Rakau: Belarusians celebrate Kupala Night


Hundreds of people have turned up at the event, Every year Belarusians come here to jump over the flames of bonfires in a ritual test of bravery and faith, look for a fern flower.

Kupala Night, also known as Ivan Kupala Day (Feast of St. John the Baptist), is celebrated in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia currently on the night of 6/7 July in the Gregorian calendar, which is 23/24 June in the Julian calendar still used by many Orthodox Churches.The celebration relates to the summer solstice when nights are the shortest and includes a number of Slavic rituals. Many of the rites related to this holiday within Slavic religious beliefs are connected with the role of water in fertility and ritual purification.

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