Slavic children's clothing - man's bond with nature

For our Slavic ancestors, clothing was never simply "a collection of things that cover the body." It had a much greater meaning for them: clothing protected not only the body, but also a person's inner world - health, harmony and well-being. Folk superstitions claimed that a witch could cast an evil spell on a person using a thread taken out of his clothes.

It's hard to understand today why a father's (for a boy) or mother's (for a girl) shirt was used as the first diaper for a newborn. And later, children's clothes were tried to be cut not from newly woven cloth, but from the old clothes of their parents. This was done not out of stinginess, not out of poverty and not even because the soft, washed fabric did not irritate the infant's skin. The whole secret was the belief that "sacred power," or as it is said today: "the beneficial biofield of the parents", passes partly into the person's clothing and is able to protect the little person from evil, keep him from charms.

Children's clothing of the old Slavs was the same for girls and boys and consisted of one ankle-length, linen shirt-ruby. The right to "adult" clothing was given to children only after initiation rites. This tradition persisted for an exceptionally long time among the Slavic peoples, especially in the countryside less susceptible to the influence of new fashion. As the centuries passed, the ancient ritual of passing from the group of "children" to the group of "youth" was lost, and many of its elements became part of the wedding ceremony. As late as the 19th century, in some areas of Russia, Ukraine, or Belarus, adult boys and girls wore, often to their own weddings, rubakhs girded with a belt.

Caring mothers always tried to decorate children's clothes. The neckline, sleeves and bottom of the shirt were decorated with rich embroidery. Both embroidery and everything we call "decoration" today had a magical protective meaning in the old ages. Interestingly, metal ornaments, with which the "adult" costume of girls and women was so rich, were not found in the graves of girls by archaeologists. They discovered only strings of beads, thin wire circles that were woven into the hair and possibly pendants-bells, made of copper or bronze, rarely silver. Most often, these pendants were worn at the waist, often several pieces each on the left and right, suspended from a long thread or thong in such a way that they made a sound with each step. One can guess today that this was not only fun, but also a way for a child not to get lost. Besides, the bell was for the old Slavs a symbol of the god Storm and a pendant in such a shape was supposed to ward off any charms....

When children grew up and - according to beliefs - already had their own defensive power, they were entitled to their first shirt made of new linen. At the age of 12, a girl was given the right to wear her own paniowa (a type of skirt), and a boy was given his first shtans (a type of pants).

Since for children under the age of three the garments were remade from their parents' clothing, the edge embroideries on them remained parental as well, of course. Changing them would not only be inconvenient and impractical, but also unhelpful - after all, clothing, in addition to its protective function, also served the function of generational ties, kinship and continuity. If the boy's father was a hunter, then the talismans on his clothing were also related to hunting, and it was these that were passed on to his son along with the clothing. Exactly on the same principle, the mother's "craft" was passed on to the girl.

The embroideries on the child's already own clothing were different from the designs embroidered for adults. First of all, the color of embroidery for children was always red, while for adults the thread colors could be different.

Women often used black for themselves in addition to red - the color of the mother-earth, meant to protect them from infertility. Men were often embroidered with blue and green designs. The blue color protected against the elements, and green - against wounds.

On a girl's rubashka, the embroidery ran mainly down the sleeves and around the neck, and on a married woman's rubashka - on the chest and neckline, and the wide embroidery at the bottom reflected membership in the husband's lineage.

The basic ornaments for a girl were the signs of the goddess-patroness of fate, the symbol of the family, the symbol of the patron saint of the day of birth and the earth.

Boys up to the age of twelve (as well as girls) wore rubashkas without belts. For them, the main symbols were: the symbol of fire, the sun, one's own lineage, the tutelary spirit, animal-totems and male crafts. After the transition to the youth group, the magical signs on the boys' clothes changed (as did the girls) and there were fewer of them - after all, their own power was growing.

In addition to embroidery on clothing, various objects hung over the child's cradle and later worn by the child around his neck or on his belt often served as children's amulets. All of these not only served a protective role for children, but also served as a link between man and Nature.