Representation of Christmas Praises of Russian Lipovans of Romania on the Internet

This article is the first attempt to study the representations of Christmas slavleniya (praises) of the Russian Lipovans of Romania on social networks. The Russian Lipovans of Romania are a community of Russian Old Believers living on the territory of Romania mainly in the regions of Dobruja and Tulcea. Lipovans have cultural peculiarities, specific customs, and practices, one of which is Christmas glorification, consisting of singing fragments of the Christmas Church Service of the Old Believers. A similar custom is also observed among the Russian Old Believers of Moldova and Ukraine. Currently, members of the Russian Lipovans community of Romania have been recording the praises taking place in homes or public places on video and posting them on social networks and on various Internet platforms. The relevance of the topic is related to the need to study the impact of new technologies on the maintenance and distribution of traditional culture, which is especially important for small communities. The purpose of the article is to highlight and analyze the characteristic features of the representation of Christmas greetings of the Lipovans of Romania on the Internet. Accordingly, the following tasks have been identified: 1) consider the influence of historical circumstances on the formation of traditional culture of Christmas celebrations by the Old Believers of Romania; 2) collect and describe examples of the representation of Christmas praises of the Russian Lipovans of Romania on the Internet and analyze the specifics and the socio-cultural context of their existence; 3) highlight the key features of this practice compared to similar customs of the Old Believers of Moldova and Ukraine. The research methodology was compiled by a comprehensive cultural approach based on the use of historical-genetic, hermeneutic, and comparative-analytical methods, as well as cyberethnography approaches. The study has found that the Russian Lipovans of Romania living in a different ethnic and confessional environment actively represent on their pages in social networks and private channels on YouTube the tradition of Christmas praises that exists in their community, which partly contributes to its reproduction and reconstruction. The results have enabled the author to conclude that the praises of the Lipovans of Romania, colindă, should not be confused with Christmas carols as they closely follow the canon and represent both a well-preserved variation of home worship and a specific practice of communication. 

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