Esther M. Lederberg
Paganism

Even now in Russia, people keep in a corner of a room in their house, icons to Christian saints. However, until very recently, icons were NOT kept in the corner of the house, but rather carved wooden idols were kept in the corner of the house: a graven image of pagan gods.

The opera "Mlada" focuses upon paganism. Novels such as "The Master and Margarita", by Mikhail Bulgakov reference paganism, too.

The costumes, activities, ideas associated with paganism as found in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine, Belorussia, Moldova, Russia, etc. are extraordinarily similar, as can be ascertained by an examination of holdings in museums of ethnography. Thus what is found in Lithuania fits well with what is found in Russia. Such a widespread geographic similarity supports the view that paganism, as a religion, preceeded Christianity, and is mixed with Christianity at this time.

  1. God of Thunder and Rain: Fertility (Perkunasmini)
  2. Goddess of Fertility
  3. Lithuanian paganism: Man with animals
  4. Lithuanian paganism: Forest woman
  5. Laume and Ragana: pagan gods
  6. Lithuanian paganism: Forest god
  7. Lithuanian paganism: Witch-chair
  8. Lithuanian paganism: Forest god Dorobo #1
  9. Lithuanian paganism: Forest god Dorobo #2
  10. Lithuanian pagan god for Beekeeping
  11. Lithuanian Paganism #1
  12. Lithuanian Paganism #2
  13. Lithuanian Paganism #3
  14. Lithuanian Paganism #4
  15. Lithuanian Paganism #5
  16. Užgavėnės: #1
  17. Užgavėnės: #2
  18. Užgavėnės: #3
  19. Užgavėnės Jew: #1
  20. Užgavėnės Jew: #2
  21. Syncretism: Paganism mixed with Christianity
Whop1
Why might people believe in Paganism? What might be appealing? Paganism maintains ties to nature. The sun, the moon, day and night, wind, forest, rivers and streams, clouds, rain, snow, thunder and lightning, the seasons Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn, trees and plants, birds and animals: A poetry of nature for people that live closely to nature. People depend upon nature. Compare the names we have for months, to the poetry of nature still found in the Ukrainian language. Note: forest, frosts, birch trees, flower blossoms, grass, insects, lime trees, sickle, heather, yellow leaves, leaves falling, frozen earth.

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Months Ukrainian
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