Kupala Night

Kupala Night (also Kupala's Night or just Kupala; Polish: Noc Kupały, Belarusian: Купа́лле: Kupalle, Russian: Ива́н Купа́ла: Ivan Kupala, Купала: Kupala, Ukrainian: Івана Купала: Ivana Kupala) is one of the major folk holidays in some Slavic countries. It coincides with the Christian feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist and the East Slavic feast of Saint John's Eve. In folk tradition, it is revered as the day of the summer solstice and was originally celebrated on the shortest night of the year, which is either on 21-22 or 23-24 of June in Czechia, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria (where it is called Enyovden). These dates were also adopted in Ukraine as of 2023. Following the Julian calendar, it is celebrated on the night between 6 and 7 July in Belarus, Russia, and parts of Ukraine. The name of the holiday is ultimately derived from the Proto-Slavic word *kǫpati, meaning "to bathe". A number of activities and rituals are associated with Kupala Night, such as gathering herbs and flowers to decorate people, animals, and houses with; entering natural bodies of water and bathing or dousing oneself in it, as well as setting garlands on the water; lighting and jumping over fires; singing, dancing; and hunting witches and scaring them away. It was also believed that on this day the sun plays and other wonders of nature happen. The celebrations are held near the water, on the hills, surrounding that; chiefly, young men and women participate in these folkloric traditions. The rituals and symbolism of the holiday may point to its pre-Christian origins.