The Erection of a Joint Maypole in the Mixed Ukrainian-Slovak Villages Huta and Storozhnytsia in Transcarpathia

The paper deals with the erection of a joint maypole in the mixed Ukrainian-Slovak villages Huta and Storozhnytsia, in Transcarpathia (Ukraine). The erection of a joint maypole is a new cultural phenomenon based on the traditional custom of erecting individual maypoles in front of young girls’ houses. In Huta, however, a collective version of this custom was practiced briefly. The paper aims to describe and trace the development of this phenomenon and to analyse why people in these villages perform it. All information collected in the paper were obtained during field research conducted in the mixed Ukrainian-Slovak localities of Transcarpathia between March and June 2024.