So, I got my calendar mixed up and missed doing Noc Kupały’s Slavic Saturday post last week, but better late than never, right?
(June 2021 Updated) Note: If you enjoy Slavic mythology, check out A Dagger in the Winds, the first book in my Slavic fantasy series called The Frostmarked Chronicles. You can also join my monthly newsletter for updates and free novellas (such as the prequel, The Rider in the Night) set in the world of the series.
When it comes to traditional Slavic holidays, Noc Kupały, also known as Kupala Night or Ivan-Kupala, is almost always the first mentioned. It’s been celebrated for possibly 1,500 years and has its roots in the earliest Slavic tribes. Still today, Noc Kupały is celebrated throughout mainly the countries of Poland, Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. It was such a famous festival that when Christian missionaries came, they couldn’t cover it up like other pagan holidays and simply allowed it under the name St. John’s Day.
But what is Noc Kupały, and why is it so famous?
The simplest explanation is that it is a celebration of the Summer Solstice, signifying the peak of summer. Many cultures celebrate during this time, though, and that doesn’t come close to explaining the significance of the holiday in pagan traditions.
The name itself offers more depth into the festival. Kupalo was a god in Slavic myth and the son of the Simargł, a powerful fire god that has stories of his own. Kupalo had a twin sister, Kostroma, who had explored together until Kupalo was drawn away by the singing of the Sirin (a half-bird half-woman in Slavic myth). Like all who heard the Sirin’s song, Kupalo was taken to the underworld of Nawia for some time. During his years away, Kostroma had grown up and had danced alongside a river with a wreath on her head. She’d claimed no wind could ever blow it from her head, meaning she would never be wed.
This angered the gods. Perun called a storm and Strzybóg’s winds blew her wreath into the river. Kupalo had returned to Jawia, the realm of the living, at this time, and he discovered the wreath downriver. At the time he didn’t know it was his sister’s, but tradition demanded they were to be wed.
The story goes on to have a rather tragic end for both Kupalo and Kostroma, but it brings a key element into Noc Kupały, the wreaths. These wreaths were common in many Slavic festivals and even weddings, but during Noc Kupały, girls would place their wreaths in the river like Kostroma. The boys would jump into the river downstream. If they retrieved a girl’s wreath, it was believed they were destined for love.
And this starts the idea of Noc Kupały as a Slavic Valentine’s Day. Following the day’s feasting and the evening wreaths collection, great bonfires were built. Dances and rituals were conducted, people bathed for the first time in at least two weeks, and each of these elements often had sexual elements to them. The bathing was considered a test of courage, as it was believed that rusałki and other creatures could pull inattentive bathers into the river’s depths. Couples would then dare to jump the fire together. Failure to do so was considered a bad omen for your relationship and success a good one.
After the fire jump, things only escalated as the girls entered the woods before soon being followed by the boys. It doesn’t take much imagination to assume what went on from there. In traditional Slavic culture, Noc Kupały was usually the only time in which sexual actions outside of marriage were allowed. Such actions were often actually encouraged during the festival, as it was a fertility festival after all.
One part of the woods, though, was beyond just the fertility rituals. Particularly in Polish folklore, it was believed that Noc Kupały was the only night in which the fern flower (or fire flower) bloomed. At exactly midnight, this fern would bloom brightly, and the brave soul that retrieved it would be rewarded with the ability to find treasure, ward off evil, and sometimes even read minds.
Securing the fern flower is a dangerous mission, though. Demons and spirits lurk around it, and as the hero in many stories climbs the fern’s stalk, they would be constantly tempted. If they failed to draw a circle around the fern and reach it without answering the demons’ calls, they would die.
On the following morning, girls would sprint through the fields barefoot. It was believed the dew leftover from Noc Kupały had magical elements and would increase their chances of being married. Farmers would also walk their animals through the dew in hopes of promoting their health. In addition, any herbs collected during Noc Kupały were believed to be more potent and have magical properties.
As you can see, a lot went into this festival. It formed the peak of the calendar in Slavic folklore as the world began its descent towards winter. Its celebration still occurs today (without the sexual elements), and with how strong of a tradition it is in Slavic culture, I doubt it will go anywhere anytime soon.
With the significance of Noc Kupały, I have plans for including it in future books of my Slavic fantasy series. There is magical power in the myths around the festival that is ripe for use in fantasy, and though I’m not sure how it’ll be used yet, I’m certain that it’ll be fun to implement when the time comes.
That’s all for this week’s Slavic Saturday. Be sure to keep a lookout for more posts next week, and if you haven’t seen the full series of posts, be sure to check them out.
*As always just a quick disclaimer. Slavic mythology is broad and not written in many if any primary sources, so there’s a variety of interpretations. The interpretations I’m using here are from the sources I’ve found to be reliable and as well as some creative freedom for my book series.