Kupala Night

Kupala Night (also Kupala's Night or just Kupala; Polish: Noc Kupały, Belarusian: Kupalle, Russian: Ivan Kupala, Kupala, Ukrainian: Ivan Kupalo) is one of the major folk holidays of the Eastern Slavs that 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 was revered as the day of the summer solstice and was originally celebrated on the shortest night of the year, which is on 21-22 or 23-24 of June (Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, and Parts of Ukraine), and according to Julian calendar on the night between 6 and 7 July (Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia). The name of the holiday is ultimately derived from the East Slavic word kǫpati "to bathe".

A number of activities and rituals are associated with Kupala Night, such as gathering herbs and flowers and decorating people, animals, and houses with them; entering water, bathing, or dousing with water and sending garlands on water; lighting fires, dancing, singing, and jumping over fire; 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.