Hundreds of festivities, parades and hapenings took place across the former Soviet Union on Sunday, when FJC’s Jewish communities, youth and student programs, and educational institutions – celebrated Lag Ba Omer, a day filled with fun outdoor activities, which highlights Jewish unity and pride in face of adversity.

In Irkutsk and Novosibirsk, Bryansk and Minsk, Baku and Tbilisi, Tallinn and Riga, Mariupol, Kiev, Petersburg and Moscow thousands of families, students, children and the elderly met to spend the day together celebrating their Jewish connection.

In Chernivtsi, Ukraine community members marched together down the city’s main avenue, among them the city’s Jewish kindergarten pupils, students in the local Jewish study center, activists of the EnerJew and Stars clubs and everyone else who wished to join. The parade was accompanied by a music band and finished off in the community center where a fun program awaited the participants.

In Bryansk, Russia the celebration was marked by mega-cake baking, in Baku, Azerbaijan the community gather around a bonfire on the seashore, in Irkutsk kids of all ages enjoyed a mobile attractions park.

Beside that, tens of performances, with singing, dancing, fire shows and acrobatics were held in other cities across the region. Every city and town joined in the celebration, happy to be outside in the finally warming weather among friends.