Soroki, the Festival of Larks
March 22 · Level 2 · #1948 of 2238
Soroki, also known as the Festival of Larks, welcomes spring through folk customs linked to the Christian commemoration of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste. Traditions in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine connect the return of migrating birds with hopes for the coming farming season.
How it is celebrated: families bake bird-shaped buns, often using dough suitable for Lent. In traditional rituals, children held these “larks” aloft and sang short songs calling spring to arrive; families and folk groups continue the custom today.
The name Soroki refers to forty and the martyrs, rather than to the Russian word for magpies.