The Wreathing Ceremony was a tradition brought over by my own ancestors and other people of the time who immigrated from Ukraine to America. It follows the tradition of welcoming young people into adulthood. The way we practiced this tradition was through the local Ukrainian dance group- which provided education on Ukrainian culture through music, dance, reading and writing, and history. The year you turned 13, you were allowed to participate in the Wreathing (women) and sashing (men) ceremony.Because this was done with the local dance group, the wreathers and sashers would perform their own dance. Each was allowed their parents and one extra person of meaning with them. For girls, they would kneel on the ground. The wreath would be placed on their head with the blue and yellow ribbons pulled forward to pay homage to the home country. The boys would recieve a sash and a sword (jealous!). Then they'd be "raised from adulthood" from their knees to standing. It's a tradition I never want to forget. It's extremely important to us and very emotional.
