In the rain, but with fire. How Kupala was celebrated in Uzhgorod (PHOTOS)

The holiday of Kupala, organized in Uzhgorod on the embankment near the Philharmonic, again, just like last year, was not blessed with weather. But the participants still did their best: this year it was about recreating the old traditions.

Despite the unfavorable weather, the holiday, which closes the summer solar cycle of the calendar pre-Christian holidays – Kupala or Kupayla – was celebrated yesterday in the evening in Uzhgorod. It is worth noting that Kupala is also called the holiday of youth, – the Uzhgorod City Council informed.

According to the old calendar, this holiday was celebrated on June 24, so they recreated the ancient traditions for Uzhgorod residents. Rolling a burning wheel into the water, walking on a hot coil, jumping over fire, weaving of corollas – those were some of the features of the holiday on the shore of the Uzh.

The event was advertised as a "great holiday of the Ukrainian people". The organizer is the public organization "Our city is our home" and the union of the Cossack organizations of the city of Uzhgorod. The holiday took place with the assistance of the Uzhgorod City Council.

The audience was told about the ancient tradition of the celebration of this holiday, which dates back to the distant pagan times.   Thus, Uzhgorod girls were making flower corollas, and then putting them in the river. Men drove into the river a burning wheel (a symbol of the summer solstice), and jumping over fire and walking on a hot coil adorned the ancient rite.

The event has become a good tradition in the regional center of Transcarpathia, as it has been held four times now. According to the organizer Natalia Sentimrey, each time the celebration is somewhat different from the previous one. While the first time it was a dramatized performance with watermans and witches, this time the emphasis was on recreating the original traditions.