Surhuri
South Chuvash pagans celebrate Surhuri in the following way. Three days before Surhuri 2 girls drop in every house where a bride-girl lives. They gather malt and groats for beer and porridge. hen they bring malt and groats to one vacant house. They brew the beer, cook porridge, sometimes they prepare some other dishes. when the holiday evening comes all boys and girls go to this house. They eat, drink, dance, have fun, in a word they spend the whole night in their merry cicle. Next morning their parents come, but mainly fathers cone to have a cup of beer. They are sat on the place of honour and have beer. While fathers are drinking beer, girls are singing different facetious songs, so as it is considered at the Girls' Beer. After singing they bow to Fathers. The bow is when girls squat and touch upon the fathers' feet. As a rule, fathers have to give a couple of copecks to pay musicians and violinists. They have fun before the noon. Then they go to their places. But in the evening boys and girls go to this house again. they continue to dance so as in the previous day. Relating to Surhuri there are a lot of customs, that are very popular among young people - different fortune-tellings, that are held in the first evening of the holiday. The most considerable rite, from which the holiday takes its name - is "catching of a sheep leg". Boys and girls go outside in turn and go to the sheep-cote.In the dark they catch a sheep, keep its leg and pinch its piece of hair and bring it to the house. Then they begin to tell fortunes. That who has caught a white sheep, will have a fair wife or husband. And that who has caught a black sheep, will have a dark-haired wife or husband. Concerning good or bad boys tell fortunes also in the following way. At first night they go outside and drag in the snow to leave their imprints. Intact imprint means good. The imprint, touched by any dog or cattle is interpreted as a bad sign. before they tell fortunes also in the following way. Oppression is placed along the farmstead on the snow. Then one horse of the owner is taken out. A boy or a girl keeps the horse in check and drives it through the pole. If the horse doesn't stumble over the pole he/ she will have a good wife/ husband. But if the horse does he/ she will have a bad wife/ husband. (Ulhash ).
In the north territories of Chuvashia in the neigbourhood of Vompukassi according to the tradition in the evening(that is the evening before Christmas ) boys and girls go through the village, crying "Sorhori-Sorhori" and hosts treat them. When they are done with the whole village at the end of the village everybody thrusts the stick into the snow, lies down near it and listens. if a boy hears a girl's voice he tries to define from which side it comes from, because his future wife will be from this side. But if he hears the voice of any animal (the voice of a cock or a dog for example) - it is also very necessary to define from which side it comes from. If the voice comes from the east it will bring good. But if it comes from the west it will bring ill things.
According to the description of V.K. Magnitskiy, earlier boys and girls came in the houses and gathered groats and bins, saying the following words:
Me-e-e, let sheep have lambs,
Let girls remain virgins,
Let women give birth to babies.
Everything they had gathered they brought to one house, where they cooked porridge and ate it. Then they also told fortunes.
