Coming of Age, 20 Roubles, Series: Slav's Traditions

“The Slavic Family Traditions” is a series of beautiful silver collector coins dedicated to the major Slavic customs. Each coin depicts a custom and a symbol characteristic for an important, breakthrough period in life. The issuer of the series is the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus, and the manufacturer and distributor is the Mint of Poland. “Coming of Age” is the fourth coin in the series which previously featured the “Wedding”, “Housewarming”, and “Christening”.

The central theme depicted on the coin includes the various symbols of maturity. Lyada (known also as: Laila- Leila, Lajla, Lejla, Łada) was a Slavic goddess, and a mother of twin male deities, Lel and Polel, associated with the morning and evening. The festival dedicated to the goddess was held around the time of Pentecost, now taken over by the Catholic faith. She was associated with the cult of maternity – a patron of births, beauty, and harvesting. Flowers were a compulsory ornament for the May nuptials with Goddess Laila. White dresses were also customarily used for such initiation ceremonies for girls, as were wax candles which had to be made of honeycomb.

Coming of age is a turning point in the life of a young person when they reach maturity and start a new phase. The coming of age festival in the Slavic culture is held when young people reach the age of eighteen.