Koliada (deity)

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Koliada or Koleda (Bulgarian: Коледа, romanized: Koleda) is a Slavic pseudo-deity, a personification of the newborn winter Sun and symbol of the New Year's cycle. The figure of Koliada is connected with the solar cycle, (the Slavic root *kol- suggests a wheel or circularity) passing through the four seasons and from one substantial condition into another. In the different Slavic countries at the koliada winter festival people performed rituals with games and songs in honour of the deity, such as the koleduvane. In some regions of Russia the ritual gifts (usually buns) for the koledari are also called kolyada. In the lands of the Croats, a doll called Koled symbolized Koliada. Koliada is mentioned either as a male or (more commonly) as a female deity in various songs.