Kupala’s Night - Noc Kupały, old Slavic celebration of midsummer, love and happiness. (original) (raw)
Kupala’s Night - Noc Kupały, Kupalnocka, Kupała - is the Slavic summer solstice celebration, a night full of fires that reach the skies, magic, dances, divination - but most importantly, love.
Kupala is celebrated during the shortest night of the year - which falls usually around the 21st-22nd of June - and is both one of the most known and studied practices of our ancestors, and the one that survived the strongest in our cultures, being celebrated today not only by Rodnovers (Slavic pagans, practitioners of reconstructionist slavic polytheism) but also by people far from the pagan path. In common Slavic culture, especially West Slavic - as that will be, as always, the main focus of my post - it survived in the rituals and beliefs associated with Noc Świętojańska (or sobótka, signifying the eve, day/evening before a sacred day) - St. John’s Eve.
It is yet another old pagan celebration which was difficult to uproot as people held it dearly - it is up to debate to what extent it was the Christianised people deciding to incorporate old ways into their lives no matter the faith - or even to oppose it to some degree; the Church trying to cover ancient beliefs with new Christian retellings; or just one of the natural and more organic processes of cultures accepting and incorporating new faith with their beloved customs, as it often happens with folk traditions and Christianity. No matter the processes that Kupala’s Night went through - most likely much less drastic that some Rodnovers would want to believe - the beliefs are still alive, not only in folktales and academic research but the common conscience of our people.
This post is meant to bring Kupala closer to the reader in tale-like form and simpler terms - as far as my sources are largely academic, I want to talk about my favourite holiday in a much more lively way. Bear in mind that my perspective - both as a Rodnover and as a person researching old Slavic beliefs - is mostly founded on West Slavic practices. Slavs differed in beliefs and approaches greatly, even from village to village, as you can read more here. Sources shall be listed at the very end of the post.
Let us break Kupala into three important parts: Love, Cleansing, and Celebration.
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