Ivana Kupala, 7 July 2022
A midsummer greeting in a year when open fires and river gatherings were not possible in most of the country.
A good Kupala night to everyone marking it.
This year the usual form of it is unavailable across much of the country. A fire visible from a distance is not a thing you light in 2022, and many of the rivers where people would have gone are not places anyone should be.
So it is being kept smaller. A wreath made and floated in a basin or a garden pond. Herbs gathered on the day and dried, which is the oldest part of it and needs no fire at all. Children given the explanation, so the knowledge does not skip a year.
Traditions survive by shrinking when they must and expanding again later. This one has done that before.
A safe and gentle night to your household.
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