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On the eve of the celebration of Ivan Kupala Day village folks would roam through the forests in search of paporot flower, an elusive and magical flower that brings great wealth. Unmarried women, wearing a Ukrainian wreath, would be the first to enter the forest. The groom must go to the bride’s parents’ house ukrainian orthodox marriage ceremony offer a ransom to get his bride.

The bridesmaids protect the bride from getting “stolen” without a ransom. First, the groom offers something valuable, usually money or jewellery for the bride. The parents of the bride bring out a woman or man dressed as the bride and covered with a veil, so the groom can’t see her face. If the bride’s parents meet the bridegroom at the door with a pumpkin, it means that his offer of marriage was not accepted by either the bride or by her family, and the pumpkin is something for him to carry, so that he doesn’t leave empty-handed. Blahoslovennia – This is a ritual blessing of the bride and groom by their parents.

It usually takes place shortly before the wedding ceremony. The bride and bridegroom at their own homes with their parents and grandparents perform this ritual. When the bridegroom arrives as the bride’s house, after he has paid ransom for his bride, the bride and bridegroom perform this ritual together, in front of both of their parents. Modern Eastern Orthodox Church wedding, crowning ceremony. The couple steps up on a rushnyk before they take their vows. Traditionally, the one who steps on the towel first, will have the final say throughout their marriage. During the crowning ceremony in a traditional wedding the bride’s vinok is replaced by an ochipok and namitka that covers her hair and signifies that she is now married.

The groom is also crowned with a hat, symbolic of him accepting responsibility as a man. The wedding celebration can last days and sometimes weeks, with dancing, singing, long toasts, and a feast that includes the entire community. Rushnyk – is a Ukrainian embroidered long ritual cloth. Rushnyks are very important part of the ceremony and have symbolic meaning. They are often part of the bride’s dowry and have pairs of birds embroidered on them, representing the wedding couple. Traditionally it was a large round braided bread, baked from wheat flour and decorated with symbolic flags and figurines, such as suns, moons, birds, animals, and pine cones. Young women who die unmarried are buried in a wedding dress in some areas.

The most followed religion in Ukraine is Eastern Orthodox and when it comes to funerals it has strict rules. The mourning period is very important and because it is believed that the soul of the person wanders the earth for 40 days, there are ceremonies that pay respect to the dead. Ukrainian play written by Ivan Kotlyarevsky. 1851, with Semen Hulak-Artemovsky in the role of the father-in-law. Celebration Breads: Recipes, Tales, and Traditions . Collected in Central Ukraine, 1998 SEEFA Journal, vol. Vesillia: Ukrainian weddings in Manitoba over the last century Part I.