Korochun
{{Short description|Slavic winter solstice holiday}}
{{Refimprove|date=April 2013}}
Koročun or Kračun (see other variants below) is one of the names for the time of the year that corresponds to Christmas in several Slavic languages such as Pannonian Rusyn, as well as the common name for the holiday in Romania and Hungary. It is also refers to a evil spirit which shortens one's life, in particular bringing a sudden death, as in the curse "Let Karachun take you!" ({{langx|ru|Карачун тебя возьми!}}).
Names and etymology
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- Belarusian: Карачун, Karačun;
- {{langx|bg|Крачон}}, Kračon or Крачунек, Kračunek;
- {{langx|cs|Kračun}};
- {{langx|mk|Крачун}}, Kračun;
- Old Еast Slavic: {{Slavonic|Корочунъ}}, Koročunŭ;
- {{langx|ru|Корочун}}, Koročun or Карачун, Karačun;
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- Carpatho-Rusyn: К(е)речун, K(e)rečun or Ґ(е)речун, G(e)rečun;
- Pannonian Rusyn: Крачун, Kračun;
- {{langx|sr|Крачун}}, Kračun;
- {{langx|sk|Kračún}};
- {{langx|hu|Karácsony}};
- {{langx|ro|Crăciun}}.
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Max Vasmer derived the name of from the Proto-Slavic *korčunŭ, which is in turn derived from the verb *korčati, meaning to step forward. Gustav Weigand, {{ill|Alexandru Cihac|ro|Alexandru Cihac|vertical-align=sup}} and Alexandru Philippide offer a similar Slavic etymology, based on kratŭkŭ (curt, short) or kračati (to make steps). The etymology of steps is usually favored, as it shows a liminal or transitional quality to the holiday as the solstice approached and a new solar cycle began.
On the other hand, Hugo Schuchardt, Vatroslav Jagić, and {{ill|Luka Pintar|sl|Luka Pintar (literat)|vertical-align=sup}} proposed a Romanian origin of the word,[https://archive.org/stream/archivfrslavisc01unkngoog#page/n537/mode/2up Archiv für Slavische Philologie], 1886, Vol XI, pp. 526–7.Archiv für Slavische Philologie, Vol II, p. 610.[https://archive.org/stream/archivfrslavis33berluoft#page/618/mode/2up Archiv für Slavische Philologie], 1912, Vol XXXIII, pp. 618-22. as does also the Romanian Etymological Dictionary,Romanian Etymological Dictionary, [http://www.dex.ro/craciun/442663 Crăciun] tracing its roots back to the Latin creatio,-nis. However, most probably the Romanian word, as well as the Hungarian, are loanwords with Slavic roots.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8L-3AAAAIAAJ&q=karacun+slavic|title=Transylvania and the Rumanians, Alain Du Nay, André Du Nay, Árpád Kosztin, Matthias Corvinus Publishing, 1997, ISBN 1882785096, p. 204.|isbn=9781882785094|last1=Nay|first1=Alain Du|last2=Nay|first2=André Du|last3=Kosztin|first3=Árpád|year=1997}}
Religious and mythological significance
Koročun or Kračun was a pre-Christian Slavic holiday. It was considered the day when the progenitor deity (usually Veles) and other spirits associated with darkness were most potent. The first recorded usage of the term was in 1143, when the author of the Novgorod First Chronicle referred to the winter solstice as "Koročun".
It was celebrated by Slavs around December 20/21{{fact|date=July 2019}}, the longest night of the year and the night of the winter solstice. On this night, the old sun becomes smaller and dies as the days become shorter in the Northern Hemisphere, and is said in Christianized traditions to die on December 24. On December 21 or 25, the sun is resurrected and becomes the young god, usually associated with Svarozhits or Dazhbog{{fact|date=July 2019}}.
Modern scholars tend to associate this holiday with ancestor worship{{fact|date=July 2019}}. On this day, Western Slavs lit fires at cemeteries to keep their loved ones warm, and organized feasts to honor the dead and keep them fed. They also lit wooden logs at local crossroads. In some Slavic languages, the word came to denote unexpected death of a young person and the evil spirit that shortens life.Max Vasmer, Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language, Корочун.