Ivan Kupala – traditions and omens – how the holiday is celebrated in Ukraine

Traditions and omens on Ivan Kupala had a special significance in Ukrainian culture.

Our ancestors believed that the rituals performed on Kupala helped them live better. In particular, there was a belief that jumping over the hearth could cleanse from curses and sins, and decorating a young tree would ensure a good harvest.

“UP.Zhyttia” together with ethnologist Natalia Gromova tells about the most common rites and traditions of the Kupala holiday, their meaning and superstitions.

Traditions and signs of Kupala celebration

To bathe or not to bathe? To put a whisk on the water or not? Jump over the fire, or is it better to save energy to find a fern flower?

The Kupala holiday seems to have been one of the most magical holidays in Ukrainian culture. They prepared carefully for it, the rites were known and respected.

Our ancestors believed that without worshiping the elements of nature, one cannot expect a good harvest. The main festivities on Kupala were aimed at this.

Among all the ceremonies on this day, ethnologist Nataliya Gromova singles out the main ones:

• bathing,
• installation and destruction of a tree,
• weaving wreaths,
• jumping over the fire,
• cleansing from evil spirits,
• finding a fern flower.

Read also: The feast of Ivan Kupala: origin and history

Despite the popularity of the holiday, it was not equally widespread throughout Ukraine. According to Gromova, the holiday is celebrated in the Carpathians not as lavishly as in the center and north of Ukraine.

Bathing in Kupala

Tradition

Young people often celebrated Kupala near a river or lake. During the festivities or after them, in some regions it was customary to swim in water bodies.

Girls near the lake on the night of Kupala/Depositphotos

Sign

This rite was shrouded in omens and varied depending on the region. You can bathe or not – it depended on the area in which this ceremony was held.

“In some villages it was believed that one should bathe when the sun is at the same level as the water. Then a person who bathes at the same moment as the sun – will clear

In other regions, bathing was strictly prohibited. It was said that the water at this moment needs a sacrifice. And the one who goes there at this moment for the purpose of purification can get into another dimension”– the ethnologist jokes.

Jumping over the hearth

Tradition

The main rite on Kupala is jumping over fire. It mostly happened at the end of the celebrations.

“A huge fire was lit, sticks were placed vertically. The bravest jumped first, and when the fire died down – all others The fire was kindled “alive”, by means of friction. They say that some grandfather should have done it”– adds Natalia Gromova.

Jumping over piles of nettles or thistles is also found in the regions.

“The idea is close: fire can burn thistles – sting, nettle – to sting. The scientific literature says it’s about cleansing. Not from material dirt, but from curses, curses, sins”– says the ethnologist.

Young people jump over the fire/Depositphotos

Sign

If a boy and a girl jumped as a couple and did not break their hands, it was believed that they would marry and live together.

According to Gromova, this was of great importance to our ancestors. They tried at every opportunity to make sure that they could marry the one with whom they decided, and no one would separate them.

If clothes caught fire while jumping over the fire, it portended trouble for a person.

Weaving wreaths

Tradition

One of the most popular traditions on Kupala is the weaving of wreaths by young girls. Each girl wove various wildflowers in her own way and gave her wreath a special instruction.

“At first they wove wreaths and sang, then they walked with them and sang, and finally they let them float on the water and observed: where the wreath floats, there the girl will get married.

It is said that the corollas were not just released into the water, but the boys dived and helped those corollas to swim in the right direction. People believed in rituals, but tried to adjust their fate”– says the ethnologist.

Girls weave wreaths/Depositphotos

Sign

If the whisk was spinning in one place, it meant that the guy can “spin” the girl, but he won’t get married.

The worst omen was if the corolla was sinking. According to the interpretation of our ancestors, it foreshadowed the death of the girl.

Decoration of the tree

Tradition

During the festivities on Kupala, a young tree was decorated. The most common were willow, maple and birch. Less often – a cherry or pine tree.

“It was decorated with various flowers, ribbons, wreaths. I found that in Podillya they put candles near the tree, and in Poltava region – bagels Roundabouts were conducted around the tree, and necessarily clockwise.” Gromova emphasizes.

Sign

After all the festivities, the tree had to be destroyed: drown, burn, or spread the branches around the garden.

“Sometimes they combined these “rituals” and tried to make a sacrifice to all the elements of nature. In order to have a good harvest, it was necessary to satisfy all the elements”she adds.

Searching for a fern flower

Tradition

In fact, the fern does not bloom, but our ancestors were sure that the flower exists, but it grows only on the night of Kupala. According to belief, only a young guy who is very lucky can find her.

Unlike others, this rite is individual, each person had to perform it independently. It was only for the brave, because it was necessary to wander through the forest at midnight. In addition, according to legends, the fern was necessarily guarded by an evil force that wanted to deceive and lead away from the flower.

Why were they looking for her? According to legends, a fern flower gives supernatural mental abilities, supposedly with a flower a person “will know everything in the world.”

“According to legends, the fern flower gave a person the ability to understand the language of animals and birds, which was something great for our ancestors. It was believed that with the flower you can easily find what you lost and search for treasures.”– says the ethnologist.

But as soon as the flower disappeared, it was believed that all abilities also disappeared.

Illustrations of a fern flower/Depositphotos

Sign

Ancestors believed that when a person returned home with a fern flower, he should not look back under any circumstances, because an evil force could take away the flower.

There was also a belief that the flower itself could cling to a person, like a thistle. Then an evil force allegedly tried to take this flower: to exchange it for something in the form of friends or acquaintances.

Also, the fern flower could not be shown to anyone or told about it.

“If something can’t be verified, they say you can’t talk about it and you can’t show it to anyone. People were really scared that if they heard cattle talking on Christmas Eve, they might die.

For example, there is a legend that the owner overheard the oxen saying that they would take him to the cemetery tomorrow. Then he fell out of fear, hit himself and died. And those oxen still took him to the cemetery”– says the ethnologist.

Purification of witches

All day on Kupala, people guarded against witches. It was customary to hang garlic on one’s belt.

In addition to yourself, you also had to protect your home from the unclean. There was a whole ceremony: two candles and iron teeth from a harrow had to be placed on the gate. So the witch will not be able to access the yard.

“In traditional Ukrainian culture, witches were feared and guarded, but less often – came for some services. It was difficult to find them, to understand exactly who the witch was.

Now we have advertisements distributed on the Internet, so we know exactly where to look for them.” – Nataliya Gromova jokes.

What is prepared for Kupala

There are no dishes that would be traditionally prepared for the holiday. It was mostly lean food that could be cooked over a fire.

In some regions, sweet barley porridge with added milk was traditionally prepared. In Sumy Oblast, Kupala borscht with crayfish and dumplings.

Dumplings with cherries and pancakes were also a common dish.

Ancestors believed that all food should be nutritious and give energy for a whole night of Kupala festivities.

What not to do on the Kupala holiday

In some regions, it is strictly forbidden to swim in Kupala.

There was also a belief that on this day you should not pick up the money found on the road, because it was believed that this could bring poverty to the family.

And also not to give, not to lend or sell anything from home, because supposedly you can give away your well-being at once.

You cannot get married on such a holiday, as it falls during fasting, adds Gromova. Also, the ancestors believed that it is impossible to work on Kupala.

Modern celebrations

Nowadays, people rarely organize such spontaneous celebrations on their own initiative, concludes ethnologist Gromova.

People have stopped believing in the importance and necessity of these rites, but they still follow traditions and sometimes believe in omens.

However, they know that this does not affect fertility in any way, so they organize such celebrations just for fun and to preserve the traditions of our ancestors.

Anastasia Koropetska, UP. Life

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