Christmas folk game Tsiareshka’s Wedding to be staged in Lepel

VITEBSK, 5 January (BelTA) – The Christmas folk game Tsiareshka’s Wedding will be staged in Lepel District, Vitebsk Oblast, on the Christmas Eve, BelTA learnt from Olga Makhonenko, coordinator of the regional office of the Holidays in the Country public association. The authentic Tsiareshka’s Wedding game has survived only in Lepel District. It has been included into the list of Belarus’ historical and cultural heritage. The game was held in old times so that young people from different villages could meet each other. Every man in this game becomes a Tsiareshka and chooses a partner. The main point of the game is to stage a wedding party with songs, dances and jokes. Both domestic and foreign ethnographers have shown great interest in this game. Dutch and Polish experts have studied and described the Christmas game, and German filmmakers made the documentary about it. As noted by Olga Makhonenko, Tsiareshka’s Wedding is turning into a full-fledged tourist product and contributes to the development of tourism in the region. “However, our main goal is to keep this folk tradition alive,” she said. This year the game will be staged at the Lyukshino farm on 6 January.

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