Who is a kurilka? 0 8

“The kurilka is alive!” — this is how one sometimes greets an acquaintance who has not been heard from for a long time. However, this saying also has another, rather derogatory meaning: it is said about an unpleasant person when one learns that he is still alive and continues his affairs.

But who is a kurilka? In fact, it is not a person, but a burning splinter, a torch that was used in ancient times to illuminate huts. It barely burned and produced a lot of smoke — it smoked.

The phrase “The kurilka is alive!” comes from an old folk children's game called “kurilka.” Children would sit in a circle and pass a burning splinter to each other, saying: “Alive, alive, kurilka!” or singing a little song in unison: “Alive, alive, kurilka! Thin little legs, short little soul.”

Whoever's splinter went out would leave the circle. In the past, similar games were common among other peoples.