Keeping Ukrainian Weddings Alive

ZHANG:
And now to a special report from Kyiv. Our reporter takes us to a traditional Ukrainian wedding festival. Wedding reenactments are filled with music... and a special loaf of bread.

STORY:
At this wedding festival in Kyiv, the organizer has invited many bands to perform the traditional wedding songs.

[Vitaliy Kovalenko, Traditional Wedding Organizer]:
"Here we can witness wedding ceremonies that took place in Ukrainian villages before the 20th century and have been preserved to our times. The old generation took care to preserve these ceremonies."

The Ukrainian wedding ceremony follows many rituals, from the arrival of the bridegroom to the baking of the classic loaf of bread.

[Traditional Wedding Musician]:
"Half the loaf is cut and the other half is given to the guests. The bread is considered the most important aspect of the wedding."

A female student is taking part in a wedding reenactment. She is looking forward to the day she can do it the real traditional way....

[Irina Tsyganenko, Student]:
"I would like to wed the traditional Ukrainian way, to hold it according to all the rules, the same way as our parents, and grandparents did."

According to tradition, Ukrainian weddings were usually held for over three days.

NTD, Kyiv, Ukraine.

Category:

Howto & Style

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• ceremonies
• festival
• Kyiv
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• loaf of bread
• songs
• rituals
• Musician
• reenactment

[MrsLetsgocamping]

its great seeing culture still kept alive despite this urbanizing industrialized modern age

[happyness01]

It is amazing to see people still keeping their traditions in a day and age of western domination. I hope to go to the Ukraine and see such folk practices! They look amazing in their clothing!