November 18, 2014

Grandfather Frost: More than Just Santa Claus


Grandfather Frost: More than Just Santa Claus

Today, November 18, is Ded Moroz’s birthday! Now, you might think that Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost) is just your familiar Santa Claus in a blue coat, but in fact he is a powerful pagan god who just softened up a bit over the years.

Santa Claus and Ded Moroz have several superficial similarities: they’re old white men with long white beards, wearing heavy coats with white trim, giving out presents to the good little children (and often impersonated by the children’s parents). Given how much Russian New Year’s traditions have borrowed from the Western concept of Christmas, this apparent similarity comes as no surprise. Nonetheless, Ded Moroz has a few distinctly Russian qualities, above and beyond the color of his coat.

Morozko
Ded Moroz as the spirit of winter

1. Unholy origins: Centuries ago, Ded Moroz went by the name Morozko, a powerful and cruel god of frost and ice, married to the equally unforgiving Winter. He could freeze people and landscapes at will, including entire invading armies. In some tellings, he was capricious and unpredictable, and the newly established Russian Orthodox Church attempted to brand him as a demon, along with the other pagan gods. However, his more lasting image was of a wise and impartial old man, someone who would give everyone a second change and only freeze them if they persisted in their ways.

Snegurochka
Ded Moroz with Snegurochka (right)

2. Family matters: Santa Claus has his Mrs. Claus; Ded Moroz has a granddaughter, Snegurochka (from sneg, ‘snow’). As far as we know, Mrs. Claus is flesh and blood, but Snegurochka is made of snow, with predictable consequences. Before her association with Ded Moroz, she appeared in several Russian fairy tales, each of which ended with her melting.

Ded Moroz
Look at that embroidery - and that beard!

3. Attire: As mentioned above, Ded Moroz can sometimes appear in blue, or even white. But that’s not the main difference. In his clothing Ded Moroz is meant to look like a Russian nobleman from before Russia’s Westernization. His coat is not just trimmed in white: it is often richly embroidered with white or gold designs. A traditional fur-trimmed cap and felt boots complete the picture – don’t expect to see Ded Moroz in a Santa hat.

Ded Moroz's house
Ded Moroz's house in Velikiy Ustyug

4. Housekeeping: While we all know that Santa Claus lives at the North Pole, we don’t know exactly where: every country that borders the Arctic Ocean claims a location or postal address for Santa’s workshop. Ded Moroz, on the other hand, is very easy to locate: his house is located in Velikiy Ustyug, a few hours north of Moscow.

Troika
Ded Moroz in his signature troika

5. Transportation: You may be asking, where are the reindeer? Like a real Russian aristocrat, Ded Moroz rides in a troika – a sleigh pulled by a trio of three white horses representing the three months of winter. Not only do Russian children not have to rattle off the names of all 12 of Santa’s reindeer, their task of remembering the names of Ded Moroz’s horses was made easy for them by a popular children’s song.

 

Further reading on supercook.ru [ru]

Image credits: flickr.com, supercook.ru, souzspb.com

You Might Also Like

Christmastide Tradition
  • January 01, 1990

Christmastide Tradition

St. Nicholas, Babouschka, Christmas Eve festivities . . .Ded Moroz leading to Christmas on January 7th.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

The Latchkey Murders
July 01, 2015

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

Russian Rules
November 16, 2011

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.

93 Untranslatable Russian Words
December 01, 2008

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.

The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

Jews in Service to the Tsar
October 09, 2011

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas
October 01, 2013

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.

 

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955