The country of Georgia (Sakartvelo): travel, news, culture, history, food, places to see and more.
Once a year in the villages of Kakheti in eastern Georgia, men sew their own clothes. They cut lambskin leather and colorful ribbons; they make huge masks studded with pumpkin seeds to imitate horns and teeth.
Far away on the other side of Georgia in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region, men put on women’s clothes and dresses, braid their hair, and apply makeup. They then walk into the center of the village to celebrate and improvise a play.
This festival is called Berikaoba.
Georgian traditional Christmas tree Chichilaki is a must have for New Year and Christmas holidays. Chichilaki is made of hazelnut or walnut brunch. The brunch is shaved carefully, from the bottom to the top, until it has reached an appearance of a tree. On a tip of Chichilaki berries and tangerines are hang; as a symbol of prosperity.
Chichilaki is burned just before Epiphany on January 19th.
May 14th, Georgia celebrates St. Tamara’s day. She was the ruler of Georgia from 1184 to 1213 : the peak of country’s Golden Age. She was called the king Tamara, since it was thought, that the word queen, would belittle her image and power.
