Gaik
May 03, 2017
Gaik (Maik, Гаилки, literally “small grove”) is a Slavic ritual of celebrating spring. In some regions Gaik is conducted on the same day as the drowning of Marzanna’s effigy (which typically takes place around the spring equinox), in most regions however it is celebrated later in spring, most often at the beginning of May.
During celebration of Gaik, bouquets of green twigs and branches are carried from house to house with joyful singing. Often only girls are involved in the ritual, or, alternatively, a young girl is chosen to be the “queen” and is carried around the village.
As with many Slavic tradition, the origin and the meaning of the Gaik ritual is not known. It is suspected that Gaik could originally be related to choosing a location for a sacred grove or building a fence or other type of boundary around it. This theory however does not explain why Gaik is traditionally celebrated in the village and not out in the woods. Therefore we decided to present an alternative theory of the origin of this beautiful celebration. We hope you like it!
Slava!
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