Birmingham’s Slavic communities are set to perform a traditional welcoming of spring on Sunday 3 April as part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival.

One hundred performers lead by Birmingham Czech & Slovak Club UK CIC will perform the ancient Slavic tradition, the Drowning of Winter, at Midlands Art Centre’s Outdoor Theatre in Cannon Hill Park.Full of traditional music, song and dance, the Drowning of Winter, is one the Birmingham 2022 Festival’s Creative City projects generously funded by Birmingham City Council.

The Drowning of Winter is an ancient Slavic tradition, dating back to the 13th Century, based around Morana; a pagan goddess who represents death, evil and winter. Traditionally, during the spring equinox, a straw effigy of Morana would be carried by a procession of people out of their villages and drowned in a river or burned. This was believed to ensure a warm spring and a good harvest for the year ahead. This tradition was opposed by the Christian Church, however it is still maintained and widely celebrated to this day across all Slavic regions.

A goddess of many names, in Poland Morana is called Marzanna, in Lithuania Morė, and in Ukraine, Mara. Similarly in Czech Republic, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia the goddess is called Morana, in Slovakia and Macedonia she is called Morena, in Russia, Marena, and in Bulgaria, Mora.

The Drowning of Winter will showcase a wealth of customs and traditions from across the Slavic region including traditional dances around the goddess Morena that originate from Slovakia, a Polish performance based on Slavic pagan traditions about Marzanna and Baba Dochia’s Coats Ritual - a Romanian tradition that involves tying gifts in red and white string as part of Martisor. The performance will also include a procession to the nearby River Rea where an effigy of Morena will be cast into the water before returning to the Outdoor Theatre with the ‘Tree of Spring’.

Dana Klampárová, director of Czech & Slovak Club UK said: "We're delighted to be the lead organisation and working with Birmingham 2022 Festival, Birmingham City Council and other Slavic organisations from across the region on this event. The Commonwealth Games in Birmingham provides the perfect opportunity to showcase often overlooked cultural practices and traditions, like ours. The Drowning of Winter is an important time in our Slavic cultural calendar, and I'm thrilled to be introducing it to Birmingham and beyond."

Birmingham's Czech & Slovak Club UK present the Slavic tradition of Drowning of Winter at Midlands Arts Centre's Outdoor Theatre, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH on Sunday 3 April 11am – 1pm.  Tickets to the event are free and can be booked here.