Kupala is the main summer festival in a calendar that follows the turning of the seasons and the order of the farming year. The most intense periods of ritual activity are around midwinter, the darkest phase of the year, and in spring, when the light returns and the land comes back to life. They are dominated by Christmas and Easter, but like Kupala, they have other currents running through them too.

Winter

A Christmas message from Vladyslava Bondar in Poltava oblast (region), central Ukraine, December 2024.


Spring

will be coming soon.

Spring in Poltava oblast, central Ukraine
. Photo: Vladyslava Bondar