Green socks for a special night
What model should you choose for Midsummer Night? Certainly green socks, which are associated with nature, will be excellent. On the night of June 23-24, nature plays a very important role. Therefore, another suggestion is colorful socks with a meadow. We have already written about Saturday, which is still identified by many with Midsummer Night. However, both traditions originated on different grounds. Moreover, kupala falls on the shortest night of the year, which this year is the night of June 21-22, while Midsummer Night has a fixed date, June 23-24. The second of the holidays falls on the eve of St. John the Baptist. The similar dates are not coincidental. In Slavic lands, traditions related to folk rituals were very strong. An important role in this was played by pagan deities, mythical figures, as well as the natural world, which on the night of St. John the Baptist's Day, was particularly connected with the land of the dead. It was believed that on this special night both the souls of the dear departed and wraiths returned to Earth. In addition, forests and lakes were said to be full of mysterious creatures whose intentions were often extremely frightening. In the years when Christianity began to dominate the Polish lands, the Catholic Church attempted to assimilate the religion with Slavic customs. St. John's Eve fell just around the summer solstice, so it was decided to combine the two traditions.
Combining customs
Was the assimilation successful? Not necessarily. Slavic traditions are still alive, and the two holidays are often confused with each other. In addition, many Christian traditions are directly derived from the customs of the Slavs. During the night of Kupala, a very important role was attributed to the elements, which is why we used to talk about the so-called magic of the elements. The greatest importance at that time was given to water and fire. Depending on the region, midsummer fires had various functions. Some believed that they pointed the way to dead relatives and warded off wraiths. Others, on the other hand, claimed that the smoke from bonfires was a guarantee of a bountiful harvest. In some regions, water was believed to have healing powers during the Saturdays, or that it helped then to know a person's destiny. A consequence of this is the rite of sacrificing water, which falls on St. John's Eve. A consequence of the Slavic love of nature, on the other hand, is the ordination of medicinal herbs. In some regions, St. John's Day is even used to be referred to as Herbal Day.
