Every nation and every country has it’s own customs and traditions. In Belarusian traditions play a very important part in the life of the people than in other countries. Belarusianmen are proud of their customs and traditions.

Throughout many centuries of history, the Belarusian people created its unique and original culture. Traditional folk customs and rites harmoniously interlace with Christian traditions.

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

Along with Christian holidays, such folk festivities of pagan origin as Kupalle (Midsummer Night) and Maslenitsa (Shrovetide) are widely celebrated in Belarus. Folk games and traditional ceremonies are part of them. One of the main traditions of Kupalle is search for the mythic paparats-kvetka (fern flower). Those, who find it, will good luck for the whole year; all their wishes will come true. 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.

The Belarusian people are proud of the country’s past and its traditional culture. The medieval festival “The White Castle” is arranged every spring in Minsk. The spectators can admire performances in costume, combats of knights and ancient music. Every summer, in Belarusian castles (in Lida, Mir, Novogrudok, Nesvizh, etc.) knights’ tournaments and international medieval festivals take place. They attract spectators and participants from many countries of the world. During several days, you will have achance to plunge into aromantic atmosphere of the Middle Ages, to contemplate areconstruction of historic events, to become an apprentice of acraftsman, enjoy medieval music and try on knights’ armor or ladies’ magnificent dresses.

When the night grew dark on the River Svislach ,girls made garlands and tried to tell their fortunes by putting them into water. If the garland swam a long distance, the girl’s future husband would come from far away; if the garland stuck to the riverbank, the husband would be a local guy; the sinking garland was a bad omen.The most daring participants of the fest went into the wood in order to search for a magic “Paparats-kvetka” (fern flower). The one who found this beautiful flower gleaming in the dark would become a visionary, able to understand the language of animals and birds, and would also able to see treasures buried under ground. By all counts, Paparats-kvetka was the flower of happiness. The irony of the legend is that the fern does not produce flowers. However, this never prevented young people from looking for Paparats-kvetka. Or, perhaps, they were simply looking for a romance? It was not unusual for a young man who went to look for the flower to meet that girl from a nearby village he liked so much. Often, the search continued until morning… Perhaps, this is the reason why Belarusians say that storks bring children to parents. After all, storks return home from south around March, some nine months after Kupalle… Watching the sun rise was also a very special part of the celebration. If one has been awake the whole night and watched the sun without blinking, he would be able to see it “playing”, dancing in the morning air.