Lesson project on literature "the night before Christmas" - an encyclopedia of folk traditions, beliefs, rituals. Depiction of folk customs in the story

A clean and bright day - Christmas, has always been and remains a great holiday. It has been celebrated for more than twenty centuries, and the traditions associated with it are getting stronger every year. The Orthodox Church has remained on the Julian calendar and celebrates Christmas on January 7th. This great Christian holiday is considered homely and is accompanied by solemn ceremonies. The most important of them is dinner on the winter evening of January 6 before the first star rises. Christmas Eve on Christmas Eve - important family tradition and a great event in the Christian and Catholic world.

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Preparation for the holiday

Until the beginning of Christmas, the Orthodox adhere to a 40-day fast, which begins on November 27. You can only eat lean food. According to the traditions, on the last day of fasting, it is forbidden to have breakfast and lunch. A little snack is allowed only for children. With the rising of the first star of Bethlehem, fasting ends, but only Lenten dishes are served at the festive table.



For many centuries, preparations for the holiday began in the summer, when the harvest was harvested, new clothes were woven and dishes were made. The preparation was large-scale and brought joy from new household items and clothes. Men prepared firewood, meat, wine and moonshine. The girls embroidered fabrics for clothes, on January 2 they began to decorate the hut for the holiday and do the general cleaning, in which the children also participated. Instead of a Christmas tree, a dry sheaf of wheat was used, which was hung from the ceiling. The hut was decorated with spruce branches and wreaths were woven from them.

On the morning of the fourth of January, all products were ready for the festive table. On the night of January 6 or at dawn, the housewives went to fetch water to bring morning water and prepare kutya and uzvar. They kindled the hearth and began to prepare festive Christmas dishes.



How is the holiday celebrated?

Now the symbol of Christmas is a tree with a star on top. The house is decorated with garlands, wreaths, candles and colorful postcards. On Christmas Eve, carols are sung and the whole family gathers around a table laid with twelve dishes.

Kutya made from wheat, nuts and honey is considered the main dish and is tried first. It should be sweet, with nuts and honey. Folk customs require that there should be as many pies as there are people at the table.

A coin is hidden in one of the pies. Whoever gets it will have good luck all year.

On festive table put:

• kutya;
• donuts;
• vareniki;
• pies;
• borscht with carp or sprat;
• potatoes with butter and garlic;
• kulebyaku with mushrooms;
• knot;
• porridge with mushrooms;
• fried fish;
• cabbage rolls with rice and carrots.

Dishes are washed down only with uzvar and do not leave the house until dinner is over. The table is covered with a white tablecloth and dishes are preferred. white color. This tradition is associated with fasting, after which a person is cleansed of old sins. Unmarried and unmarried youth do not sit at the edge of the table, otherwise they will remain lonely.

The more pastries on the table on Christmas Eve, the better the harvest will be all year. A candle should burn on the table as a symbol of living fire. All dishes must be tried, otherwise the year will be hungry. It is believed that on the morning of January 7, the sky opens and God should be asked for health, earthly blessings and the remission of sins.

On Christmas Eve, they wear kutya, they bring it to the godmother first, and she gives gifts in return. Then they are worn to grandparents and uncles with aunts. This tradition is called wearing the supper. Kutya is left overnight so that the spirits that visit the house at night can get enough of this memorial dish. With the onset of a magical Christmas night, no one sleeps so as not to oversleep happiness. People are having fun, girls are guessing, and men are caroling. On January 7, you can eat meat, and on the morning of January 8, Christmas time begins, which lasts 12 days.



Christmas divination, omens and beliefs

Signs before Christmas and in the coming days are of particular importance. They judge the weather and events for the coming year. There are such weather signs:

1. 1. A snowstorm on Christmas night - there will be a good harvest of wheat.
2. 2. Clear starry sky - an increase in the birth rate of livestock and a crop of mushrooms and berries.
3. 3. A clear day at Christmas - a fruitful summer and autumn.
4. 4. Warm weather without snow - to a cold spring.
5. 5. Snow melts - to a poor harvest of vegetables.
6. 6. Snowfall on Christmas Eve - the bees will collect a lot of honey.
7. 7. Snow falls in large flakes - for the harvest of bread.
8. 8. Frost in holidays- the summer will be warm.

There are also prohibitions on work and behavior during this Holy holiday. We must not forget about the dead and we must cover the dishes for them with food on the festive table. Women are prohibited from working on January 8. Do not drink water throughout the holy evening, otherwise thirst will torment you throughout the year. You can drink food with a knot. Fortune-telling is also prohibited, since they belong to pagan slingers, but it is on Christmas Eve that unmarried girls tell fortunes about their betrothed.

There are beliefs related to health:

• In order to be healthy all year long, one must not spare treats for carolers.
• The richer the kutya, the richer life will be.
• Tell fortunes on a chicken or other bird: give her grain and water. He will start with grain - there will be good health and a good table, but if he drinks water first - there will be diseases in the family.

Christmas superstitions for luck and wealth:

• In order not to transfer money all year, one must be sprinkled with grain. It is not for nothing that carolers sing the song: "I sow, I sow, I sow" and sprinkle a person with various grain crops.
• So that luck does not leave the house and there is prosperity in it, it is necessary for the brownie to put a separate plate with a festive treat.
• Arrange bowls of grain around the house so that money flows.

Divination for the groom is one of the interesting activities on Christmas night. Girls with the help of simple objects are trying to find out their fate and the name of the betrothed. It is necessary to guess in the house where not so long ago someone died. With the help of spirits, it is easier to find out the truth. Clothing should be without a belt, and hair should be loose. In a dark room, in silence, the girls, with the help of mirrors, candles, water, grain and paper, were guessing at their betrothed.

Orthodox Christians of churches living according to the Julian calendar (including the Russian Orthodox Church) are preparing to celebrate the second most important religious holiday - Nativity. Unlike Western Christians, who celebrate Christmas on December 25 - even before the New Year, Orthodox Christians celebrate this joyful event. Jan. 7.

For Christians, the eve of the holiday of Christmas is also very important - Christmas Eve, which is celebrated in the evening 6th January. In the folk tradition, Christmas Eve and the night before Christmas are associated with many rituals and beliefs, including girlish fortune-telling.

Christmas Eve Traditions

Christmas Eve got its name from the word "sochivo" - these are grains of wheat and other cereals boiled on honey. The fact is that on Christmas Eve - the last day of Advent - before the appearance of the first star in the sky, they tried not to eat anything at all. But when the first evening star lit up in the sky (the planet was traditionally taken for it Venus) it was possible to taste sochivo, and then, after the all-night service and the end of the fast, it was already proper to break the fast, including meat dishes.

Sochivo began to eat after the performance of the Christmas carol "The Magi travel with a star." The Christmas dinner was always held very solemnly, twelve dishes were traditionally placed on the table - according to the number of apostles - the disciples of Christ, and in honor of the manger in which, according to legend, the Savior was born, it was customary to put a bunch of hay.

Christmas Eve in Rus' is also called Kolyada (in honor of ancient tradition on this day go from house to house singing carols - Christmas carols).

Christmas time in 2017

Since Christmas, Christmas time has come, the first continuous week in the New Year - a week of joy and celebration, in which even obligatory fasting in Orthodoxy on Wednesday and Friday is cancelled.

Since Christmas is a non-transitory holiday (that is, it is always celebrated on the same day - Jan. 7), then Christmas time always falls at the same time: from 7 to 17 January.

Christmas divination

According to folk tradition, on the night before Christmas and during all Christmas time - up to Epiphany (January 19), it was customary to guess. It was believed that at Christmas time, while Jesus was not yet baptized, devilry openly walks the earth, but, unlike the rest of the time, he tries not to harm, but to help people. And although the church never approved of fortune-telling and other flirting with evil spirits, the girls (and they were the main fortune-tellers) still continue to torture fate on holy days - they say, where is my mummer-betrothed, what is not going on? Ali lost? Will he soon come himself or send matchmakers?

The most suitable time for divination are considered Night before Christmas from 6 to 7 January, Old New Year from 13 to 14 January And Epiphany evening from 18 to 19 January.

Fortune telling on the night before Christmas

On holy night in the villages, the girls used to tell fortunes, gathered together in huts, and the young ladies from richer families retired for fortune telling in their room or upper room.

In order for fortune-telling to succeed, it was necessary to tune in accordingly, let down your hair and take off all your jewelry, especially rings and bracelets, which are in the shape of a circle and “ring” a person. Also, experienced fortune-tellers recommend removing the pectoral cross from the neck for this not entirely charitable deed. Here are some examples of divination on the Night before Christmas.

Divination at the crossroads

A girl who is in a hurry to get married, and who already has someone in mind, on the night before Christmas, needs to go to the crossroads and draw a circle around herself, asking the eternal question about the mummer-narrowed. After that, the fortuneteller should listen to what is happening around. If somewhere laughter, singing, firecrackers rattle, etc., it means that there is not long left to sit in the girls, and the young man will marry this year. Well, if you hear someone swearing or crying, then the time for marriage has not yet come, wait for the next year.

Divination on objects

Girls gather in a large company and lay out a fortune-telling table brought with them items - money, rings, earrings, a scarf, a needle, a lighter, Matchbox, spoon, etc. Each of the fortune-tellers, without looking, takes one of the objects with her left hand, and then the girls all together try to figure out what this object judges next year. A coin - for prosperity, a ring - for marriage, a lighter or matches - for a fire or fiery passion, a handkerchief - to wipe tears, keys - for a housewarming party, a spoon - for a satisfying life, etc.

Fortune telling on cats

For this fortune-telling, lure your pet - fluffy cat. Put the cat outside the room, make a wish and say the sacramental "kit-kit-kit". If the cat crosses the threshold of the room from the left paw, the wish will soon come true, and if from the right, it is quite possible that you will have to be patient.

Divination on the book

One of the most popular and simple divination is to take any book and guess the page and line number at the top or bottom. Read what fell out, and then interpret the prediction.

Fortune telling on a candle

Light a candle, make a wish and look at the flame. If the candle burns well, the wish will come true. If the burning is uneven, or the candle is crackling, get ready to overcome obstacles. If the flame is extinguished, the wished may not come true.

Divination on two mirrors

At midnight before Christmas, place two mirrors one opposite the other, sit between them, light a candle and look at the reflections in the mirrors. It is believed that when the image begins to blur, then you can see the image of your betrothed.

What not to do on Christmas Eve

In Rus', it was believed that since the Christmas holiday is associated with birth, then everything connected with death or with sharp objects promises misfortune. It was also believed that household chores could overshadow the solemnity of the holiday and bring trouble to the house.

Therefore, these days, men were not allowed to go hunting and slaughter cattle, and women and girls were forbidden to sew, use knives, and also do cleaning and other household work. Especially not worth sweeping the floor.

It was also believed that the Christmas cake should not be cut before the holiday, since the use of sharp objects, including a knife, could lead to injury and disease.

Signs for Christmas

• If the weather is clear at Christmas, the whole year will be easy. If it is cloudy on January 6 and 7, expect difficulties.
• If at Christmas there is a blizzard and snowfall, then spring will be early and friendly.
• Hoarfrost on trees at Christmas for a good harvest.
• A clear starry sky on the night before Christmas also promises a good harvest.

The Christmas holiday was and remains one of the most beloved among Russian people. It so happened that in Rus' these days they celebrated "Svyatki". No matter how hard the church representatives tried to eradicate the pagan faith and its symbols from Orthodoxy, they failed to do this to the end. Therefore, the Christian holiday was and is taking place along with the Christmas festivities and is associated with them with signs, traditions and superstitions.There were many signs for the Christmas holiday,mostly people were looking for answers to questions about health, luck, wealth and love.Many signs for Christmas have survived to this day.

Weather notes.

The Church believes that every folk sign is a superstition, nevertheless they remain a part of our life and our folklore. Here are some of them.

If a blizzard howls at Christmas, then there will be a lot of honey.

Another belief says that the trees will leaf out ahead of time.

If the holidays are frosty, the summer will be warm.

Warm weather at Christmas to cool spring.

Water on the Christmas holiday was charged with magical energy, she could wash herself and wash her children.

Not very tasty and not very lush Christmas kutya to poor health and decline.

Snow on Christmas night means a good year.

Starry clear sky for the harvest of legumes.

The first Christmas week was not allowed to sweep rubbish out of the hut, and after the festivities, it was necessary to collect it and burn it in the yard. It was believed that everything bad flies away with the smoke.

What was forbidden on Christmas?

In baptized Rus', it was strictly forbidden to guess at Christmas, this belonged to the pagan faith and was considered a great sin. But paganism remained in the lives of newly converted Christians, for example, in such traditions as divination and caroling.

On the festive table after the night service, one should not put and drink plain water, otherwise thirst will torment when there is no water.

We must not forget the dead these days. It was believed that they are always present at the festivities. Covering, put dishes for them.

Despite the young girls being locked up, they always guessed on Holy Days after Christmas, calling on the souls of departed relatives. It was believed that at this time the souls were always nearby.

Believe in divination.

Extinguishing candles in the process of divination meant the unwillingness of the spirits to make contact, divination should have been stopped.

A mirror broken in the process meant dissatisfaction with the spirits, they should definitely be appeased. The first heard name of a passerby predicted the name of the future husband.

It was forbidden to tell about your desires to others, otherwise they would not come true.

Fortune-telling had to take place in thin clothes, without belts, ribbons and other strings.

It was possible to guess in a house where someone was dying, especially during the year. It was believed that such a spirit was easier to summon.

It was not good to ask the same question twice, it could anger the souls of the dead.

Signs and superstitions when divining for a betrothed.

The girls also checked what the groom would be like, the girls had a lot of such signs for Christmas in stock. For example, roosters, personifying the masculine principle, were often used for these purposes. They put a mirror, a plate of grains, a plate of water, a chicken in front of the rooster. Whatever the rooster reaches for faster, such will be the character of the betrothed. To the mirror - so the groom will be beautiful. To the grain, will love to eat well. By water, it means that it will be economical, even greedy. To the chicken, which means that he will always love his wife.

Beliefs that promise health.

In order for the owners of the house to be healthy next year, on Christmas they had to give a good treat to carolers, relatives and orphans.

Lush kutya to health and wealth, thin to losses.

To check whether the next year would bring health, they gave the hen grains and water, if she starts to peck, to be healthy, and if she first decides to drink water, this year there will be illnesses in the family.

Christmas omens for good luck and wealth.

On Christmas days, be sure to be showered with millet or grain, this will bring good luck and wealth. In order for good luck to be found in the house, you should put festive food behind the stove and for the brownie. Bowls with grain were placed around the house for wealth. Signs for Christmas 2018 - for health, good luck and wealth!

Christmas signs in each region, even in each village, could be different. This is due to the fact that any folk omens arise due to natural conditions, living conditions, as well as customs, foundations and habits. Great importance was attached to Christmas and Christmas time, everything that happened these days could potentially become a sign. And if the case was repeated, it definitely asserted itself as such and took root for centuries.

Christmas Eve, which is called Christmas Eve and is celebrated on January 6 in the evening, is an important day for Christians.

Christmas Eve and the night before Christmas, in the folk tradition, are associated with many beliefs and rituals, including girl fortune-telling.

Christmas Eve has always been considered special. According to popular belief, on the night before Christmas, which Orthodox calendar comes from January 6 to 7, all prohibitions are lifted and mysterious forces penetrate the Earth.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is the last day of the Advent fast, set for people to purify themselves by repentance, prayer and fasting, and meet the feast of the Nativity of Christ with a pure heart.

Christmas Eve began to be called Christmas Eve, as it is believed, because of the tradition to eat sweet porridge on this day - "sochivo", grains of wheat and other cereals boiled with honey.

Porridge had a special meaning - the grain symbolized the resurrected life, and honey - the sweetness of the future blissful life.

On Christmas Eve, Christians remember the gospel story about the worship of the Divine Infant of the Eastern sages. Magi from the east brought gifts to the newborn Savior: gold, frankincense and myrrh.

On Christmas Eve, fasting is not as strict as on other days of the last week of Advent.

On Christmas Eve, the service of vespers is combined with the liturgy and is performed in the morning, therefore the Orthodox fast until the moment when a candle is brought into the center of the church and before which the troparion to the Nativity of Christ is sung.

According to tradition, a broth of pears, cherries, apples, plums, raisins and other fruits boiled in water was also served on the table. The table on which the meal was located was covered with hay or straw, as a reminder of the manger in which the newborn Jesus was laid.

In the old days in Rus' on Christmas Eve it was impossible to use piercing and cutting objects, as it could lead to illness. According to tradition, on these days, men did not go hunting and did not slaughter cattle, and women and girls put off sewing and knitting until the end of the holidays.

People believed that household chores could also bring trouble to the house.

divination

Christmas Eve has long been considered best time for divination, as it almost always came true. Therefore, taking advantage of the unusualness of this night, people were guessing, trying to predict.

Divination at Christmas has been very popular for many centuries. In the old days they used candles, shadows, shoes and so on. Divination does not lose its relevance in our time.

Fortune-telling at Christmas aroused the greatest interest among girls who wanted to know the name of their future spouse, or maybe see it in a mirror or in wedding ring his reflection.

The Church has a negative attitude towards any manifestation of divination and magic, therefore it condemns any attempts to find out the future, especially at Christmas. Despite this, people guessed and continue to guess.

Constricted-mummer

The most popular are fortune-telling for the fulfillment of a wish, for a betrothed or bride, or for the future.

Girls on Christmas night could find out the name of the future spouse and even see his face in the mirror. To do this, at midnight, the girl sat in the dark between two mirrors, lit candles and began to peer into the reflection, hoping to see her betrothed.

The girls were guessing with a mirror and at the crossroads - standing with their backs to the moon, looking in the mirror and wondering: "Betrothed, mummers, show yourself in the mirror." As some assure, after a while the betrothed appears in the mirror.

© photo: Sputnik / Alexander Kondratyuk

One of the oldest Christmas divinations is on wax. To do this, you need to pour water into a transparent glass or a deep plate and put a ring without a stone on the bottom, preferably taken from the fortuneteller's finger. Melt the wax in a spoon over the flame of a candle with the words "burn-burn a candle, paint-burn wax, tell me the name of the betrothed." Then sharply pour the melted wax into the center of the ring into the water and carefully examine the shape of the solidified wax figure.

street divination

The name of the future husband on Christmas night can be found out in the following way. To do this, the girls went out into the street and the first man they met was asked his name. As he introduces himself, that will be the name of the betrothed.

The following fortune-telling will also help to find out the future - for this, on Christmas night, at midnight, you just need to go outside the threshold of your house. Fate will be predicted by the first sounds that you hear - the ringing of bells means you will be a happy bride.

The betrothed is already in a hurry to you if you hear a man's cheerful voice. If you hear a quarrel or just a conversation in a raised voice, this year your personal life is unlikely to work out.

© photo: Sputnik / Alexander Kondratyuk

But with a slipper, street divination at Christmas is the most famous. The girls threw their shoes over the fence and looked where the sock was looking, respectively, the groom would come from there.

It was possible to find out the future in marriage by clasping the fence with outstretched arms. If a girl clasped an even number of stakes, it meant happy married life. An odd number portends an unhappy marriage.

Other divination

On Christmas Eve, they also guessed in dreams. It was necessary to eat herring or something salty at night, without drinking water. The groom will be the one who gives water in a dream.

The character of the future spouse could also be found out with the help of fortune-telling. Put a spoonful of honey into four identical glasses of water, citric acid, salt and wine.

Stir the contents of the glasses, put them on a tray and cover with a thick napkin and twist the tray with your eyes closed so as not to know the contents of the glasses.

Then turn off the light in the room, remove the napkin from the glasses and, choosing one of them, take one sip from it. Your husband will have a great character if you come across a glass of honey. A glass of salt means that you have to shed a lot of tears with your husband, with acid - a dull boring life. A glass of wine indicates that your husband will drink too much.

The gender of the unborn child was guessed with a ring or a needle. They lowered the ring into a glass, pierced a woolen cloth with a needle, and then hung the object on a hair or thread and slowly lowered it near the man’s hand. If the ring or needle began to make pendulum movements, a boy would be born, if circular, a girl, and if the objects did not move, there would be no children.

Signs

It is a good omen on Christmas Eve to see a shooting star, as it is believed that a wish made on the night before Christmas comes true. Therefore, on Christmas Eve, you must definitely look at the sky.

Celebrate Christmas in clothes dark colors considered a bad omen - in such a bright and fun party you can't be sad. Spring will be early if a heavy snowstorm rises on Christmas night.

The people believed that next year you would have a rich harvest if you prepared festive dishes and something from your food constantly falls.

If you stumble on Christmas Eve, be careful, you may receive bad news.

During all the holidays, the dreams that you will see will be prophetic, so try to remember them and correctly understand what fate predicts for you.

Material prepared on the basis of open sources

Subject. Reflection of Ukrainian folk life, folk legends and beliefs in the story "The Night Before Christmas" (consolidation of knowledge). The author's attitude to the events depicted.

Target: to develop the ability to comprehensively analyze the text, to penetrate deeply into the content of the work, to teach the ability to analyze the actions of the characters, to develop the ability of students to compare, generalize, draw conclusions, develop Creative skills, imagination, ability to work in groups.
Equipment: textbook, illustrations for the story by artists V. Makovsky, A. Bubnov, V. Zamirailo, K. Lavro, A. Kondyrev.
Lesson type: lesson of generalization and systematization of knowledge; type of lesson - lesson-creative laboratory.

DURING THE CLASSES

I. Updating of basic knowledge.

Teacher's word. It is difficult to find a person who would not admire the work of Gogol. Today we will reveal the skill of the writer, which made his work an outstanding phenomenon in Russian literature.

II. Work on the topic of the lesson.

1. Teacher's word.
   N.V. Gogol gained fame after the publication of the collection, which included the story "The Night Before Christmas". What attracted the reader to her? Where did Gogol draw his knowledge of folk life and national characteristics?
2. Ethnographers:
   • They talk about the life of the Little Russian villagers, about the Ukrainian costume, the furnishings of a rural hut, read out excerpts from the text (wall decoration, their painting, stove, front corner in the hut; icons decorated with towels, flowers, benches, crockery for dishes, a chest, a bread shelf; guard against evil deeds).
   • Read out the description of Vakula and Oksana; present drawings with Ukrainian national costumes, they talk about them: for men - a short shirt with a rectangular neck, for women - a long one with a one-piece sleeve; men wore wide harem pants, women wore a skirt in the form of two rectangular pieces of fabric - a reserve, a festive skirt was called a plakhta. The clothes were decorated with embroidery and appliqué. Particular importance was attached to color, preference was given to red, azure, green, yellow. Headwear for girls - hoops, dressings, a wreath of paper flowers ribbon; married women They wore a namitka and an ochipok with which they covered their heads.
3. Literary critics:
   a) Reveal the connection of the story with the works of oral folk art, when the heroes from their world go to a strange world to complete the task; after completing the task, they return to their world (Reading text or artistic retelling); tell what magical powers help Vakula.
   b) Explain the meaning of the word "carols", talk about the features of their performance and how the performers were rewarded.
4. Folk group:
   Performs carols, after singing carols ask questions to the whole class:
   • What vocabulary is used most often in the story? Give examples of words that are typical for this vocabulary.
   • What gives the language of the story the charm of national color?
   • What techniques does the author use to create a more vivid picture of his characters?
5. Compiling a table.
   So, we saw that in the story "The Night Before Christmas" by N.V. Gogol refers to the Ukrainian folk life and folklore, which is well known to him.

   Folklore sources and the historical basis of the story "The Night Before Christmas"
   folklore sources	Ukrainian bylichki, stories and legends. Bylichka- a genre of oral folk art: a hero's story about a meeting with "evil spirits". byvalschina(true) - in Russian folk art, a short oral story about an incident, a case that actually took place, without emphasis on the personal testimony of the narrator. Legend- one of the varieties of non-fabulous prose folklore. Poetic tradition about some historical event
   folklore motifs	Selling one's soul to the devil, riding a devil's horse, an anecdote about a blacksmith and the devil, a date between the devil and a witch, a witch flying on a broomstick through a chimney, the motif of a witch-stepmother.
   Historical basis	The time of action is the first half of the 1770s, on the eve of the abolition of the Zaporozhian Sich by Empress Catherine II in 1775. The story mentions the participation of the Cossacks in the war with the Turks and the conquest of the Crimea, a reliable portrait of the empress is given.

6. Portrait painters:
   The image of a literary hero is always understood more precisely if the author gives his portrait. Students present the main characters in portraits, read or recite the portrait of Oksana and Vakula by heart, they are assisted by artists who perform the scene of the conversation between Vakula and Oksana.
7. Interview with students:
   • What did we learn about Oksana? How does her monologue at the mirror characterize?
   • List the main character traits of Vakula. Which one do you think is the most important? Why?
   • What condition did she set for Vakula, did she believe that he would fulfill it?
   • How did Vakula manage to get the slippers? (Reading the scene at the queen). How does the blacksmith behave? Why didn't the queen refuse his request?
   • What character trait of Vakula is evidenced by this act?
   • Do you think our heroes will be happy? How does the author say about it?
8. The story of the characters in the story.
   Literary critics offer a plan:
   • Hero portrait.
   • Their character traits and actions.
   • Your attitude to Vakula and Oksana.
   • The author's attitude to the events depicted in the story.
   The guys from the group of literary critics give a sample answer.

III. Summary of the lesson.

Microphone method:

• I like the characters in the story and their actions.
• I can't agree with the actions of some of the characters.
• It's hard for me to understand why some characters do this.

IV. Homework.

• Plan your response.
• Individual tasks:
  Assignment to the first group (3-4 students). Find fabulous episodes in the story (expressive reading or artistic retelling). Make a plan, prepare to defend your answer.
  Assignment to the second group (3-4 students). Find the real events depicted in the story (reading or artistic retelling). Make a plan, prepare to defend your answer.
  A group of "actors" staged 2 episodes: a visit to Solokha by a deacon and Chub and Vakul with the Cossacks at a reception at Catherine II.