Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or a family of religions which is influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Africa and the Near East. Although they share similarities, contemporary pagan movements are diverse and as a result, they do not share a single set of beliefs, practices, or texts. Scholars of religion often characterise these traditions as new religious movements. Some academics who study the phenomenon treat it as a movement that is divided into different religions while others characterize it as a single religion of which different pagan faiths are denominations.
Paganism is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. In the time of the Roman empire, individuals fell into the pagan class either because they were increasingly rural and provincial relative to the Christian population, or because they were not milites Christi. Alternative terms used in Christian texts were hellene, gentile, and heathen. Ritual sacrifice was an integral part of ancient Graeco-Roman religion and was regarded as an indication of whether a person was pagan or Christian. Paganism has broadly connoted the "religion of the peasantry".
The Yule log, Yule clog, or Christmas block is a specially selected log burnt on a hearth as a winter tradition in regions of Europe, and subsequently North America. The origin of the folk custom is unclear. Like other traditions associated with Yule, the custom may ultimately derive from Proto-Indo-European religion as similar traditions have been recorded in Celtic, Germanic, Baltic and Slavic paganism, among others.
Slavic mythology or Slavic paganism is the religious beliefs, myths, and ritual practices of the Slavs before Christianisation, which occurred at various stages between the 8th and the 13th century. The South Slavs, who likely settled in the Balkan Peninsula during the 6th–7th centuries AD, bordering with the Byzantine Empire to the south, came under the sphere of influence of Eastern Christianity, beginning with the creation of writing systems for Slavic languages in 855 by the brothers Saints Cyril and Methodius and the adoption of Christianity in Bulgaria in 864 and 863 in Great Moravia. The East Slavs followed with the official adoption in 988 by Vladimir the Great of Kievan Rus'.
Jarylo, alternatively Yaryla, Iarilo, Juraj, Jurij, or Gerovit, is a East and South Slavic god of vegetation, fertility and springtime.
Other than the many gods and goddesses of the Slavs, the ancient Slavs believed in and revered many supernatural beings that existed in nature. These supernatural beings in Slavic religion come in various forms, and the same name of any single being can be spelled or transliterated differently according to language and transliteration system.
Lithuanian mythology is the mythology of Lithuanian polytheism, the religion of pre-Christian Lithuanians. Like other Indo-Europeans, ancient Lithuanians maintained a polytheistic mythology and religious structure. In pre-Christian Lithuania, mythology was a part of polytheistic religion; after Christianisation mythology survived mostly in folklore, customs and festive rituals. Lithuanian mythology is very close to the mythology of other Baltic nations – Prussians, Latvians, and is considered a part of Baltic mythology.
A household deity is a deity or spirit that protects the home, looking after the entire household or certain key members. It has been a common belief in paganism as well as in folklore across many parts of the world.
Dodola and Perperuna, are Balkan rainmaking pagan customs practiced until the 20th century. The tradition is found in South Slavic countries, as well as in near Albania, Greece, Hungary, Moldavia and Romania.
The mythologies in present-day France encompass the mythology of the Gauls, Franks, Normans, Bretons, and other peoples living in France, those ancient stories about divine or heroic beings that these particular cultures believed to be true and that often use supernatural events or characters to explain the nature of the universe and humanity. French myth has been primarily influenced by the myths and legends of the Gauls and the Bretons as they migrated to the French region from modern day England and Ireland. Other smaller influences on the development of French mythology came from the Franks.
Celtic reconstructionism or CR is a polytheistic reconstructionist approach to Ancient Celtic religion, emphasising historical accuracy over eclecticism such as is found in most forms of Celtic neopaganism such as Neo-druidism. It is an effort to reconstruct and revive, in a modern Celtic cultural context, pre-Christian Celtic religions.
Baltic mythology is the body of mythology of the Baltic people stemming from Baltic paganism and continuing after Christianization and into Baltic folklore.
Albanian folk beliefs and mythological stories comprise the beliefs expressed in the customs, rituals, myths, legends and tales of the Albanian people. The elements of Albanian mythology are of ancient Paleo-Balkanic origin and almost all of them are pagan. Albanian folklore evolved over the centuries in a relatively isolated tribal culture and society. Albanian folk tales and legends have been orally transmitted down the generations and are still very much alive in the mountainous regions of Albania, Kosovo, western North Macedonia, lands formerly inhabited by Albanians like Montenegro and South Serbia and among the Arbëreshë in Italy and the Arvanites in Greece.
Ukrainian folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in Ukraine and among ethnic Ukrainians. The earliest examples of folklore found in Ukraine is the layer of pan-Slavic folklore that dates back to the ancient Slavic mythology of the Eastern Slavs. Gradually, Ukrainians developed a layer of their own distinct folk culture. Folklore has been an important tool in defining and retaining a cultural distinctiveness in Ukraine in the face of strong assimilatory pressures from neighboring lands.
Folk Orthodoxy refers to the folk religion and syncretic elements present in the Eastern Orthodox communities. It is a subgroup of folk Christianity, similar to Folk Catholicism. Peasants incorporated many pre-Christian (pagan) beliefs and observances, including the coordination of feast days with agricultural life.
In Slavic paganism there are a variety of female tutelary spirits associated with water. They have been compared to the Greek Nymphs, and they may be either white (beneficent) or black (maleficent). They may be called Boginki, Navki, Rusalki, and Vily.
While Serbia is primarily a religious country and approximately 85% of Serbs are Serbian Orthodox, superstition in Serbia continues to have an effect on its culture in mostly rural parts of the country, where the older generation resides. Serbia was a Pagan country before the 9th century, which is when superstitious belief was formed. After the ending of the Cold War and the subsequent end of the communist rule in Serbia, religion flourished again, and with it, superstition. Serbian people share common superstitions with other European countries surrounding it, especially around the Balkan area. However, Serbia also has national superstitions that have been created and believed throughout its own cultural history. These beliefs are much more diverse than other countries in the Balkans. These superstitions have influenced how Serbs think and act around animals or in terms of mundane chores for centuries.
Greek folklore is the folk tradition that has developed among the Greek people in and outside Greece over the centuries. Similarly to other European folklore, it includes pre-Christian pagan folklore and elements of ancient Greek mythology and folklore which developed from the Indo-European religion and the local Pelasgian mythology, along with Christian myths and legends that developed during the Hellenistic, Roman and Medieval periods. It also shares elements with the folklore of Balkan countries such as Albanian folklore and Serbian mythology as well as Anatolian folklore.
Proto-Celtic paganism was the beliefs of the speakers of Proto-Celtic and includes topics such as the mythology, legendry, folk tales, and folk beliefs of early Celtic culture. By way of the comparative method, Celtic philologists, a variety of historical linguist, have proposed reconstructions of entities, locations, and concepts with various levels of security in early Celtic folklore and mythology. The present article includes both reconstructed forms and proposed motifs from the early Celtic period.
