Perhaps most of the continental countries are somehow associated with a tree. For Canada it is maple, for Australia - eucalyptus, for Finland - undersized spruce, and for Russia - birch.
The tree has become a symbol of Russia for quite objective reasons, it is on the territory of the country that birch is more common than anywhere else in the world. Since ancient times in Russia, birch has been considered a symbol of purity, innocence, a tree of young girls. There was even a belief that if you talk about your problems to a tree, it will become easier, and there will definitely be a solution. For this ritual, young girls found a birch tree in the forest and, hugging her like a girlfriend, shared the most intimate.
"Birch" holidays
Many holidays are associated with the birch, for example, the church holiday - Trinity. Since ancient times, it has been customary to decorate a birch tree with colored ribbons for the trinity and lead round dances around it. It was believed that it was on this holiday that birch branches could drive away all evil spirits, and therefore in the huts they swept the floor with fresh brooms and even washed the windows.
And on New Year's in the villages, the spirit of the old year was driven beyond the threshold with birch rods.
There was also a tradition to plant a birch tree on the occasion of the birth of a child; it was believed that as a tree grows - pure and strong - the child will also grow. Chopping up a planted birch was a great sin, in the village they could burn down a hut for this.
Beliefs
In the culture of many peoples living on the territory of Russia, many beliefs associated with the white-trunk tree have been preserved. So, the Chuvash people still believe that the dream in which you chop a birch tree says that a woman will die in the family.
By the way, in Ukrainian villages, birch branches with a green leaf are still placed in the coffin of a young woman as a symbol of purity and sinlessness.
According to biblical mythology, Judas tried to hang himself on a birch tree after the betrayal, but she was frightened, turned white and did not accept him, unlike aspen, whose leaves tremble because they saw the death of Judas.
Household love
Birch was a participant not only in holidays and ceremonies, but also helped people in everyday life. Without her birch bark, there would be no bast shoes and paper for writing, household utensils, some musical instruments, firewood. Birch has healing properties, phytoncides secreted by foliage have a pronounced antioxidant rejuvenating effect, and decoctions of bark have a disinfecting effect. Birch sap is very useful for humans, birch tar was cooked from the bark, and joints, kidneys were treated with tinctures from leaves and buds, they washed their hair and believed that not only health, but also beauty would return.
