Fire, water and magical herbs - Ivan Kupala is the most mystical traditional Slavic festival of the brief Russian summer. Marking the arrival of midsummer, the celebration of Ivan Kupala was, back in pagan times, the night when you try to find your future spouse and pick up some mystical powers in the forest while you’re at it. Nowadays it’s all about drinking and partying through the night, although we’ve found some original pagan parties out in the Russian countryside for you too.


How to celebrate Ivan Kupala

According to ancient Slavic rites, the evening of Ivan Kupala would usually begin with water purification rituals, involving people being dunked into nearby lakes.

The women of the village would then prepare flower wreaths and float them down the river, examining the flow of patterns of the petals falling onto the water in an attempt to read their futures.

The men meanwhile would try to catch the flower wreaths in the hope of also catching the heart of one of the fair maidens, before getting to work on building the sacred bonfire. Whoever could jump the furthest and highest through the fire would be considered to be the luckiest and most powerful man in the village (even if he did burn his legs along the way) and would become hot property for the rest of the night.

The festivities would then continue with more swimming, jumping through fires and other tests of manhood before the great hunt for the magical herb began.

Nobody knows where the belief came from, but one of the most ancient rituals of the night of Ivan Kupala is the search for the fern flower. Ferns of course never actually produce flowers, but it was believed that on midsummer’s night, magical fern flowers would grow and that anyone who found one would become endowed with great power, luck and immense riches.

Hence through the night, villagers would wander off into the woods in search of the elusive flower. Unmarried women (distinguished by the flower garlands on their heads) would lead the way followed by the village’s young men and if you didn’t find the magical fern flower, there was still always the chance that you might at least find a future partner.

Nowadays Ivan Kupala is recognised as an Orthodox holiday celebrating the baptism (kupala) of Saint John (Ivan in Russian) and the symbolism has changed, but for most people the rituals remain the same. The night of Ivan Kupala is now most famous for its water fights and is a holiday that’s particularly popular amongst youngsters hoping for a long summer night of mischief.

Where to celebrate Ivan Kupala

If you prefer to follow the traditional hippy fire/flower/magical herbs and late night swimming tradition head to Veliky Novgorod on July 03 where the night of Ivan Kupala will start at 19:40 outside the town on the banks of the lake Ilmen. A fresh fish soup cooked over the sacred fire and a traditional Kupala porridge will be included in the 1,000Rbl entry price as well as transport out to the lake and a performance from local folk musicians. Tickets can be bought through their site kupala.natm.ru

For a similar (although less authentic and more commercial experience) the recreated Russian village Shuvalovka just outside St. Petersburg will celebrate Ivan Kupala on July 11.

For fans of folk and ethnic music, the Ivan Kupala festival in Moscow will provide a great accompaniment to the usual pagan jollities. For those looking to the mainstream the outdoor musical festival on June 26 in Gorky park will feature most of the biggest names in Slavic folk from across Russia, Belarus and Ukraine while for the more adventurous the second day of the festival will take place in the fascinating Ethnomir village 90kms outside of Moscow on June 27. Check their site www.kupala-fest.ru for details on how to get there.

Finally if you just want to get drunk, fool about with water pistols and jump fully clothed into a swimming pool, St. Petersburg’s XXXX bar on Krestovsky ostrov will be hosting a Kupala party on June 26. Entrance is free until the place fills up and then it will cost 500Rbl to get in. Not quite with the hippy spirit of the original holiday XXXX also insist on face control and a ‘dress code’ - think smart and beautiful, not flower power and herbs in the hair. More details can be found in Russian on their site www.xxxxbar.ru