In Ukraine, weddings are festive occasions that combine both religious ceremonies and folk customs. While urban weddings usually consist of a church ceremony and banquet, wedding celebrations in the countryside are often more vivid and colorful. Ukrainian men usually marry in their mid-20s, while women marry two or three years younger.
After the formal engagement (posad), the bridesmaids usually host a farewell party for the bride at one of their houses. A few days prior to the wedding, the bride’s family starts making a traditional form of bread known as koravai that will be served to the guests at the wedding ceremony.
Another age-old custom is the planting of a wedding tree (hilse), which personifies the couple’s marital relationship. On the wedding day, the young couple visits the church in a procession, takes formal religious vows, and signs the necessary legal documents. Later, they perform the traditional ritual of seeking the blessings of their respective parents.
Grand feasts ensue after both civic and religious marriages. Friends and relatives give gifts to the married couple, and everyone takes part in a traditional dance.
After the Vows
Couples usually move in with the groom’s parents after the wedding ceremony. If the groom was an orphan, they move in with the bride’s parents. Traditionally, women are expected to play the role of good wives and create a harmonious atmosphere inside the home.
The man is in charge of the family concerning all important matters and decisions. The woman, on the other hand, is responsible for bringing up children and other household tasks. In recent times, women have become a growing part of the workforce, so household responsibilities are shared in many families.
Although extramarital affairs are strongly condemned in the culture, they occur quite frequently and are one of the primary reasons for the high divorce rate. All forms of polygamy, however, are legally prohibited and socially unacceptable.
Divorce
Divorce is very common in Ukraine, and both men and women have equal rights to seek the dissolution of a marriage. The divorce rate has been rising steadily due to the increasing independence of Ukraine’s many working women. These women are more financially independent than ever before and, as a result, they are no longer willing to remain in unhappy marriages.
The divorce rate in the urban areas is far higher than that of the rural regions. Other common reasons for divorce include alcoholism, unemployment, financial problems, physical abuse, marital unfaithfulness, and the growing number of women trying to escape poverty by seeking prosperous husbands from developed countries.
All matters relating to a divorce, such as the division of marital assets, maintenance payments, and child custody, must be decided before filing divorce proceedings. Courts are required to take into account the child’s best interests when awarding custody, and children ages 10 and above can legally express a preference, which the court is obliged to consider.
If the court deems both parents unfit for child custody, it may hand over the child to a responsible third party. If custody is awarded to the mother, the father is required to make alimony payments until the child turns 18. In practice, however, most men manage to evade paying alimony, and women find it almost impossible to enforce their right to receive payments.
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