Ivan Kupala Day
| Kupala Night | |
|---|---|
Night on the Eve of Ivan Kupala,
by Henryk Hector Siemiradzki |
|
| Also called | Feast of St. John the Baptist; Иван-Купала; Купалле; Іван Купала; Noc Kupały |
| Observed by | Slavic people |
| Significance | celebration relates to the summer solstice |
| Begins | June 23 (July 6) |
| Ends | June 24 (July 7) |
| Date | June 24, July 7 |
| Related to | Summer Solstice, Nativity of St. John the Baptist |
Kupala Night, also known as Ivan Kupala Day (Russian: Иван-Купала; Belarusian: Купалле; Ukrainian: Іван Купала; Polish: Noc Świętojańska, Noc Kupały), is celebrated in Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Poland, 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 Slavic 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, with time it was simply accepted and reestablished as one of the native Christian traditions intertwined with local folklore.
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