concept
Svyatki Fortune-Telling
svyatki gadanie
also: gadanie, New Year's Eve pictures, Christmastide fortune-telling
The Russian folk custom of gadanie (divination) practiced during Svyatki, the Christmastide/New Year holiday period, using mirrors, molten wax, coffee grounds, and chance encounters to foretell the future.
Reading notes
- Fortune-Tellers, Male and Female §1 New Year's Eve pictures
Refers to the Russian folk custom of gadanie (fortune-telling) during the Christmastide/New Year holiday period (Svyatki), when mirrors, molten wax, and coffee grounds were used to divine the future. Chekhov's sketch strings together five comic vignettes of the practice.