Belarus. Holidays and commemorative days

holidays and commemorative days

• Throughout many centuries of history, the Belarusian people created its unique and original culture. Traditional folk customs and rites harmoniously interlace with Christian traditions.
• The Belarusian people are proud of the country’s past and its traditional culture

Ivan Kupala Day/ KUPALLE

• On Kupala day, youth jump over the flames of bonfires in a ritual testing of one's bravery and faith. A couple in love's failure to complete the jump while holding their hands is a sign of their destined separation.
• On this traditional Belarusian festival girls bind wreaths and let them drift down the river trying to find out their destiny and marital future.
• One of the main traditions of Kupalle is search for the mythic paparats-kvetka (fern flower). Those, who find it, will enjoy good luck for the whole year; all their wishes will come true.

Shrovetide (“Maslenitsa”)

• This ancient holiday of pagan culture symbolizes the end of winter and the long-awaited beginning of spring.
• Traditionally, at the culmination of the celebration Lady Maslenitsa is put to the flames of a  bonfire .
• Maslenitsa is a ceremony at the junction of two seasons; it sees off winter and meets spring. Popular festivals of folk music, dancing and national costumes are organized at the time of Maslenitsa.

Easter

• the tradition of coloring hard-boiled eggs and giving baskets of candy.
• Christians make up the biggest part of the population of Belarus. According to the Christian doctrine, Christmas and Easter are the main religious holidays, annually celebrated by millions of believers all over the country.
• In Belarus, all the Christian holidays are celebrated twice: by the Catholic and Orthodox religious calendars.

Victory Day (9 May)

• Victory Day or 9 May marks the capitulation of Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union in the Second World War (also known as the Great Patriotic War ).
• The Soviet government announced the victory early on 9 May after the signing ceremony in Berlin.
• Celebration of victory over fascism. This occasion is widely celebrated with parades and sports events. On this day it is conventional to present flowers to veterans of the Great Patriotic War and lay wreaths at memorials to soviet soldiers.

Independence Day

• An Independence Day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation 's assumption of independent statehood , usually after ceasing to be a colony or part of another nation or state; more rarely after the end of a military occupation .
• Most countries observe their respective independence days as a national holiday , and in some cases the observance date is controversial or contested. Not all countries observe an independence day holiday, choosing to celebrate other national days instead of or alongside an independence day.

FESTIVALS

• More than 60 teams will participate in the final stage of the festival of national cultures , which is scheduled for early June in Grodno.
• 65 teams, 56 individual performers, 32 duets and trios will show their ethnic flavour. Visitors will be able to watch the shows of choirs, vocal groups, instrumental ensembles, dance groups, conversational genre artists, etc.
• The most active participants are Ukrainians (161 people), Poles (111), Russian (104), Jews (79), Lithuanians (70), Armenians (55).
• The exhibition of arts and crafts of folk artists, costumes and tasting of national dishes will be widely represented at the festival.

Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk

• is an annual festival held in Vitebsk , since 1992. Its main program is devoted to Slavic music . The main participants are artists from Russia , Belarus , Ukraine , Poland and Bulgaria with guests from many other countries, both Slavic and non-Slavic.
• International contest of young singers, theatrical performances and concerts, folk handicrafts fair, festival of ceramics and blacksmith handicrafts “Fire and Clay”.

International Motto-Rock-Festival “Havaisia u bulby”

• It is a “double festival” as the motorcycle rally and rock festival are held at the same time.
• The event attracts more than 2000 bikers from Europe, the CIS and the US. The music festival is attracts well-known rock bands from Ukraine, Poland and Russia why mainly play classic rock, rock’n’roll and blues.

Christmas

• Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ , celebrated generally on December 25 as a religious and cultural holiday by billions of people around the world .

New Year

• New Year is the time at which a new calendar year begins. New Year is widely celebrated all over the country.
• Preparations to this holiday start a couple of weeks before. The towns and cities of Belarus put on holiday attire; illumination, New Year trees in the squares and New Year fairs add to the holiday mood. The culmination of the festivity is the December 31— January 1 night, when various concerts and open-air merrymaking take place.

New Year

• According to the tradition, New Year is celebrated twice: New Year’s Eve and Old Style New Year (13-14th of January).
• This holiday is popularly called Schedrets, Charitable evening or Koliada. People disguise themselves as animals, fantastic creatures, go from one yard to another, from door to door singing Koliada songs, and hosts of houses wine and dine them. Theatrical Parade of Ded Moroz and Snegurochka.

International Women's Day

• International Working Women’s Day , is marked on March 8 every year.
• In different regions the focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards women to a celebration for women's economic, political and social achievements.
• In many regions, the day became simply an occasion for men to express their love for women in a way somewhat similar to a mixture of Mother's Day and Valentine's Day .

Defender of the Fatherland Day

• It is celebrated on February 23.
• The holiday is celebrated with parades and processions in honor of veterans, and women also give small gifts to men in their lives, especially husbands (or boyfriends), fathers and sons.

Republican Harvest Fair Dazhinki

• The essence of this genuinely national festival is honouring of agricultural workers. The festival is known for its agricultural fair, concerts and exhibitions.