It’s amazing that a pagan holiday can survive more than 1,000 years of Christianity almost intact.
This is exactly the case with Ivana Kupala, the Ukrainian holiday celebrated after the summer solstice, usually on the night of July 6.
The name Kupala refers to the god of fruits of the earth. His holiday is considered to be one of the most magical ones in the Ukrainian calendar. Fortune-telling, jumping over cleansing fires and other mystical rituals have traditionally been part of it.
Ukrainians gathered in the open-air, partied and danced to folk tunes.
This year all the beautiful festivities took place in the ethnic open-air museum Pirogovo located just outside Kyiv. Visitors young and old, clad in traditional clothes, flocked to the museum, despite it being a working day and weather playing tricks.
Folk bands set the mood for the traditional ceremonies and entertainment.
Young girls attempted to weave flower wreaths by themselves, as they would have done in the old days. The wreath would then be let out into the river with a burning candle. This beautiful ancient ceremony was recreated in Pirogovo, among others.
Young girls made flower wreaths.
Those whose candles burned for a long time, and whose wreaths floated furthest of all were considered to have a high chance of marrying within a year. The bridegroom was believed to be coming from the side of the river where the wreath landed. Men who wanted to marry particular women attempted to catch their wreaths.
Many of the guests did not know about the origin of the holiday. Olena Didiuk, who had done a bachelor degree paper on pagan holidays assimilated by the Christian tradition, explained how the name Ivan merged with the holiday.
After the wreaths are made, girls floated them in the water hoping to find a soulmate.
“Christianity was brought on the Ukrainian land against the will of pagan people, and the church needed to set new holidays on top of the old ones. So today people have a choice whether to celebrate Ivan the Baptist’s day, or the day of Kupala,” she said.
“Look at those people. They are happy. I feel they celebrate Ivan the Baptist’s day, but do it with old traditions,” whispered father Sergiy, a priest from Pirogovo’s local church, who overheard Didiuk.
Undeterred by mosquitoes and rain, the celebrations lasted well into the night. The rain failed to put off the bonfire, as well. It became so enormous that the museum’s administration called in fire-fighters to put it off.
Kyiv Post staff writer Elena Zagrebina can be reached at [email protected].
