Watermelons of Kherson

Watermelons of Kherson

Watermelons of Kherson image: Olaffpomona, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Kherson Oblast, a farming region on the Dnipro River, produces most of Ukraine’s watermelons. The area’s humid climate allows the fruit to thrive, and it has also become a symbol for the region.

Kherson Watermelon Monument

Local landmarks also reflect this symbolic importance; for example, the associated photograph features a soldier of the 128th Zakarpattia Mountain Assault Brigade standing in front of the Kherson Watermelon Monument, a local sculpture that has been damaged.

Image: Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

A soldier standing in front of the damaged Kherson Watermelon Monument. — A soldier standing in front of the damaged Kherson Watermelon Monument

The “Gifts of the Kherson Region” (Ukrainian: Пам’ятний знак «Дари Херсонщини»), commonly called the Watermelon Monument, stands in Visokopyla, near Osokorivka village, in Kherson Oblast. This monument further honours the watermelon.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Visit to Kherson

The significance of the watermelon continued onto the national stage. When visiting the newly liberated city in 2022, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joked about wanting a watermelon, referencing the fruit that symbolises Kherson Oblast.

Introduction of Watermelons to Kherson

The watermelon has deep historical roots in the region as well. It is said that centuries ago, the Crimean Tatars introduced watermelons to Kherson. During the 1940s and 1950s, when sugar was scarce, local residents would boil watermelon to make jam or molasses.

Celebrating the Watermelons of Kherson

Local traditions celebrated the watermelon harvest each year. Before the current war, the annual harvest season in Kherson was marked by a televised custom: a barge loaded with watermelons travelled from Kherson to Kyiv along the River Dnipro. After a 14-year break, this tradition resumed in 2017 but was discontinued again following the Russian invasion.

Source: BBC News.

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