (literally: "Grandfather Christmas") was introduced in its stead. Attempts were made in the mass media and advertising to replace with , despite the two characters not being associated with the same holiday. After 1999 the names of and became more or less synonymous, including in their use on public television. In some families is still said to bring gifts at New Year. In Croatia, children also get presents on 6 December. Due to the historical influence of Austrian culture in parts of Croatia, presents are also said to be brought by a traditional figure called (Saint Nicholas) who closely resembles or , except for the fact that he is accompanied by Krampus who takes misbehaving children away, another character from Central European folklore. In some religious families, little Jesus (, ) is said to brings gifts at Christmas instead of . Also, in some parts of Dalmatia the gifts are brought by Saint Lucy ().
Slovenia