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Ukrainian weddings have many traditions that go back to ancient pagan times. Each region has its own customs and way of celebration, but there are general rules that families throughout Ukraine follow. So what is common to all weddings in our country?
Towel
Even modern wedding ceremonies often use this traditional element. Nowadays, you can order or simply buy a towel for any taste in the first-best souvenir shop, but in ancient times, girls had to embroider the cloth with their own hands.
There should be several towels at a Ukrainian wedding. Today, weddings in traditional rites usually use:
- wedding towel;
- a towel for the icon of newlyweds;
- a towel for another wedding symbol - a loaf of bread.
Each of the towels acts as a separate symbol and has its own meaning.
Wedding baking
A loaf of bread is the main ritual wedding bread. In addition to it, additional options were also baked, but it was the loaf that was the king of the table. The production of such pastries has a list of specific traditions:
- Kneading the dough is a special and important stage. If this process has already started, it means that the relatives on both sides agree to the wedding.
- It was not possible to bake a loaf on all days of the week. Mostly, it was done on Saturday or Friday.
- Relatives from both sides had to participate in the process of creating ritual pastries. Depending on the traditions, it could be done either at the bride's home or at the home of one of her relatives.
- During the baking process, relatives could invite local women who, in their opinion, had an exemplary marriage. Those, in turn, could bring products for the bread - flour, eggs, and other things.
- A towel was also a mandatory element when creating a loaf. They could tie the hands of the women who bake it.
- The loaf was cut only at the end of the wedding, the rest of the time it had to be a decoration of the table.
Nowadays, it is much easier to create a loaf of bread, and it will take many times less time than it did for our ancestors. Loaves to order in Kyiv many bakeries and bakeries bake.
Other symbols and attributes
In addition to bread and towels, a traditional wedding includes many other elements:
- candle flame - it is believed that it illuminates the future life of the newlyweds;
- wedding rings - gold or silver rings symbolize fidelity and infinity of love;
- festive double glasses for brides and grooms - young people drink from them as a sign of the unity of two souls.
And this is only part of the symbols of the Ukrainian wedding. It is difficult to clearly single out some traditions. Because they are individual for each region of our country, as they reflect the lifestyle and habits of its inhabitants. That is why a wedding in Lviv region will differ from a wedding in Kyiv region, but this does not mean that any of its rituals are not canonical.
"Source: hlibinvest.com.ua"
