Household signs

There is a set of signs connected to household duties. It is well known, that a broom with the brush turned upwards frightens off wicked spirits, and the door that suddenly begins to creak brings misfortune, the curtain has torn - to be to quarrel between girlfriends, the icon - to death; if the room flowers grow well it means that the family will live in peace, but fading flowers bring troubles into the house; a piece of soap on the bosom under the shirt rescues from damage. One shouldn’t throw dust through a window or pour out slops because there is an angel under the window. If one spit in the oven fire he’ll get bubbles on his tongue. If the girl likes to sit on a windowsill she won’t get married in the nearest future. The keys put on a table, do not bring anything good, stopped hours promises some changes in one’s life, and a fur coat fallen from a hanger is the beginning of a large quarrel in family.

But the most interesting thing is the mirror. Since the ancient times the mirror was considered to be one of the riddles of human inventions. In opinion of conservatives, the mirror in the house is a sin. Nowadays everybody knows that leaving home you should look into it, pretending to create a double to guard the house. That rule is especially important if you had to come back home in the very beginning of the day.

Popular signs give us some advise about cooking and arrival of visitors and behaviour behind a table, too. Bread should be cut on the table, otherwise famine come into the house. If there’re some small bubbles in a cup it means that you will get some money soon. But if you want the sign will come true you should collect all these small bubbles with a spoon and pour it out on your head… This list of signs is never-ending.

Many signs are connected to insects that can be found in the house. For example, red cockroaches bring grief, but black ones mean getting a gift. Rats bring unfortunate events in the house, and the fly appeared in the winter - to the dead man.

Many signs are connected to New Year. It’s considered that if on the eve of New Year in the house there’s enough money and they are not lent, you will not have no need in them all next year. If on New Year you put on something new the coming year will be successful. He, whose pockets are empty on New Year, will live in need. On a New Year's table there should be much meal and drinks so that in the next year the prosperity was in the house. It is impossible to borrow money before New Year under any conditions otherwise all next year you’ll get debts. If the first who comes into the house in the New Year morning is a man the coming year will bring happiness, but if it’s a woman - on the contrary. On a new year's eve it is impossible to quarrel, swear or cry, or to go to bed early, as there is a sign: as you meet New year so you will live all the year. Last wineglass before New Year, juicy of a bottle, will bring success to the one who will drink it. Before New Year it is not necessary to bear dust from your house, otherwise in the coming year there will be no happiness.

National signs are a bright feature of national culture, and in Russia ancient traditional representations about live are reflected in signs, so they are significant and actual for the majority of people till nowadays.

Conclusion

The culture is a universal way of creative self-realization of the person, aspiration to find sense of a human life. The culture appears at the person as the semantic world, which inspires people and rallies them in some community (the nation, religious or professional group, etc.). This semantic world reflected in traditions and folklore is transferred from generation to generation and defines a way of life and attitude to other people.

In a basis of such a semantic world the dominating sense, a semantic dominant of culture lays. The semantic dominant of culture is that main sense, the general attitude of the person to the world, which defines character of all other senses and attitudes. These attitudes are also underlined by national traditions. They can be realized differently, but the presence of semantic unity gives integrity to everything, that and that people do in their lives. Uniting and inspiring people, traditions give them not only the general way of comprehension of the world, but also a way of mutual understanding and empathy, a language for expression of the most delicate movements of soul. It is impossible to study culture in all its aspects at once, but it is possible to allocate, understand and analyze dominating sense, its basic components. And further it is necessary to study various ways of its realization, to address to the details and concrete forms of its embodiment, to national creativity, to art, to traditions.

Today scientists pay much attention to studying of dialogue of cultures. But such a dialogue is possible because the source of all cultures is a person with his universality and freedom. The person can differently realize the creative beginning, and completeness of his creative self-expression is reached by creation and use of various cultural forms. And traditions represent the forms of spiritual culture, and in which of them the essence of human life is expressed in specific way. This dialogue is not between cultures themselves, but between people for which the corresponding cultures are outlined specific semantic and symbolical borders with the help of traditions. Each culture is unique, and each culture has its true. Studying of the culture of a native land will help not only to understand better its own traditions, but also to analyze the features of cultures of other countries more deeply.

Date: 2015-02-03; view: 1194