The night before Ivan Kupala is the shortest of the year. The holiday of Ivan Kupala appeared as a result of the fusion of Christian and pagan traditions. In the Christian it is dedicated to the Nativity of John the Baptist, and in the pagan - to the ancient deity of fertility Kupala. Many beautiful and poetic rituals are associated with the Kupala night.
In ancient times, Ivan Kupala was celebrated on the night of June 21-22. According to the new style, the holiday moved to the night from 6 to 7 July.
Rites and traditions of the Kupala night
Kupala night is considered to be the night of magic. According to legend, on this wonderful night, animals speak humanly, trees move from place to place, herbs acquire a special healing power. Therefore, healers on this very night collect and prepare medicinal plants.
An indispensable decoration for every girl on the night of Ivan Kupala should be a wreath, in which such flowers and herbs as burdock, Ivan da Marya, the Virgin's grass and a bear's ear must be present.
The main rites of the Kupala night are jumping over the fire, fortune telling and pouring water over each other. Usually, on the night of Ivan Kupala, several bonfires were kindled. They jumped over some bonfires, awakening abundance and fertility. In the middle of other fires, poles were placed on which a wheel, a horse's skull was put on, or a bundle of straw was strengthened at the top. The burning wheel was considered a symbol of the sun; it was often rolled down the mountain into the river, reproducing the path of the sun in the sky. The horse skull symbolized evil spirits and was destroyed to protect against evil spirits, which were especially fierce at this time. A bundle of straw symbolized the failures of the days gone by, and therefore was burned to the ground. They also danced around the fire and sang ritual songs calling for fertility.
Beliefs and fortune-telling
On the night of Kupala, the girls wondered at their betrothed, throwing wreaths with a lit candle into the water. If the wreath immediately drowned, it means that the betrothed will fall out of love; if the wreath swam quickly to the shore from which it was thrown, it means that this year the girl is not destined to get married; if the wreath lasted a long time on the water and swam far away, the wedding will take place very soon.
It is also customary to pour water on each other on Kupala night. At the same time, it is believed that if a young man accidentally or deliberately spills a girl, then he is destined to become her husband in the near future. In Russia, the night on Ivan Kupala traditionally opened the bathing season. It was believed that the water really warms up only by this day. And the mermaids after Midsummer's night became meek and ceased to harm the bathers.
Everyone knows the belief that on the night of Ivan Kupala - the only time a year - a fern blooms. All sorts of miraculous properties were attributed to its flower, first of all - the ability to indicate the treasures hidden in the ground. True, few daredevils dared to go in search of him, because the evil spirits in every possible way tried to prevent them.
Perhaps not all Kupala rites can be repeated today. But a walk through the night forest (better still - in a large company), round dances around the fire, fortune telling on wreaths and collecting medicinal plants may well become a fascinating romantic adventure.
