Editing Green week

{{copyedit|date=December 2021}}

'''Green week''', or the '''green holidays''' ({{lang-ru|зелёные святки}}; {{lang-pl|zielone świątki}}), is a traditional [[Slavic Europe|Slavic]] [[seasonal festival]] celebrated in early June and closely linked with the [[cult of the dead]] and the spring agricultural rites. In Russian villages, the seven weeks after [[Easter]] have historically been a time of festivity. Green week takes place during the seventh week leading up to the [[Pentecost]],<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Russian Folklore|last=Sokolov|first=Yuriy M.|publisher=Folklore Associates|year=1971 |orig-year=1950|isbn=0-8103-5020-3|location=Detroit|pages=188–195}}</ref> and includes the seventh Thursday after Easter called '''Semik''' ({{lang-ru|Семик}}).

The end of green week is followed by Trinity week, also known as the holiday of the [[Trinity]] ({{lang-ru|Троицкие святки}}) in [[Eastern Christianity]]. It is also widely known as [[Whitsun|Whitsuntide]] week in the [[English-speaking world]], especially [[Great Britain]], and inaugurated by the celebrations of [[Trinity Sunday]], the Sunday of Pentecost in [[Eastern Christianity]].

The Thursday of green week was called Semik and included burial services for the unclean dead (those who had died before their time).<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Russian Folk Belief|last=Ivanits|first=Linda J.|publisher=M. E. Sharpe|year=1992 |orig-year=1989|isbn=0-87332-889-2|location=Armonk, New York and London, England|pages=75–82}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Slavic-religion#ref533514|title=Slavic Religion|last=Gasparini|first=Evel|website=Encyclopaedia Britannica|access-date=December 21, 2018}}</ref>

On Semik, funeral rites were held for the unclean dead.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> [[Birch]] trees were particularly significant, because they were considered hosts for the souls of the deceased.<ref name=":1" /> Sometimes people would honor a particular tree by decorating it or carrying it around. At other times, people would cut birch branches and hang them in their homes.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" /> The birch was also seen as a symbol of vegetative power, and may have been honored with the hope of bringing its vitality to the coming season's crops.<ref name=":0" />

Springtime and fertility rituals were also important to the holiday. Girls brought offerings of fried eggs (a symbol of rebirth) and [[beer]] to birches, and [[Zagovory|spoke charms]] about improved harvest when weaving garlands for the trees.<ref name=":1" /> Another tradition is for girls to pledge vows of friendship before the chosen birch tree.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" /> Some believe this to be the remnant of ritual sexual activity associated with the cult of spring.<ref name=":1" /> Like [[Kostroma (tradition)|Kostroma]] during [[Maslenitsa]], a chosen birch tree was destroyed at the end of the festivities. It was usually drowned,<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" /> "in order to provide the needed rainfall for the sprouting crops".<ref>Joanna Hubbs. ''Mother Russia: The Feminine Myth in Russian Culture''. Indiana University Press, 1998. {{ISBN|0-253-20842-4}}. Page 73.</ref>

The [[Rusalka|rusalki]] are nature spirits ([[Navka|navki]], [[Mavka|mavki]]) associated with green week traditions. They derived their name from ''Rusalii'', another name for these holidays. Some believe they were associated with deceased family members,<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" /> or perhaps only unclean dead.<ref name=":0" /> Sometimes an honored birch tree would be named for a [[rusalka]] as part of green week.<ref name=":1" /> Some of the rites of green week (like making offerings of eggs and garlands) were thought to placate the [[Rusalka|rusalki]] so they would stay away from the village's agricultural fields for the season and not bring them harm.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> The [[Rusalka|rusalki]] are also associated with water and fertility, and so may be invoked during green week in an attempt to bring their moisture and vigor to the fields.<ref name=":0" /> During green week, [[Rusalka|rusalki]] were believed to be more active, making them a greater threat to villagers.<ref name=":0" /> One precaution villagers took during this week was avoiding swimming, because [[Rusalka|rusalki]] were thought to live in the water and might drown passers by.<ref name=":0" />

There is a similar holiday celebrating [[Pentecost]] in [[Romania]], called ''Rusalii''.<ref name="rom-insider">{{cite web | url = http://www.romania-insider.com/rusalii-pentecost-holiday-customs-calusarii-dance/1984/ | title = Rusalii (Pentecost) holiday customs: Calusarii dance | accessdate = 2011-06-10 | date = 2010-05-20 | work = Romania Business Insider | publisher = Business Insider SRL | quote = ''An important Romanian celebration is coming up this Sunday, May 23rd. It’s called Rusalii or the Descent of the {{sic|Holly}} Spirit (the holiday is also called Pentecost sometimes) and it is always celebrated by the Orthodox Church 50 days after Easter.'' | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110606103149/http://www.romania-insider.com/rusalii-pentecost-holiday-customs-calusarii-dance/1984/ | archive-date = 2011-06-06 | url-status = dead }}</ref> There is alsoa similar Germanic tradition, for example, ''Pfingstbaumpflanzen'' in [[Germany]]. In modern-day [[Poland]] it is celebrated along with Pentecost Sunday as ''Zielone Świątki''.

* [http://itsukraine.com/events/holy-trinity-day-or-svyata-triytsya-and-green-holidays-in-ukraine/ Holy Trinity Day or Svyata Triytsya and Green Holidays in Ukraine]