Belarussian special days

Kupalle

One of the oldest and interesting celebrations in Belarus is Kupalle. People celebrate it on June 21th. People started to celebrate this holiday from pagan¹ times. It was a time when people gave thanks to Sun, Earth, Water and Fire. Also this holiday connected with the birthday of John the Baptist, so now people call Kupalle – Ivan Kupala.

People often celebrate Kupalle in the evening and at night in the park. Our grandparents believed that on this night mermaids² bathed in rivers, witches and ghosts tried to scare people, and animals and plants could speak. And if you want to see these magic things you need to find fern flower³ that bloomed⁴ only once a year.

At Kupalle unmarried girls make wreaths⁵ and keep them on the water, because they want to find husbands. Another tradition is making a large fire and a boy and a girl will take up arms and will jump over the fire. Late in the evening or at night the young people will go to the park or the forest to look for fern flower, but there is a legend.

1) When is this special day?

2) When did people begin to celebrate it?

3) How do people celebrate it?

¹pagan [ˈpeɪɡ(ə)n] – язычники

²mermaids [ˈmɜːmeɪdz] - русалки

³fern flower - цветок папоротника

⁴ bloom - расцветать

⁵wreath [riːθ] - венок

Maslenitsa

One of the most interesting and yummy celebrations in Belarus is Maslinitsa. People celebrate it from March 4th to Match 10th this year. This special day is a symbol of saying hello to spring and saying goodbye to winter. People started to celebrate this holiday from pagan¹ times. In the past people believed that the 1st day of spring is unpredictable². The weather could be warm and quickly³ became cold.

Now people celebrate this holiday all week. There are concerts in every city. People take part⁴ in many competitions⁵, sing songs, ride horses, drink hot tea with pancakes⁶. Pancake is a symbol of the Sun this day.

The day ends in burning of a big man of straw⁷. On Sunday, last day of Maslenitsa, people visit their relatives and grandparents. They say each other “Sorry” and then cook the most delicious⁸ pancakes with different fillings⁹. Sometimes you can see a street festival in your city.

1) When is this special day?

2) When did people begin to celebrate it?

3) How do people celebrate it?

¹pagan [ˈpeɪɡ(ə)n] – язычники

² unpredictable - непредсказуемый

³ quickly [ˈkwɪkli] - быстро

⁴ take part – принимать участие

⁵ competitions – соревнования

⁶ pancakes – блины

⁷ burning of a big man of straw – сжигание большого человека из соломы

⁸ delicious [dɪˈlɪʃəs] – вкусный

⁹ filling – начинка