page_title: Ded Moroz
section_title: Development of the character
hierarchical_section_title: Ded Moroz / Development of the character
caption_attribution_description: Українська: Більшовицька пропаганда проти Святого Миколая. English: Bolshevik propaganda in Ukrainian against Santa Claus.
context_page_description: Ded Moroz is a legendary figure similar to Father Christmas and Santa Claus who has his roots in Slavic paganism mythology. The tradition of Ded Moroz is mostly spread in East Slavic countries and is an important part of Russian culture. Although at the beginning of the Soviet era communists banned Ded Moroz he soon became an important part of the Soviet culture. The literal translation is "Grandfather Frost".
  Ded Moroz is depicted as bringing presents to well-mannered children, often delivering them in person on New Year's Eve.
  In East Slavic cultures, Ded Moroz is accompanied by Snegurochka, his granddaughter and helper, who wears long silver-blue robes and a furry cap or a snowflake-like crown. She is a unique attribute of Ded Moroz, since similar characters in other cultures do not have a female companion.
  Ded Moroz wears a heel-length fur coat, a semi-round fur hat, and valenki on his feet. He has a long white beard. He walks with a long magic staff and often rides a troika.
  The residence of Ded Moroz in Russia is considered to be the town of Veliky Ustyug, Vologda Oblast. The residence of the Belarusian Dzyed Maroz is said to be in Belavezhskaya Pushcha.
context_section_description: The origins of the character of Ded Moroz predates Christianity as a Slavic wizard of winter. According to some sources in Slavic mythology, Ded Moroz, back then also called Morozko or Ded, is a snow demon. However, before the Christianity of Rus' the term demon had no negative connotation. Like with many other mythical figures only over time demons were attributed negative characteristics.
  Under the influence of Orthodox traditions, the character of Ded Moroz was transformed. Since the 19th century the attributes and legend of Ded Moroz have been shaped by literary influences. The play Snegurochka by Aleksandr Ostrovsky was influential in this respect, as was Rimsky-Korsakov's Snegurochka with libretto based on the play. By the end of the 19th century Ded Moroz became a popular character.
  Following the Russian Revolution, Christmas traditions were actively discouraged because they were considered to be "bourgeois and religious". Similarly, in 1928 Ded Moroz was declared "an ally of the priest and kulak". Nevertheless, the image of Ded Moroz took its current form during Soviet times, becoming the main symbol of the New Year's holiday (Novy God) that replaced Christmas. Some Christmas traditions were revived following the famous letter by Pavel Postyshev, published in Pravda on December 28, 1935. Postyshev believed that the origins of the holiday, which were pre-Christian, were less important than the benefits it could bring to Soviet children.
caption: Anti-Ded Moroz Soviet propaganda, 1928
exif: {"Image ImageWidth": "759", "Image ImageLength": "960", "Image BitsPerSample": "[8, 8, 8]", "Image PhotometricInterpretation": "2", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image SamplesPerPixel": "3", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS5.1 Windows", "Image DateTime": "2012:12:26 00:36:56", "Image ExifOffset": "232", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "382", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "9372", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "759", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "960"}