The Vertep is a Serbian Orthodox Christmas custom commonly practiced in Ukraine by the young male members of the Serbian Orthodox Church. It is usually performed on January 6, the Christmas Eve of the Orthodox calendar. This custom is called vertep, and the participants in it – vertepaši. Similarly to koledari, vertepaši are armed with wooden swords and fence with each other in front of houses.
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Dressed in costumes, the groups perform a depiction of the birth of Jesus Christ and the days after it in front of an audience.
The word “vertep” comes from the Church Slavonic вєртє́пъ ([ʋerˈtep]) translates to the word “cave”, which refers to the birthplace of Jesus. It is also related to the word “verotysia”, which means “to whirl”, referring to the dance that the young men perform during the celebration.
History
The Vertep began in the latter part of the 16th century and reached its popularity in the 18th century. It was primarily a puppet show practiced and developed by the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. The practice is deeply rooted in religion, and is considered the first type of street performance in Ukraine .
The Vertep lost popularity after the Bolshevik Revolution, particularly during the 1920s and 1930s . However, in recent times, it was revived and reformatted into a drama play. Every year, actors stage a live re-enactment of the Nativity.
Customs and Practices
The Vertep takes its inspiration from Chapter 2 of the Book of Matthew found in the New Testament. It highlights the Nativity scene and how King Herod found out the messiah had finally been born and how he sent his soldiers to kill all the infants in Judea.
Each variation of the play contains around 10 to 40 characters. It includes King Herod, Mary, Joseph, a choir of angels, a group of shepherds, flocks of animals, the Three Kings, and several Polish and Jewish individuals. It also features Death, Satan, and King Herod himself .The events within the narrative usually change, depending on the intentions of the cast and crew. Song and dance numbers are performed. Current events are also incorporated into the story structure of the play to add relevance to a modern audience. It always ends with the triumph of good over evil .