Ivana Kupala, 7 July 2025
A midsummer greeting for a fourth wartime Kupala, and a note on the children who have never seen the full version.
A good Kupala night to everyone marking it.
A child who is six this year has never seen this holiday done in full: the large fire visible across a field, a river bank with a hundred people on it, the noise.
What they have seen is the version that fits: a wreath made at a kitchen table, herbs gathered in the afternoon, a small fire in a yard if the place allows it, and a parent explaining what would normally happen.
That explanation is the whole mechanism. A tradition passes to the next group through description as much as through experience, and children who were told what it should look like will build it again when they can.
A safe and gentle night to your household.
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