SUMMARY:
Ivana Kupala is a major folk holiday among Eastern Slavs, harkening to pre-Christian celebrations of the Summer Solstice, which coincides with the Christian Feast of the Nativity of St John the Baptist. The name Ivana Kupala is a variant of the name St John the Baptist. During this celebration, on the eve of the Christian Feast Day, people connect with the natural world, engaging the elements of Air, Earth, Fire and Water through ancient rituals that include jumping over a bonfire, collecting herbs or seeking the legendary flowering fern. Young maidens weave floral wreaths for their hair, to signify the blooming of a potential relationship. Later, they will float their wreaths down the river with the hope that they will be found and retrieved by a young man, with whom it is believed that they are destined to marry.