Well, here comes the blessed July,intending to give us warmth, and one of the most interesting holidays - the public holiday of Ivan Kupala. It arose in the time of the Gentiles and has very ancient traditions and rites, which are still observed today by the Eastern and Western Slavs in many fears of Europe. The national holiday of Ivan Kupala - a very original celebration, which has some erotic flair. Researchers argue that the ancient Slavic pagans on the night before Ivan Kupala spontaneously engaged in sin, not particularly, while reflecting on who and with whom has entered into sexual relations. Our ancestors were sure that such a coition helps purify the soul from all sins. Well, group sexual acts were vigorously cultivated back in the ancient times in ancient Rome and Greece, so it's not worth to blame our ancestors for immorality. In the end, this ritual was not invented by them, and Ivan Kupala is a holiday, now famous not by orgies, but by a whole fireworks of very beautiful traditions and beliefs. For example, rumors are circulating that on the night of Ivan Kupala the magical flower of the fern blooms ... But - everything in order.

History of the holiday of Ivan Kupala

The history of the holiday of Ivan Kupala, or Ivanov's Day,is quite long. He appeared before the spread of Christianity in Europe and was originally on the top of the summer, on the days of the summer solstice, from the twentieth to the twenty-second of June. In those days, the ancient pagans worshiped many gods, among whom was the god of fertility Kupalo. The legend-fairy tale about the holiday of Ivan Kupala says that this god in his childhood was separated from his own sister. And then, turning into a beautiful young man, took her as his wife, unaware of the blood relationship. Later, after learning about this, the brother and sister could not bear the truth and drowned. After the paganism was superseded by Orthodoxy, changes in the history of the holiday of Ivan Kupala took place. He was associated with the name of St. John the Baptist or John the Baptist, and timed to the day of his birth. At first it was celebrated on June 24, and after the transition to the new calendar style it began to be celebrated on the seventh of July. And thus he lost his connection with the summer solstice. With the solstice, Ivan Kupala lost some connection, but his ancient traditions (with the exception of sin) kept. And today it is, almost, not the brightest and colorful celebration that is celebrated in almost all of Europe. And it passes at night on the eve of Ivan Kupala very interesting and fun. About what is going on this night, we will now talk in more detail.

Night on Ivan Kupala. Rituals

The rituals of Ivanov's Day are connected with fire, water andherbs. The pagans believed that fire and water are natural forces that affect fertility. Previously, preparation for the holiday began a few days before him. These days Kupala was stuffed, which was then installed on a raised platform. On the eve of the holiday, the effigy was presented with various treats, round dances around it and sang songs. After the holiday, the effigy of the Kupala was either burned or burned in some water body. In general, songs for the holiday of Ivan Kupala were sung all over the place, and it looked very beautiful and lyrical. They sang their girls, putting water wreaths of grasses with lighted beams into the river water. If such a wreath immediately sank, it meant that the chosen one does not like the girl. If he swam long and far, - the girl is destined to great happiness. If the luster on it immediately extinguished - the hostess of the wreath was expecting death, but if she was unceasingly burning, - a very long life. Many songs were sung for the feast of Ivan Kupala and during the jumping through a bonfire lit from the sacrificial grasses. Such a fire was considered purifying. Around him danced, through the fire, domesticated cattle were driven to protect him from morality and disease, he burnt the shirts he had removed from sick children, in order to destroy the illness of the child with them. Young people and children, jumping over the fire, struggled to rise above it above the others. This meant that a person is very happy. The bulk of the rites of Ivan Kupala survived until our time and falls on the night before the seventh of June. This night, as we have already mentioned, according to the fairy tale about the feast of Ivan Kupala, the fern blooms. According to the belief, if this amazing fiery red flower is found by a guy and a girl, their marriage will certainly be very happy. Found it once someone, is for certain unknown, but you can search something? And suddenly lucky, and a wonderful fern miracle will give young people the opportunity of a long and serene joint happiness! Strangely enough, but this fairy-tale young men and girls believe in a fairy tale and today, going to scour on woods, in hope to find a flower of a fern. And not only boys and girls believe. The flower of the fern, which opens exactly at midnight for only a few moments, has another magical property. According to legend, in these moments you can see everything, even hidden deep underground, treasures, get the gift to understand the language of animals and birds and even the opportunity to become invisible. Here and lay the fern forests treasure hunters, hoping to discover in them untold treasures and to discover in themselves supernatural abilities. In a word, on the eve of Ivan Kupala, the night was filled with mysticism, an amorous and unfamiliar mystery. It is not surprising. Our ancestors were sure that the rites performed on the day of Ivan Kupala have miraculous power, capable of making any person healthy and happy. According to the story, on the eve of Ivan Kupala at night all the impure force becomes especially active, and if, with the help of rituals, it is protected from it, then a person will save himself and his loved ones from all sorts of misfortunes and misfortunes in the future. People sang songs of prayer to the mermaids, lined the rapids and windowsills with nettles to protect themselves from the witches, collected and dried herbs that scared off all evil spirits and diseases. In general, the day of Ivan Kupala is ritually due to the belief of the pagan Slavs that on the night before the feast the grasses are filled with miraculous power, the trees become alive and move from place to place, and witches, sorcerers, mermaids and woodpeckers all try to make people of different dirty tricks . You can not go to sleep in all this whirlwind - you can be influenced by evil spirits and get a lot of trouble. Therefore, on the night of Ivan Kupala, the holidays lasted until the morning. People sang, played roundelays, swam in the river, bathed in dew, jumped through the fire until dawn. Mass swimming is one of the main rituals of Ivan's Day. The Slavs believed that on the night before the holiday the reservoirs were abandoned by water mermaids and mermaids, so you can safely bathe in them until Ilin day.

Feast of Ivan Kupala. Signs and fortune-telling

On the night of Ivan Kupala single girls triedbewitch spouses, naked three times running around in a circle rye field. They believed that the lover then sees them in a dream and realizes that he needs this girl. If the girl did not have a beloved, she, before the day of Ivan Kupala, at night, completely undressed, collected twelve different herbs from twelve fields. And then she laid them on her pillow to see in the dream the one who was destined to her fate. For such fortune telling, it was possible to use the flower Ivan-da-Marya, torn off at night on Ivan Kupala, who also frightened off thieves if he was put in a corner of the house. Girls and young women took a clean tablecloth and went with her in the morning to the meadow, where they carried a tablecloth over wet grass and then squeezed into some dishes. Collected from the tablecloth dew washed face and hands to become beautiful, sprinkled the beds and walls of houses to drive away the evil spirit and get rid of house insects. On the day of Ivan Kupala people, making a wish, tried to climb over twelve fences to make this wish come true. Women, who had no children for a long time, jumped through the fire to cure infertility. Naked girls with flowing hair collected pluck grass, water lilies and balsam, giving the ability to overcome all obstacles that allow you to open any doors and locks and cast out evil forces from everywhere. Herbs from Ivanov's day, before they were dried, consecrated in churches, and then fumigated by sick people, were used like oberegs, thrown into a melted stove during a thunderstorm, so that lightning would not be struck in the house, they would charm and fascinate the person.

Day of Ivan Kupala in different countries

Many rituals and traditions, similar to traditions andholidays of Ivan Kupala, exist in other countries. In Poland it is called "Sobotki", in Lithuania - "Lado", in Ukraine - the holiday of Kupailo. Some people on this day lead dances round the dressed willows, some climb the mountain and arrange a coven of witches, burn sacred fires, bake holiday pies and drink champagne ... In many countries, one of the main characters of mystical pre-commerical nights are Mermaids. These insidious, unearthly beauty, the girls, on the night before the holiday take a human face, come out of their reservoirs and enchant the men they met. True, not for long. Enchantment drops after Ivanov's day passes. The day of Ivan Kupala is a holiday that is unusually interesting, fun and colorful. No wonder that it is celebrated with great pleasure these days. It seems that today we are not superstitious at all, but we still want to have fairy tales. And then, who knows, and suddenly on the eve of Ivan Kupala night really has mystical properties? Suddenly a fern blooms in the forest, and witches stagger among the people, turning into beautiful girls? After all, what just does not happen in this world! Therefore we go to jump through the fire. Maybe after this very lucky! We advise you to read:

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