Vechornytsi ( uk, вечорниці, from '' вечір'' "evening") are

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

traditional gatherings with music, songs, jokes and rituals. ''Vechornytsi'' traditionally began in late September after the seasonal agricultural work was over. Young people from

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

s gathered in the evenings for entertainment. There were everyday and festive vechornytsi. During everyday parties people created folk art objects like

rushnyk A rushnyk or rushnik (russian: рушник, ручник, uk, рушник, be, ручнік, ručnik, rue, ручник) is a decorative and ritual cloth. Made of linen or cotton it usually represents woven or embroidered designs, symbols ...

y, while entertaining themselves by singing songs or telling jokes. During festive vechornytsi rich dinners were cooked, and there was music and dancing. It was the ladies' responsibility to cook a dinner and the men's responsibility to provide everybody with music, drinks, and sweets. Vechornytsi were mainly for younger people. Here they not only entertained each other during long winter evenings, but also met new people, communicated more closely, and found partners. Each street in a village had at least one house for vechornytsi. Even small remote farms could have a few houses for parties, because it was a custom that brothers and sisters could not attend the same vechornytsi.

References

Definition of Vechornytsi

External links

The Article on Ukrainian Holidays, Customs and Rituals
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070307084914/http://www.kievtravel.com.ua/ukrainiantraditions.php , date=2007-03-07 Entertainment in Ukraine Ukrainian culture