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Kupala Night

Kupala Night

Night on the Eve of Ivan Kupala,

by Henryk Hector Siemiradzki

Also called Feast of St. John the Baptist; -; ; ; Noc Kupay

Observed by Slavic people

Significance celebration relates to the summer solstice

Begins July 6 (June 23)

Ends July 7 (June 24)

Related to Summer Solstice, Nativity of St. John the Baptist

Kupala Night, Ivan Kupala Day (Feast of St. John the Baptist; Russian: -; Belarusian: ;

Ukrainian: ; Polish: Noc Kupay) is celebrated in Ukraine, Belarus, Poland (Mazowsze and Podlasie)

and Russia currently on the night of 6/7 July in the Gregorian or New Style calendar, which is 23/24 June in the

Julian or Old Style calendar still used by many Orthodox Churches. Calendar-wise, it is opposite to the winter

holiday Koliada. The celebration relates to the summer solstice when nights are the shortest and includes a number

of fascinating Pagan rituals.

Some early mythology scholars, such as Sir James Frazer, claimed that the holiday was originally Kupala; a pagan

fertility rite later accepted into the Orthodox Christian calendar. There are analogues for celebrating the legacy of St.

John around the time of the summer solstice elsewhere, including St. John's Day in Western Europe.

The Ukrainian, Belarusian and Russian name of this holiday combines "Ivan" (John the Baptist) and Kupala

which is related to a word derived from the Slavic word for bathing, which is cognate. The latter is reinterpreted as

John's baptizing people through full immersion in water (therefore his biblical title of the Baptist). However, the

tradition of Kupala predates Christianity. Due to the popularity of the pagan celebration that with time it was simply

accepted and reestablished as one of the native Christian traditions intertwined with local folklore.

The holiday is still enthusiastically celebrated by the younger people of the Eastern Europe. The night preceding the

holiday (Tvorila night) is considered the night for "good humour" mischiefs (which sometimes would raise concernsof law enforcement agencies). On Ivan Kupala day itself, children are engaged in water fights and perform pranks

mostly involving pouring water over someone.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mischief_nighthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kupalahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ivan_%28name%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=St._John%27s_Dayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eastern_Christianityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paganismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kupalahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=James_George_Frazerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ritualhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Summer_solsticehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Koliadahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Orthodox_Churchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Old_Style_and_New_Style_dateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Old_Style_and_New_Style_dateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Russiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Podlasiehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mazowszehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Polandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Belarushttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ukrainehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Polish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ukrainian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Belarusian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Russian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Feast_of_St._John_the_Baptisthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nativity_of_St._John_the_Baptisthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Solsticehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Slavic_peoplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henryk_Siemiradzkihttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Ivankupala.jpg

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Folklore and Slavic religious beliefs

Many of the rites related to this holiday within Slavic religious beliefs, due to the ancient Kupala rites, are connected

with the role of water in fertility and ritual purification.

On Kupala day, youth jump over the flames of bonfires in a ritual testing of one's bravery and faith. A couple in

love's failure to complete the jump while holding their hands is a sign of their destined separation.

Girls would float wreaths of flowers often lit with candles on rivers and would attempt to gain foresight into their

relationship fortunes from the flow patterns of the flowers on the river. Men may attempt to capture the wreaths, in

the hope of capturing the interest of the woman who floated the wreath.

There is an ancient Kupala belief, that the eve of Ivan Kupala is the only time of the year when ferns bloom.

Prosperity, luck, discernment and power would befall on whoever finds a fern flower. Therefore, on that night

village folks would roam through the forests in search ofmagical herbs and especially the elusivefern flower.

Traditionally, unmarried women, signified by their garlands on their hair, would be the first to enter the forests. They

are followed by young men. Therefore, consequent to the quest in finding herbs and the fern flowermay be the

blooming of relationships between pairs of men and women within the forest.

It is to be noted that biologists have held the persistent scientific fact that ferns have never and will never bloom.

In Gogol's story The Eve of Ivan Kupala a young man finds the fabulous fern-flower but is cursed by it. Gogol's tale

may have been the stimulus for Modest Mussorgsky to compose his tone poemNight on Bald Mountain.

External links

Ukrainian Kupala (alt.Kupalo, Kupailo) traditions[1]

The Day of Ivan Kupala as it has survived in the Vologda Region[2]

Kupalle holiday in Belarus (video)[3]

on the Official Website of the Republic of Belarus[4]

Kupala Night in Poland[5]

References

[1] http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?AddButton=pages\K\U\Kupalofestival.htm

[2] http://www.sras.org/day_of_ivan_kupala

[3] http://www.belarus.by/en/press-center/video/kupalle-holiday-in-belarus_i_209.html

[4] http://www.belarus.by/en

[5] http://www.culture.pl/web/english/events-calendar-full-page/-/eo_event_asset_publisher/L6vx/content/

poland-s-estival-valentine-s-day

http://www.culture.pl/web/english/events-calendar-full-page/-/eo_event_asset_publisher/L6vx/content/poland-s-estival-valentine-s-dayhttp://www.culture.pl/web/english/events-calendar-full-page/-/eo_event_asset_publisher/L6vx/content/poland-s-estival-valentine-s-dayhttp://www.belarus.by/enhttp://www.belarus.by/en/press-center/video/kupalle-holiday-in-belarus_i_209.htmlhttp://www.sras.org/day_of_ivan_kupalahttp://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?AddButton=pages\K\U\Kupalofestival.htmhttp://www.culture.pl/web/english/events-calendar-full-page/-/eo_event_asset_publisher/L6vx/content/poland-s-estival-valentine-s-dayhttp://www.belarus.by/enhttp://www.belarus.by/en/press-center/video/kupalle-holiday-in-belarus_i_209.htmlhttp://www.sras.org/day_of_ivan_kupalahttp://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?AddButton=pages\K\U\Kupalofestival.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Night_on_Bald_Mountainhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Modest_Mussorgskyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Eve_of_Ivan_Kupalahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gogolhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fern_flowerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fernhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kupalahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Superstitionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fire_worshiphttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ritual_purificationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fertilityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kupalahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Slavic_peoples

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Article Sources and Contributors 3

Article Sources and ContributorsKupala Night Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=560917856 Contributors: AS, Aleksandr Grigoryev, Alex Bakharev, Altenmann, Bkell, Bob99, Butko, CALR, DerBorg,

Dkreisst, Dpm64, Dzied Bulbash, Eliezg, Funandtrvl, Ghirlandajo, Greyhood, Hellerick, Hence Jewish Anderstein, Irpen, Iulius, Ivan Volodin, J04n, Julia Bel, KNewman, Kmcolo, Kmorozov,

Kovako-1, Lubap, Lysy, Materialscientist, Miamidot, Molobo, Montrealais, Mzajac, NSR, Ncmvocalist, Philly jawn, Ravave, Rcsprinter123, Reguly, Renata3, Rich Farmbrough, Rjwilmsi,

Schekinov Alexey Victorovich, Some thing, Spudkin, Symkovych, Tassedethe, TenaliBorogovy, Tufkaa, USchick, Voyevoda, WikiRider, Yulia Romero, Zawada, Zwiadowca21, ..,

, 54 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and ContributorsFile:Ivankupala.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Ivankupala.jpgLicense: Public Domain Contributors: Butko, Electron, Evrik, Ies, LX, Lotse, Mattes, Piastu,

SofoPodilska, Trelio, VIGNERON,

License

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