The Feast of Ivan Kupala is an ancient pagan rite. It falls in the middle of summer - July 7th. In Russia, on that night, they swam in lakes and rivers, jumped over bonfires, collected medicinal herbs, wove wreaths, guessed… Almost nothing has changed since then.
How the holiday of Ivan Kupala appeared
Paganism
All the holidays of the ancient Slavs were guided by the sun: two days of the solstice and two days of the equinox were at that time the starting points for all kinds of farming. The fact is that even before the baptism of Russia, the day of the summer solstice was called the Solstice (or Kupalo), which meant the "turn" of the sun to wane. But what does Kupalo mean? More on that later.
Legend of Kupalo
The legend of this holiday has some erotic overtones. The fact is that Kupalo was separated from his own sister in childhood. Subsequently, he married her, not knowing anything about their relationship. Everything ended tragically. They committed suicide by drowning themselves in the lake.
Solstice Festival
It was a holiday of summer and green mowing. The Slavs girded themselves with greenvegetation (flower bandages, herbs), put herbal and flower wreaths on their heads, circled in round dances and sang songs. It was customary to build a fire, in the middle of which to fix a pole with a flaming wheel - a symbol of the Sun. Since it was a pagan holiday, it was celebrated in honor of the sun god. It is interesting that in honor of the incestuous legend about the brother and sister, homosexual games were also allowed among the pagans on this day.
Feast of John the Baptist
When Christianity was adopted in Russia, this holiday was timed to coincide with the birthday of the man who baptized Jesus on the Jordan River, John the Baptist, who was born on July 7th. Since then, the feasts of Ivan Kupala and John the Baptist have been combined as water-related. The date of the celebration no longer coincides with the astronomical solstice, that is, it does not fluctuate. That is why today every schoolchild knows what date is Ivan Kupala's holiday.
Rites and traditions performed on the eve of the holiday
On the shortest summer night on the eve of this holiday, rituals are held related to fire, herbs and, of course, water. There is an opinion that the holiday of Ivan Kupala is also the holiday of all witches! That is why it is not recommended to sleep on the Kupala night, because all evil spirits (witches, mermaids, goblin, water ones) come to life.
From the Carpathians to the north of Russia, this mysterious, mystical and rather wild holiday was celebrated! Until now, it is believed that on the mysterious Kupala night, trees come to life and move from place to place,talking to each other with the rustle of their leaves… Herbs on this night are filled with a special miraculous power!
Ivan Kupala Day in our time
Today this holiday has a special cultural character. For example, in Moscow, Ivan Kupala 2013 was held in the Guslitsa art residence, where theaters performed, concerts and exhibitions were held, and rare films were shown. And, of course, there were traditional games, round dances, jumping over the fire.
