WUNRN
http://www.rferl.org/media/photogallery/fotogalerea-tsachkhuroba-martvilis-raionshi/26975999.html
Georgia -
Pilgrimage of Childless Couples
By
Giorgi Gogua of RFE/RL's Georgian Service
24 April 2015 - Every Thursday after Orthodox Easter, childless couples travel to the Samegrelian village of Tsachkuru in western Georgia to participate in an annual pilgrimage to the local Church of the Archangel. Local legend holds that if a couple comes three years in a row to engage in the ritual -- which involves bringing a toy cradle to be blessed by the local priest -- they will be rewarded with a child.
The annual fertility pilgrimage is called "Tsachkhuru," after the village where it takes place.
Ritual holds that childless couples must come to the
church carrying a toy cradle with a doll, each of which receives an individual
blessing from the local priest.
The size of Georgian families has shrunk in recent years,
with most urban families having two or fewer children. But in rural districts
like Martvili, families are larger, and the inability to have children is
considered a great misfortune.