Posidelki

(also vecherki, in Ukrainian vechornytsi), a custom among young peasants in prerevolutionary Russia to assemble during autumn and winter evenings in an izba for work and entertainment. A similar custom existed among the southern Slavs, for example, the Bulgarian sedianka.

The girls arrived before the young men and usually brought their knitting or sewing with them. Posidelki were enlivened with storytelling, singing, and games. At Christmastide posidelki were held daily and took on a different character with the introduction of games in costume, dramatizations of songs and fairy tales, and the performance of folk dramas. In the spring, the gatherings were held outdoors on the outskirts of the village. The indoor games and songs were replaced by round dances, songs, and outdoor games.