* HELPING HAND *

Weddings, funerals, christenings and celebrations of young men leaving for the military service were dominated by family and kinship ties. But the ritual is clearly manifested in such public acts as helping to build a house, fairs, gatherings, festivities.
Helping hand- one of the oldest attributes of Russian life. The beauty of this custom is entirely devoid of external ornamentation and colour; for example, as in weddings, it is mostly in moral and spiritual nature.
 The saying "together the load is not heavy, but when you are apart, you will drop it" reflects the economic value of the custom.
 A family calls in advance for helping; they prepare treats and everything you need for great teamwork. Then, they would send somebody to announce it. After that, people tend to agree, and on the appointed day, all assemble together. Most often, it was building a house or a barn. But the help was asked and also received for fieldwork, haymaking and clearing the land, building of the stove and construction of dams.
 A decision made by the family, invitation, getting together and working - necessarily one day only from morning until evening, finally, the communal meal - is the scenario involving all sorts of shared help. Each part was full of sayings omens, accompanied by prayers and traditional jokes. Since there is no identical collective help event (weather, people, place, work are different), everything was always new, even for those who help out, not for the first time.
The tradition has provided an excellent opportunity to show working skills, show your strength, beauty and unusual instruments, show the hidden wit, get known, and finally simply just be around people. To work on these events was not hard, but the benefits provided to the owners were invaluable. So, it was possible to put a small log house at home or barn in one day.
The organizers also had to pass the exam of friendliness and efficiency. Particularly stressed were the house-ladies because, after the work, they had to meet and feed almost the entire village. Good, tasty pies were remembered by people for life, which enhances the excellent standing of the family.