Key points
- The Ministry of Culture included the tradition of making ‘horses and ladies’ baked goods into the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
- The tradition is practiced in the village of Holovkivka in the Kirovograd region and is passed down from generation to generation in families.
- Horses are given to boys as a wish for strength, and ladies are given to girls as a wish for beauty and good fortune.
- The figures are baked manually using family molds on the eve of Christmas – there is no single recipe for the baked goods.
- The bearers of the tradition are mostly older women who preserve the recipes and teach children and grandchildren.
The Ministry of Culture of Ukraine included the tradition of making and giving ‘horses and ladies’ ritual baked goods into the National List of Elements of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
This tradition is part of Christmas rituals and is associated with the custom of giving shaped baked goods to godchildren and children who bring ‘dinner’ on Christmas Eve. The ritual baked goods are baked manually on the eve of Christmas in the shape of horses and girls – ‘ladies’.
Each figure has symbolic meaning – horses are given to boys as a wish for strength, and ladies are given to girls as a wish for beauty and good fortune. The act of giving itself has ritual significance and is a form of blessing.
To make the baked goods, metal molds are used, which are traditionally created in families and passed down from generation to generation. The finished products can be painted red and decorated with painting or paper ribbons, and there is no single recipe for the baked goods.
The tradition is practiced in the Oleksandriia district of the Kirovograd region, in particular in the village of Holovkivka. The main bearers of the element are older women – grandmothers, mothers, and godmothers – who preserve the recipes, create molds, and teach children and grandchildren.
After the element was included in the National List, local communities were recommended to take into account the proposals for its preservation and development, prepared by the Expert Council on Intangible Cultural Heritage at the Ministry of Culture.
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