Russian Feasts of the Savior as a Semantic Microsystem

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31168/

Keywords:

Ethnolinguistics, ethnography, Russian folk dialects, chrononymy, folk calendar, festive rite, semantic oppositions, the First Feast of the Saviour, the Second Feast of the Saviour, the Third Feast of the Saviour

Abstract

The article examines the Russian folk names of three holidays – the Procession of the Honorable Wood of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord (August 14), the Transfiguration of Jesus (August 19), and the Transfer of the Icon of our Lord Jesus Christ Not-Made-by-Hands from Edessa to Constantinople (August 29). Their common unofficial names are the First (Honey), the Second (Apple) and the Third Feasts of the Savior. Besides, there are many more names for these holidays known in dialects. As a rule, the names of the Feasts of the Savior in the folk calendar are formed as the elements of semantic oppositions and create onomastic systems. The article discusses six oppositions: on the basis of a clarifying chrononymic element (Spas-Makavei ‘The Maccabees Feast of the Savior’ – Spas-Preobrazhenie ‘The Teansfiguration Feast of the Savior’ – Spas Nerukotvornyi ‘The Not-Made-by-Hands Feast of the Savior’); on the basis of order (The First Feast of the Savior – The Middle Feast of the Savior – The Last Feast of the Savior); on the basis of a differentiating detail that refers to the plot of the holiday or the features of worship on that day (Spas-na-vode ‘The Feast of the Savior on the Water’ – Spas-na-gore ‘The Feast of the Savior on the Mountain’ – Spas-na-kholste ‘The Feast of the Savior on the Canvas’); based on the indication of the holiday status (The Small Feast of the Savior – The Great (Universal) Feast of the Savior); based on the indication of the boundaries of the seasons (The Autumn Feast of the Savior ‘August 29’); based on religious and folk regulations and practices related to food (The Honey / Poppy Feast of the Savior – The Apple / Peas Feast of the Savior – The Nut / Bread Feast of the Savior). The perception of the Feasts of the Savior as a system is not surprising. On the one hand, this is due to the connection of all three holidays with the image of Jesus Christ (that’s why they have the generic name – Rus. Spas). On the other hand, these holidays are the close neighbors in the calendar (within one month). The inclusion of these holidays in semantic oppositions helps to distinguish them from each other functionally and reliably integrate them into the annual cycle.

Received 28 September 2025

Revised 23 October 2025

Accepted 7 November 2025

For citation: Surikova, O. D., 2025. Russian Feasts of the Savior as a Semantic Microsystem. Slavic World in the Third Millennium, 20 (3–4), pp. 267‒286. https://doi.org/10.31168/2412-6446.2025.20.3-4.13

Author Biography

  • Olesya D. Surikova, Institute of History and Archaeology, V.V. Vinogradov Russian Language Institute

     

    Ph. D., Leading Research Fellow, Center for Historical-Linguistic Studies, Institute for History and Archaeology, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Research Fellow, Department of Dialectology and Linguistic Geography, V. V. Vinogradov Russian Language Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences

    Postal address: Sofyi Kovalevskoy St., 16, Ekaterinburg, 620108, Russia; Volkhonka St., 18/2, 121019, Moscow, Russia

    E-mail: surok62@mail.ru

    ORCID: 0000-0002-9526-7853

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Published

24-01-2026

Issue

Vol. 20 No. 3-4 (2025)

Section

Ethnolinguistic Studies