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she was delirious with happiness and knew for a fact that she would be loved and cared for in her new envir onment. This was tradition. While the bride was crying, her friends sang many songs which told of the parting of daughter and parents. These were rather sad songs. While the bride was dressing, the groom gathered his ushers and friends and svitylky, sisters of the groom who carried lit candles during the wedding ceremony. Together they prepared to fetch the bride. The groom’s group proceeded through the village to the house of the bride. Next to the groom walked a svitylka, a younger sister who carried a bread in which a sword, the grooms weapon, decorated with periwinkle and other herbs, was imbedded. In many regions three candles were also lit in the bread. Following the groom came his boyars — ushers, musicians, parents and friends. This procession stopped at the door of the bride’s house where mock negotiations were conducted. Finally, the groom was allowed to enter. He was greeted and blessed by the parents and then the entire company began to walk to church. In the Hutsul region where the bridal couple went to church on horseback, a lovely tradition has remained in practice. While the bride sat on horseback, her mother tied a doughnut to the wrist. Through the hole in the doughnut she looked at the four corners of the world. With each look her mother made a wish. When the bride looked to the east, her mother said: may you be as lucky as the sun; to the west: may you be as beautiful as a star; to the north: may you never know cold or poverty; to the south: may life be peaceful for you, beautiful and warm. During the marriage ceremony in the church the young couple stood on an embroidered ritual cloth. The bride tried to be quick and step on the ritual cloth before the groom, for then, it was believed she would have the upper hand in their life. Following the church ceremony, the couple and their guests returned to the home of the bride where the celebration feast took place. At times, according to local custom, the couple was separated and wedding celebrations were held in the groom’s and bride’s home. In the evening the couple was reunited. The bride’s mother greeted the couple at home with bread and salt. Guests threw wheat kernels at the bride and groom as a sign of fertility. The mother then offered the newlyweds a drink of whiskey and led them to their places at the table. The bride sat, but there was no room for the groom. At this point another drama in the wed ding saga began. The bride’s brother sat in the groom’s place, waiting to begin a bargaining session for his sis ter. When the groom paid the prescribed sum, he was allowed to sit next to his wife. At the conclusion of these negotiations, the wedding feast began, there was music and dancing. The distribution of the korovai to the wedding guests was a very important part of the celebration. A piece of this wedding bread was offered to everyone present, from the oldest guest to the youngest. As he or she took the offered korovai, each guest would put money on the plate or promise a gift such as “cloth, a ewe, a cow, etc.” The head usher loudly announced each gift that was offered to the couple and with each announcement both newlyweds would stand up and bow to the giver in gratitude. Once this ceremony ended, it was time to remove the flowered maiden’s wreath from the head of the bride and dress her in a cap or kerchief which finalized her passage from maidenhood to motherhood. This ritual was performed by the bride’s mother. First, she un braided her daughter’s hair (in some regions the brother of the bride would cut off her braids) and then covered her head with the appropriate covering. Tradition dictated that the bride remove the cap or kerchief three times to show how difficult it is for her to part with her maiden state. Only after the third time did the bride allow the cap to remain on her head. During this cerem ony many sad songs are sung, the bride’s friends bid her farewell, for now she had entered a different path of life and assumed the responsibility of creating a family. All the bride’s wealth, particularly her dowry, was packed on a wagon and she and her new husband slowly made their way to his house. There, similar ritu als and ceremonies took place. And so it went on, as the folk song goes, the guests “breakfasted till noon, lunched till afternoon and dined until the night, thus filling out the whole week.” The traditions, rituals and customs of the Ukrainian folk wedding are extensive, colorful, beautiful and heart warming. They mirror a very complex spiritually infused cultural and creative soul of the people. (The above is a loose translation of an extensive write up in Ukrainian by Lubow Wolynetz. Additional informa tion for this article was taken from "Traditions tied to folk customes" Svoboda, October 29, 1977 by Lubow Wolynetz. Curator of The Ukrainian Museum's folk art collection, Ms. Wolynetz is considered an expert in this field. She has lectured and written numerous feature articles on the topic of Ukrainian folk art, traditions and customs.) English translation by Marta Baczynsky 22 НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ЧЕРВЕНЬ 1992 Видання C оюзу Українок A мерики - перевидано в електронному форматі в 2012 році . A рхів C У A - Ню Йорк , Н . Й . C Ш A.
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