Spruce is considered to be a festive tree. Only the most pleasant associations are associated with it. However, if you look at the historical sources, you can see that initially the attitude towards spruce was completely different. The Slavs, who worshiped trees, not only did not find anything poetic in it, but also tried to avoid eating even when building a house.
Spruce and superstition
The most revered, most ancient tree among the Slavs was birch. Spruce was considered the tree of death. The mention of this tree can be found throughout the description of funeral rites and related traditions.
Spruce branches covered the road along which the funeral procession moved. They were also laid on the floor in the house where the deceased lay, and moved exclusively along them.
Among the Old Believers, for example, it was customary to dig in the roots of a spruce, turn it out of the ground a little, put it in the resulting hole without the coffin of the deceased, and then plant the spruce in its original place.
Suicides were never buried next to people who died by their own death. They were buried between two trees and, at the same time, turned face down.
In addition, among the Eastern Slavs, branches and garlands of spruce were one of the most common grave decorations.
The felled spruce was decorated with flowers and ribbons and installed on the grave of a boy or girl who died before marriage.
In some places, for a long time, there was a ban on planting spruce near the house. The Slavs believed that in this way the death of a male family member could be triggered.
The mortal theme is reflected in proverbs, sayings and phraseological units. For example, “looking under the tree” is hard to get sick, and “falling under the tree” is to die. The cemeteries were called “spruce villages”, and “spruce domina” meant a coffin.
In general, in ancient Slavic symbolism, the spruce personified sterility, and its main functions were considered to be the reception of the dead and their commemoration.
Based on all of the above, one can understand why houses were never built from spruce.
The practical side
If we discard the occultness of the question and evaluate the practical side of spruce as a building material, it should be noted that spruce wood is not very good for construction - it is wet and porous, it requires a long drying. Neglecting this time-consuming procedure can lead to skewing of the building and the formation of cracks. Such expenditures of time and effort are not rational when the majority of forests are made of deciduous trees that do not require special preparation before construction.
In addition, one should not forget that spruce is a very resinous tree. It is highly flammable and burns well. In ancient times, fires were a real disaster that destroyed entire villages. So the ban on the construction of housing from spruce logs may also be related to fire safety measures.
