Russian braid and girls with braids

They say that if a woman has long hair, she dreams of a short haircut, and if a short haircut, she dreams of long hair. What a woman dreams about - you can talk a lot on this topic. But beautiful hair is every woman's dream.

Hair is long and luxurious, you can make any hairstyle with it, one of the most famous in history is the braid. In many countries, braids are the most common hairstyle, especially for the bride.

Women's hair was also of great importance in Russia. In the hair, according to the ancient and medieval Russians, magical power was laid.

In ancient times, many peoples believed that the head and hair on it is a place of concentration of life force, and it must not only be protected, but also covered from prying eyes. Therefore, it was not customary to loose hair so as not to scatter energy and strength.

Girls braided their hair in a braid, and women were not supposed to attract the eyes of strangers, so as not to seduce with their beauty, and not to cause envy. Our ancestors followed these rules because they knew that it would protect the peace of the family and create prosperity.

It was the braid that was the hairstyle girls in Russia... The girls were allowed not to cover their heads, and if they did, it was not completely. Before marriage, a girl could tie a hoop made of birch bark or bast on her head, trimmed with brocade or kumach, decorated with beads or embroidery, or put on a crown. The top of the head remained uncovered, and the hair was braided in a single braid.

It was a great shame for the girl if someone, with intent or out of mischief, cut off her braid, because the braid was a symbol of innocence. This symbolism came from distant antiquity, when the abduction of women was widespread. Claiming his right to the captured wife, the kidnapper cut off the girl's braid.

By the way the woman's head was removed, it was possible to determine whether she was a girl or married. Married girls could be immediately distinguished from unmarried girls by their covered heads. When visiting church, everyone wore headscarves. By tradition, girls decorated their braids with braids or braids. These are ribbons with rich ornaments or with voluminous figured pendants that were in the shape of a heart or a triangle.

Kosniki were embroidered with gold or silver embroidery, pearls, fringes, and floral patterns and figurines of birds were favorite motifs as an ornament. The patterns and ornaments that the craftswomen embroidered contained a secret meaning. It was believed that some of them bring happiness and good luck, protect health or bring prosperity to the house.

During the wedding, the braid was decorated with a bandage - a ribbon in the form of a wide strip with a beaded or pearl mesh sewn along the bottom. After the wedding, the ceremony of initiation into women was held: the friends unraveled the braid and weaved two braids, laying them with a crown.

This rite meant that the girl found her soul mate, with whom she united for later life and procreation, and at the same time it meant cutting off her braids and losing her freedom. The fact that hair cutting changes life was well known in the old days. A one-horned kitsch was worn over the braids that were laid.

After the birth of her first child, she wore kitsch another kind, with a high horn. In all the areas of immense Russia, and even in one province, there were many different types of headdresses, one more beautiful than the other, and some had unweaving braids before the wedding, and some after the wedding.

The girls prepared a dowry for themselves in advance - they weaved, embroidered, knitted, weaved. Since a married woman could no longer show her hair, they tried to decorate the hats as much and better as possible.A headdress could tell not only about marital status, but also about wealth.

Girls who had sat up in girls, or more simply, as they were called - old maidens, were forbidden to wear the clothes of married women. Until their death, they did not unravel their braids, and the kokoshnik could not be worn, only a scarf, and the shirt and sundress were of the simplest sewing, almost without decorations.

Women in Russia treasured their honor and opinion of themselves not only from relatives, but also from acquaintances, therefore they did not allow them to violate ancient customs and did not cross the threshold of their home with a simple hair, that is, without covering their heads. According to Russian customs, a married woman after the wedding could no longer appear anywhere with her head uncovered. Women's hair has a powerful attractive force, and in order not to embarrass the looks of strangers, she must cover her hair, and only her husband was allowed to see them.

If someone ripped off a woman handkerchief or trimming and exposing her hair, this was considered a great insult, tantamount to physical violence. Therefore, such crimes were considered even in court. From the surviving documents it is known that most often the headdress was torn off for the purpose of robbery. The cost of moral damage was estimated by the local authorities.

The braid, as they said, as thick as an arm, was considered in Russia the standard of female beauty. After all, beautiful hair speaks better than any words about the health and beauty of a girl. And now, when you meet a girl with a luxurious long braid on the street, you involuntarily look in.

The strength in the hair, apparently, is extraordinary, and, probably, that is why, knowing much more about it than we do now, our ancestors were anxious about hair. Life changed - the hairstyle changed, and vice versa.

That is why for a long time, even in the middle of the twentieth century, in the villages our grandmothers, then still young, heard from old people and old women: you cannot cut your hair during pregnancy - you will lose strength for yourself and for the future child; if you want the braid to grow to the waist - cut the ends of your hair on the days of the new moon; for your little child, do the haircut of the first hairs when you are one year old, but keep these hairs all your life.

Such beliefs could be learned from grandmothers, which they tried to convey to us. After all, much about the life of the Russian people is lost and lost forever. And not only our negligence is to blame for this. How many wars have gone through long-suffering Russia ...