Ukrainian wedding traditions

Ukrainian wedding is the traditional marriage ceremony in Ukrainian culture, both in Ukraine and in the Ukrainian diaspora. The traditional Ukrainian wedding featured a rich assortment of folk music and singing, dancing, and visual art, with rituals dating back to the pre-Christian era. Over time, the ancient pagan traditions and symbols were integrated into Christian ones.

[edit] Features

Rushnyk — is a Ukrainian embroidered towel. Rushnyks are used as decorations during traditional weddings, and often have pairs of birds embroidered on them, representing the wedding couple.^[1]
Vesillia
Svashky — is a woman's choir that sings during the wedding ceremony
Divych vechir
Korovai - is the ceremonial and symbolic wedding bread. 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.^[2] It was given to the bride and groom as a blessing. ^[3]
Periwinkle Crowns
Bread and Salt
Hand Fasting

Hand Fasting at a civil ceremony
Attire
- Folk Dress
- Formal

Historic
Medieval Rus'
Cossack
Arranged
Regions
- Hutsul
- Central Ukraine
- Ukrainians in Canada
- Ukrainians in Romania
Soviet Influence
Present Day

ВЕСІЛЛЯ

Natalka Poltavka (Ukrainian: Наталка Полтавка, Natalka from Poltava) is a Ukrainian play written by Ivan Kotlyarevsky.
Ukrainian Wedding (Ukrainian: Українcькe Beciлля, translit. Ukrayins’ke vesillya, Russian: , translit. Ukrainskaya svad'ba) was first performed in 1851, with Semen Hulak-Artemovsky in the role of the father-in-law.

^ Dr. Natalie Kononenko. Ukrainian Village Project Rushnyky - Ritual Uses
^ Betsy Oppenneer. Celebration Breads: Recipes, Tales, and Traditions . Simon and Schuster, 2003. ISBN 0743224833
^ Korovai at the Encyclopedia of Ukraine

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