“Yurye” Intangible Heritage Ritual Demonstration (Okhonovo Village)

About event

An ancient agricultural rite honouring Saint George the Victorious, patron of cultivated fields and domestic animals, which the people of Okhonovo regard as a “Second Easter”. On 5 May 2024, the ceremony in Okhonovo was scheduled to begin at 14:00 by the local cross. The tradition includes St George’s Day songs, a ceremonial procession through the village and a special marriage-related custom honouring couples who married during the preceding year. Okhonovo’s “Yurye” was the first element of intangible cultural heritage from Grodno Region to be added to Belarus’s State List of Historical and Cultural Values.