Ivan Kupala Day
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ivan Kupala Day (John the Baptist Day; Russian: Иван-Купала; Belarusian: Купалле; Ukrainian: Івана Купала) is celebrated in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine on 7 July in the Gregorian or New Style calendar, which is currently 24 June in the Julian or Old Style calendar still used by many of the Orthodox Churches. It is opposed to the winter solstice holiday, or Korochun.
Some early mythology scholars, such as Sir James Frazer, have claimed that the holiday was originally a pagan fertility rite later accepted into the Orthodox Christian calendar. There are analogues for celebrating John near the solstice elsewhere, including St. John Day in Western Europe.
According to Vasmer, the name of this holiday combines the words "Ivan", the Slavic name of John (the Baptist), and "Kupala", a word derived from the Slavic word for bathing, as it was the first day of the year when the church sanctioned bathing and swimming in rivers and ponds, though the term is also consistent with John's baptizing people through full immersion in the water.
[edit] Folklore and Slavic Religious beliefs
For the followers of Slavic Religion many rites of this holiday are connected with water, fertility and autopurification. The girls, for example, would float their flower garlands on the water of rivers and tell their fortunes from their movement. Youths and girls would jump over the flames of bonfires.
There is an ancient belief that the Eve of Ivan Kupala is the only time of the year when the ferns are blooming. Whoever finds a fern flower would become rich and lucky. Hence, on that night village folk would roam through the forests in search of magical herbs.
In Gogol's story The Eve of Ivan Kupala a young man finds the fabulous fern-flower but is cursed by it. The Gogol's witches' sabbath on the Eve of Ivan Kupala inspired Modest Mussorgsky to compose his Night on Bald Mountain.
[edit] See also
- Kupala | Kupolė | Midsummer | Pirogovo | Jāņi | Saint Jonas' Festival
- Semik — a related spring holiday.
- Yanka Kupala — the pen-name of this Belarusian author references his birthday on July 7.
