Ivana Kupala, 7 July 2014
The shortest nights of the year, a fire, and wreaths on the water.
Tonight there will be a fire by the water somewhere near you, and people will jump over it in pairs, and nobody will explain why.
Girls put wreaths on the river with a candle in them and watch where they go. Someone will claim to be looking for a fern flower, which does not exist and never has, which is the entire point of the story.
It is the least solemn holiday in the calendar and one of the oldest, and those two facts are related.
A good Kupala night to everyone marking it. Stay out of the deep water.
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