Russian merrymaking, exciting games with guisers, “scary” fortunetelling – this all is happening during the Christmas Fortunetelling Evening in "Vitoslavlitsy"! The Museum of Wooden Architecture is waiting for you on the St. Basil Evening on January, 13 at 5 p.m. to have fun.

Traditionally, Christmas holidays were one of the most important holidays among Russian peasants, which indicated that the New year “replaced” the old year. The Christmas holidays lasted for two weeks – from the Christmas Eve up to the Day of Baptism of the Christ. And one of the main holidays throughout the Russian Christmas tide was the Basil day (named after St. Basil the Great).

Hidtorically, all this Christmas period was highly rich in different rites and rituals, which involved all the members of the village. But mainly this was the holiday for young people – at that period they were free from their duties and could devote all the time to entertainment and fun.
The outstanding feature of the Christmas tide was fortunetelling, and it was believed to be the most accurate on the Basil day Eve and Christmas Eve at that time.

And the so-called “scary fortunetelling” began right from the St. Basil evening. It was considered the most risky and dangerous one, because this period of Christmas holidays was the beginning of the awakening of the evil spirits, as the peasants used to believe.
The people chose special places to initiate such fortunetelling; they used to do it individually or in groups, but usually it were the marriageable girls who participated in such events. They read their fortune about their destiny and future husbands.

The very important aspect of the marriageability was the behavior of the young people during fancy-dressed games and performances. The guisers wearing various bright dresses and masks engaged everybody in their games, wandered about the village, singing songs and merrymaking. All of this was a perfect opportunity for the young people to go beyond the standard behavior norms. The guisers imitated brides and grooms, bears, goats, horses, gypsies, soldiers, orphans, tramps and the dead. The range of the characters during such games was truly unbelievable, but the wedding and funeral theme prevailed.