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Polaznik
In Slavic traditions, a ''Polaznik'' is the first guest (sometimes called the "divine guest") who comes to a house at Christmas or on some holiday between St. Demetrius day and Epiphany to bring luck, prosperity, health, and wealth for the coming year. Less frequently, the role of the polaznik is taken over by an animal, which is brought into the house, which is also supposed to bring luck. The ritual is known mainly to Ukrainians, Poles, Slovaks, Slovenes, Serbs, Croats, and Bulgarians. It is believed that the polaznik is a messenger of the ancestors, which connects the world of the living and the dead. Regional customs Poland In Poland, polaznik visited homes and gave residents green twigs decorated with colored paper cutouts ('' wycinanki''), called '' podłaźniczka''. Podlaznik also wished the residents well. This bypass custom was called ''połazy'' or ''podłazy''. In Cieszyn Silesia second day of holidays is called ''podłazy''. In southern Poland polaznik used to co ...
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Podłaźniczka
''Podłaźniczka'', ''polazňička'' is a traditional Polish and Slovak Christmas decoration. It was usually made from branches or the top of a conifer tree turned upside down, which was then decorated with colored paper cutouts ('' wycinanki''), candies, apples, nuts, typical Polish '' świats'', or stars and crosses made of straw. The ''podłaźniczka'' was then hung from the ceiling rafters over the ''Wigilia'' dinner table on Christmas Eve. History The tradition of hanging a ''podłaźniczka'' dates back to an ancient Slavic custom of suspending a decorated branch of fir, spruce, or pine from the ceiling rafters, during the time of the Koliada winter festival.Janota E. Lud i jego zwyczaje. Lwów, 1878, str. 41–42 The custom of ''podłaźniczka'' is also connected to a later folk tradition of the '' połaźnik''. The ''połaźnik'' was the first guest to visit a house on Christmas Eve, often bringing with them a decorated evergreen branch. This custom also existed in Slov ...
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Carlton Alfred Smith - Christmas Eve
Carlton may refer to: People and fictional characters * Carlton (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian minister, mathematician and astronomer Places Australia * Carlton, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Carlton, Tasmania, a locality in Tasmania * Carlton, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne Canada * Carlton, Edmonton, Alberta, a neighbourhood * Carlton, Saskatchewan, a hamlet * Fort Carlton, a Hudson's Bay Company fur trading post built in 1810, near present-day Carlton, Saskatchewan * Carlton Trail, a historic trail near Fort Carlton * Carlton Street, Toronto, Ontario England * Carlton, Bedfordshire, a village * Carlton, Cambridgeshire, a village * Carlton, County Durham, a village and civil parish * Carlton, Leicestershire, a village * Carlton Scroop, Lincolnshire * Carlton, Nottinghamshire, a suburb to the east of Nottingham ...
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Koledari
Koliadari or koliadnyky () are Slavic traditional performers of a ceremony called ''celebration of Koliada'', a kind of Christmas caroling. It is associated with Koliada ( Calends), a celebration incorporated later into Christmas. This type of caroling is called () in Poland, () in Bulgaria, in Romania, (, ) in Ukraine, in Czechia and () or () in North Macedonia. In Ukraine caroling may also take place along with a staged play called Vertep. Bulgaria The ''koledari'' carolers traditionally start their rounds at midnight on Christmas Eve. They visit the houses of their relatives, neighbours and other people in the village. The caroling is usually performed by young men, which are accompanied by an elder one called ''stanenik''. Each caroler carries a stick called ''gega''. They wish the people from the village health, wealth and happiness and then the people they wished it too gave them '' gevreks''. The time for the ''koleduvane'' is strictly defined by tradition ...
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Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (green) and the claimed but uncontrolled territory of Kosovo (light green) in Europe (dark grey) , image_map2 = , capital = Belgrade , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = Serbian language, Serbian , ethnic_groups = , ethnic_groups_year = 2022 , religion = , religion_year = 2022 , demonym = Serbs, Serbian , government_type = Unitary parliamentary republic , leader_title1 = President of Serbia, President , leader_name1 = Aleksandar Vučić , leader_title2 = Prime Minister of Serbia, Prime Minister , leader_name2 = Đuro Macut , leader_title3 = Pres ...
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Didukh
A ''didukh'' ( ), is a Ukrainian Christmas decoration; made from a sheaf of wheat, it is a symbolic sacrifice taken from the autumn harvest. "''Didukh''" literally means " grandfather spirit". ''Didukhy'' are traditionally made from the first or the last stalks of wheat reaped during the year. They symbolize the household's wish for an abundance of nature and a bountiful harvest for the upcoming year. Before the holidays, wheat ears or stalks are gathered with colorful threads, then the bunches are tied with ribbons. A didukh is placed in most Ukrainian homes before Christmas, and kept until Masnytsia. Spiritual meaning It is believed that the spirits of the household's ancestors reside in didukh during the holidays.Ukrainian Christmas
Retrieved 27 April 2013 While it is at a place of honor inside the house, the souls of all ancestors will uni ...
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Sheaf (agriculture)
A sheaf (; : sheaves) is a bunch of cereal-crop stems bound together after reaping, traditionally by sickle, later by scythe or, after its introduction in 1872, by a mechanical reaper-binder. Traditional hand-reapers, using scythes and working as a team, cut a field of grain clockwise, starting from an outside edge and finishing in the middle. Scything leaves a windrow of cut stems to the left of the reaper and, if cut skillfully, leaves the seed heads more or less aligned. These are then picked up and tied into sheaves by the sheavers, who traditionally use other cut stems as ties. These sheavers, or a following team, then stand the sheaves up in stooks to dry. Three to eight sheaves make up each stook, which forms a self-supporting A-frame with the grain-heads meeting at the top. This keeps the grain well ventilated, and off the ground allowing it to dry and discouraging vermin. The drying sheaves are later either placed by hand or pitched onto a cart. The traditional s ...
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Lemkos
Lemkos (; ; ; ) are an ethnic group inhabiting the Lemko Region (; ) of Carpathian Rus', an ethnographic region in the Carpathian Mountains and foothills spanning Ukraine, Slovakia, and Poland. Lemkos are often considered to be a sub-group of Rusyns. Members of these groups have historically also been given other designations, such as ''Verkhovyntsi'' ("highlanders"). Among people of the Carpathian highlands, communities speaking the same dialect will identify with a different ethnic label when crossing borders due to the influence of state-sponsored education and media. As well, the same community may switch its preferred identification over time. In Slovakia, between the 1991 and 2001 censuses, the number of people identifying as "Ukrainian" declined by 2,467 (an 18.6% decrease), while those reporting Rusyn as their national identity increased by 7,004 people (a 40.6% increase). It is not clear, however, if this refers to the same individuals switching their identification, mo ...
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Current (stream)
In hydrology, a current in a water body is the flow of water in any one particular direction. The current varies spatially as well as temporally, dependent upon the flow volume of water, stream gradient, and channel geometry. In tidal zones, the current and streams may reverse on the flood tide before resuming on the ebb tide. On a global scale, wind and the rotation of the earth greatly influence the flow of ocean currents. In a stream or river there the current is influenced by gravity, the term ''upstream'' (or ''upriver'') refers to the direction towards the source of the stream (or river), i.e. against the direction of flow. Likewise, the term ''downstream'' or ''downriver'' describes the direction towards the mouth of the stream or river, in which the current flows. The term "left bank In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography. In limnology (the study of in ...
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Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The Czech Republic has a hilly landscape that covers an area of with a mostly temperate Humid continental climate, continental and oceanic climate. The capital and largest city is Prague; other major cities and urban areas include Brno, Ostrava, Plzeň and Liberec. The Duchy of Bohemia was founded in the late 9th century under Great Moravia. It was formally recognized as an Imperial Estate of the Holy Roman Empire in 1002 and became Kingdom of Bohemia, a kingdom in 1198. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, all of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown were gradually integrated into the Habsburg monarchy. Nearly a hundred years later, the Protestantism, Protestant Bohemian Revolt led to the Thirty Years' War. After the Battle of White ...
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Moravian Slovakia
Moravian Slovakia, also called Slovácko (, older ''Moravské Slovensko'') is a cultural region in the southeastern part of the Czech Republic. It lies in the historical region of Moravia, on the border with Slovakia (the Slovak region of Záhorie) and Austria. It is known for its characteristic folklore, music, wine, costumes and traditions. The area forms part of both the Zlín and South Moravian administrative regions. Its main centre is the town of Uherské Hradiště which is located on the Morava River. Other important towns include Uherský Brod, Břeclav, Hodonín, Strážnice and Kyjov. In the 9th century the region of Moravian Slovakia was the centre of the Great Moravian empire. Subregions Moravian Slovakia is divided into six subregions: Dolňácko, Horňácko, Podluží, Moravské Kopanice, Hanácké Slovácko and Luhačovické zálesí. Economy Moravian Slovakia is noted for its viticulture. Language Natives of this region speak the Eastern Moravian dial ...
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Birch
A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 to 60 known taxa of which 11 are on the IUCN 2011 Red List of Threatened Species. They are typically short-lived pioneer species and are widespread in the Northern Hemisphere, particularly in northern areas of temperate climates and in boreal climates. Birch wood is used for a wide range of purposes. Description Birch species are generally small to medium-sized trees or shrubs, mostly of northern temperate and boreal climates. The simple leaves are alternate, singly or doubly serrate, feather-veined, petiolate and stipulate. They often appear in pairs, but these pairs are really borne on spur-like, two-leaved, lateral branchlets. The fruit is a small samara, although the wings may be obscure in some species. They differ from t ...
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Spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Piceoideae. Spruces are large trees, from about 20 to 60 m (about 60–200 ft) tall when mature, and have Whorl (botany), whorled branches and cone (geometry), conical form. Spruces can be distinguished from other Genus, genera of the family Pinaceae by their pine needle, needles (leaves), which are four-sided and attached singly to small persistent peg-like structures (pulvini or sterigmata) on the branches, and by their seed cone, cones (without any protruding bracts), which hang downwards after they are pollinated. The needles are shed when 4–10 years old, leaving the branches rough with the retained pegs. In other similar genera, the branches are fairly smooth. Spruce are used as food pla ...
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