The message about the rite of Ivan Kupala is abbreviated. The Slavic holiday was bathed by its traditions and history
Slavic Holiday Kupala (Kupailo, Kupalo) - the day of the summer solstice. The longest day and shortest night of the year. This is one of the four main holidays of the ancient Slavs, timed to coincide with the positions of the Sun (, Kupala,). The last day of the Rusal Week or Mermaids. Kupala is one of the oldest holidays that has preserved many of the traditions and customs of our ancestors to this day, for example: seeing off Yarila, who is replaced by the God of the summer sun Kupala, collecting healing herbs, searching for a fern flower, etc. Kupala is also a great holiday, which is now replaced by the church on the birthday of John the Baptist.
Let's try to unbiasedly figure out what kind of day this is, bearing the name of Kupala, which was revered and celebrated by the ancestors of the Rus strictly at the same time of the year, long before our times, the main customs and traditions of which, which are in the Soul and now (precisely according to Soul, and not according to some canons), have come down to us from time immemorial.
What day is Kupala celebrated?
The very date of the celebration is not accidental and is associated with an astronomical event, like many other celebrated days, which may indicate the advanced knowledge of the ancestors of the Rus in astronomy. Kupala Day is an astronomical event called the summer solstice. Now it is absolutely known that the trajectory of our planet around the Yarila-Sun is far from a perfect circle. During one revolution of our planet around the Yarila-Sun, the distance between them changes from the minimum close to the maximum remote, which is repeated from year to year and from century to century. On the day of the summer solstice, our planet occupies the most distant position from the Yarila-Sun, and in our hemisphere at this time there is the longest day and the shortest night of the year - the triumph of light over darkness. This astronomical event does not depend on any religions, beliefs, political views and, in general, people. The sun shines the same for everyone, and this event occurs at the same time from year to year, regardless of any calendars and their styles, and it cannot be canceled or rescheduled to please anyone, but it is quite possible to change concepts.
In 2020, the Slavic Feast of Kupala falls on June 21
Thus, the day of the summer solstice, according to the widely used calendar today, falls on June 19-25.
Where did the names of the holiday Kupala, Kupailo, Kupalo or Ivan-Kupala come from?
We figured out the date, now let's try to understand what meaning was put into the name of the Kupala Day holiday. If in the case of the date everything is clear, the conditions there are determined by an astronomical event, then the name will have to be left open, since we do not currently have reliable information, and the Ancestors' Legacy, passed from mouth to mouth, has come down to us very distorted. There are many versions of the origin of this name, but not all of them are accepted by the Soul quite unambiguously, which can be perceived as true. At the end of the article is a legend dedicated to the origin of the name of the festival of the summer solstice. Take courage and, after reading it, make your own opinion whether your Soul accepts such an interpretation, whether it is a version close to reality, and do not blindly follow any beliefs.
Today, the holiday is better known as Ivan Kupala or Ivan's Day, named after the Christian Saint John the Baptist. Ivan Kupala, unlike the real Feast of Kupail or Kupala, is not timed to coincide with the solstice, but is celebrated on the date of the birth of John the Baptist on July 7th. Celebrating Kupala on July 7 according to pagan traditions with bonfires, wreaths, searching for ferns does not make any sense, since the solstice has long been left behind. In fact, this holiday does not belong at all to John the Baptist or some incomprehensible Ivan Kupala, but to the pagan God Kupala (Kupailo).
Once this holiday was celebrated not only in Rus', but throughout Europe. Hills, fields, meadows, valleys were covered with the lights of Kupala bonfires. In our time, of course, this is no longer the case, but many people, pagan communities continue to support the tradition, and anyone can visit the Kupala Festival, as it really is. It is believed that at the dawn of the Kupala day, the sun rejoices, shimmers with all the colors of the rainbow, dances and bathes. The day of the solstice itself is always hot, this is explained by the fact that the sun on its last day fries the earth with all its might, but, defeated, leaves for the winter. At Kupala, the sun reaches its climax, fries with incredible force, and according to tradition, people should ask him to moderate his ardor.
Folk rituals and traditions for the Kupala Festival
To this day, the summer solstice is widely celebrated in different parts of our planet, and in many places on its true astronomical date. This holiday is common among peoples whose roots are closely connected with the roots of the Rus. Having different names for different nationalities, its essence is the same: all rituals are associated with fire, which usually acts in two forms - earthly and heavenly (the Sun), and water.
The celebration of Kupala Day was preceded by the Mermaid Week. These days are dedicated to the Goddesses of rivers, lakes and reservoirs. During the Mermaid Week, they did not swim without special need, so as not to disturb the water deities preparing for the summer festival, and from that day they began to swim in the rivers every day. It was customary to guard the meeting of the month with the sun on the night of the solstice, they did not go to bed and watched the Sun play. Kupala night is the time when the magical power of fire, water, earth, plants reaches its highest strength, and the water in rivers and lakes acquires special life-giving and cleansing properties. The belief about the color of the fern, blooming with a fiery color on the Kupala night, is in all Slavic peoples, in search of which the most courageous went.
The idea of the holiday is cleansing, affecting the three bodies of human essence - a three-dimensional shell, soul and spirit. Fundamental natural elements - water and fire - are used as cleansing elements. That is why the famous bathing fires are always bred on the banks of rivers.
The celebration begins with a round dance. The round dance is built from three circles of people holding hands and moving in different directions. The outer circle is made up of people of mature and old age, the middle circle is young and full of strength guys and girls, and the smallest circle, which is closest to the fire, is made up of small children .
During the celebration, our Ancestors jumped over the fires, and then, with a run, plunged into the arms of the river. The important point is that it should be exactly a river with moving water, when you can draw an analogy with the river of time, during which everything is once washed away, changes are constantly taking place. And if water purifies the body, then fire purifies the Soul.
It is believed that the bonfires lit on the Kupala Festival have a unique, cleansing power. On the bathing night, these bonfires, according to the beliefs of our Ancestors, burned in three worlds at once - in Reveal, Navi and Rule. Therefore, any fire on this night is a conductor, powerful and irresistible. Conductor of human and divine, dark and light, earthly and heavenly.
Walking on coals is the next part of the holiday. This is a moment of purification or, rather, even hardening of the spirit. Through heat, a powerful thermal energy flow and small painful sparks, false thoughts, unfair aspirations, demons and larvae, pushing him to a dark path, leave a person.
Also, the Slavic Holiday Day of Kupala includes weaving wreaths and firelights. As for wreaths, in tradition, wreaths are woven by girls for guys. Of course, if we are talking about an established couple, then the girl weaves a wreath for her man or husband, another option is simply unacceptable. In all other cases, single girls give their wreaths to those guys who cause them the most sympathy. Wreaths are woven from field herbs and flowers. Ognevitsy are small "boats", most often made of wooden planks. A candle is placed in the center of such a boat, and a “fence” is made around the grass and leaves so that the wind does not accidentally extinguish the flame. Fireboxes with lit candles are launched into the river. If a person does not have a pair, he can start the firelighter on his own, but more often this moment is not individual. After all, a harmonious state is achieved only in the unity of opposites, therefore, ideally, the flame should be launched by a couple - the bride and groom or husband and wife. At that moment, when a guy and a girl put a fire on the water, they make wishes.
One of the biggest misconceptions about the Feast of Kupala, which Christians gave us, is that during the festival, fornication and all sorts of outrages are happening. Our Slavic ancestors were the purest, both spiritually and materially.
Preachers and missionaries who came to our country from afar saw an incomprehensible festivity with fun, games, dances. It seemed to them that it was simply disgusting, and instead of sitting on their knees and begging for eternal forgiveness, people rejoice in life.
The fact is that on Kupala, as a holiday of the maximum sun, when the unusually powerful magical forces of heaven and earth are activated, it was considered a good sign to conceive a child. According to legend, those conceived on the day of the sun on Kupala absorbed all its energy and became either the best warriors or wise women. It was also considered unlikely that a child conceived on Kupala would have supernatural powers.
The baptists probably witnessed how on a holiday, when the forces of nature were at their peak, many young people, secluded in quiet groves and meadows, tried to conceive new offspring. As a result, in order to try to take one of the most significant holidays from the Slavs, a post was imposed on him (Petrov post). In pre-Christian times, of course, there was no fasting, and the festivities were not a holiday of the stomach and spirit before a long abstinence, but the celebration of the Day of the Sun of Kupala and the end of the Mermaid Week.
The legend of how the Kupala Festival appeared
How the twins Kupala and Kostroma were born to the Goddess of Bathing
In the meantime, in the kingdom of Rule, everything continued to move in its turn. Everything moved in its turn in our earthly kingdom of Reveal. In the Iry garden, the fire god Semargl was going to go again to protect the world from dark forces. He sharpened his fiery sword, turned into a winged dog and rushed across the night sky to disperse the Chernobog great-grandchildren.
That night turned out to be difficult - time was the reason for this. The time of the summer solstice has come, the time of the holiday of many dark forces, when the sun turns to the winter. Khors is still shining brightly, full of strength, but Veles's hands are already on the great Svarog wheel, on the great wheel of time.
Very soon the sun will wane - little by little, by the minute, and then, as it is now, it will not shine: then the cold Moraine will become the mistress of the forest-fields. Even Khorsa will be covered with cold: on the day of the autumn equinox, when day and night are equal, he will extinguish his life-giving rays.
That is why the dark forces rejoice, but as yet they cannot defeat the sun. These days, Khors shines with all its might, and Dazhbog brings a bright light to the whole earth, but at night Semargl protects the world - he taught people to kindle fires, and now on the nights of the summer solstice they burn like eyes of light, dispersing away the darkness of the night. And the earth then, like a mirror, reflects the starry sky.
At this time, the wonderful Bathing Room-Night, an assistant of fertile forces, shines with such amazing beauty that the fire god Semargl finally decided - he approached, flew up to the Bathing Room and spoke of his ardent love. He told how he longs for her in heaven. And then the Beautiful Goddess answered Semargl's love, and their love was hotter than a flame and more tender than the night air.
And, as it was appointed by fate, woven as it was by the wise Makosh, as it was tied to Nedoley with Share, twins were born to Semargl with the Bathing Suit - two, a boy and a girl.
The boy was given the name Kupala, he was bright and white, his eyes, like water, were transparent and gentle. The girl's name was Kostroma, and she was bright as fire, with a warm soul and heart. Brother and sister were inseparable, they ran together through the fields and meadows and marveled at the earthly world, and the fields, and meadows, and groves. Together they marveled at the beasts of the earth and watched the flight of heavenly birds.
Kupala and Kostroma were equal in their beauty and skills, only the difference was that Kostroma loved to look at the fire, she had fun, jumping over the fire, and Kupala loved lake water more, loved river waves and swam every day.
Once Kostroma said to Kupala:
Light-winged birds told me yesterday that far, far away, by the Smorodina River, magical songs, world wonderful birds sing. Let's go with you tomorrow morning to that cherished place to hear unprecedented songs.
Kupala immediately agreed to this, he also liked bird singing.
They didn’t say anything to their father and mother, and in the morning they went to the Smorodina River, to the huge World Oak, where the Alkonost bird sat on the right and sang about life and joy, and on the left Sirin sat with a sweet voice and sang songs about the kingdom of the dead.
And Kupala listened to the sad songs of the bird Sirin, which flowed like a murmuring stream. Kupala forgot about everything in the world, closed his eyes, and then the Sirin bird took him to the dark, dead kingdom, and hid it there for years to come. And Kostroma listened to Alkonost the bird, as if flashes of bright flame were her charming songs. Kostroma did not notice how brother Kupala disappeared, and when she looked around, no one was already around. She began to call her dear brother, but Kupala did not respond to her, he was in a dark, distant side under the wing of the Sirin bird.
Since then, many years have passed, and more than once white, fierce blizzards covered a pure field of snow with snow, and more than once then lush grasses sprouted through the winter's malice. Many times since then, the red sun has passed its annual cycle. Troubles often gave way to joy.
Since then, Kostroma has grown up, become a girl - a written beauty. Grooms to Kostroma often wooed, even Veles, the wisest God, often looked at her, but none of them was loved by Kostroma.
There is none of them to match me, - she often said to mother, - among them for me there is no equal. I'm a girl, born of the Gods, not immortal, but beautiful. Who can compare with me in skills? I will not go for God for everyone! Hairy old men are no match for me. Hairy and married...
And Night Bathing Suit sighed in response. "Quiet!" - she said to her daughter. Fear, they say, troubles, they say, your beauty is equal to pride, no matter how angry the Gods are. But the lively mother Kostroma did not listen, she kept laughing, braiding her red curls into a braid. Together with other girls, she wove wreaths, but one day the wind-driven Stribog suddenly plucked a wreath from her head. He blew harder, threw it into the water, and the wreath floated downstream. And then the proud Kostroma wished to find a wreath of a groom equal to her. Let a wreath float, looking for a betrothed, so that he is exactly like her in everything!
And June, the month of the earth, was ending on earth, and July, the month of lime, was replacing it. And the day of the solstice was getting closer: until sunset, the sun shines for a long time, brighter than bright, and then a short night comes - a strange, bad time.
At this time, the world freezes in anticipation: something will be ahead, how will everything work out? Water spirits and mermaids, subjects of the mistress of Makosh, a week before the solstice loudly celebrate their wild holiday. Mavkas, vodynitsy, rags and other aquatic women put wreaths on their heads from water lilies, and then they get out of lakes and rivers and let's have fun along the banks. Unbelted, in white shirts, Slavic mermaids frolic, sing, laugh, sway in the trees, or even just sit on the grass and comb their long hair.
Slavic mermaids never had tails, but they have frisky legs, and therefore they like to dance round dances, but not salting, from left to right, towards the Rule, as live guys and girls do in honor of the Horse round, and salting, against the arrow sentry, from right to left, from world to world Navi.
Water is an amazing element, it gives life to the whole world, but water can also destroy. Through the rivers and lakes there is a path to the kingdom of the underworld, and therefore many spirits of the waters obey, except for Makosh, Veles the wise, especially those that came from the dead, from the drowned. Water spirits, moist, can help the crop grow, or they can flood everything in the bud, and if a person offended them with something or met them at an unkind hour, they will tickle them to death and drag them to their underwater world.
More than others, rags love to tickle all the people they meet, and in order to protect themselves from them in Rusalia, the holiday of all mermaids, people alone in coastal forests and flood meadows tried not to appear, and if they walked, they took garlic and wormwood with them - scare away the rags.
Patchwork from the wormwood used to run away, but the Mavkas did not care. They are not even afraid to step over the circle, over the protective iron chain! The main thing is not to anger the Mavoks, to laugh them off, the living have all hope for this. They will ask for a comb to comb their hair - give it, otherwise it will be worse. True, then the comb will have to be thrown away, otherwise you will go bald yourself, but if you don’t give it, you are greedy - the mavki will be tortured to death.
In appearance, they are such beauties that the world has never seen before: a sweet face, slender legs - everything is like that of the living. Only the beauty of the Mavok is not alive, it is dead. From the back you can see the unbeatable heart, lungs, turned green without air, and the insides soaked in the water. The beauty of their face was rewarded for their unrequited love on earth. After all, drowned women usually become mavkas, ugly, offended by life, that they rushed into the water from unhappy love.
The most vicious among the mermaids are lobsters, they like to hide in the coastal reeds. Older than the lobasta of young Mawks, smarter, stronger, more experienced. Undead they crawl out of the water, their faces are terrible, old women. Whom the lobasts attack, death will be a deliverance.
And Vodyanoy is in charge of all the mermaids - on the days of the summer solstice he does feel like a birthday boy. He is the master of the waters, he grazes his herds of fish in silence at the bottom of rivers and lakes - carps, catfish, bream - like a shepherd of cows in the field. He himself is entangled in mud, with a big belly, with a tail. Instead of hands - goose paws, bug-eyed, like a fish, with a rich beard and green mustache. All the girls are watery, transparent, obey him strictly. Only his daughters, the water maidens, play pranks on the sly from their father: they confuse fishing gear and invite the fishermen under the water with sweet songs.
During the day, Vodyanoy sleeps in the silence of deep pools or under a water mill, and at night he commands the drowned. In fact, Vodyanoy is a kind grandfather, but if he gets angry, gets excited, he can break the nets, flood the houses, or even completely destroy the dam. Most of all, he loves to indulge out of boredom - he will drag some gaping boy from the shore to the bottom and leave him to live to entertain him in the underwater silence.
And the most cheerful and nimble mermen live in springs with clean spring water - “rattling springs” that arose on earth from the lightning strikes of the Perunovs.
At such an unkind time, when Light and Darkness are measuring their strength, a wreath fell into the water of Kostroma and swam to look for her betrothed - beauty and skills like her. Exactly the same. On the waves swayed a wreath of blue, like water, flowers and red flowers, like fire.
What good fellow will catch him, to be the groom of Kostroma. Only a wreath is not given to anyone, it floats along the river, along the river, to unexplored lands.
Mermaids follow him along the water, mavkas with waterworts whisper softly. Like, it would be necessary for our Water Master to talk about that wreath, and even Bishop Veles himself should have known about the girl’s wreath. But in vain the water maidens are worried, Veles the lord has long found out about everything. For a girlish whim, for pride, for words offensive to the Gods, he decided to punish the maiden Kostroma.
By order of the underground Veles, in the gloomy kingdom, the Sirin bird released Kupapa from under its wing, put Kupapa in a boat and sent it to swim along the river-lake. He was carried out of the underworld by water, carried along the rivers to his native side, and then, with an unprecedented current, he was dragged up the Volga River - straight towards his fate.
While Kupala was with the bird Sirin, he grew up, matured, became a fine fellow, a handsome hand-written - with blue eyes, like two lakes, and blond, boiled hair.
Kupala began to look around, standing in a boat, and suddenly he saw a girlish wreath floating towards him, sparkling on the water with bright colors - blue and blue, yellow and scarlet. “It can be seen that the clever beauty was weaving that wreath,” Kupala thinks, “and let it run along the river in order to find her betrothed as soon as possible. If the girl is as beautiful as these flowers, I would like to marry her immediately!
Kupala bent down, picked up a wreath - those flowers smelled of an unearthly smell, they smelled of a forest, a fire and mermaids. And water lilies, and spicy herbs.
At the same moment, the boat carried Kupap right to the one that threw the wonderful wreath. Here Kupala floats, floats in a boat, looks and recognizes his native places - those fields and meadows, groves and forests where he and Kostroma ran together. And then Kupala looks, the girl stands on the shore, looks at him joyfully with all her eyes.
Right to that girl, his boat carried him out, went to the bank of Kupala, holding a wreath in his hands.
Is this your wreath, dear beauty?
Mine, - Kostroma answered quietly.
So they stood, looking at each other. And they fell in love with each other without memory, fell in love as soon as they saw each other. They were matched to each other, like fire and water, which cannot be without each other, but which cannot be together forever ...
Kupala and Kostroma did not recognize each other - to know that Veles was a secret idea. On the same night, without asking anyone about anything, Kupala and Kostroma got married, and the water bears were witnesses to that wedding of an unprecedented wedding. They had fun, rejoicing in the happiness of the young, and bathed with them together with Kupala and Kostroma, and then on the shore they jumped over a bright fire.
Only in the morning did the Bathing Lady find out that a great misfortune had happened to her beloved children. After all, it is impossible for twins, a brother and sister, to love each other in a conjugal way! So the Svarogov Law tells people, so the human law commands.
Bathing suit came to the children with tears, told them the bitter truth. And, as soon as the truth was revealed, in a terrible moment that their happiness ended. Now there was no more place for them on earth. They could not live in marriage, but they could not live separately either.
Out of grief, Kupala jumped into the burning fire and disappeared, as if he had never existed, and Kostroma rushed into the forest lake, and the blue-green waters closed over her head. Joyful Kostroma has become a mavka.
And the Night Bather has since become even blacker and has been dropping her bitter tears-dew on the grass since then in the morning. He doesn’t want to see anyone else, even Semargl doesn’t let his beloved on the threshold anymore. Since then, one has been walking around the world Night-Kupapnitsa, everything is yearning, sad and sad.
The Gods of Iria were also saddened, Veles's revenge was cruel. Yes, and Veles himself spun, he did not feel joy from revenge. But it is no longer possible to correct what has been done, not to reverse the Svarogov circle. And then the cunning Veles decided with his wisdom to breathe life into past suffering: he decided to turn the twins into a flower, so much so that they were inseparable forever. So that they are born again, grow together, so that they intertwine in a single flower. So that both shine in a single flower in blue and yellow-orange.
And by the will of Veles, a wondrous miracle happened in the forest clearing: yellow-blue flowers grew, flowers are bright and mysterious. “Kupala-da-mavka” - people began to call them. And since then, in the meadows and in the forests, those flowers have grown with a red flame, blue water. To this day, they grow in the forests.
You, of course, saw them, dear girls and boys, they are called Ivan da Marya now - according to Orthodox customs. But the flowers are the same, the flowers are ancient, born by Veles - in memory of the twins. And people began to revere Kupapa himself as the God of summer, wild flowers and forest fruits, the God of purification and redemption.
You, of course, have heard about the night on Kupapa - a magical, incomprehensible night on the day of the summer solstice. She is still not forgotten. Since the misfortune happened to the twins, since they died and were reborn in a flower, our distant ancestors began to celebrate the holiday in honor of Kupap and the immortal Gods of Iri - a holiday of life and death, dying and rebirth. Since then, people and Gods began to celebrate the holiday of the sun, water and fire. Since then, this night of the summer solstice has become known among the Slavs as Kupala.
Strange things happen on Kupalskaya night! Even the trees move from place to place, rustle their leaves, talk among themselves. Animals, birds and even herbs talk to each other that night, and forest flowers are filled with unprecedented power - miraculous, magical power. On this night, people gather cherished herbs, which help in divination, and heal, and become love spells, and protect from misfortunes and troubles.
Only on this night of timelessness, a fern flower blooms in the forests, a plant dedicated to the thunderer Perun - “Perun's Colors”. The witches told our ancestors that, if you go to the forest that night, take a white tablecloth, canvas and a knife with you. With a knife or a burnt torch, draw a circle around the fern bush, spread a tablecloth and sit in a circle, not taking your eyes off the fern bush. Like, various monsters and spirits, subjects of Morena, will terrify and sleep on you, and if you get scared, step out of the circle, tear you apart at the same moment.
Exactly at midnight, a flower bud will appear on the fern, burst with a bang, and an unusually bright, fiery red flower will open. It is necessary to tear it as soon as possible, before another invisible hand grabs the flower. Evil spirits will scream with a terrible voice, the earth will shake, thunder will rumble, and lightning will flash, the wind will rustle, and a terrible roar will be heard, enveloping you with flame and a suffocating smell. But if you are lucky and you take possession of the flower, cover yourself with a tablecloth and run to the village without looking back. If you look back, the flower will disappear, and if not, if you endure all the trials, then the flower will open the past, present and future for you, teach you to look for treasures, introduce you to the secrets of the Gods, teach people to guess and understand the language of birds, animals and plants.
However, people also said that it’s all fiction, an illusion of unclean forces that want to destroy people, that in fact the fern never blooms in the forest, which means there’s nothing to go after it ...
On Kupapa, young men and women poured water over each other with mud mixed, and then they bathed together and sang songs to wash away everything unclean from the soul and body, they arranged baths. In the morning they collected life-giving dew and washed themselves with that dew in order to be healthy. The Slavs believed that at this time the heavens were able to open up for a short moment, and then every wish would come true.
On this night, the sun, after sunset, also bathes in the waters to bring fertility to the earth, and therefore, in honor of the mighty sun - in honor of the round Horse, and the bright Dazhbog, and the ardent Yarila - the wheels tied with straw were lit on Kupala night, an ancient solar symbol, with a dot - hub in the center and beams-knitting needles. And then they started up these burning wheels from the hills, so that they rolled, scattering fire, to the river to the very water. Until now, in some villages, the Kupala holiday is celebrated this way.
They also played burners - a fun game in honor of the sun with songs and catch-ups. It is from the burners that modern tags originated, which you still play with pleasure, dear girls and boys.
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Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov
And Ivan Kupala (I and K uppercase), Ivan Kupala (Kupala), pl. no, husband. The Orthodox have a holiday on June 24 of the old style, dedicated to the so-called. John the Baptist. Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 ... Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov
- (Midsummer Day) an ancient holiday of the summer solstice (June 24, old style) among the Eastern Slavs. Ivan Kupala is the popular nickname of John the Baptist, with the legend of which the church connected agricultural folk rituals designed to ensure the harvest ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
See Kupala. (Source: "Myths of the peoples of the world.") ... Encyclopedia of mythology
Exist., number of synonyms: 2 Ivanov's Day (4) bathed (5) ASIS Synonym Dictionary. V.N. Trishin. 2013 ... Synonym dictionary
Exist., Number of synonyms: 1 holiday (133) ASIS Synonym Dictionary. V.N. Trishin. 2013 ... Synonym dictionary
See Midsummer. * * * IVAN KUPALA IVAN KUPALA (Midsummer Day), an ancient holiday of the summer solstice (June 24, old style) among the Eastern Slavs. Ivan Kupala is the popular nickname of John the Baptist, with the legend of which the church connected ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary
IVAN KUPALA- An ancient pagan (see paganism *) agricultural holiday, also Ivanov's day and the day of the summer (see summer *) solstice, that is, the longest day and the shortest night of the year. Celebrated June 24th. The holiday was spread under various ... ... Linguistic Dictionary
Ivan Kupalo, an ancient folk religious magical agricultural holiday (aka Ivan's Day; June 24, old style). It was distributed under various names among many peoples of Europe, including the Slavs. Bathed folk ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia
Ivan Kupala- see Kupala ... Popular dictionary of the Russian language
Books
- About outfits and rituals, Kirillov Ivan Borisovich. Folk holidays are the legacy of our ancestors. Once upon a time, people believed that with the help of rituals one could solve economic problems and attract good luck. The revival of holiday traditions...
- Evenings on a farm near Dikanka, Nikolai Gogol. "Sorochinsky Fair", "The Night Before Christmas", "Terrible Revenge", "The Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich" - the best of Gogol's early stories - fantastic and ...
Fabulous time, filled with magic and mystery - the night of Ivan Kupala. Perhaps one of the most mystical folk holidays, which we readily celebrate today.
Ivan Kupala is a holiday that exists only among the Eastern Slavic peoples, and has no analogues either in Western European or American traditions. In the ritual calendar, this holiday "opposes" Christmas, more precisely, Kolyada. Initially, Kupala night was celebrated on the day of the summer solstice, but over the centuries, for many reasons, its date has shifted slightly. Today Ivan Kupala is celebrated in July, the seventh.
ancient holiday
Ivan Kupala, or rather, the night before the holiday, can be safely called one of the oldest ritual days in history. The holiday originated long before the advent of Christianity to the Slavic lands, in those dark times when our ancestors deified nature and natural phenomena. The Church "accepted" the holiday, changing and assimilating it, and today we celebrate Ivan Kupala as the Nativity of John the Baptist. However, some of the rituals performed on the Kupala night have remained unchanged for many centuries.
Rites of Kupala night
It is not for nothing that the word “kupala” is present in the name of the holiday - traditions prescribed that it was necessary to swim before the magical night. Someone swam in a natural reservoir - a lake, river, stream, someone in a bathhouse or even a large wooden barrel. But not fulfilling the main requirement of the holiday meant incurring many troubles and misfortunes. Water, according to beliefs, was supposed to wash away everything superficial, nasty, dirty, and rituals had to be performed with a clean body and soul.
wreaths
On the day before the holiday, the girls wove wreaths - for themselves and for their betrothed. It was possible to give a wreath to any guy you liked, and the birch branches and wormwood shoots woven into it were supposed to protect the beloved from evil spirits - mermaids, mawok, navi.
At night, the wreaths were assigned a different role - they were allowed along the river, guessing their fate. A wreath floated away in a burning candle cinder stuck into it - a long and happy life awaits the girl, even and smooth, like the waters of a river. A wave splashed, extinguished a timid light - expect trouble: illness, hunger, quarrels with your loved one. Well, if a wreath sank right there near the shore, it’s completely bad: death will come to the yard, it will take away the disease either to the fortuneteller herself or to someone close.
According to beliefs, further, beyond the bend, where neither water nor the shore was visible, the mermaids collected the wreaths that sailed away, and then they danced in them all night, led round dances, sang sad songs. After all, mermaids are the same girls, but drowned in heavy muddy waters. On the night of Ivan Kupala, they remember their earthly life, go ashore, call boys and girls to their place, drag them to the bottom.
Bonfire
In many regions of our country, to this day, it is customary to jump over the fire on the night of Ivan Kupala. But one must jump not from the edge, where there is no heat, and the fire is not strong, but through the very middle - to fly through fiery tongues, let the flame embrace oneself, so that all sorrows and troubles, all evil eye and slander will be burned in the hot cleansing fire.
Kupala night is the only time of the year when water is friendly with fire, when these opposing forces unite to protect a person.
Fern
Well, what a Kupala night without a search for a blooming fern! To find a squirrel-fern in the darkest thicket meant to provide oneself with prosperity for the rest of one's life. After all, the fern opened the ancient treasures no less than nothing - bring the color above the ground and you will be able to see "into the depths", into the thickness of the earth. Well, the fern itself can “call” to the treasure, pull the hand holding it into the buried treasure. But it is not easy to get a flower, because not only treasure hunters need color: all the evil spirits and undead in the area gather ahead of time for the bush that is about to bloom. A blooming fern beckons, attracts evil spirits, and only the most courageous, bravest guy is able to get the coveted color.
Midsummer Night is a very important and revered day for the Eastern Slavs. For centuries, the Kupala holiday had a pagan character, was celebrated in honor of the God of the Sun and his wife Dawn-lightning.
Before switching to a new style, Kupala Day was celebrated on the days of the summer solstice, which fell on June 20-26. A single cycle of celebrations included Ivan's Day, the day of Agrafena Kupalnitsa, which was celebrated on July 6, and Peter's Day, which fell on July 12. The significance of the Kupala holiday was in the date - this is the boundary separating the two periods of the solar cycle. At this time, the peak of the flowering of nature was observed, the sun was at its zenith, and therefore it was distinguished by the highest activity. After that day, the sun “shifted” into the winter. At the same time, the night became longer, the day, on the contrary, became shorter.
Kupala holiday in the countries of the world and in Russia is celebrated on different days. For example, in Europe, namely in Finland, it is celebrated according to the old style - from June 21 to 22.
The middle of summer, and although the weather does not please everywhere, nevertheless it comes in due time night of Ivan Kupala, with which in Rus' many signs, rituals, legends and fortune-telling are traditionally associated.
When is the night of Ivan Kupala celebrated
Ivan Kupala- this is the popular name of one of the most revered saints in Christianity - John the Baptist (Forerunner) whose Christmas is celebrated on June 24. Churches living according to the Gregorian and the New Julian calendars, which coincide with it, have already celebrated this holiday, which is also called The day of Ivan.
The Russian Orthodox Church and other churches that adhere to the Julian calendar celebrate Nativity of John the Baptist July 7. Well, the evening of July 6 is the eve of the holiday. So Ivan Kupala night, or Kupala night, is the night from July 6 to July 7.
Why the Nativity of John the Baptist is associated with bathing
Prophet John the Baptist was one of the forerunners Jesus Christ. John baptized Jesus in the waters of the Jordan River, and in Greek, “baptizer” means one who bathes, immerses in water. Therefore, the holiday of the Nativity of John the Baptist, aka Ivan Kupala, is associated with water, bathing, washing and cleansing.
Ivan Kupala and the summer solstice
Although the holiday of Ivan Kupala is Christian, in fact it is much older and is associated with the agricultural calendar of the ancient Slavs. In ancient times, the holiday fell exactly on summer solstice. Therefore, the ritual part of the holiday is associated with various summer traditions, the most important of which are swimming in open water, as well as lighting ritual fires.
Traditions of the Kupala night
In folk tradition the night before Ivan Kupala (Kupala night) is very important. This is the time for collecting medicinal herbs, searching for the cherished fern flower, ritual bonfires and, of course, mass bathing.
It is believed that the first swim in an open reservoir should be done alone on the evening of July 6 before sunset, and only then at night to participate in mass “swims”.
Bathing at this time among the Slavic peoples was considered very useful and even obligatory. According to popular beliefs, on the night before Ivan Kupala, mermaids, mermen and other aquatic evil spirits fall asleep at the bottom of the reservoirs and cannot disturb the bathers. Water at that time was considered clean and healing, with healing and magical properties.
On the night of Ivan Kupala, the girls chose their “betrothed”, with whom they jumped over the fire together, swam, exchanged wreaths, looked for a fern flower together and generally behaved quite freely. In the Slavic tradition, an unmarried girl was allowed many liberties that were unacceptable after marriage.
It was possible to swim only until Ilyin's day (August 2), after which the water, according to legend, became cold, unclean and even dangerous to health.
Kupala bonfire
Closer to sunset on the eve of Ivan Kupala, young people usually kindled special bonfires-bathers near the reservoirs, because on the Kupala night two elements - fire and water - are closely friends.
The bonfire is one of the most important symbols of the Kupala night, associated with purification and renewal. Jumping over the fire symbolizes purification, therefore, according to tradition, on the Kupala night, all the women of the village had to jump over the fire, otherwise they could be considered unclean and even witches and punished.
“Grooms” and “brides”, who got engaged on the Kupala night, jumped over the fire together, holding hands. It was believed that such joint fun leads to a real marriage - the main thing is not to open your hands when jumping.
On the night before Ivan Kupala, rather immodest amusements were common in the villages, including skinny-dipping and various not quite decent games. Since the Middle Ages, the church has struggled with these traditions, severely punishing those who disobey. But the tradition of quite vigorously celebrating the night on the eve of Ivan Kupala has survived to this day.
Fortune telling on the eve of Ivan Kupala
All fortune-telling at this time is somehow connected with water. In Rus', on the Kupala night, girls mostly guessed, thinking about the betrothed or about the future life.
For divination, wreaths were traditionally used, which the girls, as if by chance, dropped from their heads into the water. A wreath has sailed away - soon the groom will marry; spun in place or unraveled - until marriage shines; drowned - be in trouble: either someone will die, or the groom will leave.
You could throw a pebble or a coin into the water and count the circles on the water: even - everything will be fine, odd - no luck.
It was believed that a girl or a couple who finds a fern flower at night will be happy and rich. The only trouble is that the fern does not bloom, so this divination was more of a ritual character.
In addition, on the night before Ivan Kupala, ordinary girlish fortune-telling was in use, traditional for other fortune-telling periods - before or.