Culture Ministry moves pagan holiday of Kupala following OCU calendar reform

A poster of the Ministry of Culture dedicated to the celebration of the Ivan Kupala feast. Photo: the press service of the Ministry of Culture

The Ministry of Culture of Ukraine published on Facebook a "selection of events" dedicated to the pagan holiday of Ivan Kupala, scheduling them for June 20–21 instead of the traditional Kupala night on July 7.

"Kupala in Vitachiv" (June 20–21, the village of Vitachiv, Kyiv region), where the program features Kupala rituals and round dances.

The festival "Kupala at the Open-Air Museum" (June 21, Kyiv, 1 Akademika Tronka St.) included the "ritual of dressing Marena", a figure from pre-Christian beliefs, Kupala round dances, and a wreath-weaving master class. Another event, "Kupalskyi Pecherskyi Hurt" ("The Kupala Group of Pechersk"), features among its activities "weaving kikimoras," decorating the "Kupala tree," and a fair.

Kupala rituals involving fire, water, and herbs are of pre-Christian origin. There is no saint by the name of Ivan Kupala in Christianity, and Kupalo is the name of a pagan deity whose veneration tradition gradually merged with the church calendar on the feast day of the Nativity of John the Baptist.

The UOJ previously reported that, according to Ukrainian media, Ivan Kupala in Ukraine is now celebrated according to the new style of the church calendar.

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