Ivana Kupala, 7 July 2026
A midsummer night, and a custom that keeps its own date.
Nobody schedules Kupala. It arrives on its date, the fire is built by whoever is nearest to the wood, and the songs are known by whoever learned them from somebody who did.
Institutions require budgets and committees. This requires a river and an evening off.
That is why it has outlasted almost everything that was organised properly, and why it will presumably outlast us as well.
A good Kupala night to everyone by the water.
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