IVAN 

KUPALA  NIGHT—A 
MYSTERIOUS 
CELEBRATION IN  SEARCH 
OF  LUCK
What is Ivan Kupala Night?
• People’s celebration of summer and sun is quite
common across the nations of Europe. The holiday
itself has many names — flakagajt (the day of fire) in
Albania, Saint Jeans (St. Jean) in France, midsommar in
Sweden, sobotka in Poland, Ivana Kupala in Ukraine,
and more. The celebration of Ivan Kupala Day falls on
June 24 (old style calendar) or July 7 (new style) and
worships the summer solstice. In Ukraine, we
traditionally celebrate it on the night of July 6-7 — all
mysteries happen right then…
Origin

• Actually, the Ivan Kupala celebration has roots from some

early days and a pagan origin. What is hidden in its title?
Ivan, a widespread Christian Slavic name, is associated
with John the Baptist. By the way, Ivan Kupala Night
coincides with one of the biggest Orthodox holidays in
his name. And how about Kupala? This refers to the word
‘bathing’ of Slavic origin and the name of Kupala (also
called Kupaija) — the god of fertility and harvest. Pagan,
of course. Believe it or not, but some theories connect
Ivan Kupala with Cupid, the Roman god of love. Well,
folks could find their true love that night, so everything is
possible. 
Rituals
• The rituals are actually based on ideas of purification and
lavation and have turned into somewhat artistic ones across
the centuries. They also have much to do with nature, its
spirit, and forces, such as water, fire, and vegetation. No
surprise that people take what nature gives us to put the
magic in force and encourage procreation, health, happiness
into their life. The nighttime can help to enhance the power of
ritual. As many believe, you can talk to fire, water, earth and
unlock their secrets while getting extreme strength only at
night. But beware — nature around us can also do harm. At
least, so people say.
 • dancing around the Kupala
tree 
• jumping over the fire
• weaving of wreaths 
• sinking of tress
• burning of sacks of straw
• eating a
ceremonial Ukrainian
dinner with varenyky, eggs,
and liquor 

Here are some traditional rituals

conducted on Ivan Kupala Night
in Ukraine:
How to organize your own Ivan Kupala
Night celebration Ukrainian style?
• Gather with your friends at the bank of a river and light up a fire. 
• Take a bath so that you can stay healthy and get rid of sins. Remember to be careful
and don’t get caught by mermaids! 
• Jump over the bonfire with your partner. Get concentrated before jumping because
stumbling is a really bad sign. Just don’t ask what that means!
• Float a wreath that you’ve weaved out in the water. Strongly recommended for
singles only. Otherwise, we are not responsible for the consequences of breaking the
rule!
• Try to find a blooming fern at night and let all your dreams turn into reality! Besides,
you’ll be able to understand animals, become invisible and farseeing, unlock
treasuries… In short, you’ll be almost almighty. The last rule is just don’t google if
fern can bloom. You need to have some faith in it!