YOUTH GAMES

YOUTH GAMES are mass entertaining activities during ethnic celebrations that include reading fortunes, ethnic games, sledging, ethnic dances, bean-feasts, wearing costumes, round dances and others. Young people used to participate in collecting foods, prizes, kolyadovaniye as well as to organizing  games  to  celebrate different holidays and rites (see
Maslenitsa, Nauruz, Christmas, Sumbulya etc.)

Y.g. were held outside in the spring-summer period and inside houses in the autumn-winter period. The main function of Y.g. was bringing young people together to create families. Y.g. included singing chastushki, choruses and ethnic songs, saying proverbs and idioms, playing ethnic musical instruments, etc. For example, Bashkirs and Tatars had a traditional place where youth could gather – a secluded house; Chuveshed used to sing special songs during the  Y.g.  called  “uyavs”;  During  Semik  (see Trinity) people returning from a cemetery used to hold a rite called “long shawl”, sing songs and dance; the Mari people considered swinging as a mandatory attribute of the Y.g.; the Mordovians had a place called “Girl’s beer house” where girls could gather to show their skills and talents etc.