Baptism in Western Ukraine
This is an example of a traditional baptism ritual that was recorded in April 2009 in the small town of Lukiv, Tyriis’kyi raion, Volyn’ region, Ukraine.
The baptism of a girl named Vaselisa and a boy named Artem happened on the same day and at the same time in the local church. The godparents of each child took the infants from the parents (the parents are not allowed to be present at the service) and held them during the ceremony. In the past, the godmother was expected to provide a “kryzhma” (a cloth), and the godfather was supposed to bring bread and a bottle of alcohol to pay the priest, but now people usually give money. Previously, if the child was a girl, she was held by the godmother and, if the child was a boy, he was held by the godfather. Nowadays these rules are not that strict and there are instances when godparents take turns holding an infant. During the baptism, each godparent should be able to recite the “Nicene Creed/Viruiu” prayer. Usually a priest recites the prayer and the godparents repeat after him.
In this example we can see the influence of North American culture in the blue and pink outfits of the infants. The tendency to dress babies according to their gender is relatively new to Ukraine and was introduced by television from the West. The ritual of baptism is usually followed by a feast at the newly baptized baby parents’ house. However, some people choose to celebrate Khrestyny (Baptism) at a restaurant.
Here are some videos from the same ceremony.
