Vertep

In Ukrainian culture, vertep (Cyrillic: вертеп) is a portable puppet theatre and drama, which presents the nativity scene, other mystery plays, and later secular plots as well.

After the Russian Revolution of 1917, the atheistic Soviet state severely persecuted religion and the associated elements of culture, and by 1930s the tradition of Christmas verteps was virtually eliminated.

[1] The vertep puppet theatre was made familiar to Ukrainian rural communities by wandering deacons and students of the above-mentioned Academy.

The sacred act was based on the Nativity scene with interludes, while the secular was based on day-to-day life often lampooning the various national traits of the local population with characters such as the Kozak (Ukrainian/Cossack), Liakh (Pole), Moskal (Muscovite), Zhyd (Jew), Tsyhan (Gypsy).

[citation needed] Vertep in Ukraine also became heavily intertwined with singing of the Ukrainian Carols (koliadky).