A Pagan Dance To Welcome Spring

Members of the Mizhrechcha folk ensemble perform a circle dance in a field in the village of Pahost.

The celebration was originally devoted to the pagan god Yur'ya, or Yaryla. But the custom merged with Christian tradition, with St. Yury (St. George) taking the harvest god's place.

Members of the folk ensemble decorate a round bread, called a "karahod" -- the same name as the circle dance they perform.

Along with the round bread, celebrants carry an icon of St. Mary and a Christmas star.

The bread is carried to a field of rye or wheat, where the dancers ask St. Yury for a good harvest.

The festivities in early May are typical for this region of southern Belarus, but not elsewhere in Belarus.