With tender trepidation I remember my graduation in Soviet times, we drank sitro and met the dawn on the Kiev Sea.

Every year the school graduation is more and more like a magnificent banquet, for which parents have to seriously fork out. From the original celebration, only the presentation of certificates and the meeting of the sunrise remained in it, because Soviet prom They were much more modest. We remember exactly how it was.



Each student who completed his studies was solemnly presented with a certificate - a document on complete secondary education. Despite the simplicity of the holiday, honorees and good athletes were awarded real medals: gold and silver. Then gold and silver were replaced by spraying, and soon only the name remained of precious metals in the awards.

Until the early 60s, schoolgirls came to the prom in brown dresses - it was a school uniform. The only thing that differed from the everyday is the white apron, which was worn on holidays.



Instagram / @olga_khrustal And when the girls were suddenly allowed to wear elegant dresses in the evening, they were incredibly happy. And their mothers had to think about where to get quality fabric, and who will be able to sew a fashionable style. I also had to wear decent shoes. On the heads instead of bows appeared elastic curls and defiant garments under a thick layer of varnish, and on the faces – “adult” makeup.

The guys wore strict costumes to the ceremony and looked for someone to help tie a classic men's tie, which they could not cope with on their own. Now it was difficult to recognize in a serious young man yesterday's schoolboy.



Instagram / @zolotye__70s To distinguish graduates among guests, they began to knit special tapes. Now a commemorative tape with the inscription "Graduate" is stored in every home as a memory of school years.

Soviet graduation: how the festive event was held But the event itself was held with minimal costs in the premises of the native school. The hall was decorated by the graduates themselves with the help of garlands made of corrugated paper, multi-colored inflatable balls, self-drawn posters and wall newspapers.



Instagram / @zolotye__70s Entertainment concert program consisted of performances of high school students and the perpetrators of the celebration. The evening was accompanied by dancing, which ended late at night. The most touching was the waltz performed by graduates - it became a tradition. Then, as a sign of respect, the graduates invited teachers to dance. But a special honor for the girls is the farewell waltz paired with the headmaster.

The music at the festival usually came from a player. The repertoire in the post-war years was appropriate. But gradually the songs on the records became more and more fun and romantic. Great delight was the presence of musicians in the hall. But more often at the evening you could hear compositions performed by the school ensemble, because the live orchestra at the prom was a huge rarity.



Instagram/@zolotye__70s On the tables mainly put snacks and "Citro", occasionally at the party you could meet champagne. But the quickest guys managed to bring stronger drinks past the teacher on duty. They hid the bottle under the table and gave it to the most desperate.

In the morning, the children went to meet the dawn – a symbolic beginning of their adult life. In each settlement there were sites that were chosen by graduates to watch the appearance of the first sunlight. Young people usually chose a comfortable elevation with the most open terrain. Over time, gathering young people in a certain place became a tradition.



Instagram / @zolotye__70s Impressions about the last day in the school walls for everyone. But no matter what they say, school graduation is a memory for life. Even if someone doesn’t like it, there will never be another!