Christmas Countdown Characters #4

Fascinated by the name of this Christmas celebrity, I have chosen a Slavic version of Santa Claus for today's Christmas Countdown Character.

D is for Ded Moroz ... Ded Moroz can be translated as "Old Man Frost" or Father Frost who is like a Russian Santa Claus. Traditionally shown as a tall and slender older gentleman, Ded Moroz has a long white beard, and is usually dressed in winter colours, red or icy blue. Most images also show him carrying a long staff.
Ded Moroz delivers gifts on New Year's Eve rather than on Christmas Eve due to the shifting of this tradition to the more secular holiday during Soviet times. While both tundra and forest reindeer are plentiful in Russia and Siberia, his preferred mode of transport is " troika", drawn by three powerful white horses, representing the three months of Winter. And no rosy cheeked matronly Mrs Claus for

Ded Moroz, he is accompanied by his young, blonde and beautiful snow maiden granddaughter, Snegurochka. This legendary female figure also dresses in the wintry colors of the season to assist Father Frost in his efforts to distribute gifts. Together they fight off the wicked witch Baba Yaga, who, children are often told, will steal their gifts. Ded Moroz and Snegurochka personally deliver gifts - there is no secrecy surrounding their arrival in the dark of night.
Instead of the North Pole, the Russian Santa Claus officially makes his home a few hours away from Moscow in Veliky Ustug, where many people visit Ded Moroz to have their festive season wishes granted.

Comments

"Temari Or Not Temari?" Tutorial

Background Information: Temari (literally translated “hand ball”) is a Japanese folk craft that is alleged to have originated in China and was introduced to Japan five or six hundred years ago. Traditionally, the balls were constructed from wrapped kimono fabric remnants and silk threads. They were made by mothers and grandmothers for children to play with. Nowadays, decorative embroidered temari represent a highly valued and cherished gift symbolizing friendship and loyalty. Recently I've wondered if your don't use traditional techniques whether you should call what you create "temari". That is an ongoing debate but today I share what I do to make a "non-traditional temari".... 1.I start with a polystrene ball ( traditionally the balls were wound silk scraps or other organic materials) and begin to wrap with approx 4 ply wool, turning the ball as I wrap. 2. I then wrap another layer of wool in a similar fashion , this time a 3 or 2 ...

Giveaway - Gifts for You on My Birthday

Giveaway Gifts T his week is blog giveaway time! Last week I celebrated my birthday. I’ve had far too many to count the candles, but I had a wonderful party on the weekend with my family - with an indulgent birthday cake, favourite foods cooked by my husband and great company. ( In case you were wondering about the writing on the cake , Por Por = Chinese grandmother) I also got great gifts from my family and friends. There seemed to be a bit of a theme this year – with many of my gifts and cards depicting matryshoka ( babushka) dolls and tea drinking. As it is also winter here in Australia , it was easy for me to decide what I could offer as gifts in this birthday giveaway. All the gifts are handmade by me. Gift 1 - two little fabric matryshoka dolls Gift 2- a little bag made from colourful teapot and teacup fabric . The design is called a jester bag, but it is suitable for carrying s...

Fish and Sticks : Art Dolls

This week I've been working on fish and sticks .... The sticks are the message stick art dolls which were very popular, attracting some attention and a few orders at the Wise Women exhibition. Each of the message stick dolls are from the Wise Women series, each with her own personality and message of wisdom, handwritten on a handmade timber tag. I gather the sticks during my walks around my neighbourhood and the tags are made from special bits of timber, some collected by me or my husband or from off cuts gifted to us from another doll making friend whose husband makes bagpipes. These dolls start off very simply with a wrap around a stick, in the general shape of a body. 'Naked" message stick dolls - strips of wadding wrapped around found sticks. Then I usually wrap other layers of fabric, wool, and/or fibres, over which I do some simple embroidery. I sculpt or mould small face masks for these dolls. I really like using "sari ribbon" as w...

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

Search This Blog