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Kupala Night
Traditional Slavic holiday / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Kupala Night (also Kupala's Night or just Kupala; Polish: Noc Kupały, Belarusian: Kupalle, Russian: Ivan Kupala, Kupala, Ukrainian: Ivan Kupalo) is one of the major folk holidays[1] of the Eastern Slavs[2] that coincides with the Christian feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist[1] and the East Slavic feast of Saint John's Eve. In folk tradition, it was revered as the day of the summer solstice[1][2] and was originally celebrated on the shortest night of the year, which is on 21-22[3][4] or 23-24[2] of June {Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria (where it is called Enyovden), and Ukraine (since 2023)[5]}, and according to Julian calendar on the night between 6 and 7 July (Belarus, and Russia). The name of the holiday is ultimately derived from the East Slavic word kǫpati "to bathe".
Kupala Night | |
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![]() Ivan Kupala. Fortunetelling on the wreaths, by Simon Kozhin, 2009 | |
Also called | Kupala's Night, Kupala |
Observed by | East Slavs |
Significance | celebration relates to the summer solstice |
Date |
|
Frequency | Annual |
Related to | Summer Solstice, Saint John's Eve, Nativity of St. John the Baptist |
A number of activities and rituals are associated with Kupala Night, such as gathering herbs and flowers and decorating people, animals, and houses with them; entering water, bathing, or dousing with water and sending garlands on water; lighting fires, dancing, singing, and jumping over fire; and hunting witches and scaring them away. It was also believed that on this day the sun plays and other wonders of nature happen.[1] The celebrations are held near the water, on the hills, surrounding that[clarification needed]; chiefly, young men and women participate in these folkloric traditions.[2] The rituals and symbolism of the holiday may point to its pre-Christian origins.