In the pre-Christian religion of Eastern and Southern Slavs, Rod (Slovenian, Croatian: Rod, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Serbian Cyrillic: Род, Ukrainian Cyrillic: Рід) is the god of the family, ancestors and fate, perhaps as the supreme god. Among Southern Slavs, he is also known as Sud ("(the) Judge"). He is usually mentioned together with Rozhanitsy deities (among Southern Slavs, the Sudzenitsy). One's first haircut (postriziny) was dedicated to him, in a celebration in which he and the rozhanitsy were given a meal and the cut hair. His cult lost its importance through time, and in the ninth or tenth century he was replaced by Perun, Svarog and/or Svetevid, which explains his absence in the pantheon of Vladimir the Great. Etymology Rod's name is confirmed in Old Church Slavonic and Old East Slavic sources about pre-Christian Slavic religion. The name is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *rodъ, meaning "family", "birth", "origin", "clan", but also "yield", "harvest", and this word is in turn derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *wréh₂ds "root". Aleksander Brückner also notes the similarity of the name to the Avestan word rada-, meaning "guardian", "keeper". Sources The first source mentioning Rod is the Word of St. Gregory Theologian about how pagans bowed to idols, from the 11th century: Word of Chrystolubiec describes the prayers dedicated to Rod and the rozhanitsy: In a handwritten commentary on the Gospel from the 15th century, Rod defies the Christian god as the creator of humans: The cult of Rod was still popular in 16th-century Rus, as evidenced by the penance given during confession by Orthodox priests as described in the penitentiaries of Saint Sabbas of Storozhi: Cult According to ethnologist Halyna Lozko, Rod's Holiday was celebrated on December 23, or according to Czech historian and archaeologist Naďa Profantová, on December 26. Rod and the rozhanitsy were offered bloodless sacrifices in the form of bread, honey, cheese and groat (kutia). Before consuming the kutia, the father of the family, who took up the role of the volkhv or zhretsa, tossed the first spoon up to the holy corner. This custom exists in Ukraine to this day. Then the feast began at a table in the shape of a trapezium. After the feast, they made requests to Rod and the rozhanitsy: "let all good things be born". In Rus, after Christianization, feasts dedicated to Rod were still practiced, as mentioned in the Word of Chrystolubiec. In