Kesariny: New Data on Russian Folk Names for Masqueraders

This article introduces into scholarly circulation the previously unrecorded term kesariny ‘yuletide maskers’, documented by the Toponymic Expedition of Ural Federal University in Chukhloma District, Kostroma Oblast during its field season in 2025. The word is found in a narrow area on the Vologda-Kostroma borderland and means primarily ‘yuletide maskers’, but also ‘participants in yuletide ritual outrages’, ‘maskers at a wedding’ and ‘characters who frighten children’. The authors argue that this term derives from the chrononym (Vasily) Kesariyskiy — the name given to January 1st/14th commemorating St. Basil of Caesarea. To substantiate their hypothesis, they first demonstrate the significance of this day within Russian folk calendar, leading to widespread representation of related chrononyms and derived forms in ritual vocabulary and folklore. Secondly, they identify a temporal model underlying the naming practices of Svyatki (Christmas) masquerades (yuletide maskers). Thirdly, Kostroma-based names for low-level demonological figures formed from the same chrononym are revealed, drawing semantic parallels between terms for masked performers and evil spirits. Finally, formal evidence supports this etymology: it is noted that the base form kesarin- appears frequently in de-etymologized regional variants of both saints' names and associated chrononyms.

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