Issues in Historical Research on the Culture of Traditional Folk Celebrations

Abstract

This publication presents a discussion of issues raised by E.D. Suslova in her article on the “Church Feast in the Olonets Region in the Early Modern Period: An Experience in Reconstruction Based on Archival Sources”, which inquired into what exactly was the Church feast in the North of Russia in the 17th century. Drawing on the comparative analysis of various archival materials, the author examined the types of celebrations, their participants, regional differences and interconnections, as well as the elements and constituents of festive culture and the functions of the Church feast. She argued that there was evidence pointing to the participation of peasants in Church feasts and to the fact that their family celebrations and other events of household importance were often timed to the latter. In the region where peasants working on state lands prevailed and traditions of communal self-government were strong, parishes must have functioned both as religious and as land associations. Consequently, Church feasts must have meant simultaneously the time for holding celebrations, conducting important economic transactions, and administering communal matters. The author’s arguments are discussed in the comments by I.Y. Vinokurova (“Issues in Studying Traditional Celebrations in the Light of Historical and Ethnographic Sources”) and A.P. Konkka (“On the Functions of Traditional Folk Celebration and Asocial Behavior”).