If you want to be hopeful for any summer to come, journey to Belarus with me to to celebrate Kupalle.
One of the most important traditional holidays in Belarus is the summer solstice holiday of Kupalle. The holiday originated as a celebration of fertility in honor a female God named Kupala, which means “She Who Bathes.” It has also more recently become a Christian celebration of both the birthday of John the Baptist and of Saint Ivan Kupala. Whatever one’s religious leaning, Belarusians who celebrate Kupalle — increasingly fewer as Belarus urbanizes — do so, as we see in this video, by flocking to forests, wearing flower garlands, going to saunas or to cold water springs to “bathe,” dancing in karagods (circles around fires) and even jumping over fires. A guaranteed ton of fun.
