Kupala

The name of the festival was originally Kupala; a pagan fertility rite later adapted to the Orthodox Christian calendar by linking it to St. John's Day which is celebrated on June 24. Eastern Christianity uses the traditional Julian calendar which is misaligned with the actual solstice; June 24 in the Julian calendar falls on July 7 in the more modern Gregorian calendar.

This holiday symbolizes the birth of the summer sun – Kupalo. In the 4th century AD, this day was proclaimed the feast of the birth of John the Baptist – the forerunner of Jesus Christ. Following the Christianization of the pagan holiday, the name "Kupala" became associated with the Christian "Ivan".

The Ukrainian and Belarusian name for this holiday combines "Ivan" (Joan/Johan/John, in this case John the Baptist) and Kupala, which was thought to be derived from the related Slavic word for bathing. However, it probably stems from the Proto-Slavic kump, a gathering.

The two feasts could be connected by reinterpreting the baptism of the people of John by total immersion in water. However, the Kupala tradition predates Christianity. The pagan celebration has been adapted and revived as one of the native Christian traditions intertwined with local folklore.

Many rites associated with this holiday relate to the role of water in fertility and ritual purification. This is due to ancient Kupala rites. On Kupala Day, young people leap over the flames of bonfires in a ritual test of bravery and faith. The failure of a couple in love to complete the jump, while holding hands, is a sign of their destined separation.

Girls can float wreaths of flowers (often lit with candles) on rivers and attempt to predict the fortunes of their romantic relationship from the flow patterns of the flowers on the river. Males may attempt to capture the crowns, hoping to capture the interest of the female who floated them.

There is an ancient Kupala belief that Ivan Kupala Eve is the only time of year when ferns bloom. Prosperity, luck, discernment and power befall anyone who finds a fern flower. Therefore, that night, the villagers roam the forests in search of magical herbs, and in particular the elusive fern flower.

Traditionally, unmarried women, signified by the garlands in their hair, are the first to enter the forest. They are followed by young men. Therefore, the quest to find herbs and the fern flower can lead to blossoming relationships between couples within the forest.

In Gogol's story Ivan Kupala's Eve (also called Saint John's Eve), a young man finds the fern fantastic, but is cursed by it. Gogol's tale was adapted by Yuri Ilyenko into a film of the same name, and may have prompted Modest Mussorgsky to compose his symphonic poem Night on Bald Mountain.