Closing of Svarga (Vyri) (27/09)

The Slavs believed that on this day the goddess Zhiva leaves the Earth — is the personification of fruitful strength, youth, beauty of all nature and man — that is, spring, and Frost and Winter gradually enter their possessions.

Harvesting is ending — people thank Zhiva for not letting me die of hunger, but sending fertility to Earth. From this day on, the spirits of the Ancestors do not descend to earth.

Birds fly to warmer climes — The Slavs believed that they were flying to the upper world, where the souls of the dead live. People turn to flying birds with a request to bring news from the living to the dead.

Vyriy (or Iriy-sad) — is the ancient name of Paradise among the Eastern Slavs. In Rus' they believed that the bright heavenly kingdom was on the other side of the clouds or near the warm eastern sea, where there was endless summer.

A world tree grows in Paradise (it was believed that it was a birch or oak tree), at the top of which birds or souls of the dead lived. The crow once had the keys to Iriy Sad, but it angered the gods, and the keys were handed over to the swallow.

According to folk legends, in Iriy Sad, near the wells, there are places prepared for the future life of good, kind people. These are students with clean key water, around whom fragrant flowers grow, rejuvenating apples ripen on the trees, and birds of paradise sing sweetly.

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