CrimeaPRESS reports:
July 7 is a festive day and, according to popular belief, a very bright one. It comes from our Slavic past. People believed that on Ivan Kupala any water has healing properties. And therefore it was customary to bathe — this allowed to get rid of a variety of ailments. Also on July 7, the tradition of lighting fires and jumping over them was widespread — they believed that this way you can burn away all diseases. They made a wish, which, as they believed, came true if they managed to jump over the fire.
In addition, people firmly believed that Ivanovskaya Night is the time of witches, sorcerers, house spirits, water spirits, mermaids and wood spirits. They roam the world and watch people: they can tempt someone to sin, or even destroy them, while others, on the contrary, they help.
And on July 7, nature opens up to people for just one day a year. It reveals its secrets, makes medicinal herbs magical, and can even bestow great power on a person. However, not “for nothing.” To get all these benefits, you need to find a blooming fern on the night of Ivan Kupala. According to legend, a bud first grows from the fern leaves, grows and rises, and then turns over and jumps. After that, the bud loudly cracks and turns into a beautiful fiery flower. The bud that appears is so beautiful and bright that a person cannot just look at it. People also claimed that immediately after the flower appears, someone’s invisible hand picks it. And the task of the person who goes for the flower is to pick it before it disappears and take it for himself.
Then, according to some stories, the lucky person must put the flower in his bosom and run from the forest, since all the evil spirits that live in the forest will immediately run after him. According to another legend, before picking the flower, a person must draw a circle around the fern. And after the daredevil takes possession of the flower, he must remain in this circle until dawn. This way he will be able to avoid encounters with evil spirits.
According to the legend, a person who can keep the flower until the morning and stay alive will become a real wizard. He will know everything about the past and the future, and all secrets will be revealed to him. The owner of the magic flower will learn to speak the languages of animals, birds and insects. In addition, with the help of the flower, a person will be able to find all treasures and open any locks. A person will also have another ability — he will be able to become invisible.
The legend also says that all these abilities will be in the person who picks a fern flower on Ivan Kupala, as long as the bud is kept safe and sound. Losing the flower means losing all magical abilities.
What does a fern flower look like? Nobody knows. It has never been found. Some people think it is a large red, even «fiery» flower. According to other sources, it is silvery, others say it is a small white flower. However, the descriptions agree on one thing — the color of the fern glows. This is where its other names come from: svetitsvet, adonis, fire-color, color-light.
Signs for July 7:
- Anyone who bathes on Ivan Kupala will be freed from all illnesses.
- If you make a wish on Kupala night and manage to jump over the fire at that moment, it will definitely come true!
- Lots of dew means cucumbers will grow well.
- Many stars in the sky mean good fishing and a good mushroom harvest.
- All medicinal herbs collected on this day double their healing power.
- Falling asleep on the night of Ivan Kupala brings misfortune, or even unexpected death.
- It started raining on Ivan Kupala Day and it will rain for another five days.
- A thunderstorm on this day means a poor nut harvest.
- If you sprinkle Kupala dew on your bed, there will never be any bedbugs. If you sprinkle it on your walls, there will be no cockroaches.
- The scent of flowers is especially strong — it means rain.
- Anyone bitten by a Kupala snake will soon die.
- If you burn a sick person’s clothes on a fire on the night of Ivan Kupala, he will soon recover.
Name days are celebrated today by: Anton, Ivan, Yakov, Nikita.
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