Vertep

thumb|Drawing of a Ukrainian vertep box from Sokyryntsi, 18th century thumb|Mezhyhirya vertep, 1923 In Ukrainian culture, vertep (, from ) is a portable puppet theatre and drama, which presents the nativity scene, other mystery plays, as well as secular plots with satirical and comical elements. The original meaning of the word is "secret place", "cave", "den", referring to the cave where Christ was born, i.e., the Bethlehem Cave. Vertep first appeared in the second half of the 16th century under the influence of Western European traditions, which spread to Ukrainian lands, then part of the Po