In Photos: The Ancient Slavic Midsummer Holiday of Kupala Night
Over the weekend, people across Russia and Belarus gathered to celebrate Ivan Kupala Night – an ancient Slavic festival to mark midsummer.
This folk holiday has both pagan and Christian roots, coinciding with the birth of John the Baptist. As such, water is a key motif during the festivities. Revelers often douse each other, and make flower chains which are cast onto rivers and lakes.
Bonfires are another prominent symbol of purification: it’s traditional for young couples to jump over the flames, proving their devotion. As night falls, participants in traditional dress dance and sing around the fire.
Here’s how one Russian village marked the occasion:
This folk holiday has both pagan and Christian roots, coinciding with the birth of John the Baptist. As such, water is a key motif during the festivities. Revelers often douse each other, and make flower chains which are cast onto rivers and lakes.
Bonfires are another prominent symbol of purification: it’s traditional for young couples to jump over the flames, proving their devotion. As night falls, participants in traditional dress dance and sing around the fire.
Here’s how one Russian village marked the occasion:
A girl attends an Ivan Kupala celebration in the village of Ivanovskoye near Chernogolovka outside Moscow.
Maxim Shipenkov / EPA / TASS
Flower chains float on the water during the festivities.
Yulia Morozova / TASS
A girl jumps over a bonfire during Ivan Kupala celebrations. For unmarried people, the act is meant to bring luck.
Maxim Shipenkov / EPA / TASS
People wearing traditional Russian costumes dance by a bonfire during festivities marking Kupala Night. The festival's rituals are mainly about fertility and self-purification.
Yulia Morozova / TASS
A girl attends the Ivan Kupala festival outside Moscow. Flowers are another symbol of renewal.
Maxim Shipenkov / EPA / TASS
Girls wearing traditional Russian costumes dance by a pyre during the festivities.
Yulia Morozova / TASS
People wearing traditional Russian costumes dance and sing by a bonfire.
Yulia Morozova / TASS
A woman wearing a traditional Russian costume jumps over a bonfire during festivities marking Ivan Kupala Day.
Yulia Morozova / TASS
Participants sing by the bank of a river. The water represents cleansing.
Yulia Morozova / TASS
A mother and child watch the fireworks at an Ivan Kupala festival outside Moscow.
Maxim Shipenkov / EPA / TASS
