Ivana Kupala, 7 July 2024

A good Kupala night to everyone marking it.

This is the third of these under wartime conditions, and by now people have worked out a version that fits. Smaller gatherings. No large fires where they would be visible. Rivers chosen carefully, and many households simply doing the herb-gathering and the wreath at home.

The children still get the explanation. That has been consistent every year and it is the part that matters, because a tradition survives an interruption only if the next group of people knows what it is.

To everyone keeping it in whatever form is possible where you are: a safe and gentle night.