Ivan Kupala's Day (or Midsummer's Day) is a Slavic folk holiday. Currently, it is celebrated in several countries and is usually timed to coincide with the birthday of John the Baptist, i.e. from pagan became Christian.
Midsummer first appeared among the Eastern and Western Slavs. Before Christianity, the day of Ivan Kupala was associated with the summer solstice, i.e. June 20-21. It was a holiday of the Sun, green mowing and ripe summer. With the adoption of Christianity, the day of John the Baptist appeared, celebrated on June 24. After switching to a new calendar, it moved to July 7th. The meaning of the name John is translated from Greek as "bather, plunger."
Initially, the holiday fell on the border of two periods of the solar cycle. And the annual cycle of the sun was the basis of the ancient agricultural calendar. By the day of Kupala, the sun was becoming the most active - the longest day and the shortest night. After that, the day waned. The days of the summer solstice coincided with green Christmastide - a week of rest after planting the crop. During this period, people tried to achieve the goodwill of nature, so that the harvest would be good, and performed various rituals.
Day of Ivan Kupala for the Slavs was the personification of the union of the Father of Heaven and Mother Earth, Fire and Water, male and female. People believed that during this period everything around is filled with love.
The holiday was called differently at different periods of time and depending on the area: Kupala, Yarilin's day, Kres, Ivan the herbalist, Ivan the good, etc. If we translate the word "Kupala" from Sanskrit, from which many words originated, then we get: ku - "land, land", pala - "keeper, ruler, protector." Those. “Protector, ruler of the Earth,” which referred to the Sun.
According to the ancient folk calendar, the Yarilin Day holiday was part of a single cycle: before Kupala there was the day of Agrafena Kupalnitsa, and after that - Peter's day. This period of the year, according to popular belief, falls on the peak of natural flowering. People believed that the magical power of the elements (earth, water and fire) increased many times over and tried to join it. However, it was believed that negative otherworldly forces are also being activated these days, so care must be taken not to be influenced by them.
On the night of Ivan Kupala, they usually performed ritual ablutions in open reservoirs. It was believed that on this day, water had the ability to renew and heal. They also wove wreaths and let them go through the water, guessing at the wedding. People danced around the fires, jumped over them to attract happiness. After that, the young people played fun games.
A scarecrow was erected on a dais, food was brought to it, they danced around it and sang songs. After that, the scarecrow was burned or drowned in a pond. It was believed that medicinal herbs at this time have especially strong properties, so they were collected on this day and stored for a long time. On the shortest Kupala night, people preferred not to go to bed, so as not to fall under the influence of evil spirits.
