- Alan Taylor
- June 24, 2024
- 18 Photos
- In Focus
Across parts of Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, and Russia, an ancient pagan summer rite called Kupala combined with the Orthodox feast of Saint John the Baptist, becoming “Ivan Kupala Night,” a festival celebrating the summer solstice. On Ivan Kupala Night, young people wear wreaths symbolizing purity, crowds sing and dance around bonfires, and people bathe naked in rivers and lakes. Many leap over fires as a test of faith, to purge themselves of their sins and bad luck, and to improve their health. Collected below are a handful of images from this year’s Ivan Kupala Night celebrations.
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Women wearing wreaths made of flowers and herbs take part in a celebration of the pagan holiday of Ivan Kupala in Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 23, 2024. #
Anatolii Stepanov / AFP / Getty
A woman wearing traditional clothing celebrates the summer solstice near a bonfire in the village of Okunevo, Russia, on June 20, 2024. #
Evgeniy Sofiychuk / AP
A participant celebrates the summer solstice and Kupala Night by the Krakus Mound, in Krakow, Poland, on June 20, 2024. #
Beata Zawrzel / NurPhoto / Getty
Participants dance during a celebration of Ivan Kupala in Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 23, 2024. #
Anatolii Stepanov / AFP / Getty
People hold hands and dance during a celebration of the pagan holiday of Ivan Kupala in Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 23, 2024. #
Anatolii Stepanov / AFP / Getty
A couple jumps over a smoldering bonfire during Ivan Kupala celebrations in Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 23, 2024. #
Anatolii Stepanov / AFP / Getty
A girl wears a wreath on her head as she attends the Wianki nad Wis ("Wreaths Over the Vistula") festival on the banks of the Vistula River, in Warsaw, Poland, on June 22, 2024. The celebrations are related to the traditions and rituals of Kupala Night on summer solstice, such as making wreaths of field flowers and throwing them into the river as bringers of happiness and luck. #
Wojtek Radwanski / AFP / Getty
People attend a concert during the Wianki nad Wis festival in Warsaw, Poland, on June 22, 2024. #
Wojtek Radwanski / AFP / Getty
People stand on the banks of the Vistula River in Warsaw, watching as a huge floral wreath floats past, on June 22, 2024. #
Wojtek Radwanski / AFP / Getty
People gather to celebrate Summer Solstice Day (Kupala Festival) in the suburbs of the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia, on June 23, 2024. #
Alexander Manzyuk / Anadolu / Getty
People gather to celebrate the Kupala Festival in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, on June 23, 2024. #
Alexander Manzyuk / Anadolu / Getty
A young Ukrainian woman wears a wreath during a traditional Ukrainian celebration of Kupala Night in Warsaw, Poland, on June 22, 2024. Ukrainians in Warsaw jumped over a bonfire and floated wreaths on the Vistula river bank on Saturday night, as they celebrated their solstice tradition of Ivan Kupala Night away from their war-torn home. #
Czarek Sokolowski / AP
People make flower wreaths while celebrating the summer solstice beside the Krakus Mound, in Krakow, Poland, on June 20, 2024. #
Beata Zawrzel / NurPhoto / Getty
A Ukrainian woman wears and holds wreaths of flowers during a traditional Ukrainian celebration of Kupala Night in Warsaw, Poland, on June 22, 2024. #
Czarek Sokolowski / AP
Food and drinks are seen on a blanket during a celebration of the summer solstice and Kupala Night in Krakow, Poland, on June 20, 2024. #
Beata Zawrzel / NurPhoto / Getty
People wear traditional clothing as they celebrate Saint John's Day and the summer solstice in the small town of Kernavė, Lithuania, on June 23, 2024. #
Mindaugas Kulbis / AP
People celebrate the summer solstice near a bonfire in the village of Okunevo, Russia, on June 20, 2024. #
Evgeniy Sofiychuk / AP
People jump over a fire as they celebrate the summer solstice in the village of Okunevo, Russia, on June 20, 2024. #
Evgeniy Sofiychuk / AP
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