Lada is the Old Slavic goddess of love and marriage. She is celebrated for her beauty and attractiveness, and is presented as the most beautiful Slavic woman with long golden hair braided with wheat. She reigns in the summer, in the period of fertility when everything grows and flourishes, and various rituals were dedicated to her in order to beg for rain for the thirsty land and encourage the growth of plants. The natural phenomena that are assigned to her are the sun, warm nights and rain, while her plants are cherry, linden, dandelion and peony.
Girls and boys gathered in nature dancing the round dance and singing songs dedicated to the goddess Lada. The young men wove flower wreaths with which the girls decorated their hair, and later they presented these wreaths to the young men. Wreaths were also placed on a wooden pillar, made of cherry tree, with carved figures of the gods. Girls and boys passed under the flower-decorated triumphal arch singing songs in Lada's honour.
Peony is a perennial plant of the genus Paeonia. It has large flowers that can be white, pink and red. The Latin name Paeonia originates from Greek mythology according to which Paeon, a disciple of the god of medicine Asclepius, was transformed into a beautiful flower so that he would not surpass his teacher in knowledge. (Željka Šaravanja)
